The One at the Beach
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"The One at the Beach" is the twenty-fifth episode of season three of the television situation comedy Friends.
[edit] Plot
At the beginning of the episode, Rachel gets upset when Bonnie - Ross's new girlfriend - starts listing all the places she's had sex. Phoebe comes in with some news: She found an old picture of her parents with a friend - also named Phoebe. Phoebe Abbott lives on the beach in Montauk; Phoebe Buffay suggests the gang spend the weekend there. Rachel is pleased to learn that Bonnie has to work and is therefore unable to attend.
While waiting for Phoebe to come pick them up, Monica spots a couple walking arm in arm, and wonders if she'll ever find a boyfriend again. Chandler says that if "worse comes to worst" he'll gladly assume the boyfriend role - a prospect Monica finds hilarious. He then spends the rest of the episode trying to prove to Monica that he's good "boyfriend material."
Phoebe pulls up in the cab - and with the news that one of her massage clients is letting them use his beach house for the weekend. Rachel walks up, wearing a ridiculously large hat. Everyone makes fun of the hat. They pull up to the beach house and discover it's raining; they then all crowd underneath it.
The rain is the least of their problems - the house has suffered some flood damage and is filled with sand. "Either that," quips Ross, "or he has a really big cat."
Phoebe Buffay finds Phoebe Abbott's house. The older Phoebe is a realtor, who unfortunately lost touch with Frank and Lily after high school. Younger Phoebe wants to know everything about her parents. She has a suspicion that elder Phoebe is lying about not knowing Frank's whereabouts, and steals a picture from the refrigerator.
It's still raining, and the gang is bored. Joey tries to get the gang to play Strip Poker - but he doesn't have any takers. Chandler builds a sand castle, and Rachel tries to paint Ross's toenails. They wrestle for a bit, then realize they're flirting with each other. The gang finally decides to give in and play Strip Poker, but they can't find any cards - so they end up playing Strip Happy Days Game, because it was either that or Strip Bag of Old Knitting Stuff. Joey, who was so adamant about the gang playing Strip Anything, is upset because he's losing. Rachel gets upset when Bonnie shows up.
The next morning, Chandler still tries to convince Monica he'd be a good boyfriend. Joey wakes up to find that the gang has buried him in the sand - and built a mermaid out of sand around him, complete with large breasts. Ross and Bonnie come down together, much to Rachel's dismay. She ends up getting her revenge, though - by convincing once-bald Bonnie to shave her head again. Ross is upset, especially when he learns it was Rachel's idea. He fights with Rachel and points out it was Rachel who ended their relationship. Rachel then says that she was just mad at him - and she'd never fallen out of love with him. They both reveal they still love each other, and kiss. A talk with Joey and Chandler doesn't help Ross since he is still in love with Rachel; but he also really likes Bonnie and thinks it would be healthy to move on.
Phoebe is upset because Phoebe Abbott cancelled their dinner plans, so she breaks into her house. Phoebe Abbott catches her, and tells her the truth: Not only does she really not know what became of Frank but she is younger Phoebe's real mother.
The episode - and the third season - ends with Ross upstairs in the hallway. To one side is Rachel's bedroom; the other, his and Bonnie's. He thinks for a moment, then picks a door and goes in.
During the closing credits Chandler persists in trying to prove he'd be good boyfriend material by knocking on the front door and pretending to be a guy picking her up for a date. On his final attempt, he plays the part as Tim Conway's dwarf character, Dorf.
[edit] Additional cast
- Phoebe Abbott - Teri Garr
- Bonnie - Christine Taylor
[edit] Trivia
- Ironically Chandler says he was taken aboard Rachel's hat and can't have children. In later series we find out that he can't with Monica due to low 'mobility'.
- In episode 22, The One with the Screamer, Ben Stiller played Rachel's date. Here, episode 25, Christine Taylor plays Ross's date. Taylor and Stiller later married in 2000.
| Preceded by "The One with the Ultimate Fighting Champion" |
List of Friends episodes | Followed by "The One with the Jellyfish" |
