While "The Contest" gets the headlines for being the "naughty" episode, and "The Soup Nazi" gets the catchphrases, "The Opposite" is the Rosetta Stone for understanding the entire Seinfeld universe. It is the episode where George Costanza, the short, stocky, slow-witted bald man, accidentally stumbles upon the secret to the universe. The episode opens with George at his usual low. He’s living with his parents. He gets fired from a front-office job with the New York Yankees (for having a "leisurely" tryst with the cleaning lady). He is, in his own words, an "idiot."
George: "My life is the complete opposite of everything I want it to be." Jerry: "If you want to take the job at the Yankees, you should not take the job. If you want to talk to the woman, you should ignore her." George: "This is the worst time to be giving me advice." He takes the advice. He wins. And we have been laughing about it for thirty years. What’s your favorite "Opposite" moment? Is George actually a genius, or just lucky? Drop a comment below—just don’t do the opposite of what you’re thinking.
This is the genius of Larry David and Jerry Seinfeld. The episode suggests a terrifying truth: Why This Episode Still Matters We live in an era of self-help books, positive thinking, and "manifesting." "The Opposite" is the cynical antidote to all of that. It argues that if you are a George Costanza—neurotic, lazy, dishonest—your "authentic self" is a disaster. The only way to win is to become a robot executing the reverse command. Seinfeld - Season 5Eps21
Meanwhile, Jerry is dating a woman who is exactly like him—right down to the matching briefcase. Elaine is trying to break up with her new boyfriend, the saintly, underwear-model-handsome "Poppy-pie" (played by a perfectly earnest Michael Des Barres). And Kramer? Kramer is preparing for a Merv Griffin Show reunion in his apartment.
Season 5, Episode 21 | Air Date: May 19, 1994 While "The Contest" gets the headlines for being
We’ve all had a "George moment." That feeling that you are swimming upstream while everyone else is floating downstream. "The Opposite" gives you permission to just turn around and swim with the current, even if it feels stupid.
If you have ever felt like a loser. If you have ever been stuck in a rut. If you have ever looked at your life and thought, "My instincts are betraying me" —then you already know the spiritual awakening that is Seinfeld Season 5, Episode 21: He’s living with his parents
But the magic happens when George goes to dinner with Jerry at Monk’s. Frustrated, George declares:
If you have never seen Seinfeld , start here. This is the episode where the show stops being "a show about nothing" and becomes "a show about everything."