Phoebe learns that her mother lied to her about sad movies. Monica encourages Chandler and Joey to hang out with Richard. Ross is sad that he always misses the milestones of Ben's development and overwhelms Rachel with baby plans.
Tropes
- Afraid to Hold the Baby: Ross tries to hand Ben over to Rachel to hold. She reluctantly holds him out at arms length with her hands under his armpits.
- Baby's First Words: Rachel hears Ben say his first word: "Hi." Ross is disappointed to have missed yet another of his son's "firsts" but quickly gets over it when Ben says "Bye" when Carol and Susan come to pick him up.
- "Be Quiet!" Nudge: Joey talks about how much cooler Richard is than his and Chandler's fathers. He fails to realize why Chandler has suddenly started kicking him.
- Both Sides Have a Point: Rachel is overwhelmed by Ross having mapped out a rather extensive domestic life, despite them having only started dating six weeks ago. Her version of thinking ahead is far more mundane and immediate, as well as (given her history) loathing the idea of people planning her life for her. Ross concedes he can't fault her for that, but he says it goes both ways and that there's nothing wrong with him thinking about and planning for the future.
- Bowdlerization: In-Universe, Phoebe's mom used to skip the Downer Ending of movies like Old Yeller. So when she finally sees the real ending she is shocked.Phoebe: Okay, what kind of a sick doggy snuff film is this?
- Comically Missing the Point: Chandler and Joey are discussing which of two annoying friends to take to the baseball game. Monica asks, “What about Richard?”, so they turn to Richard and ask him… which friend would he take to the game. Monica has to tell them that she meant asking Richard to go with them.
- Death By Child Birth: Phoebe comments on the death of Charlotte the spider being this.Phoebe: It's like "Hey, welcome home from the hospital", thud.
- The Diaper Change: Towards the end of the episode Ross walks Rachel through changing Ben's diaper. She's not swayed by his attempts to make the process seem cuter by calling it a "poopy diaper".
- Maternally Challenged: Rachel's inexperience with babies comes up when Ross asks her to hold Ben. His advice doesn't help much.Ross: Just hold him like you'd hold a football.
Rachel: This is how I'd hold a football! - Parental Substitute: Much to his lament, Richard finds he's this to Chandler and Joey rather than one of the guys.
- Spoiler Title: To a certain extent, but here, it refers to the ending of Old Yeller.
- This Is Gonna Suck: When Phoebe talks about where her mother would stop Old Yeller and simply describe what happened next, Richard has this reaction while trying to convince her to look away from the TV.
- Underdogs Never Lose: One of Downer Endings that Phoebe learns is the subversion of this in Rocky.
