Season 2, Episode 17
A nicely tied together episode, with some character-based disappointment
Ever since Seinfeld began using the plot device almost weekly, having all of the plotlines dovetail into one another has become something of a predictable move. Yet at predictable as it has become, such moves can still be effective, as CT showed us tonight.
It started by effectively balancing the Jules and Bobby plots, almost to the point where it wasn’t certain which was the A and which as the B-plot. In the typical fashion of the show, both plots started off one place – Jules trying to volunteer more, Bobby receiving positive vibes – and then ended up someplace completely different, with Jules feeling stupid and Bobby being the recipient of Jules prayer of ill will. But what made this dovetailing work was the show kept us actively entertained while the show set up the plot-meet, with Andy’s water-logged ear and the fairly simple bar trivia runner (which nicely tied into Jules’ fears of being stupid) bringing the laughs, so much that the Chekhov’s Guns at play were effectively hidden.
Yet I must admit that despite this neat plot work, and the resonant emotional beat of Jules learning to accept her flaws, I wasn’t particularly happy that the show just kind of threw away Bobby’s shot at the big time for the sake of the episode. I get how failure like this is kind of Bobby’s lot in life, and I buy that Bobby would shrug off that failure, easy going guy that he is. Yet the show has been building up this tournament – however slightly – as a turning point for the character, a big step on his road to self-improvement, and to just forget that, to keep Bobby where he is, just seems unfair to the character.
The same can be said for Laurie’s actions during the bar quiz. Yes, her cheating at the game mostly just to upset Grayson and Ellie – and getting Travis to assist – seem like something the character would do. Yet I was more than content with the idea that Laurie actually knew a bunch of trivia because she used to have a crush on Alex Trebek. It was a win for the character, and even though Laurie herself seems content with her lot in life, I can’t help but wishing better for her, whether it be moving past her skanky ways or actually being knowledgeable about stuff, however useless that knowledge might be. Instead the show seems content to keep her down, to prevent her from growing as a character.
But that’s just what you get when you deal with comedies, I guess.
Quotes, Etc.:
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“This is what I do with my life now.”
“I look like a super-sexy corpse.”
“John Hancock was a real person? I thought it was a sex act?”
Jules owns the “sssshhh clap”
“You know who should have a beer named after him? Benjamin Franklin.”
“You know, the trick is to store your cookies on the top shelf, and go for them one at a time.”
“My brain says play it safe, but my man parts say go for it.”
“Hats off to you, Bobby ‘Wrong Balls’ Cobb. You’re a legend.”
“You all sound like the teacher from Peanuts.”
“It chews gum while eating buffalo wings. How did it beat us?”
“Well, I hope you banged your way from Ha-ha to ZZ Top, because we need this.”
“Because God is invisible”
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