Ep 15. The One With The Birthing Video

In The One With The Birthing Video, Friends' eighth season tells the story of Rachel, who is experiencing Braxton Hicks contractions, taking her first birthing class with no other than Ross. It all starts off with Joey, who's pet-sitting a tiny rodent named Gladys, accidentally losing her in the apartment and Chandler, who is deathly afraid of rodents, frantically searching for her.

Monica comes across an old VHS tape with “Monica and Ross's parents” labelled on it, and while trying to figure out what’s on it, she freezes the frame with their mother holding a young child and realizes she doesn’t remember her father ever mentioning that they had a brother. Ross, on the other hand, is embarrassed when he realizes that the birthing video he brings to the class (which he stole from the library and that Phoebe calls "the miracle of life") is of a disputed legality.

As Rachel gets more and more uncomfortable, Ross worries about her prematurely giving birth and not being able to make it to the hospital on time. And when he thinks she may be going into labor, he rushes over there only to be embarrassed by the video yet again when Rachel asks him to put it on as a distraction.

Meanwhile, Joey is painting the apartment door to cover up the peanut butter traces left there by Gladys when he lost her and Chandler tricks him into thinking that Ross is upset with him for stealing his Thanksgiving pants. Suspicious, Joey finds out the truth and gets even by dragging Chandler to their storage locker and reminding him that he's still in possession of a pair of panties of Joey's that he can never live down.

However, the real story arc of the episode is the discovery of Ross and Monica's long lost brother by the video's end. Monica finds out that her parents gave him up for adoption a year before she was born because they couldn’t afford another child. They vow to find him, but for the time being, Ross and Monica take comfort in the fact that they at least know he exists.

All in all, The One With The Birthing Video is a hilarious Friends episode that showcases the cast's comedic timing and genuine chemistry while also delving into the history of the Gellar family, adding yet another layer to their already complex dynamic.