JT's comments below originally ran as part of Place to Be Nation's "Seinfeld: The PTBN Series Rewatch" project.
Best Character
We have waited eight episodes, but this was finally Elaine's breakout as an equal character. For the first time, she was given a full storyline for us to dig into and she was fantastic the whole way through. Her transition from joy to anger to depression to acceptance over the course of the episode kept things chugging along perfectly. It was proof positive that she needed to take on a bigger role on this show. George and Kramer were really funny too, but Elaine stole this one.
Best Storyline
Even though I felt Elaine gave the best performance, I enjoyed George's quest to make amends with Antonio the most. Him and Kramer showing up at the apartment to somehow apologize and then letting the cat out and breaking the lamp was a great slow burn sequence, capped by a piece of the busted lamp crashing to the floor as they closed the door to end the scene. Following more classic Costanza paranoia, we got a nice twist ending with everything ending well for Antonio and him emotionally thanking George. And then, a twist on the twist as Antonio brawls with Eddie and ending up in a cast and jobless yet again.
Ethical Dilemma of the Week
Should George feel bad for inadvertently costing Antonio his job? Probably not. I mean, sure he could have worded things better, but at the end of the day the busboy screwed up and almost burnt down the restaurant. And even if George did feel bad, visiting him to make amends was definitely not needed. If anything, George should have spoken up and tried to save his job when the incident went down.
Relationship Scale (Scale 1-10)
Elaine & Eddie was the only relationship on display here and it clearly sucked. Eddie was a loser and Elaine wanted him out almost immediately. While the ending fracas was great, the relationship itself was nothing. Relationship Grade: 1/10
What Worked
Jerry was really good with his taunting of George and Elaine both after the busboy gets fired and then playing the sarcastic commenter throughout the rest of the episode; Elaine finally gets her own storyline and delivers in spades; Paranoid George is the best George; George & Kramer going out on an adventure together showed off their chemistry and combined clumsiness, both spoken and physical; Kramer prolonging the visit to Antonio's by asking for water was the most Kramer thing of the episode; Kramer & George's phone conversation through Jerry was very good; Elaine's manic airport planning and racing the clock was tremendous across the board; The twist at the end with Antonio's temporary happy ending was a nice touch.
What Didn't Work
The mid-show comedy bit just takes you out of the show and makes you realize the stories are just playing off the stand-up; Jerry mainly existed to forward the stories along and help explain things, and I think some tighter storytelling could eliminate that and allow him to do something else instead of just commentating on the other stories; Eddie was really annoying and added no value to the episode; Eddie & Antonio's fight felt forced and we didn't have a reason to think Eddie was a hothead that would just pick a random fight.
Key Character Debuts
N/A
Iconic Moments, Running Themes & Memorable Quotes
- "Where was pesto ten years ago?" - George
- "Everyone's moving to Seattle..." - Jerry "It's the pesto of cities." - George
- George & Kramer leave the busboy's door open, allowing his cat to escape and also break his lamp
- George's knowledge of public restrooms is revealed
- Antonio subtly mentioning that he is late for his first day at his new job
Oddities & Fun Facts
- George acts heroically with putting out a fire
- George went to fat camp, where he worked as a waiter
- Kramer speaks Spanish
- Kramer is wearing a Harley Davidson t-shirt
Overall Grade (Scale 1-10)
There was a lot to like in this one and the main reason was that Elaine, Kramer and George were heavily involved in the main storylines. All three were great here and kept things humming right along, not leaving the dead time that has plagued some of the earlier episodes. If Jerry had something going on as well, things could have been tightened up even more. There were some classic scenes in here too with Elaine's crazed packing and the apartment visit by George and Kramer. The only weird thing was that the crew seemingly cared about the well being of someone they screwed over. Oh, and George being heroic at the restaurant. Other than those nitpicks, this one was an early win as the show continues to improve. It isn't all the way there yet, but we have come a long way from season one. Final Grade: 6/10
Best Character
We have waited eight episodes, but this was finally Elaine's breakout as an equal character. For the first time, she was given a full storyline for us to dig into and she was fantastic the whole way through. Her transition from joy to anger to depression to acceptance over the course of the episode kept things chugging along perfectly. It was proof positive that she needed to take on a bigger role on this show. George and Kramer were really funny too, but Elaine stole this one.
Best Storyline
Even though I felt Elaine gave the best performance, I enjoyed George's quest to make amends with Antonio the most. Him and Kramer showing up at the apartment to somehow apologize and then letting the cat out and breaking the lamp was a great slow burn sequence, capped by a piece of the busted lamp crashing to the floor as they closed the door to end the scene. Following more classic Costanza paranoia, we got a nice twist ending with everything ending well for Antonio and him emotionally thanking George. And then, a twist on the twist as Antonio brawls with Eddie and ending up in a cast and jobless yet again.
Ethical Dilemma of the Week
Should George feel bad for inadvertently costing Antonio his job? Probably not. I mean, sure he could have worded things better, but at the end of the day the busboy screwed up and almost burnt down the restaurant. And even if George did feel bad, visiting him to make amends was definitely not needed. If anything, George should have spoken up and tried to save his job when the incident went down.
Relationship Scale (Scale 1-10)
Elaine & Eddie was the only relationship on display here and it clearly sucked. Eddie was a loser and Elaine wanted him out almost immediately. While the ending fracas was great, the relationship itself was nothing. Relationship Grade: 1/10
What Worked
Jerry was really good with his taunting of George and Elaine both after the busboy gets fired and then playing the sarcastic commenter throughout the rest of the episode; Elaine finally gets her own storyline and delivers in spades; Paranoid George is the best George; George & Kramer going out on an adventure together showed off their chemistry and combined clumsiness, both spoken and physical; Kramer prolonging the visit to Antonio's by asking for water was the most Kramer thing of the episode; Kramer & George's phone conversation through Jerry was very good; Elaine's manic airport planning and racing the clock was tremendous across the board; The twist at the end with Antonio's temporary happy ending was a nice touch.
What Didn't Work
The mid-show comedy bit just takes you out of the show and makes you realize the stories are just playing off the stand-up; Jerry mainly existed to forward the stories along and help explain things, and I think some tighter storytelling could eliminate that and allow him to do something else instead of just commentating on the other stories; Eddie was really annoying and added no value to the episode; Eddie & Antonio's fight felt forced and we didn't have a reason to think Eddie was a hothead that would just pick a random fight.
Key Character Debuts
N/A
Iconic Moments, Running Themes & Memorable Quotes
- "Where was pesto ten years ago?" - George
- "Everyone's moving to Seattle..." - Jerry "It's the pesto of cities." - George
- George & Kramer leave the busboy's door open, allowing his cat to escape and also break his lamp
- George's knowledge of public restrooms is revealed
- Antonio subtly mentioning that he is late for his first day at his new job
Oddities & Fun Facts
- George acts heroically with putting out a fire
- George went to fat camp, where he worked as a waiter
- Kramer speaks Spanish
- Kramer is wearing a Harley Davidson t-shirt
Overall Grade (Scale 1-10)
There was a lot to like in this one and the main reason was that Elaine, Kramer and George were heavily involved in the main storylines. All three were great here and kept things humming right along, not leaving the dead time that has plagued some of the earlier episodes. If Jerry had something going on as well, things could have been tightened up even more. There were some classic scenes in here too with Elaine's crazed packing and the apartment visit by George and Kramer. The only weird thing was that the crew seemingly cared about the well being of someone they screwed over. Oh, and George being heroic at the restaurant. Other than those nitpicks, this one was an early win as the show continues to improve. It isn't all the way there yet, but we have come a long way from season one. Final Grade: 6/10
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