Chandler's Best Episodes In Friends, Ranked

One of the things that makes "Friends" so great is that each member of the cast has plenty of chances to shine. Whether an episode focuses primarily on a certain character or just gives someone one great joke or moment, no one got short shrift across the series' 10 seasons. Chandler Bing (Matthew Perry) was (and is) no doubt a fan favorite, and he steals almost every scene he's in with a sarcastic remark or flawlessly executed one-liner. But some of the best moments of the show are the ones where Chandler is actually the intended center of attention.

With the shocking death of Matthew Perry in October 2023, revisiting Chandler's appearances on "Friends" has become extremely bittersweet. While Perry had mixed feelings about "Friends" being his primary legacy, there's little doubt that the show — and Chandler-centric episodes in particular — are where the majority of his fans have turned to both mourn and celebrate the brilliant comedic actor. Everyone has their favorite Chandler episodes, but these are the ones that we feel best represent him and Perry's excellent performance.

It needs to be addressed upfront that the overall handling of Chandler's father (Kathleen Turner) on "Friends" has aged incredibly poorly. It was misguided at the time and has only become worse in retrospect. To the credit of series co-creator Marta Kauffman, she at least owns up to it. "Pronouns were not yet something that I understood," Kauffman told the BBC in July 2022. "So we didn't refer to that character as 'she'. That was a mistake."

Despite Chandler's negative (and at times outright mocking) reaction to his parent transitioning, the episode where they reconcile is one of his most touching. In the episode, Chandler and Monica (Courtney Cox) travel to Las Vegas to invite Chandler's estranged parent to their wedding. The scenes in Las Vegas where the two seem to finally take some long overdue steps toward mending their estranged relationship showcase Perry's often underrated dramatic chops beautifully. It also helps that Chandler is much more supportive after this episode.

Though there was never a truly bad stretch of "Friends," it definitely felt as though the writers weren't quite sure what to do with most of the characters anymore in the last few seasons. One of the biggest examples of this was the misguided attempt to turn Rachel (Jennifer Aniston) and Joey into a romantic pairing, which became even more pointless when Ross (David Schwimmer) and Rachel just ended up together at the end anyway.

As for Chandler and Monica, seeing them settling into married life in the suburbs and preparing to be parents was the logical way to wrap things up for them. Still, it didn't mean that it was all that particularly exciting to watch. The fact of the matter is that Chandler being unlucky in love was always kind of the point of his character, and although he deserved a happily ever after, his character had lost his edge by that point. A notable outlier was Season 8's "The One Where Chandler Takes A Bath," which saw a rare Chandler-centric subplot that involved Monica but wasn't entirely about their relationship. Instead, the episode focuses on Chandler's newfound love of solo bubble baths, though he doesn't how to prepare one as well as Monica can. It was great to have one last example of such an episode before the final curtain fell on the series.

Over the 236 episodes of "Friends," pretty much every possible combination of characters gets at least a couple of memorable scenes and subplots together. Still, some didn't get paired as often as others — including Rachel and Chandler, who get very little substantive screen time with only the two of them. And that's too bad, as Matthew Perry and Jennifer Aniston proved their chemistry was as good as almost any other set of actors on the show in episodes like "The One with All the Cheesecakes."

The episode itself might not be a five-star-earner, but the moment where Chandler and Rachel are on all fours eating cheesecake off the floor is as indelible a "Friends" moment as any. Beyond being a hilariously goofy visual, it also showcases the palpable platonic intimacy between the two that rarely got the opportunity to shine through. Aniston is often underrated as a comedic performer, and getting to have Perry as a scene partner — especially for such a silly set piece — was a great showcase for her talents. It's just an excellent example of how Chandler brought out the comedic best in his friends, just as Perry did for his co-stars.

Janice Goralnik (Maggie Wheeler) was one of the biggest recurring characters in the history of "Friends," starring in 19 episodes across all 10 seasons of the show (including a voice-only role during Season 6). Her on-again, off-again romance with Chandler was never the best or most healthy thing for either of them, but it led to both some of the funniest and also most tender moments for Mr. Bing. Honestly, a list of just the best Chandler-Janice episodes would represent some of the best episodes of the series, period.

That said, we went with "The One with All the Rugby" as the sort of stand-in on this list for the entire Chandler and Janice saga. It has some of the funniest and also saddest scenes between the pair, including Chandler going so far as to buy a plane ticket and even pretending to board a plane to Yemen all in an effort to ditch her once and for all. Given that this was a Season 4 episode and Janice would be back at least once for each of the subsequent six seasons, it clearly didn't stick. But this episode perfectly encapsulates the highs and lows that the complicated couple would experience, as well as how incredible the chemistry was between Wheeler and Perry — few scene partners throughout Perry's entire career brought out the best in him the way Wheeler did.

Joey tolerates and forgives a lot from Chandler over the years, including being the other guy during Joey's aforementioned relationship with Kathy. But when it comes to Joey's family — in particular, his sisters — even the tightest and longest-running of friendships takes a clear backseat to him being in protective brother mode. And it leads to Joey slugging his best friend right in the face.

Initially, Joey couldn't be happier to find out that Chandler has started dating one of his sisters. Unfortunately, Chandler has no intention of actually having a romantic relationship with said sister. What happened between the two of them was nothing more than an alcohol-fueled one-night stand that Chandler barely remembers. In fact, he remembers so little of it that he doesn't even know which of Joey's sisters he had been intimate with. After trying in typical Chandler fashion — with some hilarious acting work by Matthew Perry in the process — to go along for the ride as he attempts to suss out which sister it was, he eventually has to confess to Joey that he has no idea which of Joey's sisters he had slept with. He also has to fess up that he never intended to have a future with her. The episode sees Perry doing some of the best nervous Chandler performing in the series, which is saying a lot. 

Sitcoms love to do wedding episodes. The ceremonies allow for all kinds of hilarious mishaps, they're an excuse to bring back plenty of recurring characters and guest stars, and there's the opportunity for drama as a result of cold feet, last-second jitters, or heartbreak on behalf of another character who wants to switch places with one of the people on the altar. Of course, there's no topping the botched wedding between Ross and Emily (Helen Baxendale) — which, ironically enough, is where Chandler and Monica first hooked up — but most of those boxes are still checked in the best ways for the wedding of Chandler and Monica.

It's debatable how interesting Chandler remains once he's actually married to Monica and becomes a husband in a happy, stable relationship for the show's last few seasons. But the wedding episode sees Chandler firing on all cylinders as a character, hitting both comedic and dramatic heights that represent some of Matthew Perry's best work — on "Friends" or otherwise. Wedding episodes have been done to death, and this one only barely has enough unique angles to stand out among that long sitcom tradition, but it's still a magical moment for fans of the show and of Chandler — and Perry — in particular. His saying "I do" to Monica will surely be a centerpiece of any clip package tribute to the actor's career.