The One Where Rachel Smokes

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"The One Where Rachel Smokes" is the 18th episode of season 5 of the sitcom Friends.

First aired: April 8, 1999

1 Plot
2 Guest stars
3 Writer/Director
4 Trivia

[edit] Plot

Spoiler warning: Plot and/or ending details follow.

When Ross's son Ben gets an audition to be in a TV commercial, Joey lands an audition to play the dad in the commercial, meaning that Ben and Joey could be in the commercial together. They both get callbacks but are placed in opposite pairs, meaning that only one of them will be able to be in the commercial. Joey pretends to step aside and is outraged when Ross (on behalf of Ben) doesn't offer to do the same. When Joey and Ross try to drag Chandler into the argument, he exits after saying "Hi, no one!" At the final audition, Joey repeatedly messes up: instead of saying, "Mmmmm...soup" he keeps saying "Mmmmm...noodle soup," which results in him not getting the job. Ross tries to make him feel better by suggesting that he intentionally sabotaged his audition so Ben would get the job, and Joey buys it. However, his sabotage is unsuccessful as Ben didn't get a part either.

Rachel, still adjusting to her new job at Ralph Lauren, learns that her boss (Kim) and co-worker (Nancy) are making all of the decisions over smoking breaks. After telling them that she doesn't smoke, Rachel tries to come down with them to get some "fresh air" and then pretends that she actually does smoke; she claims that she thought they had been talking about marijuana cigarettes. Rachel convinces Kim and Nancy to quit, suggesting that the three of them would be the Patch Sisters. A former smoker, Chandler once again starts smoking but, when forced to choose between Monica and cigarettes, picks Monica. Kim and Nancy quickly start smoking again, and Rachel tries to rejoin them. However, after seeing how well Rachel was doing after "quitting", Kim tells Rachel that she will be fired if she starts smoking again. Kim and Nancy go back to making decisions over smoke breaks, including deciding that Nancy would accompany Kim on a trip to Paris.

Monica and Phoebe decide to co-host a surprise birthday for Rachel a month before her real birthday (Phoebe: "If we throw her a party on her birthday, then it's not a surprise.") Monica naturally does all of the planning without Phoebe, leaving Phoebe only in charge of cups and ice. Phoebe warns Ross and Chandler that "Monica is gonna rue the day she put me in charge of cups and ice!" When the party finally happens, there are cups everywhere (cup chandaliers, cup banners, cup hats, etc.) and three types of ice (crushed, cubed, and dry), as well as snow cones. Monica complains to Chandler that no one is eating her Tuscan finger foods and apologizes to Phoebe for being a control-freak.