The 10 Most Controversial Episodes of ‘Everybody Loves Raymond,’ Ranked
It’s the show about Long Island’s favorite family, Everybody Loves Raymond. Husband and wife Ray (Ray Romano) and Debra Barone (Patricia Heaton) have got it all covered: a stable income, a nice house in the neighborhood, and three wonderful children. But every American household has its issues. From eccentric parents like Frank (Peter Boyle) and Marie (Doris Roberts), to having a jealous brother like Robert (Brad Garrett), there’s always something new for the Barones.
But sometimes, when the going gets tough, Ray, Debra, and the gang make some questionable choices, leading to certain storylines that are difficult to watch. Despite being an Emmy-winning classic, not all episodes show the best out of the characters. Without further ado, here are the most controversial episodes of Everybody Loves Raymond.
10
“The Children’s Book”
Season 2, Episode 8
Bored with their current rotation of bedtime stories, Debra suggests writing a children’s book with Raymond. With sports journalism being his 9-to-5 job, Raymond initially refuses, as he doesn’t want to write during his downtime. But when Debra is struck with her first draft, he picks it up and does some massive re-writing. Raymond’s happy with the result, but Debra isn’t too pleased with her husband.
“The Children’s Book” is one of the many instances of Raymond and Debra’s bickering gone wrong. What was supposed to be a creative collaboration ends up becoming a competition to see who writes a better story for the kids. It’s unfair of Raymond to make condescending remarks about Debra’s ideas. Debra, on the other hand, should’ve been more open-minded about Raymond’s changes, especially since she’s having trouble writing the story.
9
“The Article”
Season 3, Episode 8
When Raymond had some input on Andy’s (Andy Kindler) article, he accidentally made his fellow Newsday colleague upset with his constructive criticism. Debra thinks Raymond is too harsh on Andy. The next day, as Raymond approaches Andy to apologize, he receives good news: Andy’s article is published by Sports Illustrated. But instead of implementing Raymond’s changes, he omits them.
“The Article” sees the worst of Raymond’s jealousy. Raymond claims that he feels like all the writing advice he gave to Andy was a waste. But the reality is that he couldn’t accept that a writer less experienced than Raymond would be chosen by one of the biggest publications in the country. Considering that Andy is part of Raymond’s inner circle outside of work, it’s plain petty behavior.
8
“Bully on the Bus”
Season 4, Episode 13
Raymond is shocked when he learns that Ally is being bullied on the bus. But after further investigation (a.k.a. riding the school bus with her), Raymond discovers that Ally is the bully. Raymond and Debra argue about who Ally takes after, which ends with him accusing his wife of being pushy and mean.
Debra’s initial nonchalance about her daughter’s bullying is slightly hard to watch. As a former victim of bullying himself, Raymond is understandably upset that his daughter would be the one making fun of other people’s kids. But instead of taking his worries seriously, Debra thinks he’s overreacting. While she acknowledges that what Ally does is wrong, she also defends that it’s just Ally being self-confident in herself.
7
“Italy”
Season 5, Episodes 1 & 2
The Barones are going to Italy! While the rest of the family, including Debra, are delightfully excited about the vacation, Raymond’s not happy about it. He much prefers his vacations away from his family, and he’s not too interested in other people’s cultures — even if it’s his own mother’s. By the time they reach the motherland, they’re reunited with their long-lost family, fall in love with strangers, and get into foreign shenanigans.
“Italy” is a very American view of what tourists expect from a typical Italian vacation. The remote villages with poor facilities (such as faulty plumbing and dirty bed sheets), falling in love with beautiful women, and arguing with over-passionate men who use their fingers for emphasis. It’s a refreshing Everybody Loves Raymond special, but it’s a stereotypical portrayal of Italy.
6
“Captain Nemo”
Season 1, Episode 11
Raymond spends his free time coaching his basketball team. But the sports aficionado is disappointed when he learns that Robert has been chosen as captain over him. While the rest of the family is delighted by the news, Raymond sulks. Meanwhile, Debra is annoyed that her husband spends more time with his friends instead of with his wife and their children.
Raymond’s obsession with being captain goes too far. Robert truly needed the captain position for his self-esteem. Instead, the jealous Raymond chose to stab Robert behind his back and hurt his already-strained relationship with his brother. His desire also costs him the already busy Raymond his weekend quality time with Debra, who’s annoyed that he’s barely paying attention to his wife.
5
“The Disciplinarian”
Season 7, Episode 15
Debra is sick of being the “mean” parent, all while Raymond gets to be the “fun” dad. In a role-reversal situation, Raymond decides to step in as the children’s disciplinarian. Unfortunately, Raymond takes his yelling and punishments a bit too far. With his twin boys frightened, Raymond’s aware he’s not the perfect rule enforcer.
“The Disciplinarian” reinforces the gender-based roles typically found in parenting styles. Mothers are often viewed as the overbearing figure who has to do everything, all while daddy gets to relax and make the kids laugh. It doesn’t matter if Raymond’s incompetent – so long as the kids love him. It doesn’t help that Marie comments that Debra does a good job at being the “mean” parent.
4
“What Good Are You?”
Season 5, Episode 12
While watching TV, Debra suddenly starts choking on her food. Instead of helping his struggling wife, Raymond ignores her and focuses on the screen. Thankfully, Debra coughs up the food, but she’s annoyed that Raymond didn’t tend to her during an emergency. This leads to Raymond questioning his “manliness” and his ability to help his family, which everyone else agrees he’s incapable of doing so.
“What Good Are You?” exposes the harmful ideas of masculinity that Raymond believes. Yes, he should’ve stepped in to save Debra, but in no way should that be associated with the idea of masculinity — it’s what a good husband should do. Raymond confuses the idea of providing assistance and taking initiative for his wife by being manly, which only shows how fragile his sense of self is.
3
“The Faux Pas”
Season 9, Episode 11
If there’s one thing Raymond gets right, it’s the way he says the wrong things at the wrong time. After Raymond shares the insensitive joke he made about Geoffrey and Michael’s friend’s dad, Debra pushes him to apologize. But what started as a supposedly sincere act spirals into Raymond justifying his joke. To make matters worse, the entire family butts in with more unnecessary comments.
“The Faux Pas” is an episode where every little sentence goes the wrong way. Raymond makes a classist joke about his son’s friend’s dad, who works as a janitor (the correct term is “custodian”). Things escalate when Frank and Marie thought the custodian was Black, a stereotypical assumption that’s simply racist. It’s hard to get through the classist and racist microaggressions, even if it’s just a joke.
2
“Boob Job”
Season 4, Episode 1
Word on the street is that someone got a boob job, and Raymond’s about to get to the bottom of the story. At a parent-teacher house party, Debra tells Raymond that one of the parents had her chest augmented. When Debra interrogates Raymond about her physique at home, Raymond tells her that she loves her body the way it is. But it’s hard to believe Raymond’s words when he’s thinking about another mom’s chest.
“Boob Job” makes tasteless jokes about people who choose to get boob jobs, and men who are constantly obsessed with women’s chests. At first, Debra thinks she’s better since she doesn’t have to rely on plastic surgery, but really, no one should criticize another person’s choice to do whatever they want with their body. As for Raymond, it’s plain creepy to ogle at someone else’s breasts, especially when he’s someone’s husband.
1
“Bad Moon Rising”
Season 4, Episode 22
It’s that time of the month for Debra. Raymond’s wary about pushing the wrong buttons, but whatever he does, he seems to push his wife to the extremes. One moment, she’s furious with Raymond for not cleaning the lint screen. The next, she’s happy after going window shopping for five hours. No matter how hard Raymond tries to understand Debra’s mood swings, he’s always in the wrong.
Unfortunately, “Bad Moon Rising” stigmatizes women during their periods. What’s worse is that Raymond villainizes Debra for her unpredictable behavior. He even goes so far as to accuse Debra of using her period as an excuse to criticize him. All Debra needed was some emotional support. Instead, he bought her pills to “subdue” her mood swings, invalidating her feelings even more.
