Well, I've looked at many "Friends" message boards tonight, and the response has been overwhelmingly in favor of Joey & Rachel's building friendship. Being someone who was an ardent supporter on this board of the couple, it gives me great pleasure that people are finally starting to see the connection between the two that I have seen for awhile now.
As to the show itself, overall probably the best of the season so far. Phoebe was a riot cursing out Ms. Pac-Man right in front of Ben. And Monica's competitiveness is always good for a laugh, even though Chandler seemed more jazzed about the game than she did.
Ross had a filler storyline, which he always seems to have when he directs an episode. I have to wonder why he likes doing the directing when he ends up having little to offer in the show itself.
As far as Joey & Rachel, they couldn't have done any better with it as far as I'm concerned. I think it's incredibly sweet that Joey is so conflicted over his feelings for Rachel, and there were definite moments of tension between them throughout the show. But the clincher for me was the dramatic silence following Joey's "terrified" response of his feelings for Rachel.
I noticed that some here started to immediately discount the episode when they read the small spoiler for 813-TOW Chandler's Bath, but it was clear in the promo for the show that there will not be a Joey/Phoebe secret storyline as everyone finds out except Ross and Rachel. Now do you see the reason why Ross and Rachel will have a storyline together in 813? It is so that they don't find out about Joey's feelings, and that the secret get to everyone else.
After 811 was such a God-awful episode, this episode was near flawless. And I'm not saying that from a J&R point of view, it was just plain awesome for every character.
Now let's just hope the ratings reflect the positive reaction...
Grade for 812: A
Past Grades: 811: C 810: B+ 809: C+ 808: B+ 807: A- 806: A- 805: B+ 804: A- 803: C 802: B+ 801: B