Follow TV Tropes

Following

Recap / Seinfeld S4 E8 "The Cheever Letters"

Go To

Susan Ross invites George to dinner to meet her parents and he's worried about what to say when the subject of the now destroyed cabin comes up. Susan's father doesn't take it very well. When a metal box containing letters from author John Cheever is retrieved, a Ross family secret is revealed. After Jerry makes a remark to Elaine about her chatty assistant, the woman quits forcing Jerry to apologize and take her out for a drink. It doesn't go well. In need of more Cuban cigars, Kramer visits their offices at the UN.


Tropes:

  • Does This Remind You of Anything?: A visual example: Jerry mentions to George that his girlfriend in the episode dirty-talked to him, and George wants an example. Jerry quietly tells George what she said, and George accidentally squirts some ketchup in response. note 
  • From Bad to Worse: Susan's father is already upset the cabin burned down, then his affair with John Cheever is made to light
  • Homoerotic Subtext: Susan's father, in his first appearance, is revealed to have had a passionate affair with bisexual author John Cheever, though it's never mentioned again.
  • Screw This, I'm Outta Here: Jerry and George understandably try to excuse themselves knowing the reveal of Susan's father's affair is not something they want to see the aftermath of; unfortunately he walks in at that same moment before they can leave and the fallout is as bad as they expect, at this point, Jerry and George are able to leave.
  • Social Semi-Circle: George, Susan and her parents.
  • Writer's Block: Jerry and George get this when they try to write the script for their pilot. At the end of the episode they managed to write three lines of dialog, which consist of them saying hi and hello and then asking "how's it going?".

Top