The Subway (Seinfeld)

"The Subway" is the 30th episode of the sitcom Seinfeld. It is the 13th episode of the show's third season.^[1] It aired on NBC on January 8, 1992.^[1]

"The Subway"
Seinfeld episode
Episode no.	Season 3 Episode 13
Directed by	Tom Cherones
Written by	Larry Charles
Production code	313
Original air date	January 8, 1992 (1992-01-08)
Guest appearances
Ernie Sabella as Naked Man Barbara Stock as Scam Woman
Episode chronology
List of episodes

The episode was written by Larry Charles and was directed by Tom Cherones.

Plot

One morning, the group leaves their breakfast checks at Monk's for Jerry to pick up as they all set out on the subway. George is dressed up for a job interview, Elaine is due at a lesbian wedding as the best man, Kramer must pay tickets for many traffic violations, and Jerry is taking a rare trip to Coney Island, where his stolen car from a previous episode was found and impounded. Jerry fails to tempt the others to join him on the amusement rides.

On the train, George, suspecting a busking violinist is not really blind, does not pay him. At the Times Square–42nd Street station, everyone transfers to different trains.

George's well-dressed appearance catches an attractive woman's attention, and he passes himself off as a successful stock trader to impress her. He abandons his interview to go with her to a hotel room, where she disrobes and handcuffs him to the bed as if to engage in bondage. To his dismay, she robs him, taking his only suit to make up for his paltry cash.

An old-fashioned woman judges Elaine for her wedding duties, causing Elaine to loudly disavow lesbianism in self-defense. Later, the fully-packed train stops without explanation, and Elaine suffers in silence while her inner monologue grows ever more frantic and overwrought—as the train loses power, starts moving, then loses power again.

After falling asleep on another passenger's shoulder, Jerry wakes up sitting across from an overweight man who has stripped naked, with the other passengers giving a wide berth. Jerry chides the naked man for his self-conceit, but they eventually bond while arguing the Mets' pennant odds. Jerry spends the day enjoying Coney Island with the man.

After being beaten to open seats and a free newspaper by quicker passengers, Kramer overhears an inside tip that an underperforming racehorse is about to "break his maiden". He rushes to an off-track betting office and wins a hefty payout on the horse, but his earnings are noticed by a menacing stranger, who pursues him through the subway. By chance, Kramer runs into the violinist, who reveals himself as an undercover policeman and arrests the would-be robber.

Back at Monk's, Jerry has forgotten to reclaim his car, Elaine has missed the wedding, George refuses to explain being dressed in only a bedsheet, and Kramer surprises everyone by paying their checks.

Reception

In 2012, Paste Magazine named "The Subway" the 16th best episode of the series, citing it as a "great example of how Seinfeld can turn something as everyday and mundane as riding the subway into not one, but four hilarious stories.^[2] In 2013, NYC & Company, New York City's official tourism organization, named it the "New Yorkiest" episode of the series.^[3]