JT's comments below originally ran as part of Place to Be Nation's "Seinfeld: The PTBN Series Rewatch" project.
Best Character
Easy tie here between Elaine and the Soup Nazi. Elaine was tremendous from the start and her getting the last revenge after the Nazi refused to accept her apology and thank you was perfect booking. The Soup Nazi himself was on point, never moving from behind that counter and ever wavering in his beliefs. The way he interacts with George both times were things of beauty and I love him opening up to Kramer. Good stuff.
Best Storyline
JT: The Soup Nazi is the obvious call here as everything else spun off it perfectly.
Ethical Dilemma of the Week
JT: Just because you make perfect, delicious, impeccable soup does that permit you to be a piece of shit to your customers? If they keep coming back, fuck yeah. This dude was basically a drug dealer and had all the power in the world until Elaine knocked him off his perch.
Relationship Scale (Scale 1-10)
JT: Fuck Schmoopie. Relationship Grade: 0/10
What Worked:
I love the look George and Elaine give each other during the PDA; Jerry and George taking the soup rules extremely seriously is great; Bania in line for the soup is an awesome touch; I never get tired of watching the first time George and Jerry get the soup and George doesn't get the bread; Jerry devouring the soup in front of George; The way Kramer says mulligatawny; Elaine's brazen attitude in the soup line; "You're pushing your luck, little man!"; Ray and Bob straight up jacking the armoire; Jerry no selling Shiela and then acting like he doesn't know her after she pisses off the Soup Nazi; Elaine sneaking out when George lit up Sheila to Jerry; The callback to the pact is tremendous; I love that Kramer is buddies with the Soup Nazi and him nodding at Newman following protocol was good, as was his "jambalaya!"; George ratcheting up the PDA with Susan while Jerry and Sheila make out; Elaine's shove of Kramer is one of her best and that fucking squeak when he crashes through the door; George realizing what he did when Susan snuggles up to him; Soup Nazi freaking out when he finds out Elaine got the armoire and the guy behind her with his lip quivering afterwards; "Baby Bluey" is a perfect pet name for George; Jerry desperately trying to stop Elaine from destroying the soup stand; the closing scene with Elaine's revenge is perfect
What Didn't Work
JT: I fucking hate Schmoopie; What kind of stupid building doesn't allow you to move stuff on Sundays?
Key Character Debuts
- The Soup Nazi
- Ray & Bob
Iconic Moments, Running Themes & Memorable Quotes
- "Stunned by soup?" - Elaine "You can't eat this soup standing up, your knees buckle." - Jerry "Huh. All right. Come on." - Elaine "There's only one caveat -- the guy who runs the place is a little temperamental, especially about the ordering procedure. He's secretly referred to as the Soup Nazi." - Jerry
- "I was asking 250, but you got a nice face. 2 even." - Guy on Street "Huh? Ha. 200. You know, I've always wanted one of these things." - Elaine "He gave you the nice face discount." - Jerry
- The Soup Nazi and "No Soup For You" become a pop culture phenomenon overnight
- "I didn't get any bread." - George "Just forget it. Let it go." - Jerry "Um, excuse me, I - I think you forgot my bread." - George "Bread -- $2 extra." - Soup Nazi "$2? But everyone in front of me got free bread." - George "You want bread?" - Soup Nazi "Yes, please." - George "$3!" - Soup Nazi "What?" - George "No soup for you!" - Soup Nazi
- "I told you not to say anything. You can't go in there, brazenly flaunt the rules and then think I'm gonna share with you!" - Jerry "Do you hear yourself?" - George "I'
- "I'm sorry. This is what comes from living under a Nazi regime." - Jerry
- "Well, a bowl of muligatawny would hit the spot." - Kramer "Mulligatawny?" - Elaine "Yeah. It's an Indian soup. It's simmered to perfection by one of the great soup artisans in the modern era." - Kramer "Oh! Who? The Soup Nazi?" - Elaine "He's not a Nazi. He just happens to be a little eccentric. Most geniuses are." - Kramer
- "Good afternoon. One large crab bisque to go. Bread. Beautiful." - George "You're pushing your luck little man." - Soup Nazi
- "So, essentially, you chose soup over a woman?" - Elaine "It was a bisque." - Jerry "Yeah. You know what I just realized? Suddenly, George has become much more normal than you." - Elaine "Really?" - Jerry "Yeah. Come on. I mean, think about it. He's engaged to be married. Your top priority is soup." - Elaine "Have you tasted the soup?" - Jerry "Yeah. All right. You made the right decision." - Elaine
- "You demand perfection from yourself, from your soup." - Kramer "How can I tolerate any less from my customer?" - Soup Nazi "Uh, gazpacho, por favor." - Customer "Por favor?" - Soup Nazi "Um, I'm part Spanish." - Customer "Adios muchacho!" - Soup Nazi
Oddities & Fun Facts
- George references a pact he had with Jerry, a callback to The Engagement (S7, E1)
- The Soup Nazi is based off the owner of Soup Kitchen International in New York, Al Yeganeh. Weeks after it aired, he would claim the episode ruined his business and kicked Jerry Seinfeld out of his shop after ripping into him and members of the production team that came for a meal.
Overall Grade (Scale 1-10)
I can't say this episode is perfect as I do feel it had some flaws and wasn't as crisp as others. But, rarely do you get a sitcom episode that contains something as iconic and perfectly executed as the Soup Nazi character and everything that played off of it. Between that, Elaine's performance and Kramer's work, I am still going the full monty but the cultural significance and the way the Soup Nazi stuff blew up carries the way and fills the slight gaps for me. Final Grade: 10/10
Best Character
Easy tie here between Elaine and the Soup Nazi. Elaine was tremendous from the start and her getting the last revenge after the Nazi refused to accept her apology and thank you was perfect booking. The Soup Nazi himself was on point, never moving from behind that counter and ever wavering in his beliefs. The way he interacts with George both times were things of beauty and I love him opening up to Kramer. Good stuff.
Best Storyline
JT: The Soup Nazi is the obvious call here as everything else spun off it perfectly.
Ethical Dilemma of the Week
JT: Just because you make perfect, delicious, impeccable soup does that permit you to be a piece of shit to your customers? If they keep coming back, fuck yeah. This dude was basically a drug dealer and had all the power in the world until Elaine knocked him off his perch.
Relationship Scale (Scale 1-10)
JT: Fuck Schmoopie. Relationship Grade: 0/10
What Worked:
I love the look George and Elaine give each other during the PDA; Jerry and George taking the soup rules extremely seriously is great; Bania in line for the soup is an awesome touch; I never get tired of watching the first time George and Jerry get the soup and George doesn't get the bread; Jerry devouring the soup in front of George; The way Kramer says mulligatawny; Elaine's brazen attitude in the soup line; "You're pushing your luck, little man!"; Ray and Bob straight up jacking the armoire; Jerry no selling Shiela and then acting like he doesn't know her after she pisses off the Soup Nazi; Elaine sneaking out when George lit up Sheila to Jerry; The callback to the pact is tremendous; I love that Kramer is buddies with the Soup Nazi and him nodding at Newman following protocol was good, as was his "jambalaya!"; George ratcheting up the PDA with Susan while Jerry and Sheila make out; Elaine's shove of Kramer is one of her best and that fucking squeak when he crashes through the door; George realizing what he did when Susan snuggles up to him; Soup Nazi freaking out when he finds out Elaine got the armoire and the guy behind her with his lip quivering afterwards; "Baby Bluey" is a perfect pet name for George; Jerry desperately trying to stop Elaine from destroying the soup stand; the closing scene with Elaine's revenge is perfect
What Didn't Work
JT: I fucking hate Schmoopie; What kind of stupid building doesn't allow you to move stuff on Sundays?
Key Character Debuts
- The Soup Nazi
- Ray & Bob
Iconic Moments, Running Themes & Memorable Quotes
- "Stunned by soup?" - Elaine "You can't eat this soup standing up, your knees buckle." - Jerry "Huh. All right. Come on." - Elaine "There's only one caveat -- the guy who runs the place is a little temperamental, especially about the ordering procedure. He's secretly referred to as the Soup Nazi." - Jerry
- "I was asking 250, but you got a nice face. 2 even." - Guy on Street "Huh? Ha. 200. You know, I've always wanted one of these things." - Elaine "He gave you the nice face discount." - Jerry
- The Soup Nazi and "No Soup For You" become a pop culture phenomenon overnight
- "I didn't get any bread." - George "Just forget it. Let it go." - Jerry "Um, excuse me, I - I think you forgot my bread." - George "Bread -- $2 extra." - Soup Nazi "$2? But everyone in front of me got free bread." - George "You want bread?" - Soup Nazi "Yes, please." - George "$3!" - Soup Nazi "What?" - George "No soup for you!" - Soup Nazi
- "I told you not to say anything. You can't go in there, brazenly flaunt the rules and then think I'm gonna share with you!" - Jerry "Do you hear yourself?" - George "I'
- "I'm sorry. This is what comes from living under a Nazi regime." - Jerry
- "Well, a bowl of muligatawny would hit the spot." - Kramer "Mulligatawny?" - Elaine "Yeah. It's an Indian soup. It's simmered to perfection by one of the great soup artisans in the modern era." - Kramer "Oh! Who? The Soup Nazi?" - Elaine "He's not a Nazi. He just happens to be a little eccentric. Most geniuses are." - Kramer
- "Good afternoon. One large crab bisque to go. Bread. Beautiful." - George "You're pushing your luck little man." - Soup Nazi
- "So, essentially, you chose soup over a woman?" - Elaine "It was a bisque." - Jerry "Yeah. You know what I just realized? Suddenly, George has become much more normal than you." - Elaine "Really?" - Jerry "Yeah. Come on. I mean, think about it. He's engaged to be married. Your top priority is soup." - Elaine "Have you tasted the soup?" - Jerry "Yeah. All right. You made the right decision." - Elaine
- "You demand perfection from yourself, from your soup." - Kramer "How can I tolerate any less from my customer?" - Soup Nazi "Uh, gazpacho, por favor." - Customer "Por favor?" - Soup Nazi "Um, I'm part Spanish." - Customer "Adios muchacho!" - Soup Nazi
Oddities & Fun Facts
- George references a pact he had with Jerry, a callback to The Engagement (S7, E1)
- The Soup Nazi is based off the owner of Soup Kitchen International in New York, Al Yeganeh. Weeks after it aired, he would claim the episode ruined his business and kicked Jerry Seinfeld out of his shop after ripping into him and members of the production team that came for a meal.
Overall Grade (Scale 1-10)
I can't say this episode is perfect as I do feel it had some flaws and wasn't as crisp as others. But, rarely do you get a sitcom episode that contains something as iconic and perfectly executed as the Soup Nazi character and everything that played off of it. Between that, Elaine's performance and Kramer's work, I am still going the full monty but the cultural significance and the way the Soup Nazi stuff blew up carries the way and fills the slight gaps for me. Final Grade: 10/10
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