This episode of Seinfeld proved that the sitcom could manage serious plots as well as its comedy

Back in the 1990s, Seinfeld ruled the screens and attracted a massive audience. What made Seinfeld so distinct from the other sitcoms of yesteryears was the fact that the Larry David show often subverted the genre conventions and the very tropes that had come to be associated with sitcoms at large.

Along with this, Seinfeld was also able to carve out a niche for itself by deliberately not taking its plots or characters seriously - until that one episode in the second season titled The Deal. Here's everything that you need to know.

Seinfeld took itself seriously for the first time on The Deal

When Seinfled first broke out on the scene, the usual genre conventions of family based sitcoms typically ran for thirty minutes and featured the members of a family bickering and engaging in quirky antics, until the end of the episode when the conflicts would be resolved and the entire cast would hug each other to the applause from the studio audience. Contrary to this, Seinfeld propagated a world in which the show didn't take any of it's character or plot points seriously. The personal relationships of the leading character went up in flames often and it seemed as if they had a different partner on every other episode.

All of this changed on the second season episode The Deal which featured a rather serious exchange between Elaine and Jerry, albeit in a manner that didn't sit right with the tonality of the rest of the show. Elaine and Jerry promised to be friends with benefits, but on certain conditions. After taking up Elaine on the deal, Jerry soon violated the conditions by not sleeping in and by offering her cash on her birthday.

No laughter tracks accompanied this rather deep scene, which was followed by Jerry telling George at the diner about what transpired between him and Elaine. Jerry also spoke about his deepest nightmare of coming across Elaine sometime in the future only to find out that she's married. This episode, which was written by Larry David, went on to prove that apart from its comedy, the show could proficiently tackle serious narratives.

Larry David opens up about his favorite episode from Seinfeld

David reunited with the show alums Jason Alexander and Julia Louis-Dreyfuss during a virtual fundraiser for the Democratic Party of Texas back in October, 2020 and named the fourth season The Contest as one of his favorites from the show:

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"This one, I didn’t even put on the board because I didn’t want them asking, I just wanted them to come and see the read-through. (When they did,) I had worked myself up into a lather because the read-through really went great. I was watching (the network executives) and I couldn’t tell how much they liked it. But I was ready to pack the whole thing in if they didn’t let us do this show: ‘I’m quitting. I’m quitting. I’m gonna quit.'”

Seinfeld is available on NBC.

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