Seinfeld: 10 Scenes That Make Fans Nervous When Rewatching

While some sitcoms and dramas want fans to love the characters, that wasn’t the point of Seinfeld. Jerry, Elaine, George, and Kramer cared more about themselves than doing the right thing and they didn’t always show a lot of social graces in their daily life.

The Seinfeld characters were often scheming and up to no good, and there were many scenes that made fans cringe. Whether attending a party or dealing with the ups and downs of work and dating, the gang often made the wrong decisions, and viewers always feel apprehensive when watching them again.

10 The Dingo Ate Your Baby

For social butterflies, parties are the best, but for everyone else, they tend to involve too much awkward small talk.

Jerry and Elaine were often portrayed as people who didn’t enjoy going to parties they were invited to. In the third season episode “The Stranded,” they said they would give each other signals when they were totally done with the party. Elaine told a guest “Maybe the dingo ate your baby!” and while it’s a hilarious moment, it’s also cringeworthy to watch. Everyone looked at Elaine like she was nuts and this is yet another example of when the gang on Seinfeld was socially awkward. It would have been a much smoother evening if Elaine hadn’t said anything at all.

9 The Pez Dispenser

Some Seinfeld episodes haven’t aged well but people will always laugh at the most inappropriate time, which is why the third season episode “The Pez Dispenser” will always be a fan favorite.

When watching George’s girlfriend perform at a music recital, Jerry showed Elaine a pez dispenser and she laughed hysterically. This will make anyone nervous when rewatching as it was absolutely the wrong moment to do that. This was another example of how Jerry and Elaine were often in their own little world and they were too immature to behave properly in most situations.

8 Elaine Hurting Her Back In Florida

Elaine sometimes went to Florida with Jerry and the trip in the season three episode “The Pen” wasn’t the most enjoyable one.

Fans will get nervous rewatching this episode as they know that Elaine is going to hurt her back terribly. No matter how many times they’ve seen it, the moment when Elaine slept on the sofa bed for the first time is still a cringeworthy one. Elaine tried to be a good friend and not complain, and it was clear that this was tough for her, as the Seinfeld characters do love to whine.

7 George Quit His Job Then Pretended He Didn’t

There’s nothing worse than wanting to quit a frustrating job, but when it comes to George’s career choices on Seinfeld, it often seemed like he would rather not work at all. He was often entitled and annoyed when dealing with coworkers, bosses, or even the concept of work itself.

In the season two episode “The Revenge,” George quit his job, and then he pretended that he hadn’t made that choice at all. Viewers will definitely feel nervous when watching this scene again as of course someone would notice. George was then let go, which seemed like the only potential outcome. No matter how many times he acted impulsively, George just couldn’t help himself, and now he was unemployed yet again.

6 George Freaked Out During The Meeting With NBC

Seinfeld is known as “the show about nothing” and when Jerry got the opportunity to create his own sitcom, George thought it should be about that. It was a fun meta moment, that’s for sure.

When the friends were about to pitch their show to executives at NBC, George freaked out and he couldn’t handle his nerves. The meeting ended up being super awkward and George just kept talking even though he wasn’t saying anything that made much sense. No fan could watch this scene without feeling just as nervous as George did. It was clear that he had no idea what he was doing and that’s what made this storyline so entertaining.

5 The Gang Got A Busboy Fired

George could seem like a regular guy who was just trying his best and then he had moments when he made too many mistakes.

In the second season finale “The Busboy,” Elaine, George, and Jerry went out to dinner and a menu light on fire. George blamed the busboy. Because he got fired as a result, everyone felt super guilty. This is definitely a cringeworthy scene as the gang on Seinfeld was always putting their foot in their mouth and then realizing that they shouldn’t have said anything at all. While most people would have been scared of the fire and tried to help, George’s insecurity led him to make this wrong decision.

4 Elaine’s Actions In “The Beard” Episode

While Elaine’s dating life was often the focal point of many Seinfeld episodes, the sixth season episode “The Beard” had some problems.

Elaine met a gay man and thought that she could convince him to date her. Elaine and Jerry had a conversation about playing for teams and Jerry said “They’re only comfortable with their equipment.” Like some other sitcoms from the ’90s, there were some moments on Seinfeld that feel offensive now, and viewers will feel nervous when rewatching this scene as it doesn’t sit well today.

3 Kramer Shaved With Actual Butter

In the season nine premiere “The Butter Shave,” Kramer shaved his body with butter, and he thought it was a better alternative than regular shaving cream.

Fans will always feel nervous when rewatching this scene as Kramer got burnt after being out in the sunshine and it looked like it really hurt. To make things even worse, Newman loved the smell of Kramer after he was burnt. This was tough to watch and proved how silly these characters could be. They just couldn’t help but make really strange decisions sometimes.

2 Elaine’s Boss’s Son Wanted To Kiss Her

In the ninth season episode “The Serenity Now,” Elaine went to the bar mitzvah of one of her boss’ sons, and the 13-year-old kid wanted to kiss her.

This was super awkward to watch and would make anyone feel nervous when rewatching this season. The situation got worse when Elaine suddenly got more invites to bar mitzvahs as everyone liked her. Her boss even seemed interested in her as well. This was a sad reminder for Elaine that while her dating life never went very well.

1 Elaine’s Bad Dancing

Elaine never knew how to act in social situations but she was convinced that dancing in public was a good idea.

In the season 8 episode “The Little Kicks,” Elaine really let loose and showed her coworkers how terrible her dancing was. No matter how many times Seinfeld fans have seen this episode, it’s safe to say that they can’t help but feel incredibly nervous. It’s hard not to wish that Elaine would have realized she couldn’t dance and sat this one out.

About The Author

Aya Tsintziras
(1737 Articles Published)

Aya Tsintziras is a freelance writer who writes about pop culture and TV. She has a Political Science degree from the University of Toronto and a Masters of Journalism from Ryerson University. She loves coffee, reading, working out, and watching TV. She lives in Toronto with her husband.

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