Ross makes Joey his best man. Rachel and Monica give Phoebe a baby shower.
Tropes
- 24-Hour Party People:
- The guests at Ross' bachelor party are: Joey, Chandler, Gunther (who only got invited because Joey realised he heard them planning) and a couple of guys Ross knows from work who the audience has never seen before.
- Phoebe's baby shower is only shown briefly but aside from Monica and Rachel the only recognisable guest is Jasmine who Phoebe used to work with (who only has lines in the extended cut of the episode).
- Animal Chick Magnet: Joey and the Stripper hit it off after she coos over the Chick and the Duck.
- Brick Joke: Earlier in the episode, Chandler guesses "Centralperk" as Gunther's last name. Later on, the fake name the guys use to hire the stripper again is "Gunther Centralperk".
- Characterization Marches On: Phoebe is noticebly more agressive and mocking in this episode, something that will remain for the rest of the show.
- Feeling the Baby Kick: At one point Phoebe gets annoyed because she can feel one of the triplets kicking one of the other babies.
- First-World Problems: Phoebe calls Rachel out for moping over her history with Ross by bringing up her own history of living on the streets and begging for food.
- Friendship Moment:
- Ross deciding to make both Chandler and Joey his best men for the wedding, saying he's lucky to have two best friends.
- When Phoebe expresses disappointment about having to give the babies up, Rachel and Monica cheer her up by saying she gets to skip all the parenting headaches and be the cool aunt instead.
- Gift-Giving Gaffe: Monica gets excited by the baby clothes she buys for Phoebe's shower, only for Rachel to point out that Phoebe is a surrogate who doesn't get to keep the babies. They decide to tell everyone to bring gifts Phoebe can use after her pregnancy (alcohol, caffeine etc). This doesn't work either, as Phoebe is upset to receive gifts she won't be able to use for months.
- Heirloom Engagement Ring: Ross plans to give Emily his late grandmother's wedding ring. The ring was the only thing, aside from the clothes she was wearing, that Nana had when she arrived in the USA and Ross claims it's brought luck to every bride that wore it. In the extended cut of the episode Monica is irritated to learn their mother gave the ring to Ross and not her, so she tells Emily about the Duck eating it to try and ger her to give it up.
- Lost Wedding Ring: Ross' family heirloom wedding ring goes missing during the bachelor party. The guys assume the stripper stole it after sleeping with Joey. When they confront her she points out that she makes so much money she doesn't need to steal a ring. Turns out the Duck ate it while Joey was asleep.
- Mood-Swinger: Phoebe's pregnancy hormones are causing some extreme mood swings.
- Morning Sickness: Joey tries to cheer Phoebe up by complimenting her "cool, pregnant-lady glow" but Phoebe replies that the "glow" is just sweat from spending the morning throwing up.
- No Last Name Given: After Chandler drunkenly declares them best friends Gunther asks if he even knows Gunther's last name. Chandler's guess is "Centralperk".
- Open Mouth, Insert Foot: When Joey complains about how Chandler was already best man once and how he might never get the chance to do so, Chandler tries to make him feel better by saying he can be his best man someday. Ross takes offense to this (pointing out how he'd be passed over by the guy he made best man twice), and Chandler's attempt to backtrack just makes Joey mad at him. Ross makes Joey best man out of spite for this, and Joey is all for it.
- Police Are Useless: Ross decides to call the police on the stripper, but Joey mentions that he already called them but they said they're "too busy solving all the murders".
- Pregnancy Makes You Crazy: Phoebe gets very cranky as a result of her hormones and snaps at Rachel and Monica for minor things, making them afraid of her.
- Sand In My Eyes: After Ross makes both of them his best men and gets choked up calling them his best friends, Joey suddenly needs to check something in a distant corner of the room. Chandler and Ross deride this, while looking away from each other and wiping their eyes.
- Selective Obliviousness: Joey pretends he didn't hear Ross saying not to hire strippers for the bachelor party. At the party Ross agrees he made the right call in hiring one anyway.
- Sibling Rivalry: Phoebe can tell when a baby is kicking one of the other babies.Phoebe: Don't make me come in there!
- Sour Outside, Sad Inside: Phoebe reveals her surly attitude isn't just because of her hormones. She's started to recognize how hard it's going to be to give up the babies when the pregnancy is over.
- Stag Party: Ross gives Joey strict guidelines about what he wants, insisting that they keep things mellow and not do anything crazy like hiring strippers. Joey opts to ignore that last request and hires one anyway. Ross admits he made the right call.
- Worst. Whatever. Ever!: Chandler declaring Joey the "worst best man ever" for losing the ring is the source of the episode's title.
