The One With the Jellyfish

Thursday, 25 September 1997

Ross leaves Bonnie for Rachel, then wrecks the reunion by admitting he never finished her letter, while Phoebe confronts the woman who gave her up and Monica is stung by a jellyfish.

What happens

• Ross picks Rachel's door, kisses her, and goes off to end things with Bonnie that same night.
• Phoebe Sr. explains that she was eighteen and frightened when she gave the baby away, and Phoebe tells her she never wants to see her again.
• Ross comes back single, and Rachel hands him an eighteen-page letter she wants answered before they get back together.
• Ross falls asleep over the letter, pretends at dawn that he read it twice, and tells Rachel his answer is yes.
• A jellyfish stings Monica on the beach, and Joey insists the only cure is for someone to urinate on the sting.
• Ross finally reads the part he missed, learns he has agreed to take all the blame for the breakup, and lets Chandler talk him into keeping quiet.
• Ursula tells Phoebe that their mother's suicide note named their birth mother in Montauk, and that she never mentioned it.
• The three of them confess what happened on the beach: Monica could not reach the sting, Joey froze, and Chandler had to do it.
• Phoebe Sr. turns up at the coffee house, the two of them discover they like the same things, and Phoebe agrees to go and eat with her.
• Rachel praises Ross for owning up, Ross snaps that he never finished the letter, and the two of them break up again.