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10 Seinfeld Storylines That Went Absolutely Nowhere
By Emma Cregan
May 7, 2025
Seinfeld, the incredibly successful NBC sitcom, gave audiences some of the most iconic episodes of television. The series continues to impress audiences with its ability to carry stories across multiple episodes, continuing to reference even the tiniest gags. These recurring stories and Easter eggs help connect the audience to the characters and world of Seinfeld. Repeated jokes, like George’s fantasy of being an architect, make the audience feel like they really know the characters. Despite the importance of multi-episode stories, there are multiple Seinfeld plot lines that never reach a satisfying conclusion.
Several Seinfeld storylines continue to perplex fans with their lack of closure. Some of Seinfeld’s most memorable plot lines and characters are left with no proper conclusion. The series unleashed a horde of horrifying characters into its universe, but never brought their reigns of terror to an end. There are multiple serial killers still running around in the world of Seinfeld. Several stories had the potential to create new and exciting directions for the main characters, but were never followed up on. The diverse array of ideas generated for the series is a testament to the impressive creativity of the cast and crew. Unfortunately, many storylines end up like jokes without a punchline.
10
Elaine is Plagued by Mysterious Mannequins
Seinfeld Season 5, Episode 15, “The Pie”
In Seinfeld Season 5, George and Elaine discover a new clothing boutique with a mannequin that bears a striking resemblance to Elaine. Ricky, who fell in love with Elaine in “The Cigar Store Indian”, designed the mannequins. Ricky is in a warehouse packed with identical mannequins, and they are displayed in stores across America. The unsettling Pygmalion creations are an example of the offbeat humor that makes Seinfeld standout from other sitcoms. Seinfeld frequently uses callbacks to past storylines and jokes. Seeing Elaine terrified by the constant presence of her doppelgängers in later episodes would have been a funny subplot for her normally level-headed character.
Despite their abundance, the army of Elaine clones never reappears. Countless Seinfeld characters, like Newman and Joe Devola, have obsessive one-sided crushes on Elaine. Ricky is just one of many devoted Elaine fans. Like his mannequins, Ricky doesn’t appear again, and the audience never learns if he has overcome his infatuation. A stalking plot line could quickly turn too dark for a sitcom and detract from the feminist elements of Elaine’s stories. It was for the best that the series left Ricky in his warehouse.
9
The Curtains Closed at the Alex Theater
Seinfeld Season 7, Episode 10, “The Gum”
Michael Richards as Kramer, Jerry Seinfeld as Jerry Seinfeld, and Julia Louis-Dreyfus as Elaine BenesImage via NBC
Yuletide in Seinfeld’s New York City sees Kramer take on a new passion project with the restoration of the Alex Theater, a 1920s movie house. Impulsive and whimsical, Kramer is always starting new projects, but his lack of knowledge and practical skills usually hinders his ability to bring his wild ideas to life. The Alex theater is the one exception. The movie theater has a line-up of classic films, a well-maintained lobby, and busy staff. Kramer has clearly put a lot of time and effort into this project.
Despite this being one of Kramer’s rare successes in Seinfeld, the series never uses the theater again. The success of the theater is antithetical to Kramer’s character. Kramer’s schtick is that he doesn’t have a real job like Jerry, George, and Elaine, so he can always drag them into wild adventures in the city. It could have been funny, and more in character for Kramer, if Elaine and Jerry showed up to a decrepit theater that had no hope of surviving. This would have been a little bleak for a holiday episode, but it would have been easier to reuse the storyline in later episodes.
8
George Doesn’t Experience Spiritual Enlightenment
Seinfeld Season 5, Episode 11, “The Conversion”
Jason Alexander as George Costanza in Latvian Orthodox Church in SeinfeldImage via NBC
In one of George’s many foolish attempts to woo a girl in Seinfeld, he converts to Latvian Orthodox after a date tells him she can only be with a man who shares her religion. Lovesick George attends classes, meets with the church leaders, and commits in every way to his conversion. Despite all this time and effort spent on becoming Latvian Orthodox, George’s new faith is never mentioned in the show again. Sasha, the woman George was attempting to court, moves to Latvia and George never returns to the Latvian Church.
George’s harebrained schemes to win the affections of women are a mainstay of Seinfeld episodes. Usually they only involve a white lie and a little help from Jerry, but his conversion to Latvian Orthodox is the most involved and complex. The Latvian church members grow close to George, and he leads them on to believe he will be a valuable addition to their community. George never follows through on his promises to be a committed church member. Later episodes could have continued to show George attending church services and events. This could have worked well with Seinfeld’s plot device of going to great lengths just to avoid awkward social situations.
7
George Became Fast Friends With Fidel Castro
Seinfeld Season 6, Episode 10, “The Race”
Jason Alexander as George Costanza meeting Fidel Castro in SeinfeldImage via NBC
After George tries to use the personal ads in The Daily Worker to score a date in Seinfeld, the Yankees’ office is abuzz with rumors that George is a communist infiltrator. Mr. Steinbrenner, the Yankees’ eccentric owner, is elated by the news. Steinbrenner sends George to Cuba to entice a baseball player to sign with the Yankees. George meets Cuba’s famous president, Fidel Castro, and the historic revolutionary takes a liking to George. Cuba frequently comes up throughout Seinfeld because of the heightened animosity between the two countries throughout the 1990s.
Even though US-Cuba relations are often touched on in Seinfeld, George’s time in Cuba is never mentioned again. Watching George navigate life in Cuba would have been a hilarious plotline in Seinfeld. The neurotic New Yorker would have stumbled into countless conflicts because of cultural barriers. However, it would have been difficult for Seinfeld to create convincing Cuba scenes, and Cuban characters would have fallen into harmful stereotypes. Like the episode “The Puerto Rican Day,” a long-term Cuba storyline would not have aged well.
6
The Show Won’t Go On for Bette Midler
Seinfeld Season 6, Episode 24, “The Understudy”
In Seinfeld’s parody of the Tonya Harding-Nancy Kerrigan scandal, George knocks down Bette Midler as he slides into home base during a baseball game. Jerry is dating Gennice, Bette Midler’s understudy in Rochelle, Rochelle: The Musical. Everyone believes Jerry, Gennice, and George conspired together to injure Midler so that Gennice could take the starring role in the musical. All of New York turns against Jerry and George. People shout insults and throw food as they walk down the street. They’re kicked out of cabs, and life in the city becomes unbearable. Bette Midler’s injury, and her assailants, are even shown on the television news.
It’s impossible for George and Jerry to escape their newfound infamy. Even though Jerry and George become the top public enemies in New York, the city completely forgets their crime in later episodes. Considering Bette Midler’s star power, and her importance in New York theater, it’s no surprise that George and Jerry are so vilified in this episode of Seinfeld. In reality, a team of lawyers and agents would have taken legal action against George and Jerry, given how many careers rely on Bette Midler and all the money she brings to the world of entertainment.
5
Peterman’s Time in Southeast Asia is Shrouded in Mystery
Seinfeld Season 8, Episode 8, “The Chicken Roaster”
John O’Hurley as J. Peterman in SeinfeldImage via NBC
The world of Seinfeld is chock-full of quirky bosses and CEOs that make life complicated for the iconic quartet of friends. Elaine and J. Peterman, her boss at the J. Peterman catalog, perform some of the series’ most hilarious scenes thanks to Peterman’s eccentric and outgoing personality. A nervous breakdown inspires Peterman to run off to Myanmar and leave the catalog in Elaine’s hands. After an audit from the accounting department, Elaine travels to Southeast Asia in search of Peterman. She discovers he’s become a warlord in a remote village in an excellent Apocalypse Now parody. Peterman’s peculiarities have been pushed to the extreme in the hot and humid jungle.
Peterman eventually returns to New York, but Seinfeld’s audience is never given further details on what happened in Myanmar. Fans are left to wonder how the bombastic but peaceful executive became a warlord. The series explains that Peterman’s clothing designs are appropriated from other cultures, and the people he copies designs from are never compensated. The catalog has a distinct colonizer vibe. Going into greater detail and continuing to reference Peterman’s time in Myanmar could have turned the audience against him. His character would have quickly changed from lovably quirky to reprehensible.
4
The Lopper Still Haunts Riverside Park
Seinfeld Season 9, Episode 18, “The Frogger”
The shadow of the Lopper in SeinfeldImage via NBC
In one of Seinfeld’s most bloodthirsty storylines, a serial killer known as The Lopper is chopping off people’s heads in Riverside Park. Kramer claims that The Lopper’s preferred victims resemble Jerry, setting up an interesting twist on gender roles when Jerry, a man, is afraid to walk home alone at night. Despite the dark subject, “The Frogger” continues to be ranked as one of the funniest Seinfeld episodes because of its mastery of tension and comedic timing. The Lopper never appears, so the audience only learns about him through the stories shared by Kramer and the nightly news. The lack of visuals allows the audience’s imaginations to run wild.
The build-up of tension throughout the episode makes the jokes land harder when that sense of tension is released. The Lopper never appears in another episode of Seinfeld, and fans are left to wonder if the killer is still haunting Riverside Park. Seinfeld features multiple violent characters throughout the series, using extreme circumstances to elicit shocking acts of self-preservation from its selfish characters. The Lopper is hyped up to a terrifying degree, and yet is left to haunt the streets of New York, denying the audience a satisfying conclusion.
3
Jerry and George are Accused of Being Nazis
Seinfeld Season 3, Episode 19, “The Limo”
After adopting false identities, Jerry and George score a ride from the airport in a luxurious limo in season three of Seinfeld. To their horror, the friends discover George has adopted the identity of a famous neo-Nazi, Donald O’Brien, who spreads hateful rhetoric through books and newsletters. Jerry and George are trapped in the limo with the neo-Nazi’s devoted followers, Tim and Eva, who are itching for a violent showdown. The neo-Nazis are furious when Jerry and George’s cover is finally blown. Tim and Eva are portrayed as extremely diligent and devoted to their ideology, so it feels odd that the two murderous racists never seek revenge against Jerry and George.
The finale of the Seinfeld episode leaves everyone in New York believing Jerry and George are neo-Nazis. A huge crowd of protesters sees Jerry and George exit the neo-Nazi’s limo and the nightly news films George with a chyron reading “Donald O’Brien, Leader of the Aryan Union.” Similar to their infamy in “The Understudy,” all of New York sees Jerry and George as racist villains, but it’s never brought up again and causes no issues in later episodes.
2
Joe Davola Just Disappears
Seinfeld Season 4, Episode 24, “The Pilot, Part 2”
An unsettling fixture of Seinfeld’s season four is Joe Davola. A frustrated writer, Davola blames Jerry for NBC rejecting his pitch for a television series. Easily the series’ most terrifying villain, Joe is aggressive, easily angered, and dogged in his pursuit of his perceived enemies. Expertly played by Peter Crombie, Davola is unnervingly creepy. Unlike other Seinfeld antagonists, Davola actually has the knowledge and skills to follow through on his threats. Davola is a martial arts expert and is shockingly strong. In the series’ best episode, “The Opera,” Davola easily takes out a horde of muggers in the park.
His disturbing demeanor allowed for episodes like “The Opera” and “The Pilot” to have a gripping sense of tension and fear that heightened the sitcoms’ classic humor elements. Seinfeld fans often discuss how frustrating it is that Davola was developed into such an excellent villain, but was never seen again after season four. The terrifying character is given impressive skills, and multiple reasons to seek vengeance against Jerry. Davola is also infatuated with Elaine, his obsession driving much of his erratic behavior. It’s such a missed opportunity to not use the series’ most iconic villain to inspire more hilariously neurotic behavior from the main characters.
1
The Smog Strangler is Never Caught
Seinfeld Season 4, Episode 2, “The Trip (Part 2)”
Season four of Seinfeld opens with a trip to LA. While the friends explore the City of Angels, a serial killer known as the Smog Strangler stalks the streets of California. A string of clues leads the police to accuse Kramer of being the killer. Kramer is freed, but his name and face are still associated with the case. Kramer’s jumpy and awkward demeanor is often off-putting to other characters, so it wouldn’t have been shocking if someone believed Kramer really was the killer. The show could have explored what would happen if Kramer hadn’t been able to free himself from the accusations, playing into his role as an oddball on the outskirts of society.
In the two-part Seinfeld episode, “The Trip,” Jerry and George briefly ride in a police car with the real killer, Tobias Lehigh Nagy. Jerry and George strike up a long conversation with Nagy about tipping etiquette, and he learns personal information about both of them. It would be easy for Nagy to track down Jerry and George and demand their help, or try to silence them, but the show just leaves him to wander the West coast.
