The 15 Best Chandler Bing Episodes of Friends

No one on Friends could drop a sarcastic comment with the finesse and precision of the late Matthew Perry. Actually, few actors in sitcom history have been able to time and deploy an acidic remark better than Perry did during his ten-season run as Chandler Bing.

That skill is on full display in each of the installments on this list of the best Chandler episodes of Friends. But his quips are only one element in what makes all these half-hours outstanding. These are the episodes that feature some of the actor’s strongest work. A few of them also highlight the gentler side of Chandler and the vulnerability that Perry, who died suddenly on October 28 at age 54, could tap into just as easily as he could summon his dry sense of humor. Basically, if someone asked which Friends episodes they should watch to get a sense of what Chandler was like and how Perry inhabited him, these would be the ones to stream on Max, the place where all of Friends currently lives.

“The One With the East German Laundry Detergent” (Season 1, Episode 5)

Perry’s skills as a physical comedian pop in this episode, where Chandler and Phoebe make a pact to break up with their respective partners at the same time. As an overcaffeinated Chandler starts to freak out about not being able to end his relationship with Janice, Perry pounds the table at Central Perk and flails his arms in a manner that’s reminiscent of Michael J. Fox but also distinctly Perry’s own thing. “How many of those have you had?” asks Phoebe, gesturing toward an espresso Chandler just knocked back. “Oh, I don’t know — a million?” he responds. And there’s that gorgeous sarcasm.

“The One With the Blackout” (Season 1, Episode 7)

Chandler gets separated from the core ensemble in a story line that traps him in an ATM vestibule with supermodel Jill Goodacre during a power outage. Much of Perry’s performance involves a voice-over narration in which Chandler berates himself for not flirting with Goodacre, commentary that syncs up perfectly with his pained physical reactions to the circumstances.

“The One Where Eddie Won’t Go” (Season 2, Episode 19)

One of the best Chandler Bings you can hope to get in any Friends episode is a Chandler Bing who is gobsmacked. And in this season-two episode, where Chandler desperately tries to kick his freaky roommate, Eddie (an unhinged Adam Goldberg), out of their apartment, he is gobsmacked over and over again that Eddie does not seem to understand that he needs to move out. Perry’s beyond-perturbed delivery of the line “This is not out of the blue. This is smack-dab in the middle of the blue!” is an all-timer.

“The One Where No One’s Ready” (Season 3, Episode 2)

This bottle episode — in which Ross is trying to get to a museum gala on time and no one is cooperating — is a strongly written and performed piece all across the board. But Chandler’s absolutely ridiculous argument with Joey over who gets to sit in a particular chair elicits some of the most memorable Matthew Perry line deliveries in the entire series. Consider this one: “Joey, I wrote a little song today. It’s called ‘Get Up.’” Hand this to 10, 20, even 50 actors. You’ll get 10, 20, maybe even 50 people saying that second part as an escalating shout: “It’s called (takes things up a noticeable notch) GET UP!!” But Perry doesn’t do that. He takes the line and writes his own melody that slides up and down the syllabic-emphasis scale. Only Perry could make sarcasm sound musical.

“The One With the Hypnosis Tape” (Season 3, Episode 18)

A lot of Friends episodes contain antiquated jokes about homosexuality and gender. This one, in which Chandler starts listening to hypnosis tapes to help him quit smoking, falls under that general umbrella. While Chandler is sleeping, the voice on the tape keeps telling him he’s “a strong, confident woman” who doesn’t need to smoke, leading him to lose his craving for cigarettes but also to exhibit more stereotypically feminine behavior. To Perry’s credit, he never goes too girly and over the top in his performance. He seems to be having so much fun with it, in fact, that his charm manages to supersede the story line’s somewhat sexist concept.

“The One Where Chandler Can’t Remember Which Sister” (Season 3, Episode 11)

Chandler drinks a few too many Jell-O shots at a party, then hooks up with one of Joey’s sisters but can’t remember which one or what she looked like. It’s a simple premise that gives Perry the runway to have a very funny, prolonged panic attack about keeping his forgetfulness a secret from Joey. Also, even in his post-party, hungover state, Chandler still manages to drop perfect little ironic bombs. “Well, my apartment isn’t there anymore,” he tells the gang, “because I drank it.”

“The One With Chandler in a Box” (Season 4, Episode 8)

As noted in this essay/appreciation of Perry, this is a great Chandler episode because it demonstrates how much he is still felt in every scene, even when he’s technically not visible because he’s stuck in a box to prove how much he values Joey’s friendship.

“The One With the Embryos” (Season 4, Episode 12)

Do you think we could make a list of the best Chandler Bing episodes and leave out the one where Chandler reveals that the fine folks at TV Guide believe his name is Miss Chanandler Bong? Could you be any more delusional?

“The One With All the Rugby” (Season 4, Episode 15)

At first it seems like Chandler has fallen back in love with Janice … until Chandler announces to his friends, “I hate that woman.” Then he plans a preemptive strike: To avoid breaking up with Janice, Chandler tells her that he’s being forced to move to Yemen for work, a ridiculous plan that blows up so badly in his face that he actually ends up going to Yemen. The way Perry boards the plane and says, “I’m going to Yemen,” with a mix of incredulity and defeat, is just perfect. I’m sure there are people who have planned trips to Yemen without saying, “I’m going to Yemen” in Chandler-speak. I also know that if I ever decide to go to Yemen, I will not be one of those people.

“The One Where Phoebe Hates PBS” (Season 5, Episode 4)

At this point in season five, Chandler and Monica are dating but the rest of the friends don’t know it yet. So when Chandler finds out that Monica’s new secret boyfriend is “the best sex she’s ever had,” he starts gloating for Monica’s benefit, a process that involves doing an absolutely ridiculous dance on top of Monica and Rachel’s coffee table. As silly as Perry gets to be in this episode, he and Courteney Cox also seize the opportunity to establish how strong the relationship between Chandler and Monica is turning out to be. “If I’m the best,” Chandler tells Monica, with total sincerity, “it’s only because you made me the best.” (Awwww …)

“The One Where Everybody Finds Out” (Season 5, Episode 14)

What is arguably the best Friends episode ever — personally, I think that’s a tie between this and “The One With the Embryos” — also happens to be a showcase for Perry’s (and Chandler’s) greatest gifts. While engaging in a game of sex-chicken with Phoebe, we get to see Perry’s goofball physicality (the awkward chest thrust he does while demonstrating to Monica how Phoebe is coming on to him), his exasperation (“Did you clean up in here?” he asks Monica while consulting with her in the bathroom), his instinctive sense of timing (the way Perry moves his hand toward Phoebe’s breast for just a moment, then very purposely shifts it to her shoulder), and his ability to confess something emotional and turn a previously over-the-top scene into something grounded (Chandler’s announcement that he’s in love with Monica). Perry never won an Emmy for his work on Friends, and it’s episodes like this that make that fact seem extra-egregious.

“The One With Rachel’s Sister” (Season 6, Episode 13)

This is also the one where Monica refuses to accept that she’s sick and tries to get Chandler in the bedroom so she can prove how healthy she is. Cox is great here, and Perry matches her note for note, proving how good he is at connecting with and reacting to his fellow scene partners. The way he imitates Cox’s congested voice — “I would like to stay in the pribe of libe,” he says, making the words sound even more garbled — is funny every single time he says it. And some of us have seen him say that line at least 25 times.

“The One With Monica and Chandler’s Wedding, Parts One and Two” (Season 7, Episodes 23 and 24)

Initially, Chandler seems impressively calm during his wedding week, until he hears Monica refer to the two of them as “the Bings.” And then he freaks out. Admittedly, there’s a lot going on in this episode — pregnancy-test mishaps, Joey almost missing the wedding, a drunk Gary Oldman — but the heart of it is the journey that Chandler goes on to remind himself that Monica is the love of life.

“The One With Rachel’s Date” (Season 8, Episode 5)

Saturday Night Live’s Chris Parnell guest-stars in this episode as a colleague of Chandler’s who has labored for several years under the delusion that Chandler’s name is Toby. Why? Because it got too awkward for Chandler to correct the guy. It’s always fun when Chandler gets to show off his self-constructed work persona — see also season five’s “The One With Chandler’s Work Laugh” — but he’s especially good here, especially when Parnell’s character realizes some guy named Chandler Bing doesn’t want him to get a promotion. The way Perry shoves the Chandler nameplate off his office door while simultaneously telling Parnell where to find “Chandler’s” office is perfection.

“The Last One” (Season 10, Episode 17)

The final episode of Friends includes the big reveal that somehow Monica and Chandler’s surrogate, played by Anna Faris, has been carrying twins the whole time and no one told her. The shock of suddenly having two babies to care for gives us one last great Chandler freak-out — Monica: “Chandler, you’re panicking.” Chandler: “Uh-huh. Join me, won’t you?” And in the final moments of the series, when the friends leave Monica and Rachel’s apartment for the last time, Chandler gets the last word.

“Should we get some coffee?” Rachel asks.

“Where?” Chandler responds.

Of course, a show about a bunch of Gen-X friends ends with a sarcastic comment, sarcasm being Gen X’s love language. And few spoke it better than Matthew Perry as Chandler Bing.