JT's comments below originally ran as part of Place to Be Nation's "Seinfeld: The PTBN Series Rewatch" project.
Best Character
Jerry is on a hot streak, his deadpan delivery in the face of absurdity has developed tremendously. His reaction to Rava's story about her mother leaving her at age six with "My mom's down in Florida" was great. His quick responses when placed in a tough spot are becoming awe-inspiring (A LUSS!). I was ready to hand him this award...until Hurricane George took over and dominated the back end of the episode, starting in the coffee shop and capped by his great phone call to his mom to tell her about the lost statue, and paid off by breaking it at the end. It was the definition of Costanza: terrible luck, screwed by the world, a glimmer of hope and crushed dreams at the end.
Best Storyline
The hunt for the stolen statue is the main premise of this whole episode and it was a lot of fun throughout its many permeations. The excitement of George finding the statue kicked it off, followed by Ray Macbeth seemingly stealing it after earning glowing praise for his cleaning prowess got things rolling. After that, we got Jerry and Elaine's hushed argument in the apartment and the ensuing grilling in the coffee shop followed by the elevator argument and Kramer's apartment search. It was all paid off with the statue breaking in such an innocent and depressing way that rendered the whole thing moot. That is Seinfeld.
Ethical Dilemma of the Week
If you are fairly certain somebody that you trusted stole property from you, how do you handle it? Jerry started with the cops before straight up just calling Ray out over the phone. I feel like his approach was fine, but he didn't really prep a solid case. I feel he should have done more undercover work ahead of just going right in at Ray. Also, for Elaine, what do you do in this scenario? Jeopardize your career to potentially do the right thing? She was in a really tough spot and by the end, she couldn't hold back any longer. The fact that Rava was a straight up jerk probably made her decision much easier by that point. If she legitimately liked her, she probably would have suppressed that urge a bit longer.
Relationship Scale (Scale 1-10)
Ray & Rava seem to have quite the physical relationship despite them seeing like a very odd match on the surface. Rava discuses their animalistic banging and pretty much shoves it in Elaine's face so she clearly is confident in how great things are in her love life. Ray doesn't seem as in to things and it felt a bit like he was using her until striking it big as a theatre star. He would then dump her, leaving her to wallow in her shitty books and booze. At least in my fan-fiction, that is how it ends. Relationship Grade: 5/10
What Worked
Kramer is at his mooch best earlier, rummaging through the ancient box and got me to chuckle when he wound up and threw his goods into his apartment from across the hall; Kramer is becoming one of the gang finally as well and doesn't feel like much of an outcast; Ray is enchanting with his absurd Shakespearian delivery despite clearly hating his life; Elaine & Jerry frantically debating the stolen statue in Rava's apartment, along with Jerry's call to Kramer was great; The coffee shop scene with George ranting behind Jerry before exploding was really well done and an epic Costanza meltdown; This is the first time we get to see George's whiny reaction to dealing with his parents; Kramer's shakedown, paying off Jerry's grandfather's clothes and the entire statue storyline was top of the line, classic stuff; The final scene is vintage Kramer and George
What Didn't Work
Rava is just depressing and annoying and watching Elaine trying to impress her was a bit cringeworthy and I was glad when Elaine finally snapped and stood up for herself; We never find out if Ray actually stole the statue, I would have liked some closure there; No other complaints, honestly, this was a really good episode
Key Character Debuts
N/A
Iconic Moments, Running Themes & Memorable Quotes
- "My parents looked at me like I just smashed the Ten Commandments" - George
- Kramer and George continue the tradition of settling issues with chance games, this time Ink a Dink
- "Maybe he is dead..." - Rava "So what do you write, children's books?" - Jerry
- Elaine has to correct Jerry about the existence of Rubber Man
- We first start to see OCD Clean Jerry
- "The Once & Future King of Comedy!" - Ray
- "I don't eat dinner, dinner is for suckers." - Jerry
- "Ray Thomas is my professional name" - Ray "You mean alias!" - George
- "I don't see why this should affect the potatoes!" - George
Oddities & Fun Facts
N/A
Overall Grade (Scale 1-10)
We bounce back beautifully from a rare stinker. I am trying not to overrate this episode because I know what is to come, but I really didn't have many complaints at all. Jerry is becoming Jerry and has developed quickly, showing more quick wit and less fretting when situations go sour. George was a force as always and Kramer is finally becoming one of the gang and not the quirky, oddball neighbor that shows up here and there. Elaine is still finding her backbone overall, but her finally standing up to Rava was nice to see. I liked Ray a lot and kind of wished he popped up again in the future. That is one thing I have noticed about these early episodes: not many recurring characters. Many outsiders are one and done at this point. I guess my only detraction here is that while I enjoyed the whole episode and can't bitch about much, it didn't wow me with laughs or provide iconic moments. I know, tough scale, but what can you do? This was like giving a 20% tip at a restaurant. Perfectly good service, no complaints...but it didn't knock my socks off either. Final Grade: 6/10
Best Character
Jerry is on a hot streak, his deadpan delivery in the face of absurdity has developed tremendously. His reaction to Rava's story about her mother leaving her at age six with "My mom's down in Florida" was great. His quick responses when placed in a tough spot are becoming awe-inspiring (A LUSS!). I was ready to hand him this award...until Hurricane George took over and dominated the back end of the episode, starting in the coffee shop and capped by his great phone call to his mom to tell her about the lost statue, and paid off by breaking it at the end. It was the definition of Costanza: terrible luck, screwed by the world, a glimmer of hope and crushed dreams at the end.
Best Storyline
The hunt for the stolen statue is the main premise of this whole episode and it was a lot of fun throughout its many permeations. The excitement of George finding the statue kicked it off, followed by Ray Macbeth seemingly stealing it after earning glowing praise for his cleaning prowess got things rolling. After that, we got Jerry and Elaine's hushed argument in the apartment and the ensuing grilling in the coffee shop followed by the elevator argument and Kramer's apartment search. It was all paid off with the statue breaking in such an innocent and depressing way that rendered the whole thing moot. That is Seinfeld.
Ethical Dilemma of the Week
If you are fairly certain somebody that you trusted stole property from you, how do you handle it? Jerry started with the cops before straight up just calling Ray out over the phone. I feel like his approach was fine, but he didn't really prep a solid case. I feel he should have done more undercover work ahead of just going right in at Ray. Also, for Elaine, what do you do in this scenario? Jeopardize your career to potentially do the right thing? She was in a really tough spot and by the end, she couldn't hold back any longer. The fact that Rava was a straight up jerk probably made her decision much easier by that point. If she legitimately liked her, she probably would have suppressed that urge a bit longer.
Relationship Scale (Scale 1-10)
Ray & Rava seem to have quite the physical relationship despite them seeing like a very odd match on the surface. Rava discuses their animalistic banging and pretty much shoves it in Elaine's face so she clearly is confident in how great things are in her love life. Ray doesn't seem as in to things and it felt a bit like he was using her until striking it big as a theatre star. He would then dump her, leaving her to wallow in her shitty books and booze. At least in my fan-fiction, that is how it ends. Relationship Grade: 5/10
What Worked
Kramer is at his mooch best earlier, rummaging through the ancient box and got me to chuckle when he wound up and threw his goods into his apartment from across the hall; Kramer is becoming one of the gang finally as well and doesn't feel like much of an outcast; Ray is enchanting with his absurd Shakespearian delivery despite clearly hating his life; Elaine & Jerry frantically debating the stolen statue in Rava's apartment, along with Jerry's call to Kramer was great; The coffee shop scene with George ranting behind Jerry before exploding was really well done and an epic Costanza meltdown; This is the first time we get to see George's whiny reaction to dealing with his parents; Kramer's shakedown, paying off Jerry's grandfather's clothes and the entire statue storyline was top of the line, classic stuff; The final scene is vintage Kramer and George
What Didn't Work
Rava is just depressing and annoying and watching Elaine trying to impress her was a bit cringeworthy and I was glad when Elaine finally snapped and stood up for herself; We never find out if Ray actually stole the statue, I would have liked some closure there; No other complaints, honestly, this was a really good episode
Key Character Debuts
N/A
Iconic Moments, Running Themes & Memorable Quotes
- "My parents looked at me like I just smashed the Ten Commandments" - George
- Kramer and George continue the tradition of settling issues with chance games, this time Ink a Dink
- "Maybe he is dead..." - Rava "So what do you write, children's books?" - Jerry
- Elaine has to correct Jerry about the existence of Rubber Man
- We first start to see OCD Clean Jerry
- "The Once & Future King of Comedy!" - Ray
- "I don't eat dinner, dinner is for suckers." - Jerry
- "Ray Thomas is my professional name" - Ray "You mean alias!" - George
- "I don't see why this should affect the potatoes!" - George
Oddities & Fun Facts
N/A
Overall Grade (Scale 1-10)
We bounce back beautifully from a rare stinker. I am trying not to overrate this episode because I know what is to come, but I really didn't have many complaints at all. Jerry is becoming Jerry and has developed quickly, showing more quick wit and less fretting when situations go sour. George was a force as always and Kramer is finally becoming one of the gang and not the quirky, oddball neighbor that shows up here and there. Elaine is still finding her backbone overall, but her finally standing up to Rava was nice to see. I liked Ray a lot and kind of wished he popped up again in the future. That is one thing I have noticed about these early episodes: not many recurring characters. Many outsiders are one and done at this point. I guess my only detraction here is that while I enjoyed the whole episode and can't bitch about much, it didn't wow me with laughs or provide iconic moments. I know, tough scale, but what can you do? This was like giving a 20% tip at a restaurant. Perfectly good service, no complaints...but it didn't knock my socks off either. Final Grade: 6/10
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