JT's comments below originally ran as part of Place to Be Nation's "Seinfeld: The PTBN Series Rewatch" project.
Best Character
Everyone was pretty solid in this one, with nobody really standing out amongst the rest. Kramer was really good, especially during the scene where he pushes Jerry to give the loan, but George had the highest peaks with his social experiment at the party. Not only does he land his iconic "Lord of the Idiots" line but watching him go down in flames as he slowly realizes how bad he tanked his chances to score free sex and tickets is tremendous. He also nails a great line at the end when he calls the annoying marathon fan a new contender for the Lord crown.
Best Storyline
The apartment fiasco takes this one as it dominated the episode. Jerry and Elaine are still navigating this weird relationship they are in and it has led to multiple awkward situations since the show began. Jerry was so close to escaping his conundrum on multiple occasions and when he finally does wriggle free, it backfires on him thanks to his new noisy neighbors. And of course, it was Kramer that unknowingly was the fly in his ointment yet again. A lesser show would have turned Kramer's constant meddling into a source of tension or angst from Jerry, but his unconditional love for the K-Man is part of what makes the show work so well.
Ethical Dilemma of the Week
When is it right to ask your friend for a large sum of money? Are the specific scenarios? Amounts? When is right to refuse the loan? $5,000 is a decent chunk of change and nothing about Elaine's known history gives us any true feeling that should would be able to repay the loan anytime soon, so it would likely end up being a gift, at least part of it anyway. I don't Jerry would have been wrong to say no, even with Kramer pressuring him. Of course, his history and feelings for Elaine are front and center and you can't blame him for caving. Also, George's experiment? Aces.
Relationship Scale (Scale 1-10)
Again, not much going on here besides the underlying issues between Jerry and Elaine. Manny and Harold definitely seem to have a little something going on, but we aren't given the chance to really explore it further. Relationship Grade: N/A
What Worked
Jerry torturing Elaine before giving her the apartment news and slowly realizing his mistake as the conversation went on was really well done; Kramer pushing Jerry to lend Elaine the money and handling the negotiation was really funny and a true early classic Kramer moment; The party scene with George's experiment slowly destroying him never gets old and each conversation is more devastating than the last; Kramer dancing to the annoying music, aloof to the fact that it is annoying and that it is his fault is just the epitome of Kramer.
What Didn't Work
Manny & Harold are kind of annoying and random and we never really find out who they are (owners? supers?) and why they argue randomly in the hallways; The pod/human being discussion between Jerry and Kramer always bugged me for some reason, it felt a bit forced; Kramer's moussed hair was off-putting; That is really it here as the episode was pretty crisp and featured very little wasted time.
Key Character Debuts
N/A
Iconic Moments, Running Themes & Memorable Quotes
- "You are going to have to have all your sex at women's apartments. It will be like a permanent road trip. Forget about the home bed advantage." - George
- "For that rent, she'll take a bath in the toilet tank if she has to!" - George
- George attempts to get women by wearing a wedding band
- Kramer first tells George he should get hair plugs or a toupee
- "I lie every second of the day. My whole life is a sham." - George
- "What's to see? A woman from Normay, a guy from Kenya and 20,000 losers." - Jerry
- "So please. A little respect. For I am Costanza: Lord of the Idiots." - George
- Elaine performs the "Get out!" shove for the first time
Oddities & Fun Facts
- Kramer starts to mousse his hair
- Elaine gets a New York City apartment for $400
Overall Grade (Scale 1-10)
This is a pretty weird episode in that I didn't really love it but I can't think of much bad to say about it. It was crisp and flew by, had no wasted effort, told a really good story and had some iconic moments but something was just missing that prevented it from clocking in any higher. George was really good and it is a credit to how well we have gotten to know his character that the apartment scene could feel so devastating despite just taking up maybe two minutes total of the whole episode. He is definitely the most fleshed out character at this point. A fun episode, but nothing that will resonate long term. Final Grade: 5/10
Best Character
Everyone was pretty solid in this one, with nobody really standing out amongst the rest. Kramer was really good, especially during the scene where he pushes Jerry to give the loan, but George had the highest peaks with his social experiment at the party. Not only does he land his iconic "Lord of the Idiots" line but watching him go down in flames as he slowly realizes how bad he tanked his chances to score free sex and tickets is tremendous. He also nails a great line at the end when he calls the annoying marathon fan a new contender for the Lord crown.
Best Storyline
The apartment fiasco takes this one as it dominated the episode. Jerry and Elaine are still navigating this weird relationship they are in and it has led to multiple awkward situations since the show began. Jerry was so close to escaping his conundrum on multiple occasions and when he finally does wriggle free, it backfires on him thanks to his new noisy neighbors. And of course, it was Kramer that unknowingly was the fly in his ointment yet again. A lesser show would have turned Kramer's constant meddling into a source of tension or angst from Jerry, but his unconditional love for the K-Man is part of what makes the show work so well.
Ethical Dilemma of the Week
When is it right to ask your friend for a large sum of money? Are the specific scenarios? Amounts? When is right to refuse the loan? $5,000 is a decent chunk of change and nothing about Elaine's known history gives us any true feeling that should would be able to repay the loan anytime soon, so it would likely end up being a gift, at least part of it anyway. I don't Jerry would have been wrong to say no, even with Kramer pressuring him. Of course, his history and feelings for Elaine are front and center and you can't blame him for caving. Also, George's experiment? Aces.
Relationship Scale (Scale 1-10)
Again, not much going on here besides the underlying issues between Jerry and Elaine. Manny and Harold definitely seem to have a little something going on, but we aren't given the chance to really explore it further. Relationship Grade: N/A
What Worked
Jerry torturing Elaine before giving her the apartment news and slowly realizing his mistake as the conversation went on was really well done; Kramer pushing Jerry to lend Elaine the money and handling the negotiation was really funny and a true early classic Kramer moment; The party scene with George's experiment slowly destroying him never gets old and each conversation is more devastating than the last; Kramer dancing to the annoying music, aloof to the fact that it is annoying and that it is his fault is just the epitome of Kramer.
What Didn't Work
Manny & Harold are kind of annoying and random and we never really find out who they are (owners? supers?) and why they argue randomly in the hallways; The pod/human being discussion between Jerry and Kramer always bugged me for some reason, it felt a bit forced; Kramer's moussed hair was off-putting; That is really it here as the episode was pretty crisp and featured very little wasted time.
Key Character Debuts
N/A
Iconic Moments, Running Themes & Memorable Quotes
- "You are going to have to have all your sex at women's apartments. It will be like a permanent road trip. Forget about the home bed advantage." - George
- "For that rent, she'll take a bath in the toilet tank if she has to!" - George
- George attempts to get women by wearing a wedding band
- Kramer first tells George he should get hair plugs or a toupee
- "I lie every second of the day. My whole life is a sham." - George
- "What's to see? A woman from Normay, a guy from Kenya and 20,000 losers." - Jerry
- "So please. A little respect. For I am Costanza: Lord of the Idiots." - George
- Elaine performs the "Get out!" shove for the first time
Oddities & Fun Facts
- Kramer starts to mousse his hair
- Elaine gets a New York City apartment for $400
Overall Grade (Scale 1-10)
This is a pretty weird episode in that I didn't really love it but I can't think of much bad to say about it. It was crisp and flew by, had no wasted effort, told a really good story and had some iconic moments but something was just missing that prevented it from clocking in any higher. George was really good and it is a credit to how well we have gotten to know his character that the apartment scene could feel so devastating despite just taking up maybe two minutes total of the whole episode. He is definitely the most fleshed out character at this point. A fun episode, but nothing that will resonate long term. Final Grade: 5/10
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