Seinfeld's Iconic 'The Opposite' Episode Borrowed Its Roots From The Pilot

In the 1994 "Seinfeld" episode "The Opposite," George (Jason Alexander) begins to figure that his instincts for ... well, for everything are unreliable. He feels that every decision he has made has been incorrect and has an epiphany: If he does the opposite of everything his instincts tell him, then his life will improve. He begins immediately. Rather than sitting still and admiring the pretty woman sitting nearby at Monk's Café, George gets up and talks to her. Rather than brag about his accomplishments, he announces that he is unemployed and lives with his parents. The pretty woman, Victoria (Dedee Pfeiffer), is impressed by his candor and agrees to a date.

George's anti-instincts continue apace. He refuses to go up to Victoria's apartment after a date, for instance. He also stops shaving and overcomes his shyness to confront ruffians in a movie theater. The "Opposite" philosophy seems to be working for him. One might expect George's scheme to eventually blow up in his face, but in a rare turn of events, everything works out for him. His instincts lead him to a job interview with the New York Yankees where he criticizes George Steinbrenner to his face. He gets the job (!) and moves out of his parents' place. George can succeed in life. He just had to be the opposite of who he was.

"The Opposite" aired near the end of the fifth season of "Seinfeld," when the series was already a gigantic success. Attentive viewers may recall, however, that George had already floated his "Opposite" philosophy way back in the show's pilot episode. It seems that George already had the key to success and personal happiness but simply hadn't worked up the temerity. It's one of the only times things went well for the character and one of the best episodes of "Seinfeld" overall. Don't worry, though, George eventually saunters gently back down to his usual sniveling self.

For those who weren't observant enough to remember the line from the show's pilot (which was titled "The Seinfeld Chronicles" and was hated by test audiences prior to its premiere in 1989), "Seinfeld" co-creator Larry David pointed it out in his commentary on one of the series' DVDs. One may recall a scene where George gives advice to Jerry via the following exchange:

"Never do what your instincts tell you. Always — always! — do the opposite." 

"And this is how you operate?" 

"Yeah, I wish." 

On the DVD features, Alexander also noted that fans had approached him, telling him that they had personally adopted George's "Opposite" philosophy ... and prospered. He added that he actually knew "a handful of guys" who tried the philosophy "for a considerable period," and it worked perfectly for them. It seems that if you sense that your instincts are wrong, and everything you try to do is wrong, then George's philosophy may actually be workable.

Of course, the joke of the episode is that while George prospers, Elaine (Julia Louis-Dreyfus) begins to fail. By the end of the episode, she is dumped by her boyfriend, kicked out of her apartment, angers her boss, and gets her business shut down. She notes that she has "become George." Jerry (Jerry Seinfeld), meanwhile, represents a kind of Zen balance, having experienced utterly no fortune nor misfortune all week. He loses one stand-up comedy gig only to have another pop up five minutes later. The balance between fortune and misfortune feels cosmic in "The Opposite," leading many to regard it very highly. And to think, the seeds were planted five seasons earlier.