In one of the most clever and creative scripts in the entire series run, this is the best a Larry-less episode can get.
First of all, it's entertaining as hell. The dynamic shifts between the four story lines is relentless. Secondly, it absurdly funny and I mean "The Contest"-level of funny. And third, it is... well, absurd. Every single storyline is bizarre up its ass. And the difference with other bizarre episodes of the last two season is that on this one it makes sense. And I don't mean sense with reality, I mean sense with its own absurdity. It reaches a level of weirdness that at this point anything's possible. And that's a liberty the other seasons don't have.
As I said, this episode is absolutely insane. I better analyze each individual storyline because there's so much to talk about.
Jerry: possibly the funniest and weirdest. Iconic at this point is the girlfriend-of-the- week with "man-hands". This isn't even something that someone maybe could relate in the real world, this is just lunatic. And this kind of freedom paves the way for some of Jerry's most hilarious phrases ("There's a beach towel on the rack"). On a minor storyline (yes, a character has two story lines in an episode with already four stories), Jerry's life is slowly turning upside down because of Kramer working all the time, George busy with his night life and Elaine with her new friends. He's lonely and for some reason he now has a marital relationship with Kramer. And this is the strength of this episode at its core: it so absurd that anything goes and as the viewer is already inside this bizarro world he/she doesn't question the logic behind this events. What happens in the majority of 7-9 seasons is that there is a realistic world and suddenly some random weird thing happens and the viewer thinks it is out of place. Here anything can happen.
Kramer: almost as unrealistic as Jerry's storyline. Kramer starts working at a business company just because he "helps" an employee with a malfunctioning printer. He ends up being "fired" though his response to this is: "but I don't even work here!". It doesn't make sense and it's great.
Elaine: by far the more creative and clever of the four story lines. Elaine continues his now friendship with Kevin as she enters his circle of friends (Feldman and Gene). These bizarro friends allow the writers to make parodies of Kramer, George and Jerry and, of course, it is taken to extremes (building an exact bizarro replica of Jerry's apartment). This storyline really gives some, almost unthinkable, emotional stakes. In a show so cynical as Seinfeld, Elaine questions her friends and her way of life (the excruciating minutiae of everyday life) and it all comes to a tragic ending in which she has to decide (in the most overly dramatic way possible) between the old pals and the new friends.
George: it is the least funny but in this episode that means laugh-out-loud funny. He uses Jerry's girlfriend photo to enter the forbidden city where models live. Just written sounds absurd. It's insane and at the same time so interesting. Of course, in the end George tries to show Jerry this city but it's no longer there. It is now a meat storage. It's almost like a kids fantasy book.
Of course, being the insane ride it is, it may never hit a classic level just because it's not that rewatchable. And also, not being relatable (at all), it's not quotable, a key factor to Seinfeld popularity and genius.
If Larry David could see this episode when he was writing the first episodes I don't know what he would think.
First of all, it's entertaining as hell. The dynamic shifts between the four story lines is relentless. Secondly, it absurdly funny and I mean "The Contest"-level of funny. And third, it is... well, absurd. Every single storyline is bizarre up its ass. And the difference with other bizarre episodes of the last two season is that on this one it makes sense. And I don't mean sense with reality, I mean sense with its own absurdity. It reaches a level of weirdness that at this point anything's possible. And that's a liberty the other seasons don't have.
As I said, this episode is absolutely insane. I better analyze each individual storyline because there's so much to talk about.
Jerry: possibly the funniest and weirdest. Iconic at this point is the girlfriend-of-the- week with "man-hands". This isn't even something that someone maybe could relate in the real world, this is just lunatic. And this kind of freedom paves the way for some of Jerry's most hilarious phrases ("There's a beach towel on the rack"). On a minor storyline (yes, a character has two story lines in an episode with already four stories), Jerry's life is slowly turning upside down because of Kramer working all the time, George busy with his night life and Elaine with her new friends. He's lonely and for some reason he now has a marital relationship with Kramer. And this is the strength of this episode at its core: it so absurd that anything goes and as the viewer is already inside this bizarro world he/she doesn't question the logic behind this events. What happens in the majority of 7-9 seasons is that there is a realistic world and suddenly some random weird thing happens and the viewer thinks it is out of place. Here anything can happen.
Kramer: almost as unrealistic as Jerry's storyline. Kramer starts working at a business company just because he "helps" an employee with a malfunctioning printer. He ends up being "fired" though his response to this is: "but I don't even work here!". It doesn't make sense and it's great.
Elaine: by far the more creative and clever of the four story lines. Elaine continues his now friendship with Kevin as she enters his circle of friends (Feldman and Gene). These bizarro friends allow the writers to make parodies of Kramer, George and Jerry and, of course, it is taken to extremes (building an exact bizarro replica of Jerry's apartment). This storyline really gives some, almost unthinkable, emotional stakes. In a show so cynical as Seinfeld, Elaine questions her friends and her way of life (the excruciating minutiae of everyday life) and it all comes to a tragic ending in which she has to decide (in the most overly dramatic way possible) between the old pals and the new friends.
George: it is the least funny but in this episode that means laugh-out-loud funny. He uses Jerry's girlfriend photo to enter the forbidden city where models live. Just written sounds absurd. It's insane and at the same time so interesting. Of course, in the end George tries to show Jerry this city but it's no longer there. It is now a meat storage. It's almost like a kids fantasy book.
Of course, being the insane ride it is, it may never hit a classic level just because it's not that rewatchable. And also, not being relatable (at all), it's not quotable, a key factor to Seinfeld popularity and genius.
If Larry David could see this episode when he was writing the first episodes I don't know what he would think.