Top 10 Darkest Seinfeld Moments
Welcome to WatchMojo, and today we’re counting down our picks for the Top 10 Darkest "Seinfeld" Moments. For this list, we’ll be looking at the most unexpected and memorable scenes of black comedy on the groundbreakingly edgy sitcom. Be warned that some of these picks reference spoilers. What edgy "Seinfeld" moments do you remember the most? Tell us the deal about it in the chat.
#10: Faulty Wheelchair Brakes
“The Handicap Spot”
Things start at least figuratively going downhill after George takes a handicap parking spot outside of a mall. This causes Lola, a woman in a wheelchair, to have an accident after she is forced to park on an incline. George and Kramer remorsefully replace the wrecked equipment. However, they buy cheap. That’s when things literally go downhill for Lola because of faulty brakes. Although it’s revealed that she survived this steep descent in the series finale, the incident was a shocking ending for poor Lola’s unfortunate storyline. George and Kramer’s attempt to make amends only made things so much worse.
#9: Jerry Goes to the Dentist
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“The Jimmy”
One of Bryan Cranston’S breakout roles had him play Dr. Tim Whatley, an eccentric dentist who regularly gave Jerry Seinfeld the creeps. He goes beyond creepy after Jerry is put under nitrous oxide for a tooth filling. When the comedian wakes up, he sees Dr. Whatley and his assistant adjusting their clothes. This leads him to suspect that the two took advantage of his sedated state. Jerry and, especially, Elaine are willing to brush off this possible assault, leaving the mystery unresolved. Some fans, however, have trouble letting go of how deeply Dr. Whatley may have been violating medical ethics. Never mind Elaine responding to Jerry’s concern that he’s damaged goods with, “Join the club.”
#8: Babu Bhatt Gets Deported
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“The Visa”
Pakistani immigrant Babu Bhatt justly considers Jerry Seinfeld to be the bane of his existence. The comedian did actually feel Guilty about ruining the businessman’s Dream Café with bad suggestions. So, Jerry manages to get the man an apartment and job in his building. This noble gesture backfires when the comedian accidentally receives Babu's Visa renewal forms in the mail. To make matters worse, Jerry’s attempts to get a lawyer to fix everything also go sideways. Babu is thus deported back to Pakistan. He ultimately gets his sworn revenge by testifying against the gang at their trial in the series finale. Although Babu was able to return to the States to do so, his tragedy is strong evidence that Jerry Seinfeld can easily ruin lives.
#7: Jerry's Playtime
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"The Merv Griffin Show"
Nostalgia can make people do bizarre things. Jerry is thrilled by the massive vintage toy collection that his girlfriend Celia inherited from her late father. Their collector's value is too great for her to let a grown man play with them. When Jerry later fetches Celia's pain relief medicine, he deliberately gives her a nighttime dose so he can play with the toys while she's unconscious. Jerry knows from Dr. Tim Whatley that there are much worse motivations for this action. Nonetheless, Kramer was deeply disturbed when he heard the story. George and Elaine, on the other hand, joined in the unsettling fun and games. Nobody got hurt, but the gag of Jerry drugging someone for his own interests has obviously not aged well.
#6: Crazy Joe Davola
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"The Opera"
After attending a performance of Leoncavallo's "Pagliacci", Jerry and Elaine begin to notice parallels between their lives and the classic opera. Elaine is dating her own Pagliacci, Joe Davola, who becomes obsessively concerned that she’s cheating on him. Elaine visits his apartment to find a wall covered with photos of her. Additionally, Joe also physically makes it difficult for her to leave. This is just one of the events that spawned the nickname "Crazy Joe Davola". The scene in question is even lit like a thriller movie. By the time Joe actually dons a clown costume, it's full-on horror. This storyline is altogether telling of how disturbing "Pagliacci" is underneath Leoncavallo's beautiful music. It undoubtedly gets more disturbing still underneath "Seinfeld"'s dark comedy.
#5: Puerto Rican Flag Incident
"The Puerto Rican Day"
Kramer is glad to join in the festivities during the Puerto Rican Day Parade. However, disaster strikes when he lights a cigar with a sparkler, accidentally igniting a Puerto Rican flag. As Kramer stomps out the flame, he is attacked by an angry mob that misconstrues the incident as a cultural insult. Puerto Rican audiences also saw the scene in a similar way. What's worse is Kramer responding to the violent retaliation with the line, "It's like this every day in Puerto Rico." NBC issued an apology and temporarily banned the episode from reruns. While this isn’t the most morbid "Seinfeld" scene, its insensitivity made it one of the most controversial.
#4: Ax Accident
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“The Checks”
While “Seinfeld” has a great sense for the human condition, it doesn’t always treat human life with such reverence. An edgy joke about Cuban immigrants definitely raised eyebrows. (xref). But things only get more disturbing after Japanese tourists get trapped in the drawer chest they were sleeping in at Kramer’s. Jerry is forced to free them by destroying the furniture with an ax. If that wasn’t dark enough, Elaine’s boyfriend Brett is accidentally struck when he tries to control the situation. Later, while the doctor treating his concussion gets distracted, the nurse says they’re losing the patient. That’s right: Jerry may have accidentally killed someone, with no repercussions. It was a grim punchline to an already dark plot.
#3: The Smog Strangler Strikes Again
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"The Trip (Part 2)"
In "Seinfeld"'s two-part Season 4 premiere, Kramer heads to Los Angeles in search of fame. He instead finds infamy when a woman he met falls victim to "The Smog Strangler". After Jerry and George search for proof of their friend's innocence, police release him for the most obvious reason. Though serial killers have never been a taboo subject for sitcoms, Kramer being saved by another murder shocked audiences. Not only does the real killer get away, but he may have earlier escaped police custody alongside Jerry and George. This was a classic instance of the gang's good fortune holding fatal consequences for someone else. They may have unintentionally endangered all of L.A.
#2: Splat
"The Bris"
When the gang visits a friend after she has a baby, George seems mostly excited that he secured a parking spot right in front of the hospital. That changes when a psych ward patient leaps out of the building and falls to his death on top of the car. This set up a subplot in which George tries to get the hospital to pay for the damages. Of course, under the tragic circumstances, characters and audiences had trouble sympathizing with George's crusade. This exemplified showrunner Larry David's signature interest in the clash between callous logic and social etiquette. The darkly comedic death may make for great satire, but it may make for greater controversy.
#1: Toxic Envelopes
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"The Invitations"
George spent Season 7 trying to get out of his engagement to Susan Ross. The problem resolved itself in what some consider one of the darkest sitcom moments ever. After licking too many envelopes for wedding invitations, Susan collapses. At the hospital, George learns that the envelopes' cheap yet toxic adhesive fatally poisoned his fiancée. No less disturbing is the gang's lack of grief over this tragic news. Though he won't admit it, George is visibly relieved. The already bleak gag came out of professional difficulties with actress Heidi Swedberg. Audiences were polarized by this twist. Whether they continued to love George or not, his selfish actions remain at the heart of one of the show’s darkest twists.
