The One with the Engagement Picture

Poor Matthew Perry. He looks so frail here, almost like he is being guided through his storyline by Courtney Cox.

It's not a bad episode, but not an overly good one either.

I thought there were laws against child labor in America, so I was very surprised to see that they hired a five year old to write the script for this episode. Because only a preschool child would think that making stupid faces is the pinnacle of comedy. And so, the main "plot" of this episode is that Chandler makes a stupid face when he has his picture taken. Oh, how incredibly hilarious! And what shouldn't have even been a single scene in any decent sitcom is dragged on and on and on throughout the episode. It just makes you feel second hand embarrassment.

Rachel is still terrible and her dumb plot arc involving her assistant is even lamer that when it started.

This episode is one of the lowest points of this show.

In this episode, Rachel tries to manipulate her assistant into not dating, Phoebe tries to manipulate Ross into not dating a specific woman, Ross insults his girlfriend's ex, Monica pushes Chandler into doing something he clearly has not desire to do, and, overall, it just was not fun or pleasant to watch. Whoever wrote it decided to show the mean-spiritedness and smallness of each character.

I would avoid this one, actually; in addition to what I just said, it also does not move the marriage narrative in any meaningful direction, does not engage any new relationships for the other singles, and just sort of lays there, formless.