Fun
Frisky
Nostalgic
Intense
Adventurous
Choked Up
Curious
Romantic
Weird
Monica Geller holds a tough position among the fix friends of Friends. She’s the one with the most abrasiveness baked into her personality. Once the Friends writers really got a grip on her character, realizing that instead of a boring unlucky-in-love singleton, Monica could instead be a hyper-competitive dynamo, she really started to come into her own. But as coming into her own also meant being a big, bossy, Type-A, it didn’t always make her easy to like. At least for some.
SOME of us, however, have always liked Monica best. Her over-competitive drive and willingness to get TOO excited about whatever was happening that week was relatable. Painfully relatable, sure, but more relatable than works-at-Ralph-Lauren-and-moons-for-Ross Rachel. Monica got to shag Magnum P.I., work in some great restaurants (and the place that made her dress up in fake boobs), and find her one true love in jolly old England. Monica really had a journey on Friends.
So from the agony of not knowing what Chandler Bing’s job was to the ecstasy or a performative orgasm … here are the 10 best Monica episodes, as chosen by us.
RELATED: The Best ROSS Episodes of Friends
"The One With the Stoned Guy" (Season 1, Episode 15)
Is there a good reason why Jon Lovitz gets entrance applause in this episode? Not really. But he knocks it out of the park as a food critic who shows up for a private tasting at Monica’s apartment immediately after having “blazed up a doobie” in Phoebe’s cab. Monica helplessly watches as Lovitz scarfs down her meticulously crafted tartlets and in general tries to thwart him from munching on all the spare snacks in the kitchen. Monica’s professional life was always one of the most carefully drawn of all the friends, and she really sells the frustration here.
"The One With the Fake Monica" (Season 1, Episode 21)
In a great example of a sitcom putting a light touch on a situation that would be heavy in real life, Monica finds out her identity has been stolen, only to discover that the woman using her credit cards is getting a lot more out of Monica’s life than Monica ever has. Watching Monica try to keep up the ruse that she’s “Monana” (it’s Pennsylvania Dutch!) and jump into all of the activities that fake-Monica is trying is a delight, but there’s also a kernel of something real in there.
"The One Where Dr. Ramoray Dies" (Season 2, Episode 18)
Monica’s season-two romance with Dr. Richard Burke was her best storyline to date. In “The One Where Dr. Ramoray Dies,” Monica is thrown off when she and Richard compare their respective sexual histories. His magic number is two; hers is … well, definitely less than a ballpark. After their romantic declarations of love, there’s also the great scene where Monica and Rachel fight over a condom. Classic Friends.
"The One With the Two Parties" (Season 2, Episode 22)
Monica the Party Host is one of the most important parts of her identity, after Monica the Neat Freak and Monica the Compulsive Winner. All three of those Monicas are on the playing field in “The One with the Two Parties,” as Monica hosts one of Rachel’s birthday parties opposite Joey and Chandler’s more raucous party. Maybe I love this episode especially because Monica’s idea of a fun party (a Boggle tournament! delicious flan!) sound WAY more fun than dancing with a bunch of women who are only there to sleep with Joey (and also Gunther).
"The One With the Football" (Season 3, Episode 9)
Competitive Monica is the absolute best, and “The One with the Football” is the absolute peak of Competitive Monica. A Thanksgiving Day game of park football brings out the eye of the tiger in both Geller siblings, and the conclusion which sees Ross and Monica unwilling to give up their hold on the winning ball is a great encapsulation of their sibling bond.
"The One With Phoebe's Uterus" (Season 4, Episode 11)
The plot of “The One with Phoebe’s Uterus” isn’t really important, at least when it comes to Monica (for Phoebe and her uterus, the plot was pretty crucial). But this episode contains what might be Monica’s greatest scene ever. As she and Rachel try to explain to Chandler the full range of women’s erogenous zones, Monica takes a hypothetical tour through zones one through seven. Seven. SEVEN.
"The One With the Embryos" (Season 4, Episode 12)
“The One with the Embryos” is constantly referred to as the greatest Friends episode of all time (some of us prefer “The One Where Everybody Finds Out,” but “The One with the Embryos” is no worse than second), and with good reason. I feel like it belongs on the Monica list, because there is nobody who cares about that test more than Monica. Her and Chandler ratcheting up the stakes; the way she upbraids Rachel for too-quickly answering the TV Guide question, and especially the anguished cry she lets out when they’ve lost the apartment. All gold-standard Monica moments.
"The One With Rachel's Inadvertent Kiss" (Season 5, Episode 17)
Monica and Chandler’s relationship changed the face of Friends in its fifth season, and it was a great showcase for both Courteney Cox and Matthew Perry. This episode sees Monica begin to freak out that she and Chandler don’t have the same kind of new-relationship heat that Phoebe and her new boyfriend do. It’s a great episode for Monica’s neuroses but also for Monica and Chandler settling into their new relationship dynamics.
[Stream “The One with Rachel’s Inadvertent Kiss” on Netflix.]
"The One on the Last Night" (Season 6, Episode 6)
Monica and Rachel’s BFF relationship was one of the show’s best, and they had so many great moments. The time they went on a double-date with George Clooney and Noah Wyle. The time they fought over the attentions of Jean-Claude Van Damme. The time Monica had to choke down Rachel’s ill-prepared trifle. But this episode, where Rachel is preparing to move out so that Chandler can move in, is moving. But before that part, we get to see a whole lot of misunderstandings and Monica being bossy.
"The One in Barbados" (Season 9, Episode 23)
The sight of Monica, in a full-on island frizz, taking on Paul Rudd in a game of to-the-pain ping-pong might be the single greatest moment of the final Friends seasons. At long, long, LONG last, Monica FINALLY met her competitive match. In every way. It’s a wildly entertaining episode. And that’s not even counting the cornrows show up.
[Stream “The One in Barbados” on Netflix.]
