Ross meets an intriguing woman from Poughkeepsie while on the train. Meanwhile, Rachel struggles with loneliness during the festive season. Although she’s not seeking a serious relationship, she is open to a casual fling. Monica continues to face challenges at the restaurant, where she is often undermined by her colleagues. Chandler promises Rachel to set her up with someone from work, and as a result, his coworkers begin to ingratiate themselves with him, hoping to date Rachel.
Monica hires Joey temporarily to demonstrate her authority to her staff, only to fire him shortly after. Ross finds himself torn between the vibrant woman from Poughkeepsie and another woman who, while less exciting, lives conveniently in the city. Rachel goes on a date with a man named Patrick and enjoys his company, but becomes furious upon learning that Chandler told everyone she was just looking for a fling.
Joey refuses to be fired because he earns significant tips at the restaurant. Eventually, Ross decides to end things with both women, finding the long-distance relationship too exhausting and lacking enthusiasm for the other. Patrick breaks up with Rachel after hearing from Chandler that she was considering a more serious relationship with him. Finally, Joey allows himself to be fired, and Monica gains the respect of her staff.
Did you know ?!
• Chandler tells a story of a director firing a crew member on the first day of each shoot, later stating that it may have been Orson Welles. It was in fact Welles, who would fire an employee at random in a public and humiliating way to scare the other employees.
• When Ross wakes up he is asked what song Phoebe was singing and he answers: “The one with the cat”, which is the title of an episode earlier in the season.
• The girl Ross dates in this episode lives in Poughkeepsie. Lisa Kudrow (Phoebe) is an alumna of Vassar College in Poughkeepsie.
• Towards the end of the episode, Ross is seen traveling to Poughkeepsie to break up with one of the girls, but has fallen asleep. He apparently stays asleep until arriving in Montreal, which is approximately a 9 and a half hour journey by train (via Amtrak’s Adirondack service). Therefore, it’s highly doubtful he would’ve remained asleep for such a long period of time. Additionally, the woman on the train in Montreal states “it’s just a two hour ferry ride to Nova Scotia.” No passenger ferry services exist between Montreal and Nova Scotia (they are in fact connected by road), and even if they did the trip would take significantly longer than two hours (would take 80-90 minutes by plane, and 10-14 hours by car, several days via waterways).
• Phoebe complains that Rachel doesn’t rhyme with anything good, and Monica adds that Rachel’s dad used to call Rachel “pumpkin.” “Pumpkin” is one of the few words in the English language that has no rhymes.
• In The One with George Stephanopoulos (1994), Ross said he cannot sleep in a public place when Phoebe sleeps in Central Perk. In this episode, he sleeps there himself.
• This is the only time when Joey and Monica kiss for real. The other time it’s hypothetical.
• 8 year old small batch Basil Hayden’s is a type of whiskey.
• Last episode where Lisa Kudrow’s pregnancy is hidden.
• In this episode, Chandler asks Rachel if she’s ever been with a woman. Later in the series, it is revealed that Rachel had a drunken encounter with Melissa in College.
• Despite their best efforts, both Ross and Rachel end up single again at the end of the episode. They don’t start relationships until several episodes later (with Emily and Joshua, respectively).
