George dates a woman with a large nose; Kramer convinces her to get a nose job. Jerry dates a woman he is physically attracted to and mentally repulsed by. Kramer and Elaine steal a jacket.

Written by: Peter Mehlman

Directed by: Tom Cherones

It amazes me how frequently Seinfeld dives into topics that would be considered controversial nowadays and feels neither mean-spirited nor hectoring. This is an episode about body shaming, but it never feels like a lecture on the subject or like we’re berating a woman for the crime of having a large nose (this is something the show shares with its most direct descendent, Always Sunny). It’s not really about Audrey’s nose – it’s about George torturing himself with anxiety over it.

I like that it hits a lot of the thoughts people end up having about this kind of situation; my favourite part is that George is fully aware of his shortcomings in the looks department and that this does nothing to alleviate his discomfort. A fundamental issue with George is that he’s convinced he should be living a lie every single day, and whether he’s right or wrong about that, he’s clearly very bad at it – not just telling one lie, but piling a hundred lies on top of it, and then immediately switching up the moment an opportunity arises.

Meanwhile, you have Kramer doing exactly the wrong thing at exactly the wrong time. I always love the obliviousness Michael Richards conveys through Kramer – chasing his impulses at every second of every day, but without a trace of maliciousness. Him getting together with Audrey at the end feels less like George getting punished or Janet getting rewarded it even anything about Audrey; it feels like a reflection of a godless universe where nothing was ever gonna make sense.

TOPICS O’ THE WEEK

• I keep finding that Jerry’s stand-up is unfunny right until the final line where he throws out something that catches be completely off-guard (“Alright, you wait down there! Only I’m allowed up here!”)
• Jerry contemplates the idea of a world where everyone says exactly what’s on their mind. Thanks to the internet, that world is effectively a reality.
• I once fell in love with a woman who turned out to be a TERF, so I really felt Jerry’s line about being physically attracted but mentally repulsed by Isabelle.
• The entire scene with Jerry’s penis fighting his brain feels like a real moment of Jerry Seinfeld creativity. Conversely, Kramer’s identity as Professor van Nostran feels like a very Larry David moment of absurdity. Both moments, as well as the frequent cutaways, feel deeply influenced by Woody Allen.
• Great moments in blocking: Kramer throwing Isabelle’s number in the air and Jerry trying to catch them like snowflakes; George taking off his glasses to look at Audrey.

Biggest Laugh:

Next Week: “The Stranded”