Storylines: George goes through a tough breakup process with his girlfriend, with whom Jerry starts a little fling afterwards. Jerry recommends that George goes to his chiropractor. Elaine inspires Jerry after dealing with an acquaintance that slowly drifted apart. Kramer raves about the cantaloupe he buys and is disgusted by the fruit Jerry buys.
Personal take: Julia Louis-Dreyfus is a fine actress, and her monologue about her encounter with the guy who stopped talking to her is the first true insight to her abilities. She does a great job of delivering the speech and putting her own personal “Elaine” touch/motions on the descriptions. I love the whole "Flesh and blood" joke that Jerry uses on George, and later Kramer uses on Jerry. Also in this episode is the continuing notion that Kramer is not a normal person, and that his views on how to handle certain situations is slightly skewed.
Gaps in society: Is there a true etiquette for dating a friend’s ex? Probably not. But if ever there were a way to put a strain on a friendship and create awkward (though probably humorous) situations, dating your friend's ex is it. It's actually a little intriguing when Kramer suggests it's better for a friend to date your ex than a total stranger. If it's a friend, you can sort of know what your ex is up to and have intel on the post-break-up relationship. I think the way Jerry handled it was best. He goes to George and tells him upfront he wants to go out with George's ex. I personally never would want a friend to do that because it means I may have to deal with the ex far more than planned (since generally you don't want to see your ex after breaking up). But in some ways, it's a more mature way to handle the situation for both parties.
What can happen, though, is the ex will be flirty and such right in front of you simply to illicit responses from you. An ex dating your friend might be doing so simply to get back at you, depending on how things went down. At that point, the friend should get of the situation, but in all likelihood, he won't, thus causing the aforementioned strain on the friendship. Staying friends after being in a relationship is hard enough. Do so when your ex is dating friend is darn near impossible.
Bottom line: I don't think it's likely to work, and it generally is understood among people that a friend's ex is sort of off limits. But if handled properly, and if everyone for some reason can handle the situation, it's not totally impossible.
-Jerry talks about how hard it is to get off the phone with Marlene. This is an epidemic that needs to be stopped. People need to be sensitive of other people’s time (and minutes on their phone plan) and realize when they need to stop blabbing and get off the phone. Or at least try to pick up on cues from the other person that your time is up. It's actually conceited of the people calling to think that the person on the other line has nothing better to do than listen to them blab about whatever they want to.
Jerry’s bits: He’s always in traffic with “lane experts,” who are terrible drivers.
-His second bit about going to the doctor’s office is one of my five all-time favorite bits. From having to wait in the waiting room simply because it’s called the waiting room to being chosen to going to the next waiting room, the littler waiting room, is all just so funny. I laugh every time I see it.
His final bit is about how women need to like the guy’s job (which is why men make up the phony bogus names for their job) while guys often aren’t concerned with a woman’s job.
Best lines:
Jerry: You should do it like a band-aid, one motion, right off!
Jerry: Have you reread those books, by the way? You know, the second time you read “Moby Dick,” Ahab and the whale become good friends.
Tidbits:
Jerry’s buzzer tone was changed from season 1 to the one used the rest of the series....To this point, Kramer still hasn’t been seen outside the building....Marlene is played by the same actress who plays the waitress George tries to get with in “The Soup."
Running jokes/references/connections:
Kramer talks about Joe’s Fruit Stand, a place that makes a couple of returns throughout the series, most notably in “The Mango.” ... George leaves his books at Marlene’s apartment and really wants them back, though in Season 6’s “The Couch,” he can’t even get through the 90-page book “Breakfast at Tiffany’s.” Later in Season 8’s “The Fatigues,” George can’t read books at all, instead needing books on tape....Jerry mentions theatre operating rooms, which is where Kramer and Jerry go to see an operation in “The Junior Mint.” ... This is the first episode that shows Kramer’s love for golf when he takes an imaginary swing with a club.
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