George, exasperated with where his life is, has decided to do the opposite of what he would do in every situation. Elaine ruins her personal and professional life (as well as Kramer’s coffee table book) by buying candy. Jerry realises his life always evens out.

Written by: Andy Cowan and Larry David & Jerry Seinfeld
Directed by: Tom Cherones

Every now and again, you’re given a work of art that feels like it was dropped from another universe. It’s one thing I love about The Simpsons, because that show works by its own peculiar logic, pieced together from the general ideas of other shows and concepts into a unique beast. Seinfeld, for all its influence, is also like that as a matter of course, with a tone I’ve never seen anywhere else. “The Opposite” is even stranger, being one of the few episodes to make a really ambitious creative choice. Clearly, George was stuck in a bit of a rut by this point; not just as a person, but as a comedic character. They’ve dug him into a deep, rather bleak hole, and it’s difficult to see how he could get out of this.

I think they must have sat down and asked: what is the funniest way to change up George’s situation? While I describe this as ambitious, it’s still within the limitations of the goals of the show, that is to say, to be funny. The incredible thing about this episode is that it never feels like trying to teach the audience a lesson, or in trying to ‘fix’ or ‘redeem’ George’s character, or even to show off how clever they are; one could see Community pulling off all those goals at once, but that’s not Seinfeld. It really does just feel like them saying “Wouldn’t it be funny to watch George do the exact opposite of everything he normally does and getting the exact opposite result?”

That show of him turning and smiling at the gang after his success with Victoria feels like the one point where the show lingers on him in a triumphant way, and all the rest are, while technically triumphant, simply treated with the same cosmic indifference the show usually peddles in. As soon as the funny thing happens, we move on. What’s interesting is that, as a result, this ends up working as a kind of ‘lesson’. Jason Alexander has reported that he still gets people telling him that this show inspired them to improve their lives by doing the opposite of what they’d normally do; I must admit, after watching it, I’ve often tried getting around a problem I can’t seem to fix by doing the exact opposite of what I’ve been trying, and usually that loosens the cobwebs if nothing else.

I also love how it’s contextualised around everything else. Jerry’s ‘even steven’ plot has him almost acting like an Always Sunny character in his playing with and then embracing the phrase; the story itself is the show barely edging into metahumour, as the characters themselves figure out how the mechanics of the story works. Jerry and George alike are carrying themselves with total confidence, armed with a simple set of principles, as they watch Elaine descend into misery because she lacks the Opposite or the Evens.

TOPICS O’ THE WEEK

• “Is it because men can’t give birth? We’re just proud of anything that comes out of us?”
• This also has George in a rare moment of introspection. “I showed so much promise. I was personable, I was bright – oh, maybe not academically speaking, but I was perceptive.” This is such a Seinfeldian line, particularly the ‘oh’.
• Jerry drops a reference to “The Puffy Shirt” when Kramer is going to appear on TV. George also drops a reference to the Buddy Rich tapes.
• Elaine’s plot is the most classical Seinfeld in their plotting with someone creating total chaos with a simple action.
• “Did I tell you this guy was bonkos?”
• Elaine’s face after she throws out Jerry’s money is so hilarious. There’s also a good little bit of comic timing when Jerry and Elaine jump into George’s speech at the right time.

Biggest Laugh:

Next Week: “The Chaperone”