Friends: All The Joey & Rachel Relationship Episodes Ranked, According To IMDb
Perhaps the most controversial storyline during Friends' incredible 10-year run was the romantic relationship between Rachel and Joey. It was a storyline many fans hated and saw as sacrilege. Producers ignored the cast when they tried to veto what they felt was an incestuous idea, but it was done to give Ross and Rachel one more impediment on their road to reunion.
In season six, Rachel moved in with Joey and the two enjoyed living together. Joey was a big help when Rachel became pregnant, which first led to Joey's attraction to her in season eight. Then, a year later, Rachel became attracted to him, which led to a brief romance. It's a storyline many fans wish never happened, while others saw it as the show finally taking a big risk.
10 The One With Rachel's Dream - S9E19 - 8.1
A year after Joey admitted his feelings to Rachel, she began having feelings of her own after witnessing Joey recite romantic lines to a co-star. This prompted a dream where they kiss. Monica convinces her that she actually has a crush on Joey's Days Of Our Lives character, Drake, however, when Joey struggles with a love scene, Rachel suggests he try a sense memory (which he knows nothing about) and he tells her how in love he was with her the previous year.
Joey is happy the sense memory helped him with the scene, but now he's left Rachel more confused about her feelings for him.
9 The One With The Secret Closet - S8E14 - 8.2
Joey has a dream in which Rachel gives birth to his baby, only to discover it's a little baby Ross, who says, "I hope you're a better father than you are a friend!" This causes Joey's guilt over his crush on Rachel to weigh on him. In the meantime, Joey has become a great roommate for pregnant Rachel, helping her with her needs and knowing what she can and can't eat, even taking her to the hospital when she starts having mild contractions.
However, this frustrates the real father, Ross, as he feels he's missing everything. Despite loving living with Rachel, he suggests she move in with Ross. Joey hopes this will help him get over his crush, but the episode ends with him lonely and heartbroken.
8 The One With The Soap Opera Party - S9E20 - 8.2
Rachel's crush on Joey is growing and after discovering he's having a secret Days Of Our Lives party, begs him to let her come. While at the party, Rachel is determined to kiss Joey, despite Monica's protests.
But Ross has brought his own crush to the party, Charlie (Aisha Tyler), who he hopes to date, despite the fact she's only been in relationships with Nobel Prize winners. To both Ross and Rachel's surprise, and disappointment, they find Joey making out with Charlie at the party.
7 The One Where Joey Tells Rachel - S8E16 - 8.3
After Ross tells Joey he'll be okay if Rachel reciprocates his feelings for her, Joey decides to confess his love to Rachel at dinner. Unfortunately, Rachel rejects him, but Joey was prepared for that. However, she becomes very upset because she's afraid her rejection of him will ruin their friendship, which he promises won't happen.
The episode ends with a long hug between the two great friends after the entire restaurant has cleared out. Viewers weren't fans of this storyline and some were happy this development, which they felt was inappropriate, was over. Little did they know, though, this was only the beginning.
6 The One With The Birthing Video - S8E15 - 8.4
Joey struggles with his crush on Rachel, so Phoebe helps him by letting him borrow a "happy dog," but Joey ends up just making the dog depressed.
It's Valentine's Day and Ross runs into Joey and finds it shocking he doesn't have a date. It's at this point that Joey confides to Ross that he has a crush on a friend's ex-girlfriend. Ross tells him to go for it, not knowing he's actually talking about him and Rachel. As Ross goes to leave, Joey gets up the courage to admit to him who his crush is: "it's Rachel."
5 The One Where Joey's Dates Rachel - S8E12 - 8.5
In the previous episode, Joey and Rachel comically flirted with the idea of having a one-night stand because of urges brought on by Rachel's pregnancy, which ultimately was played for laughs. However, in the following episode, this was taken to the next level when Joey takes Rachel out on a date to cheer her up since she's hasn't been on one in a while due to being pregnant. However, on the date, Joey starts falling for her.
Joey's crush intensifies and when she unexpectedly asks him to hold her, in a platonic way, while watching a scary movie, she asks him if "he's scared," and Joey replies "terrified." Viewers know he's actually referring to being terrified of his growing feelings for Rachel.
4 The One After Joey And Rachel Kiss - S10E1 - 8.5
After the explosive season nine finale where Joey and Rachel kiss, season 10 opens up with something viewers never expected: Joey and Rachel in a relationship. While some viewers felt it was like watching brothers and sisters date, it was definitely an unexpected way to keep the 10-year-old show fresh. Or was it the product of writers running out of ideas?
In the episode, Rachel and Joey return from Barbados wishing to consummate their relationship. They want to tell Ross first, but every attempt is thwarted. However, Ross discovers their relationship accidentally after he walks in on them making out.
3 The One In Barbados - S9E23/24 - 8.7
Joey is unaware that Rachel has a crush on him and it all comes to a head in Barbados at Ross' conference. Ross' feelings for Joey's girlfriend, Charlie, are growing, and while they work on his presentation, Joey and Rachel hang out together. In this episode, the writers spotlight how similar Rachel and Joey are, even laughing at the same things, in an attempt to show that they are actually compatible.
In the end, Rachel confesses her feelings to Joey, which he's unsure about until witnessing Ross kissing Charlie. He returns to Rachel's room and they finally kiss, changing the show forever.
2 The One Where Ross Is Fine - S10E2 - 8.8
After discovering Rachel and Joey are officially an item, Ross tries to convince them he's fine with it, but after a disastrous double date with Joey, Rachel, and his now-girlfriend Charlie, Ross admits he's not all right. However, he gives the relationship his blessing after Joey tells him he's crazy about her and Ross realizes he and Rachel have been broken up for six years and that it's time for him to move on.
This was a strange episode for viewers because Joey and Rachel are in full-on couple mode, something some in the audience found very uncomfortable. With Ross' blessing, this set the stage for the Rachel and Joey romance, but with all the build-up, it would only last one more episode.
1 The One With Ross' Tan - S10E3 - 8.8
Now officially a couple, and with Ross' blessing, Joey and Rachel attempt to finally consummate their relationship, but after finding themselves unable to take the next step, they realize they are just too good of friends to be in a romantic relationship. This marked the end of the Joey and Rachel courtship. The two remain roommates but their relationship is only brought up once more briefly, for laughs, by Rachel.
At the show's conclusion later that season, the ill-fated romance is swept under the rug, as viewers don't even get to see Rachel's final goodbye to Joey, despite their recent history. As promised from the show's beginning, Ross and Rachel suddenly reunite in the show's finale. However, for Joey, he never got a real romance on the show and writers cruelly used his only meaningful one, knowing it would never last, just as a placeholder until Rachel eventually wound up with Ross. Joey moved on to his disastrous spin-off, Joey, where he found love, but his wedding never even aired on American television due to the show's infamous cancellation.