The One with the Invitations

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"The One With the Invitations" is the twenty-first episode of season four of the television sitcom Friends.

First aired: April 23, 1998

Spoiler warning: Plot and/or ending details follow.

[edit] Plot

Emily and Ross are going over the invitations for their upcoming wedding, and Emily is a bit surprised when she sees an invitation for Rachel. Ross reflects on his relationship with Rachel in a series of flashbacks (which pretty nicely sum up Ross and Rachel's relationship over the past four seasons), beginning with when she ran into Central Perk in a wedding dress after running out on Barry in the the pilot.

Ross reveals that he had a "major crush" on Rachel back in high school and asks if he can go out with her sometime, even though Joey tells him it will never happen. Rachel and Ross are then doing laundry, and Rachel gives Ross a friendly kiss, prompting the stunned Ross to bang his head on the dryer. Later, Ross learns that Rachel has feelings for him, and the two share a very passionate kiss in Central Perk. Flash forward a year later, and Ross and Rachel are fighting because Rachel is spending so much time at her new job, leading Ross to feel neglected. Rachel then suggests that the two take a break from each other, and an emotional Ross has a one night stand with Chloe a few hours later. Ross and Rachel get back together, but she and Ross have another huge fight when she finds out about Chloe, and the two break up again. The two briefly reconcile when Ross taking Chandler's advice, pretends to accept the entire blame for their break-up, but, in response to Rachel's constant harping about how everything was his fault, Ross screams, "We Were on a Break!!!"

In the present day, Ross is at the mailbox with a bunch of envelopes. He pauses with Rachel's, and remembers that it was Rachel who advised him to tell Emily his true feelings before she returned to England. Ross decides to send Rachel her invitation and puts it in the mailbox.

Joey and Monica are really excited about their invitations, though Chandler (because his got lost in the mail) and Phoebe (who will be unable to fly to England to attend the wedding because she will be in her third trimester) are less so. Rachel comes in and finds her invitation, and needs a series of flashbacks to decide if she will come to the wedding.

The first flashback is when Chandler reveals that Ross loves Rachel. Rachel comes to the airport to tell Ross her feelings, but doesn't when she sees him get off the plane with Julie. A drunken Rachel leaves Ross a message that she is over him, which results in Ross breaking up with Julie and Ross and Rachel consummating their relationship at the museum. Rachel breaks up with Ross after she learns about Chloe, but later discloses that she still loves him and may want to get back together. She and Ross break up for good. Finally (NOTE: this final flashback is out of sequence and occurs before Ross and Rachel break up for good), Rachel recalls the Prom Video, when Ross, after learning that Rachel's date Chip hasn't shown up yet, gets all dressed up to take her to prom. As Ross is coming down the stairs, Rachel and Chip depart, leaving a crushed Ross standing on the stairs. After watching the video, Rachel goes over and kisses him, and the two get back together.

Rachel decides to not go to the wedding, trying to justify her decision by saying that someone will need to stay to take Phoebe to the hospital. Monica points out to an emotional Rachel that she has an expired license and doesn't have a car.