S08E17 · EP 187
season 8 · 2002-03-07
The One With the Tea Leaves
written by Steven Rosenhaus (teleplay) · R. Lee Fleming Jr. (story) · directed by Gary Halvorson · 26.3M viewers · image Friends Wiki (CC BY-SA)

Episode DNA

17 scenes · 3 threads
awkward 20%cheerful 11%lie 9%coincidence 7%tender 6%eavesdropping 5%triumphant 5%absurd 4%tense 3%social rule violation 3%

Story threads over runtime

click a block to open the scene
0:005:0010:0015:0020:00
A · Joey and Rachel awkwardness
B · Phoebe's tea leaf date
C · Ross and Mona's shirt
01

Every scene

17 scenes · our breakdown
1 · Monica and Chandler's apartment · act1Joey hides from Rachel

Joey hides in the apartment to avoid Rachel after their awkward date.

00:05–01:23avoidance · lie
2 · Monica and Chandler's apartment · act1Monica and Chandler advise Joey

Monica and Chandler convince Joey to talk to Rachel again.

01:23–02:48confession · humiliation
3 ▸ 02:48
3 · Monica and Chandler's apartment · act1Phoebe reads tea leaves

Phoebe reads tea leaves and predicts she will meet the man of her dreams.

02:48–04:09coincidence
4 · Monica and Chandler's apartment · act1Ross searches for his pink shirt

Ross realizes he left his favorite pink shirt at Mona's apartment.

04:09–05:08petty_grievance
5 · Monica and Chandler's apartment · act1Phoebe spots her dream guy

Phoebe sees a man she has been encountering everywhere and thinks he is the one.

05:08–05:51coincidence
7 ▸ 06:01
7 · Monica and Chandler's apartment · act1Monica advises Rachel on Joey

Monica advises Rachel to change the subject with Joey to fix their awkwardness.

06:01–07:42scheme
8 ▸ 07:42
8 · Monica and Chandler's apartment · act1Rachel lies about her boss

Rachel blurts out that her boss wants to buy her baby to avoid awkwardness with Joey.

07:42–10:03lie · misunderstanding
9 ▸ 10:03
9 · street · act1Jim asks Phoebe out

Jim asks Phoebe out for dinner, and she accepts.

10:03–10:32seduction
10 ▸ 10:32
10 · Mona's apartment · act1Ross sneaks into Mona's apartment

Ross lets himself into Mona's apartment to retrieve his shirt but hides when she arrives with a date.

10:32–11:38eavesdropping · pursuit
13 · diner_restaurant · act2Phoebe's date with Jim turns creepy

Jim makes inappropriate and vulgar comments during the date, claiming to write erotic novels for children.

12:56–14:01social_rule_violation · humiliation
15 · Monica and Chandler's apartment · act2Joey reveals he yelled at boss

Joey tells Rachel he confronted her boss, leading to a fight about the lie.

14:28–15:37lie · misunderstanding
16 · Mona's apartment · act2Ross discovered at Mona's

Mona discovers Ross hiding behind the couch, and he awkwardly retrieves his shirt and leaves.

15:37–16:19eavesdropping · humiliation
17 · Rachel's office · act2Rachel's boss apologizes

Rachel's boss apologizes for the misunderstanding and gives her extra maternity leave.

16:19–17:33negotiation · misunderstanding
18 · dry cleaners · act2Phoebe meets Parker at dry cleaners

Phoebe meets a charming man named Parker at a new dry cleaners.

17:33–19:04coincidence · seduction
19 · Monica and Chandler's apartment · act2Rachel shares good news

Rachel tells Chandler and Joey about her extra month of paid maternity leave.

19:04–19:41deal
20 · Monica and Chandler's apartment · act2Joey and Rachel reconcile

Joey and Rachel apologize and realize their awkwardness is gone, but Rachel lies again.

19:41–20:33lie · confession
22 · Ross's apartment · act3Mona visits Ross to say goodbye

Mona tells Ross they can't be together and asks to keep his shirt, but he refuses.

21:50–21:54breakup · confession
03

Same DNA

nearest episodes by gene profile

Episode facts

Wikipedia · Wikidata
Aired
2002-03-07
Overall
#187
Writers
Steven Rosenhaus (teleplay) · R. Lee Fleming Jr. (story)
Director
Gary Halvorson
Viewers
26.3M (US)
Pace
115 words/min · 84 questions

Where to watch

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In this episode

JT
Joey Tribbiani232 episodes · drives 536 scenes
RG
Rachel Greene232 episodes · drives 552 scenes
CB
Chandler Bing232 episodes · drives 527 scenes
MG
Monica Geller232 episodes · drives 572 scenes
PB
Phoebe Buffay232 episodes · drives 425 scenes
RG
Ross Geller232 episodes · drives 707 scenes
M
MonaBonnie Somerville7 episodes · drives 4 scenes
MZ
Mr. ZelnerSteve Ireland9 episodes · drives 2 scenes