Jerry impulsively gets Elaine an apartment in his building and immediately regrets it. Kramer unintentionally sabotages Jerry’s attempts to weasel out. George starts wearing a wedding band to attract women.
Written by: Peter Mehlmen
Directed by: Tom Cherones
One idea that Seinfeld runs on is that human beings are social creatures, except when we’re not. It’s exasperating to me that I have to talk to people in the same way it exasperates me that I have to eat and sleep and crap; I have an aunt who can go weeks without talking to anybody and still be happy. I intuitively understand Jerry’s discomfort with Elaine living so close, right down to his particular choice of words (“I love Elaine. But, you know, not in the building.”). What’s interesting is that he struggles to articulate it; his only explanation to a befuddled Kramer is that human beings sometimes feel awkward around each other. I can easily say that the reason I avoid people sometimes – even people I like – is because having to modulate yourself to another person’s wavelength can be tiring and you don’t always want to do it. But of course, I’m not nearly as funny as the show Seinfeld.
(I may be funnier than the comedian Seinfeld. His standup was pretty weak this episode – more a nice fantasy than funny)
If Jerry were entirely self-aware and expressed himself in a healthy manner, the show wouldn’t be a comedy and would arguably be much less truthful about having to be a human being. This is a classic moment of the characters trying to do something good and seeing it blow up in their faces; Jerry likes the idea of being a good person right up until he realises it could make him uncomfortable. That’s really at the heart of the characters: unenlightened self-interest, in which they are chasing whatever vaguely feels like will make them most comfortable. There is a fundamental humour in someone trying to accomplish one thing only to achieve the exact opposite; if there is a ‘message’ here, it’s in how Jerry has lied and schemed to make his life easier only to make it immensely more complicated and annoying.
TOPICS O’ THE WEEK
- Some more great blocking: Kramer punctuates a sentence by grabbing a red licorice out of his pocket and biting a piece off. This is also the beginning of Elaine pushing people when she gets excited, something Jerry repeats later with Kramer.
- This also has George experimenting with wearing a wedding ring; I love that he seems to wildly alternate between believing he’s the greatest genius to walk the earth and Lord of the Idiots.
- This episode does a lot better about integrating Elaine and Kramer. Admittedly, Elaine spends the entire episode being an object being acted upon, but she gets good jokes.
Biggest Laugh:
Next Week: “The Statue”