[s5e8] The One With The Thanksgiving Flashbacks [SAFE]

Then came 1988. A newly thin Monica, fueled by a year of revenge-dieting and a very sharp kitchen knife, tried to play it cool around Chandler. In an attempt to be "sexy" while prepping dinner, she flirted with a box of macaroni and a knife, only to accidentally drop the blade right through Chandler’s wicker shoe.

Ross and Monica took everyone back to 1987. It was the era of "Miami Vice" suits and flock-of-seagulls hair. A teenage, much heavier Monica was desperate to impress Ross’s cool college friend, Chandler. But the night ended in heartbreak when she overheard Chandler call her "Ross's fat sister." [S5E8] The One With The Thanksgiving Flashbacks

"I said... you’re great," Chandler stammered, his eyes widening as he realized what he’d just let slip for the first time. Then came 1988

The room went silent as the weight of the "toe incident" hung in the air. Chandler, hurt that his "nubbin" was the result of a botched seduction, stormed off to his apartment. Ross and Monica took everyone back to 1987

Even with a bird on her head and a missing toe between them, the "worst holiday" had just become the one they’d never forget.

"You cut off my toe!" Chandler shouted, the memory resurfacing with phantom pain.

The aroma of Monica’s legendary turkey filled the apartment, but the mood was less "gratitude" and more "grudge." It all started when Chandler, still traumatized by his parents' divorce announcement over a turkey dinner years ago, declared Thanksgiving a holiday of misery.