I come with SPACE>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>
And I come armed with the feedback of a completely neutral party. This week I was able to convince my husband to let me watch the *whole* episode, and not just bits and pieces in between Survivor scenes.
My husband is not an R&R fan. My husband is not a C&M fan. My husband is a laughter fan, and a fan of good storytelling. (And a Survivor fan who growled a little.) My husband thought this was a good episode, and he laughed quite a few times.
Structurally, it was very well crafted. The circle of logic which led from Joey's seduction lesson to Rachel losing her argument was funny, it seemed to flow naturally, and the final payoff was quite satisfying. I got the idea that the writers were thinking about the storytelling for the episode in a holistic manner; rather than just stringing together unrelated stories in a semigelled mess, which too often happens, all the things seemed to fit in carefully and thoughtfully.
Even more importantly, *every single character* was in character the *entire time.* Ross did something that terribly offended Rachel, but for once he wasn't made out to be some amoral jerk; the writers used the faults which have always served him best in storytelling, his vulnerability, to put him in a vulnerable position where fairly innocent actions could be honestly misconstrued. Rachel's outrage was fierce but not over the top, and she came around in a believable manner. Now, again in focus was something Rachel's been doing to Ross for years: She came on to him and then demeaned him for coming on to her in front of their friends, too secure in her assurance that she would not be caught. Rachel has always maneuvered to make herself look as if she has all the power in that relationship, and it was nice to see her lose the upper hand for once. It was even nicer to see a Friend who has gotten the upper hand not use the victory to beat his opponent into the ground. They actually acted, for once, as if this group of people cared about each other despite arguments. Loved their last scene, but that's just the obnoxious R&R fan in me *luxuriating* in all the good signs and high hopes. My apologies if that offends you. Boy, this is *fun* after all this time.
The first episode of this season featured Phoebe at her best. This time we got the best of Joey. Joey as the seductive predator, Joey as the good friend who teaches all his dirtiest tricks, Joey being a little clever, Joey as the funny face who steals a scene with an expression. He was very well used, and I hope the folks who were disappointed that he was not the father were able to enjoy how delightful he was tonight in the role of catalyst.
The only weak point was Chandler and Monica, and they were weak only by comparison; I actually found them more effective than they usually are. It was evident that they were given their "story", if that is what it was, because they had nothing useful to add to the main story, but here again, the writers recognized it for what it was and played their cards right. The first set of jokes about how charming they were segued well into the second set about how tiresome they may actually have been. Once again, they were not overplayed. Monica did not get screechy, Chandler's quips were well timed, and I found their eventual bickering completely believable without being particularly annoying. It wasn't much of a story - it was more like a second conversation flitting momentarily in and out of the cracks of the first, but at least they didn't overdo it.