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... with hilarious results.

George and Jerry are in the diner, where George laments that every decision he's made in his life has been wrong. Jerry says that this means that doing the opposite of what he thinks is correct should be right. This makes sense to George, and so he begins to act on this. The results are fantastic. Meanwhile, Elaine's life goes downhill. At the end of the episode she realizes that she, through a series of unfortunate events, mainly inspired by her consumption of jujyfruit candy, has become George.

To top this off, Kramer makes the observation that Jerry is "even Stephen" - that everything evens out for him. So he has one friend - George - for which everything is going right, and another friend - Elaine - for which everything is going wrong.

The comic timing on this episode, for everyone concerned was perfect. It's really top level Seinfeld. Jason Alexander said that several friends came up to him after this episode aired and told him that it inspired them to live their lives differently. This really is an inspirational episode when you think about it!

Also note that this is the first appearance of George Steinbrenner on Seinfeld. It's not the actual Steinbrenner, but either a silhouette or the back of someone in a wig who is supposed to be Steinbrenner with Larry David doing a comic imitation of his voice.

The fourth season of Seinfeld was the one that really hit the mark for me. I had enjoyed the first three seasons but the fourth just seemed to have stronger writing and the season-long thread of pitching a show to a network provided a cohesion that worked in its favour – much like Curb did after its first season. I wondered if it could sustain this level and, as I concluded season 5 it was clear that it could because it is wonderful throughout.

Where the first season was very short due to lack of network confidence, here the support and confidence appears to be high and the show benefits from that and it is most noticeable in the risks the show takes and how much it pushes the edges of what they could do. It perhaps is not so obvious now but at the time most sitcoms were family-orientated, with comedy and drama coming from family issues; in contrast this season starts with an episode about faked orgasms and has lots of similarly sex related material across the season. Not only must it have felt fresh and innovative at the time (as indeed it was) but it is also very funny and continue to be.

There isn't really a specific thread to this season but it does have a flow around the characters that prevents it being totally episodic (although it still is). The biggest boon to the show is having George's parents in the majority of the episodes and the reason this works is down to the recasting of his father with Stiller. I vaguely remember George's father from a previous season but here Stiller brings the madness perfectly, delivering yet another source for laughs to come from. Of course to give specific credit to one performance is to perhaps do a discredit to the show's main strength, which is the writing. As with season 4, season 5 is very strong on this front from the foundation upwards. The scenarios in each episode make perfect sense within the internal world of the show and also work outside of it as many are taken (or extrapolated from) reality. Mostly these are drawn from social situations or awkwardness but even something simple like picking up items to take to a dinner party can fill an episode (and fill it well). This is due to the dialogue that is built around each scenario. It is sharp and polished and there is very little here that doesn't work, which is again to the credit of the writers. So much of it remains quotable almost 20 years later and it remains very funny.

Finally the cast. Their delivery is spot on in most cases. In previous seasons I've thought both Seinfeld and Louis-Dreyfuss were perhaps not as good as Alexander or Richards, but as with S4, all are doing it here. Seinfeld is great now his character is more developed and he is less of anchor for the show and more flowing. Alexander yet again nails "bald neurotic and amoral" in a way that is funny every time. Louis-Dreyfuss is like Seinfeld in that she is much better now that the material for her is better. Richards continues to be great and his regular use supports his character so that he is not just a guy with a funny delivery, but his material is very funny too. The addition of Stiller is great and he works well with Estelle Harris, while the varied support cast are all good even if they mostly are working so the main cast can play off them.

Season 4 was the one for me that set the high bar - after three good seasons everything just seemed to click into place perfectly. Season 5 shows that this wasn't a fluke because for a further 20-odd episodes it delivers great episode after great episode with plenty of laughs. One on hand I don't want to rush through the show, but on the other hand I am now really looking forward to season 6 to bring me more of this.

I absolutely loved this episode. In two weeks I watched nearly five seasons of George Costanza being, well, George Costanza, a bumbling fool whose life is in complete dissaray (to be honest the stark similarities between George and me make me feel a little uneasy about my future). And so, when the status quo was flipped, it was hilarious. The bit where he yells at the guys in the cinema made me laugh for a good minute. This show, is epic. Kramer's humour was on point, but then, when isn't it? I don't find Elaine that funny, it could be the actress, I don't know, I just don't find her as funny as the other three.

George begins to shine when he realizes that doing the opposite of what he would normally do will bring him success. He picks fights, changes his menu orders, blows off romantic encounters, and tells off George Steinbrenner. He ends up in the catbird seat, getting everything he wants. He even gets a strong position with the Yankees. We know, however, what happens when things go well for George. He has to go the extra step to screw everything up. This is where the season ends and it sets up some interesting things. We see the decline of Elaine's position in the world. Also, Kramer ends up on Regis and Kathy Lee, promoting his coffee table book. Good stuff.

Well , That was a significant episode for the rest course of the characters 👌👏 And I couldnt've been More satisfied ! 😃❤ It served justice for Our characters , and broke the repetition Cycle that the Previous Seasons suffered from and promised a lot of potentials for the Chapters to come 🔥

I like when George picked up a chick by saying the opposite

An ICONIC episode but lacks something. It only exist to setup new eras.

March 8th 2023. Just letting you know when this review was created.

About: George does the opposite and a new Era of George begins.

Jerry he's just there facilitating the stories.

Kramer does a pointless book tour about a coffee table book about coffee tables.

Elaine becomes a Bword. This is the new birth of Bword Elaine. After this she became very mean.

Story and production: with a lot going on yet this episode only feels okay to me. It's more like a filler episode to set up new storylines.

Highlight: Jerry handling a dumping. It was legendary. We all can learn from this.

George's ball game qoute.

Then Jehovah witness qoute. Haha...

Laugh meter: 5

Girlfriend attractiveness level: 9. Rachel is top 5-3. I think this was Jerry's longest girlfriend which spanned for over 4 episodes.

George's girl was a 8.

Goof: I hate how the blonde girl disappears only there to setup a new era for George.

What can be learned?: if nothing goes right. Do the opposite. And if the opposite also does not go right then it sucks to be you...

Should you watch this?: Yea.

Season 5, Episode 21, "The Opposite"

Since season 3, Seinfeld season finales were expected to break the status quo and introduce real change into the characters' lives. Season 5's finale is no exception. Elaine loses her long-time job with Pendant Publishing, which she's had for 5 seasons straight. While George finally moves out of his parents' house and gets a dream job with the New York Yankees, a job he'll hold for three more seasons, which finally put an end to his long-running unemployed loser period (he will now be an employed loser).

"The Opposite" isn't as grandiose as the finales for seasons 4 and 5; in fact it's quite a simple episode in it setting and presentation. But its brilliant construction and the relationship between the story lines for the four characters make it one of the best episodes in the season, and one of the best written episodes in the entire series.