Chandler goes out to dinner with Monica with plans to propose to her, which are derailed by the sudden appearance of Richard. Rachel, Phoebe and Joey go to a silent auction and Joey accidentally buys a boat. Ross is starting to feel the age difference between him and Elizabeth.
Tropes:
- Accidental Bid: Joey goes with Rachel and Phoebe to a silent auction and accidentally makes a twenty-thousand-dollar bid for a boat (he thought it was just guessing at prices). He wins the bid, much to his distress as he doesn't have that kind of money.
- Ask a Stupid Question...: After Phoebe's attempt to explain why she wanted to see Monica's hand.Chandler: Who walks into a room and asks to see a person’s hands?!
Phoebe: Well, a palm reader, a manicurist, a hand doctor—
Joey: Glove salesman! - Auction: Rachel places a single bid of $20 on a trip to Paris so her boss won't think she was trying to avoid participating. Phoebe doesn't bid at all, instead deciding to flirt with man who wins the Paris trip in the hopes he'll take her as his plus-one.
- Bad Liar: Unaware the proposal was delayed, Phoebe and Joey ask to see Monica's hand. After Chandler waves them off, Phoebe says she wants to see the trash that Monica is currently holding. After Monica leaves the room, Chandler calls the lie stupid and says it will give away the surprise.
- The Bus Came Back: Richard returns for the first time since "TOW Monica and Richard are Just Friends" back in season three.
- Call-Back: We hear the tail-end of Monica recounting the story of the time where she got trapped in a bathroom with her parents having sex.
- Continuity Nod: Monica observes that Richard regrew his mustache. The last time we saw him, he had shaved it off.
- Derailing Love Interests: Taken to the point of self-parody. Ross decided to break up with Elizabeth for the perfectly valid reason that they are at very different stages of their lives and he doesn't see a future. All of a sudden, just as he's having second thoughts, Elizabeth sticks her head out the window, yells at Ross, and hits him with a water balloon.
- Flat "What": Joey's response to being told he bid at an auction rather than simply made a guess.
- Give Me Back My Wallet: Before Chandler leaves to proposed to Monica, Phoebe hugs him. Then Chandler asks her to return the ring.
- Hard-Drinking Party Girl: Phoebe agrees to go to the auction after learning there's an open bar and immediately helps herself to a tray full of drinks.Rachel: How is you drinking helping the kids?
Phoebe: Because the more I drink, the less there is for the kids to drink. - Indirect Kiss: In the cold open, Phoebe puts the ring in her mouth to hide it from Monica when she comes in. When Monica goes to the other room, Chandler snatches it back, but then Monica comes in again and Chandler does the same thing as Phoebe. Phoebe comments that it could count as a kiss between them and gives a come-hither look to Chandler.
- Irony: Joey thought his $20,000 bid was simply guessing how much the boat cost. Mr. Thompson later tells him the boat is worth $19,000, so Joey takes a moment to acknowledge how he did make a good guess, after all.
- Kiddie Kid: Elizabeth and her friends are 20-year old students, yet behave several years younger, with their high-pitched screams and water battle.
- Old Flame: There's still a lot of sexual tension (and unresolved feelings) between Monica and Richard.
- Only Sane Woman: Between Joey's Accidental Bid that he ends up trying to make good on and Phoebe getting hammered at the open bar, Rachel is left feeling like this and desperately trying to keep from being embarrassed.
- Schmuck Bait: Ross thinks this was the healthiest, friendliest breakup he ever had. He leaves Elizabeth's dorm, she calls for him and... as soon as he turns towards her, she throws a water balloon at him right in mid-campus.
- Water Guns and Balloons:
- When Ross goes to Elizabeth's dorm to talk to her, she and her colleagues are having a water balloon fight with an adjoining dorm.
- After he leaves her dorm, she hits him with a water balloon.
- Wham Line: The episode ends with Richard declaring to Monica that he's still in love with her.
- Woman Scorned: Elizabeth throws a water balloon at Ross because he dumped her.
- You Must Be Cold: During her date with Chandler, Monica asks if she can borrow his jacket. Unknown to her, he has an engagement ring hidden in the pocket but of course, can't tell her and makes up the excuse that if he gives her his jacket, he will be cold.
