The One Where Everybody Finds Out

"The One Where Everybody Finds Out" is the fourteenth episode of Friends' fifth season. It first aired on the NBC network in the United States on February 11, 1999. In the episode, Phoebe Buffay discovers that Monica Geller and Chandler Bing are secretly dating, and decides to "mess" with them by pretending to flirt with Chandler. Meanwhile, Ross Geller learns that "Ugly Naked Guy" is subletting his apartment and applies for it. The episode ends on a cliffhanger, with Ross witnessing Monica and Chandler having sex through a window, which would be resolved in the next episode.

At the 51st Primetime Emmy Awards, it received three nominations for Outstanding Directing for a Comedy Series, Outstanding Writing for a Comedy Series and Outstanding Supporting Actress in a Comedy Series.

Plot

The gang observes that "Ugly Naked Guy", who lives across the street from them, is moving out. Ross (David Schwimmer), who has lived in Joey (Matt LeBlanc) and Chandler's (Matthew Perry) apartment since his botched wedding with Emily, wonders if he should try to get Ugly Naked Guy's apartment. He, Rachel (Jennifer Aniston) and Phoebe (Lisa Kudrow) visit it, and Ross is enthralled, but while he goes for an application, the girls see Chandler and Monica (Courteney Cox) having sex in Monica's apartment. Though initially shocked, Phoebe calms down after Joey and Rachel reveal the two have been together since hooking up at Ross' wedding. Joey, who has been keeping the secret for several months, is relieved that almost everyone knows. However, Rachel and Phoebe want revenge, and decide to mess with the duo by having Phoebe pretend to be attracted to Chandler. Chandler later informs a skeptical Monica that Phoebe was flirting with him.

Upon discovering that Ugly Naked Guy is subletting the apartment himself, Ross attempts to bribe him with a basket of mini-muffins. However, many people have bribed him with extravagant gifts such as a pinball machine and a mountain bike. Ross eventually acquires the apartment after he and Ugly Naked Guy share the mini-muffins whilst nude.

Monica overhears Phoebe flirting with Chandler, and realizes he was telling the truth. However, she also realizes that Phoebe knows about their relationship and is just trying to mess with them. They confront Joey, who inadvertently reveals Rachel knows as well. Chandler and Monica decide to turn the tables by having Chandler reciprocate Phoebe's advances; to which Rachel and Phoebe realize what the couple are doing and proceed to up the stakes. The game of chicken between the two culminates with Chandler and Phoebe going on a tense date in Chandler and Joey's apartment while Monica hides in the bathroom and Rachel and Joey eavesdrop in the hallway. After Phoebe and Chandler share an awkward kiss, Chandler finally breaks down and reveals he is in love with Monica. Monica reveals that she is also in love with Chandler, shocking Phoebe who thought they were only in a casual relationship. Joey is relieved that he no longer has to keep their relationship a secret. However, the others inform him that they still have to keep it a secret from Ross, much to his chagrin.

In the closing credits scene, Ross shows his new apartment to his boss, Dr. Ledbetter, to try convince him that he no longer suffers from anger management issues. However, he then sees Monica and Chandler kissing through the window, causing him to angrily yell "Get off my sister!"

Production

What sticks out to me, was trying to write it and see how many twists we could make without getting confused.

-Marta Kauffman

Monica and Chandler's relationship was first introduced in "The One with Ross's Wedding". The audience reaction to the plot twist was unexpectedly positive, with the studio audience applauding the twist for 27 seconds. Creator Marta Kauffman stated that, "When we were shooting the scene in London where we find out that Monica and Chandler have slept together, we were in front of a live audience and the reaction was so stunning.... We didn't expect applause to last for two minutes. We kind of went, "Huh, this is such an unexpected duo, let's play with it for a little while."

For the scene in which Joey opens Phoebe's top, Lembeck commented that "As Matt talked through what he wanted to do, it became a technical exercise: Show the costumer what you want to do and see if she can rig the dress."

Reception

At the 51st Primetime Emmy Awards, the episode received three nominations – Kudrow was nominated for Outstanding Supporting Actress in a Comedy Series, Lembeck for Outstanding Directing for a Comedy Series and Junge for Outstanding Writing for a Comedy Series. At the 52nd Writers Guild of America Awards, the episode was nominated for Episodic Comedy.

Entertainment Weekly gave the episode an A−, saying "although the group discovery would have been riveting enough, the ensuing rondelet of one-upmanship between Monica and Chandler and Rachel and Phoebe is pure genius". IGN described the scene in which Chandler and Phoebe kiss as a "gold star Friends moment." HuffPost praised it for being "gooey and romantic and slapstick-y all at once." They also called the line "They don't know we know they know we know", spoken by Phoebe, the best in the episode. The A.V. Club wrote that while it was "not the most natural point of entry for a first-time Friends viewer, given how much it leans on backstory", it was "as expertly crafted as anything in the show's 10-season run" and "builds to a frenzy, locking Phoebe and Chandler in a cruel game of chicken to see how far he and Monica will go to conceal their relationship."

Various websites have deemed it one of the show's best episodes. Digital Spy ranked it the third best episode of the show, praising Perry and Kudrow's performances as a "tour de force". Radio Times named it the fourth-funniest Friends episode. GamesRadar+ regarded it as the show's fifth-best episode, as they felt it delivered "huge laughs every step of the way." They called the line "What are you doing? Get off my sister!" the best of the episode. Purple Clover chose the episode as one of the 20 funniest episodes of Friends. Den of Geek ranked it the second best episode of Friends.

The episode holds a 9.7 rating on IMDb, making it the highest rated episode of the entire series, tied with "The Last One, Part 2".

References

Luling, Todd Van (May 31, 2016). "The Identity Of Ugly Naked Guy On 'Friends' Is Finally Revealed". HuffPost. Archived from the original on August 26, 2023. Retrieved May 28, 2021.
^ "Emmys.com list of 1999 Nominees & Winners". Television Academy. Archived from the original on October 31, 2017. Retrieved May 26, 2019.
^ "'Friends': An Oral History of 'The One Where Everybody Finds Out'". EW.com. Archived from the original on April 27, 2019. Retrieved April 27, 2019.
Perry, Matthew (2005). Friends: Final Thoughts (DVD). New Wave DVD and Warner Home Entertainment.
"Friends | EW.com". Entertainment Weekly's EW.com. Archived from the original on September 15, 2016. Retrieved January 15, 2019.
Fowler, Matt (September 24, 2014). "The Top 10 Friends Episodes". IGN.com. Archived from the original on September 25, 2014. Retrieved April 27, 2019.
Goodman, Jessica (January 1, 2015). "14 Best 'Friends' Episodes To Binge Watch Right Now". HuffPost. Archived from the original on April 27, 2019. Retrieved April 27, 2019.
Joshua Alston (May 1, 2019). "Could you be any more excited to watch these 5 episodes of Friends?". The A.V. Club. Archived from the original on February 28, 2021. Retrieved May 26, 2019.
Wightman, Catriona (October 15, 2016). "Friends: The 25 best episodes EVER, ranked". Digital Spy. Archived from the original on April 27, 2019. Retrieved April 27, 2019.
"The 15 funniest Friends episodes on Netflix, ranked". Radio Times. Archived from the original on April 27, 2019. Retrieved April 27, 2019.
"The 25 best Friends episodes you WILL rewatch again and again and..." gamesradar. Archived from the original on April 27, 2019. Retrieved April 27, 2019.
"20 Funniest Episodes of 'Friends'". Archived from the original on January 15, 2019. Retrieved February 6, 2024.
"Den of Geek". Den of Geek. Retrieved April 27, 2019.
""Friends" The One Where Everybody Finds Out (TV Episode 1999)". IMDb. February 11, 1999. Archived from the original on February 6, 2024. Retrieved May 26, 2019.

v t e Friends episodes
Season 1	"The Pilot" "The One with the Sonogram at the End" "The One with the Thumb" "The One with George Stephanopoulos" "The One with the Blackout" "The One with the Monkey" "The One Where the Monkey Gets Away" "The One with the Fake Monica" "The One Where Rachel Finds Out"
Season 2	"The One with Ross's New Girlfriend" "The One with Russ" "The One with the Lesbian Wedding" "The One After the Superbowl" "The One with the Prom Video" "The One Where Dr. Ramoray Dies" "The One with Barry and Mindy's Wedding"
Season 3	"The One with the Princess Leia Fantasy" "The One Where No One's Ready" "The One with the Flashback" "The One with the Football" "The One with the Morning After" "The One at the Beach"
Season 4	"The One with the Jellyfish" "The One with the Cat" "The One with the Embryos" "The One with Ross's Wedding"
Season 5	"The One After Ross Says Rachel" "The One Hundredth" "The One with All the Thanksgivings" "The One Where Everybody Finds Out" "The One with the Girl Who Hits Joey" "The One with the Cop" "The One Where Rachel Smokes" "The One Where Ross Can't Flirt" "The One with the Ride-Along" "The One with Joey's Big Break" "The One in Vegas"
Season 6	"The One After Vegas" "The One Where Ross Got High" "The One with the Apothecary Table" "The One with Unagi" "The One with the Proposal"
Season 7	"The One with Monica's Thunder" "The One with All the Candy" "The One with All the Cheesecakes" "The One Where They're Up All Night" "The One with Ross and Monica's Cousin" "The One with Monica and Chandler's Wedding"
Season 8	"The One After 'I Do'" "The One with Rachel's Date" "The One with the Halloween Party" "The One with the Rumor" "The One Where Rachel Has a Baby"
Season 9	"The One Where No One Proposes" "The One with Ross's Inappropriate Song" "The One with Rachel's Other Sister" "The One in Barbados"
Season 10	"The One After Joey and Rachel Kiss" "The One Where Ross Is Fine" "The One with Ross's Tan" "The One with the Birth Mother" "The One with Phoebe's Wedding" "The Last One"
Specials	Friends: The Reunion

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