Rachel is fed up with Ross's jealousy and tells him they need to take a break. He ends up sleeping with someone else. Phoebe and Monica double date with a diplomat and his interpreter.
Tropes
- All Men Are Perverts: Joey and Chandler, anticipating Chloe and Isaac's party, discuss with each other all the different ways they could have sex with the former.
- The Bore: Part of the reason Chandler and Joey lose interest in Chloe is that Xeroxing is the only thing she ever talks about.
- Call-Back: The song With or Without You plays over the PA at Chloe and Isaac's party. This was Ross's "make up song" to Rachel at the end of "TOW The List", and he even acknowledges to Chloe that he likes the song. The episode ends in a fadeout as the two kiss each other.
- Cerebus Syndrome: The episode starts off light and funny with Joey messing around with a jar of olives and Phoebe frantically looking for a world atlas but gradually takes on a darker and more serious tone as it progresses. First with Ross's surprise picnic for Rachel horribly backfiring. Then with the two of them having a big fight, before she declares that she'd like to "take a break" from him. And then Ross, drunk and horribly distraught, making out with Chloe the copy girl. Singlehandedly shifting the tone of Ross and Rachel's relationship for the rest of the series.
- Didn't Think This Through: Rachel admits her suggestion they take a break was just something she said in the heat of the moment. She's kicking herself, as she tries and fails to get a hold of him.
- The Ditz: Chloe is portrayed as shallow and not very bright, which eventually turns Joey and Chandler off to her. Ross, on the other hand....
- Everyone Has Standards: Chloe's so ditsy that Joey gets turned off.
- Genki Girl: Chloe, sort of, which is one of the things that draws the three men to her.
- Idiot Ball:
- After Mark comes over to "comfort" Rachel while she stresses about her fight with Ross, he very loudly asks her a question as she's talking with Ross over the phone, which Ross overhears. He angrily hangs up on her, concluding that she's having an affair with Mark. Fans, to this day, debate whether or not this was an intentional "slip up" on Mark's part so that he could steal Rachel for himself.
- Joey and Chandler taking Ross to (of all places) a bar after his big fight with Rachel, which does nothing but allow him to get drunk and commit the ultimate act of Alcohol-Induced Idiocy. Everything goes downhill the very next episode...
- Informed Attractiveness: Chloe is suggested to be very beautiful, with Chandler and Joey regularly visiting the copy place where she works simply to gawk at her. While she's not ugly, per se, some fans feel that her attractiveness was at least slightly overblown in the episode.
- Irony: At the club, Chloe greets Ross and introduces him to two of her friends: Chandler and Joey.
- It's All About Me: Phoebe invites Monica on a double date so that Sergei's translator, Mischa, will have someone to talk to. But when Mischa and Monica really hit it off, Phoebe becomes jealous that their conversations leave her unable to talk with Sergei.
- Lampshade Hanging: When finally venting his frustrations with Sergei, Mischa questions why the diplomat doesn't just learn some English already.
- Language Barrier: Phoebe dates a UN ambassador who does not speak English, and invites Monica as his translator's date. The latter two really hit it off, but this leaves Phoebe unable to speak with Sergei.
- Loving a Shadow: Chandler and Joey are not very subtle about their interest in Chloe. The more they get to know her, the more they lose interest.
- Mood Whiplash: The dramatic Ross/Rachel scenes are interspersed with the lighthearted Phoebe/Monica scenes to keep the episode from becoming too soapy.
- Never My Fault: Ross never admits that taking a picnic basket to Rachel's office while she was clearly busy was a bad idea.
- Person as Verb: Ross came into the copy place insisting some stuff be blown up 400%, which had never been done there before. According to Chloe, the workers always say "Let's Ross it" whenever they get another such order.
- Rage Breaking Point: When Ross brings Mark up during an argument again, Rachel finally snaps over having to repeatedly hash out that same argument, prompting her to declare that they need a "break".
- Ruritania: The closest that Phoebe comes to pronouncing the name of Sergei's country is "Ichnech Traian Istan." It's implied to be a former Soviet republic in Eastern Europe, as, according to Phoebe, "it took the Germans six weeks to go all the way across it."
- Screw This, I'm Outta Here: Mischa resigns after telling the story of how his dog died and getting no sympathy from Sergei or Phoebe. He then invites Monica to the Rainbow Room, leaving the other two unable to communicate.
- The Stoner: Though never outright stated, Isaac gives off a very clear vibe of being this.
- Third Wheel: Mischa is this by necessity, due to the Language Barrier. Phoebe brings Monica along on a date to give him someone to talk to, which backfires when the two really hit it off and get in the way of her and Sergei's date.
- This Is Gonna Suck: During their fight, Ross asks if this is about Mark. Rachel's frustrated response convinces him it's not and that the fight is about to get a lot worse.
