The Best And Worst Storyline In Every Seinfeld Season

One of the most enduring and beloved sitcoms of all time is "Seinfeld," created by Jerry Seinfeld and Larry David and running on television for nine seasons from 1989 to 1998. The show Seinfeld as a fictionalized version of himself as he and his friends George (Jason Alexander), Elaine (Julia Louise-Dreyfus), and Kramer (Michael Richards) went about their daily lives in Manhattan. Winner numerous Emmy Awards and one of the most popular sitcoms ever, each season of "Seinfeld" is packed with hilarious and relatable storylines — along with some stories that are considerably more maligned.

For every episode that completely knocks it out of the comedic park, there is at least one episode a season that falls flat on its delivery, with characters making questionable choices and plot lines feeling forced. Here are the best and worst storylines from each of "Seinfeld's" nine seasons and what makes each of them stand out, for better or worse.

One of the more unusual storylines in the inaugural "Seinfeld" season has George and Jerry get mixed up in stock trading in the aptly titled episode "The Stock Tip." After one of George's friends sees his stock valuation increase significantly based on a tip, he and Jerry decide to get in on the action with their own sizable investments. This leads to a financial rollercoaster for the two men as they quickly discover just how unpredictable and volatile the stock market can be.

On paper, the idea of Jerry and George trying to become savvy stock market traders seems out of place within the wider context of the show. The types of ventures the main characters pursue have always been noticeably more outlandish than trying to ride the latest financial trends. George, who is particularly known for being a walking professional disaster throughout the series, is operating out of character as someone using conventional get-rich-quick schemes in the episode.

Though Jerry and Elaine had been a couple prior to the events of the show, the bulk of the series featured the two characters keeping their relationship platonic as close friends. This was changed in the Season 2 episode "The Deal," with the two characters embarking on what was intended to be a purely physical relationship before deciding to develop this into a committed romance. The move was one made to appease network executives, who felt that Jerry and Elaine should become a couple to help appeal to wider audiences.

While Dreyfus and Seinfeld both enjoyed the episode, the development ruins any sexual tension between the two characters, who are better suited with their respective long list of short-lived love interests. This amorous development never advanced beyond "The Deal," with the circumstances behind the end of their romance never discussed on-screen afterward in the series. Within the episode itself, Kramer comments that he liked Jerry and Elaine better when they weren't a couple and the sentiment proved both self-aware and prophetic.

Having Jerry as a next-door neighbor, Kramer constantly takes advantage of his generosity by barging into his apartment unannounced and treating Jerry's home as an extension of his own. Kramer takes this dynamic a step too far in the Season 3 finale "The Keys," prompting Jerry to demand that Kramer return the spare keys to his apartment to prevent any further unsolicited incursions. This results in the biggest estrangement of their friendship seen over the course of the series, culminating in Kramer temporarily leaving New York City altogether by the episode's end.

While having two main characters experience interpersonal drama is perfectly natural on a show and helps both characters grow and reexamine their relationship, this particular disagreement feels forced. What makes that all the more apparent is Kramer's exaggerated response to Jerry reclaiming his own spare keys, even as Jerry attempts to return them in an effort to repair their friendship. An oddly dour note to close out its third season on, "Seinfeld" puts a cliffhanger ending on this storyline that feels a bit hollow.

The cliffhanger ending at the end of "Seinfeld" Season 3 saw Jerry and Kramer get into a big argument, resulting in Kramer relocating to California to become an actor. Season 4 picked up this storyline with its two-part premiere "The Trip," chronicling Kramer's transit to California and his activities in Hollywood. Though the change of pace and setting seemed like an interesting detour at first glance, the entire storyline comes off as contrived and ultimately adds little to the series or character.

With enough already going on with Kramer's cross-country odyssey, the story attempts to shoehorn a subplot of Kramer being implicated as a serial killer preying on the citizens of Los Angeles. While "Seinfeld" has had effective episodes set outside of New York City before, "The Trip" feels like an overly long, half-baked adventure outside of its comfort zone. Kramer's inevitable return to Manhattan was a welcome one, underscoring that the character works best as part of an ensemble rather than spend too much time separated from his friends while this story couldn't end fast enough.

Jerry and his friends have committed plenty of morally questionable choices over the course of "Seinfeld," sometimes veering headfirst into racial insensitivity. One of the most egregious instances occurred in the Season 5 episode "The Cigar Store Indian" that has Jerry acquire the eponymous object and give it to Elaine. To make matters worse, Elaine's Native American friend Winona (Kimberly Norris) is present and understandably deeply offended by the present and insensitive way Jerry unveils it.

The way Jerry, and later Kramer, use racial humor derisively towards indigenous peoples in this episode feels both out of character and particularly heavy-handed in its delivery. While Jerry has certainly never been a paradigm for respectful race relations, he also possesses a degree of common sense and self-awareness about what jokes not to make. "The Cigar Store Indian" eschews any semblance of that restraint in favor of cheap, unfunny laughs. 

As one of the guys, Elaine is just as willing to make ethically dubious decisions, and this is readily apparent in the Season 6 episode "The Beard." The episode has Elaine go on a date with a homosexual man named Robert (Robert Mailhouse) so his true sexuality isn't revealed to his conservative boss. Enjoying the experience, Elaine becomes determined to convert Robert to heterosexuality so she can actually embark on a romantic relationship with him.

"Seinfeld" is a show that made great strides in regards to depicting queer character relationships on-screen, going as far as to win a GLAAD Award for its representative efforts. This distinction is undercut slightly by "The Beard," which has Elaine assume that she can successfully seduce a homosexual man with a tone-deaf conversion scheme. Fortunately, Elaine's plans ultimately fail and paint her as especially ignorant on the matter. Nonetheless, the story feels like a step backward for the show.

Of all the main characters, surprisingly it was George who got the closest to getting married over the course of the series. After striking up a relationship with television executive Susan Ross (Heidi Swedberg) in Season 4, George and Susan held an on-off romance culminating in the couple getting engaged in the Season 7 premiere. This led to tragedy in the lead-up to the wedding, with Susan dying from repeatedly licking toxic glue on the cheap wedding invitation envelopes bought by George in the season finale "The Invitations."

The story was written by David after Alexander, Louis-Dreyfus, and Seinfeld felt they didn't have acting chemistry with Swedberg, leading David to decide to kill off the character. Susan's death was met with a fair amount of controversy after its initial airing in 1996 and continues to divide audiences decades later. "Seinfeld" never went particularly dark with its sense of humor and, in killing off George's fiancée, the story is among the show's more mean-spirited moments.

"Seinfeld" is no stranger to outlandish plots, but one that doesn't particularly connect with the audience is a story that features a street gang inspired by the American President Martin Van Buren. In the Season 8 episode "The Van Buren Boys," Kramer and George are separately menaced by the eponymous gang, with Kramer escaping harm because he inadvertently throws up their gang sign. The story is perhaps "Seinfeld" at its most forgettable in its later seasons and a signal that the long-running series may have begun to spin its wheels.

Across the most enduring, entertaining "Seinfeld" antagonists, there is a detectable trace of grounding verisimilitude to them, from the Soup Nazi simply being too strict to Newman's lazy greed. The entire premise of a street gang running around Manhattan looking to keep the legacy of Martin Van Buren alive feels better suited for a completely different show. The Van Buren Boys are quietly shelved after their one-off appearance in Season 8, never to be heard from again, and this move was definitely for the best.

"Seinfeld" began to experiment with its format more as the series entered its later seasons, with the Season 9 episode "The Betrayal" having its scenes staged in reverse chronological order. The episode's story had Elaine have Jerry and George accompany her to attend her rival Sue Ellen's (Brenda Strong) wedding in India out of spite. Making this already awkward situation even tenser is that Jerry recently slept with someone he set up as a date for George.

The novelty of "The Betrayal" lies within its unique storytelling format and not within the episode's storyline itself, with some odd character moments for Jerry and his friends. From Jerry betraying George to Elaine agreeing to become Sue's maid-of-honor, there are numerous choices that feel out of place and forced. An experimental episode in the final season, "The Betrayal" comes off as a curious attempt to subvert the storytelling formula with a half-baked premise.