Friends, "The One Where the Monkey Gets Away": How could you lose him?

My review/recap of the March 9, 1995 episode after I master the difference between "Bring me the..." and "Pee in the... ."

Not a funny episode. Not a good episode. Just a plain Friends episode that advanced the Ross and Rachel situation even more.

Rachel finds out that her ex-fiance Barry is engaged to her best friend (and planned maid-of-honor) Mindy. Rachel starts thinking if she is ready to start another relationship.

The next day, Ross leaves Marcel with Rachel, but he gets out of the apartment while Rachel is cleaning Marcel's poop out of one of Monica's shoes. When everyone else (but Ross) comes back, she tells them what happens and they all go looking for Marcel, hopefully before Ross finds out.

At the same time, Ross is preparing to tell Rachel how he feels about her. When he gets to the apartment and starts to tell her, she tells him about Marcel. He gets mad at Rachel for losing him and for calling Animal Control (Marcel is an illegal pet).

The Animal Control woman is Luisa (Megan Cavanagh), who went to high school with Monica and Rachel. She remembers that the two of them didn't talk to her, so she decides to find and confiscate the monkey instead of helping them. 

The search does not go well. Joey and Chandler meet two good looking woman in the building but cannot hang out with them because they are looking for Marcel. Phoebe and Monica find him in the basement, but Phoebe ends up getting shot by a tranquilizer gun by Luisa. Still arguing, Ross and Rachel go to their odd neighbor, Mr. Heckles's apartment. They find Marcel, but Mr. Heckles has dressed him up in a pink tutu. Luisa appears and catches Marcel in a cage. Rachel blackmails Luisa into letting Marcel go. 

Ross forgives Rachel for losing Marcel and tries to talk to her again about his feelings for her. Just as he is about to tell her, Barry walks into the apartment and tells her that he still loves her.
Funniest part of the episode: At the end, when Barry walks in on Rachel and Ross, and Ross says, "We have got to start locking the door."

Certainly not a memorable episode of Friends. It's only purpose was to further the Ross and Rachel situation. It did to a point, but Ross has still not told her how he feels. How can she not figure it out though? Hey, at least Ross as Marcel back.