While Seinfeld was silly a lot of the time, the '90s sitcom was groundbreaking and inspired many people. The dynamic between Jerry, Elaine, George, and Kramer is always wonderful to revisit, and fans can always find new things to love about the bad dates, awkward parties, and terrible luck that follows the characters.
There are many memorable scenes that feature the characters acting in a wacky manner, from Elaine's dance moves to all of Kramer's ideas. But while Seinfeld featured grown-ups who acted like they were still kids, there were some episodes that focused on deep and serious subjects.
The Decision To Have Children (Or Not)
Elaine is one of the funniest sitcom characters, breaking up with people for strange reasons and taking offense to little things. But although her scenes were often pure comedy, she could be serious, too.
In the season 8 episode "The Soul Mate," Elaine said that she didn't want to have kids. This was a time when Seinfeld tackled a deep issue, as this wasn't a subject that sitcoms often talked about. Elaine said that her mom friends "act as if having a baby takes some kind of talent." She started dating Kevin, who made her wonder if she wanted to be a mother or not since he had gotten a vasectomy. This is something that everyone has to make a decision about, so it was very relatable.
Family Conflict And Difficult Relationships
The season 2 episode "The Jacket" might focus on Jerry's pricey coat that got ruined in the snow, but it was also about family.
Elaine didn't get along well with her dad, so when she was meeting him one night, she asked George and Jerry to go with her. While Seinfeld didn't focus on characters talking about their hurt feelings or trying to reconcile, this storyline at least hinted at something more serious. Elaine was an independent person, but she couldn't help but get nervous when she had to see her father.
Plagiarism
Jerry always found a random reason to end a relationship but in the case of his romance with Nina, he was upset with her for a legitimate reason.
In the season 3 episode "The Letter," Jerry's girlfriend Nina wrote him a letter that he thought was romantic. Unfortunately, he then realized she had copied the words from Chapter Two, the movie by Neil Simon. While Seinfeld often focused on the hilarious aspects of the gang's love lives, this was a storyline that was much more serious, since Nina could really get in trouble if she kept plagiarizing.
Negotiating Money And Knowing Your Worth
It's never fun to talk about money, and negotiating can be tricky. People want to be confident and know their worth, but they also have to make a living. George found out the hard way in the season 4 episode "The Wallet" that asking for more money from NBC might cost them their whole deal.
This is an episode that fans will always relate to as most people become very nervous when talking to their boss about a potential raise or inquiring about the salary for a job that they hope to get.
A Kid Dealing With A Serious Illness
In the season 4 episode "The Bubble Boy," George, Jerry, Elaine, and Susan visited a boy named Donald who had to live in a bubble. He was very sick so no one could come into contact with him since he couldn't be around germs.
While this was supposed to be funny, it was definitely heartbreaking as no child should have to live like that. Seinfeld could be silly but this was an episode that tackled a deep issue. Of course, George being George, he created some conflict and the whole situation became a disaster as he and Donald fought.
A Couple's Sex Life
Elaine and Jerry remained friends after dating and not everyone can do that. The fact that these characters used to date brought up a serious topic: the problems in a couple's sex life.
In the season 5 opener "The Mango," Jerry found out that Elaine was only pretending to have orgasms when they were in a relationship. This was shocking information for him, and it made him wonder why he couldn't tell and if other women were faking it, too. Jerry had assumed that everything was fine in that department, but Elaine made him realize that he might not have been paying attention and that he had to communicate more with the person he was dating.
Religion
In the fifth season episode "The Conversion," George was dating a woman named Sascha and her religion was very important to her and her family.
He wanted to convert to Latvian Orthodoxy so they could be together, and this made him think about the place of religion in his life. While this was a funny episode and George always approached situations with a sense of humor (whether he meant to or not), religion is definitely a deep topic.
The Question Of Marriage And Settling Down
In the seventh season opener "The Engagement," Jerry and George wondered if they should get married. This led to George asking Susan to marry him, and the character died before their wedding day.
Jerry told Kramer that he and George were "kids," Kramer hilariously explained why he thought marriage was a bad idea. Although this episode was meant to be humorous, it also brought up a serious question: did the characters really want to explore marriage and settling down, or were they comfortable keeping things the way they were?
The Death Of A Partner
While most fans of the show disliked Susan, it was definitely pretty huge that George's fiancée died. No one would have thought that would happen, even if she wasn't popular.
The death of a partner is one of the most difficult things that someone can go through and even though George didn't behave very well after Susan's passing, this was still a time when Seinfeld tackled a serious, deep subject over several episodes.
Cancer
In the sixth season episode "The Scofflaw," George and Jerry's friend Gary lied about having cancer.
But while he never actually had it, this was still a storyline that allowed Seinfeld to talk about a serious illness. It was definitely a departure from the other episodes which focused on Elaine ordering flounder from a restaurant across town or George walking into a job that he wasn't sure that he had been hired for.