In "The Hot Tub", Elaine's friend Jean-Paul comes to town to race in the NYC marathon. Jerry gets obsessed with making sure that Jean-Paul doesn't oversleep the night before the race. George pretends to be frustrated at work so people assume he's always busy. He's tasked with showing some execs from the Astros a good time while they're in town. Elaine has writers block and needs to think of a good paragraph for the catalogue. Kramer gets himself a hot tub but the heat pump breaks and the water goes cold while he's asleep inside of it. He buys a new industrial strength one that shorts out the entire floor's electricity, turning off Jerry's alarm clock and making Jean-Paul almost late for the race. Near the finish line, Jean-Paul mistakes Kramer's steaming hot cup of tea for water and burns himself whilst leading the race, a nice call back to the burning coffee earlier this season.
The slow motion shot of Jean-Paul grabbing the cup of tea from Kramer is something that has been etched into my brain for years now. I hadn't watched this episode in forever but that one shot still stuck out in my mind, even after everything else fell by the wayside. It's strange how those little moments can do that.
Seinfeld is as good as any show at interweaving its subplots ingeniously. Kramer's, Jerry's, George, and Elaine's all relate to each other so perfectly. Elaine accomplishes her goal for the catalogue because she's looking for Jean-Paul because Jerry had to find him new housing because George told Jean-Paul how people speak in Houston. It's all so well-crafted.
The slow motion shot of Jean-Paul grabbing the cup of tea from Kramer is something that has been etched into my brain for years now. I hadn't watched this episode in forever but that one shot still stuck out in my mind, even after everything else fell by the wayside. It's strange how those little moments can do that.
Seinfeld is as good as any show at interweaving its subplots ingeniously. Kramer's, Jerry's, George, and Elaine's all relate to each other so perfectly. Elaine accomplishes her goal for the catalogue because she's looking for Jean-Paul because Jerry had to find him new housing because George told Jean-Paul how people speak in Houston. It's all so well-crafted.