The Apartment

Jerry thinks he has scored an apartment for Elaine, above him, in his building. He then realizes this could be devastating for his privacy. So now he needs to put a stop to it without hurting their friendship. George tries to get girls by wearing a phony wedding ring (having heard that women are attracted to married men). Once again, poor Jerry talks himself into trouble because he is a nice guy.

I like the bit where she said you are all champions

What a perfectly rounded episode. A single strong storyline involving Elaine moving into Jerry's apartment and its subsequent regrets and changes.

It is perfectly clear that in this early episodes Jerry is the protagonist of the show. The other characters interact with him (mainly George and little Kramer) but they don't have proper individual stories. That hurts the episode in some way (we want more Kramer!) but it also lets it focus and strengthen its already great idea.

Right from the opening the story begins and it never stops until its very end. Twist and turns in the middle but so much more also. We get quality social commentary and totally relatable conversations/situations. I love it that in this early seasons there are a lot of parties or dinners, mainly a lot of social situations that kind of seem lost its focus on the later seasons. The everchaging scenario for Jerry is always keeping the story moving and the stakes getting higher.

On a side note we a great scene with George pretending to be married in order to attract women (classic George) and a fantastic dialogue between Jerry and Kramer regarding the K-Man un-human nature.

Overall, I feel a lot of the early episodes got lost in the shuffle and nobody regards them as they should. These are greatly written episodes with funny social situations and even if the tone isn't fully realized the foundations are there.

"Is that right? I just threw away a lifetime of guilt-free sex and floor seats for every sporting event in Madison Square Garden, so please, a little respect, for I am Costanza, lord of the idiots!". This exchange, spoken at the end of The Apartment, is probably the best ever written for the series, and a glorious closure for an episode that once again shows how cynical, selfish and shallow the show's protagonists are (the famous "no hugs, no learning" principle).

Causing the entire mess is an apartment in Jerry's building, which the comedian inadvertently recommends to Elaine after it is vacated. Alas, it doesn't take him too long to realize having his ex-girlfriend live only a few feet away would be excruciating, and so he tries to discourage her from moving in by all means possible. Meanwhile, Kramer's hair is stuffed with mousse, and George has discovered single women are turned on by wedding rings.

The funniest thing about this show is the transformation that occurs in Jerry: previously, we had seen him uneasy, embarrassed, even sad, but never angry and actually scheming against another person. Of course, since this is a series "about nothing" with no sign of continuity (in fact, references to other episodes are so brief and casual one could start watching Seinfeld from Season 6 onwards and still get what it's all about: nothing), such a shift in personality needs no explanation and is just an excuse for entertaining audiences throughout the 23-minute runtime.

Even funnier is the fact that, despite this being, in theory, Jerry's story, the whole thing is gloriously hijacked by Richards and Alexander, the former making Kramer's traditionally goofy hairstyle much goofier and the latter bringing a fresh wind of innovation with his raging assessment about himself. Maybe that's the most shocking aspect of Seinfeld: prior to this episode, the closest any TV character had come to self-criticism was when Homer Simpson, in May 1990, said: "Maybe I'm not that bright"; a mere eleven months later, the greatest sitcom of all time showed the world that even the small screen was no longer a safe place.