Friends

Overview

Before “The One With the Lesbian Wedding”, there had been only one gay marriage on a primetime sitcom, and it happened to be earlier that year.

The show wasn’t about the lesbians, but for the first three seasons we got quite a bit of them. Enough that we knew things like Susan knew what Carol’s breast milk tasted like, from the source. Or that the date Susan and Carol first had sex was when Carol and Ross were still married.

While it’s tough, Ross and Carol remain friends, and when Ross breaks up with Rachel, he commiserates with her. Of course, when Carol finds out Ross cheated on Rachel, she’s furious and tries to mock Ross by telling him “you slept with another woman”, to which Ross replies “Oh, you’re, you’re… one to talk”.

Queer Plotline Timeline

In “The Pilot” we find out Ross’ wife has left him for another woman. From then on, Carol and her partner Susan become guests we see once in a while. We get at least one peek at the lesbians in every season, but the first two are the best.

Notable Queer-Centric Episodes

Season 1, Episode 2 “The One with the Sonogram at the End” – Ross’ ex wife is pregnant
Season 1, Episode 9 “The One Where Underdog Gets Away” – Thanksgiving, the lesbians are celebrating without Ross
Season 1, Episode 12 “The One with the Dozen Lasagnas” – We learn the gender of the baby
Season 1, Episode 14 “The One with the Candy Hearts” – Ross and his date end up at the same restaurant as Carol and Susan
Season 1, Episode 16 “The One with Two Parts: Part 1” – Everyone goes to lamaz class
Season 1, Episode 23 “The One with the Birth” – Ross and Susan bond and name the child Ben.
Season 2, Episode 2 “The One with the Breast Milk” – Susan says that breast milk tastes a little like grapefruit juice
Season 2, Episode 11 “The One with the Lesbian Wedding” – The one with the lesbian– C’MON!
Season 2, Episode 20 “The One Where Old Yeller Dies” – Ross babysits his son so Susan and Carol can have a night out
Season 3, Episode 4 “The One with the Metaphorical Tunnel” – Ross panics about his son not being manly enough, because he’s raised by two women
Season 3, Episode 17 “The One Without the Ski Trip” – Ross complains to Carol about how he broke up with Rachel, while Carol wants to celebrate the first time she and Susan had sex.
Season 4, Episode 18 “The One with Rachel’s New Dress” – Susan and Emily (Ross’ girlfriend) are in England together, and Ross and Carol worry about history repeating itself
Season 6, Episode 15 “The One That Could Have Been: Part 1” – In an alternate universe, Carol and Ross are still married, but unhappy
Season 6, Episode 16 “The One That Could Have Been: Part 2” – Carol and Ross have a threesome with Susan and kick him out
Season 7, Episode 20 “The One With Rachel’s Big Kiss” – Rachel’s old sorority sister has a crush on her
Season 9, Episode 12 “The One With Phoebe’s Rats” – Rachel’s hot nanny is a lesbian