Jerry might be the protagonist on Seinfeld, but Elaine is another favorite character who gets a lot of screen time. Julia Louis-Dreyfus is praised for portraying Elaine Benes as this character is so charming and full of joy. With a quirky sense of humor and a big laugh, Elaine is exactly what this sitcom needs. She's different enough from George and Kramer that she stands out and it's clear that Jerry really cherishes having her around.
While Elaine is smart and seems like she's doing pretty well in life, she does make some odd decisions over the sitcom's nine seasons, and there are a lot of things about her character that are confusing.
She Agrees To A Casual Arrangement With Jerry
Some fans think that Jerry and Elaine aren't actually pals, and it's true that they have a strange and confusing relationship.
While Elaine is an intelligent person, it's odd that she agrees to a casual arrangement with Jerry. They're supposed to be platonic, yet they decide to have sleep together a few times throughout the sitcom's nine-season run. If they broke up and Elaine didn't have feelings for Jerry anymore, she should have realized that this made things too complex and dramatic between them. This doesn't add up as it seems that Elaine would have shot down this idea right away.
She Would Never Actually Run The J. Peterman Catalog
Elaine has so many iconic storylines and fans loved it when she created "The Urban Sombrero" while working at the J. Peterman Catalog.
In real life, though, Elaine would never have been put in the position of running the whole company. This was a convenient plotline, as Peterman breaks down and runs away and that's why Elaine moves from editor to the boss. But this didn't make much sense, as there must have been someone else at the company who was more senior than Elaine and better suited to this position. She doesn't have enough experience.
It Should Be Easier For Her To Find Another Publishing Job
While the male characters can be mean to Elaine, she's arguably in a better position than any of them (except for Jerry) when it comes to her job situation.
It doesn't make sense, though, that after Pendant Publishing shuts down, she gets a job working for Mr. Pitt. Why can't she get a job in publishing? It wouldn't be that difficult for her to find another job in her industry, as she had been working at her company for years. This was an odd career choice as it was a step down from what she had been doing.
Her Relationship With Puddy Is Strange
Elaine and Puddy are a major couple on Seinfeld and while it's funny to see them together, their relationship ultimately doesn't make any sense.
While these two supposedly date for a long time, they constantly split up and reunite, and their romance isn't very serious. Puddy even gets upset in one episode when Elaine says that they're a couple again. He also says he's dating her for the physical part of their relationship. This seems insulting to Elaine, who is a smart person and even more of a catch than the show suggests. Why would Elaine settle for someone who isn't very good to her?
She Seems Intelligent Yet Makes Horrible Choices
Elaine seems to have more going on upstairs than many of the other characters on Seinfeld. She's definitely smarter than Kramer and George and yet she makes the same bad choices that her friend group does.
It seems like Elaine would sometimes stop her friends from getting into such silly situations and tell them that they're doing the wrong thing. Instead, she jumps right in.
She Gets Candy When Her Boyfriend Is Hospitalized
One of the weirdest things Elaine ever does is when she finds out that her boyfriend Jake has been hospitalized in the season 5 episode "The Opposite" and she gets candy first.
Is it really that crucial to get Jujyfruits at that moment? This doesn't make any sense, as Elaine does have some compassion and it seems like she would be more upset about this news.
She Actually Tells Jerry The Truth About Their Sex Life
In the season f5 premiere "The Mango," Elaine tells Jerry that she only pretended to have orgasms during their relationship.
This is an episode that fans will always love and yet it doesn't make much sense. Why would Elaine actually tell Jerry this? It's much smarter to keep this piece of information a secret, especially since it would only make things awkward between them and hurt Jerry's feelings.
She Goes To Parties But Has A Bad Attitude
There are definitely times when people aren't in the mood to leave their couch and go to a party, but Elaine never seems all that interested in having a social life or a good time.
There are a few Seinfeld episodes when Elaine is going to a party but has a bad attitude about it. One perfect example? The infamous season 3 episode "The Stranded," when Elaine tells a party guest, "Maybe the dingo ate your baby." While it's hilarious that she and Jerry have a "signal" when they want to go home, why did she even go in the first place? She's a grown-up and could stay home if she wanted to.
She's Not Supportive Of Other Women
While Elaine's quotes are always spot-on and funny, Elaine isn't very supportive of other women.
Whenever George or Jerry are dating someone, Elaine doesn't exactly lend her support and approval of the relationship. Elaine also has a lot of altercations with women, like when she complains that someone didn't "spare a square" of toilet paper. Elaine wants to be treated well by other people, so why does she go to such trouble to argue with strangers?
She Says Yes When Jerry Proposes
In the season 9 episode "The Serenity Now," Jerry proposes to Elaine, which is a pretty shocking moment. Elaine and Jerry don't always treat each other nicely and yet he thinks that they could possibly commit to each other.
It's even stranger when Elaine says yes. Sure, they don't get married because he says he thought better of it, but why does this storyline even exist? Jerry and Elaine would never become husband and wife. Elaine doesn't even want to date Jerry and she has never shown any interest in getting married or having kids.