Over the course of its nine-season run from 1989 to 1998, Seinfeld aired 169 episodes, or 180 if you count two-parters and compilation episodes. What makes the show so special is that there really isn't a "bad" episode in the bunch. The consistent quality of Seinfeld's output is astounding, especially considering the volume of material produced.
Given all of this, it would be difficult to impossible to rank the "best" or "worst" episodes of a show so consistently good. But there are certain episodes that deserve more recognition than they got, and some that are a bit overhyped.
Underrated: The Soup
Not to be confused with "The Soup Nazi," season six's "The Soup" finds Jerry in one of his funniest binds of the series. He accepts an Armani suit as a "gift" from his nemesis, comic Kenny Bania, only to find that Bania expects a "nice dinner" in return.
When Jerry reluctantly agrees to take him to his favorite restaurant, Mendy's, Bania orders just a bowl of soup, saying he'll save the "meal" for another time. Jerry contends that the act of taking him to dinner is what constitutes a meal, regardless of what he orders. Bania protests. The dissection and debate of mundane social customs are what makes Seinfeld the transcendent sitcom that it is, and "The Soup" is a prime example of this.
Overrated: The Soup Nazi
The Soup Nazi is based on a real-life character Jerry and Larry both knew of in New York City. And while the character himself is memorable, the episode itself is not one of the strongest in the Seinfeld catalog.
The subplot involving Elaine's attempt to move a piece of furniture into her apartment is about as static as it sounds, and even the antics of the infamous Soup Nazi himself aren't quite funny enough to carry the episode's main storyline.
Underrated: The Dinner Party
No episode exaggerates the anxieties of everyday life and mundane cultural norms as well as "The Dinner Party." George is upset, in the first place, by the unwritten rule of having to bring something with him to a dinner party he's invited to. When the group splits up to buy different items, chaos ensues.
Jerry and Elaine forget to take a ticket at the bakery, and so they're forced to the back of the line, where they must settle for "lesser babka." George and Kramer attempt to buy a bottle of wine, but the clerk won't accept George's $100 bill. On top of all this, their car is blocked in by a double-parker. From beginning to end, it's one of the strongest episodes in the series.
Overrated: The Parking Garage
An episode that takes place entirely in one location is called a "bottle episode." Seinfeld had two: "The Chinese Restaurant" and "The Parking Garage." Both are held in high regard, but the latter struggles to remain interesting throughout its entire runtime.
A universal situation, like forgetting where one parked, is a ripe idea for Jerry's signature observational humor, but instead, the episode goes off in a more absurdist direction vis a vis Jerry's public urination storyline, which undermines its promising premise.
Underrated: The Pen
When Jerry and Elaine visit Jerry's parents in their Florida retirement community, Jerry offends their neighbors by reluctantly accepting an astronaut pen as a gift from Morty's friend, Jack Klompus.
Perhaps because "The Pen" only features two of the core four characters, it's mostly forgotten by mainstream audiences. But the episode's uncannily spot-on portrayal of the New York-to-Florida retiree scene makes it one of the most incisively funny episodes in Seinfeld history. Elaine's painkiller induced Marlon Brando impression is quite good as well.
Overrated: The Pothole
The real-life Jerry Seinfeld considers this episode one of the best in the series. However, many fans of the show feel that the plotlines in "The Pothole" range from uninspired to unconvincing. Jerry's revulsion towards his girlfriend after she brushes her teeth with a toothbrush that fell in the toilet is a recycled iteration of Jerry's known germophobia.
George dropping his keys in a pothole that's since been paved over borders on cartoonish. Elaine's efforts to get a Chinese restaurant to deliver her favorite dish go to such extremes that she'd have been much better off simply walking the few extra blocks to pick it up herself. Kramer's highway adoption storyline is the best this episode has to offer, and even that is somewhat underwhelming.
Underrated: The Sniffling ant
The image of Kramer smoking a cigarette and chugging a beer at the same time has been widely memed over the years, but there's little to no "ing" in this wildly fun episode, where Jerry, Kramer, and Newman are compelled to investigate the mysterious "sniffling" of their mutual money manager.
It's one of the best caper episodes of the series, up there with "The Limo" and "The Rye," though it's rarely regarded as belonging in the same category as top-tier Seinfeld episodes.
Overrated: The Subway
"The Subway" is the 13th episode of season three. It follows each of the four characters on a separate journey involving characters they encounter while riding the subway.
It's not without its funny moments, but the episode suffers from the fact that its core four characters are separated throughout almost the entire episode. Part of what makes Seinfeld so great is the chemistry of the cast and separating all of them for an entire episode just doesn't feel right.
Underrated: The Deal
In "The Deal," Jerry and Elaine enter into a "friends with benefits" arrangement by establishing certain ground rules that will keep their valued friendship intact. This is one of the rare episodes that plays with the interpersonal character dynamics of the main four characters. By the end, it appears that Jerry and Elaine have become a romantic couple, although this is never followed through on in subsequent episodes.
It's a very funny and clever episode that contains one of the only genuinely dramatic scenes in Seinfeld history, when it appears that Jerry and Elaine might not be able to remain friends. It's a risky episode, but it works.
Overrated: The Keys
This episode is ed fondly for Kramer's surprise appearance on Murphy Brown, but the circumstances leading up to the end reveal make for one of the more awkward and off-putting episodes in the show's nine-season run.
Jerry becomes frustrated with Kramer's repeated intrusions into his apartment and demands that Kramer surrenders his keys. This upsets Kramer, who cuts Jerry off and moves to Los Angeles to pursue his dream of becoming an actor. This was the season three finale, which left Kramer and Jerry on bad , causing uncertainty as to what Kramer's role in the series would be moving forward. It didn't jibe with the tone of the series overall, nor with Kramer's character development as an aimless, spontaneous drifter. This is the rare Seinfeld episode that hits all the wrong notes.
