The Chandler Scene In Friends That Went Too Far

Throughout the entire "Friends" story, Chandler Bing (Matthew Perry) isn't exactly famous for his smart-decision-making skills or his emotional maturity. He's flighty at times, quite anxious, and uses humor and his trademark sarcasm as a coping mechanism. At one point in Season 5, the rest of the gang asks Chandler to give up making fun of them as a New Year's resolution. He can't even make it a week, even though it means losing a $50 bet with Ross. (Mark that down as one of the few instances in Ross Geller's "Friends" timeline when he bests one of his friends.) Basically, as the man himself tells his then-girlfriend Janice Hosenstein (Maggie Wheeler) in Season 3, Chandler Bing is "hopeless and awkward and desperate for love."

In the humor department, Chandler likes to walk the fine line between friendly teasing and flat-out insensitivity, and he does a good job of avoiding hurting anyone's feelings on purpose. For example, in "Friends" Season 1, Ross (David Schwimmer) is panicking because the soon-to-be-mother of his child, Carol (Anita Barone), hasn't yet arrived at the hospital. Rachel (Jennifer Aniston) makes a joke that only upsets Ross even more. When Rachel objects, "What — it's okay when Chandler does it?", Chandler advises her, "You have to pick your moments." After Carol finally arrives, Chandler cracks a joke that makes Ross laugh, just to prove his point to Rachel.

However, while Chandler's jokes are usually lighthearted and don't offend, he has crossed the line a number of times. One scene featuring Chandler proves this point perfectly. It involves Janice and marks one of the cruelest incidents in her on-again-off-again relationship with Chandler.

Here's the Chandler scene in "Friends" that went too far.

Janice Hosenstein's "Friends" timeline is long and winding — and the bulk of the points on said timeline mark different statuses of her relationship with Chandler Bing. At the start of "Friends," Chandler is too cowardly to break up with Janice, who sobs whenever he attempts to call things off. Chandler gives in, feeling bad that he's made Janice cry, and grows even more resentful of her. Eventually, he enlists Phoebe's (Lisa Kudrow) help in breaking up with Janice — but that's far from the end of the "Jandler" 'ship. Throughout the show, Chandler reaches out to Janice any time he's feeling lonely, making advances and even hooking up with his ex, while being mean and making fun of her behind her back.

Chandler's worst moment with Janice, however, takes place all the way back in Season 1 — not long after Chandler successfully breaks up with Janice following Phoebe's advice. Prior to New Year's Eve, the gang agrees to not have a date for their get-together, but after Monica breaks the no-date pact, Chandler becomes so scared about being left alone at midnight at the gang's party that he invites Janice — y'know, the woman he tried so hard for so long to end things with that he was in a near-constant state of stress? Yeah, that Janice. 

Since Chandler admits to Phoebe that he broke the pact to invite Janice, we can assume that this is definitely a date and not a casual hangout to prove that exes can be friends post-split. If it were the latter, Chandler wouldn't have fretted about breaking the agreement. But Chandler being Chandler when it comes to relationships, he doesn't make his true intentions clear until things are past the point of no return.

At the party, Janice is friendly to Monica (Courteney Cox), who's quite rude to her, and overall, she's happy to be back with Chandler. She's smiling, making conversation, and laughing her unforgettable laugh, clearly psyched about getting back together with her former beau. But when Janice tries to take a picture with Chandler — which she plans to frame and display with the word "reunited" written in glitter text over the top of it — Chandler snaps. He shouts at her in front of everyone, then tries to pretend that she misunderstood his intentions when he invited her, claiming he didn't mean it as a date. Janice starts to cry and runs off.

For those keeping score, Chandler only called Janice because he was lonely, acted embarrassed by her in front his friends at a party he invited her to, humiliated her in front of all of them, and then acted as if Janice was the one who had gotten the situation wrong — all on New Year's Eve. Chandler may have trouble dealing with his emotions and expressing them to others without sarcasm, but this is pretty unforgivable.