Season 7 of Seinfeld aired between September 1995 and May 1996. It consisted of 24 episodes built around a structural spine the show had never previously attempted: the sustained storyline of George's engagement to Susan Ross, his growing horror at the commitment he has made, and the resolution of that horror in one of television's most discussed endings.
The engagement arc gave Season 7 a dramatic through-line. The show about nothing found, in Season 7, something to be about: the specific terror of getting what you thought you wanted and discovering too late that you were wrong.
George, having resolved with Jerry to become an adult, proposes to Susan — and begins regretting it almost immediately. The Postponement: George's instinct is to get out without taking responsibility for wanting out. The Maestro introduces Jackie Chiles through Kramer's coffee lawsuit — a parody of Johnnie Cochran whose rhetoric is always disproportionate to the case.
The Wink: George's involuntary winking is interpreted as significant communication. The Hot Tub: Kramer's apartment addition and Jerry's responsibility for a marathon runner's alarm. The Soup Nazi: 'No soup for you!' The most famous episode of Season 7 and one of the most famous in the show's history. Elaine's eventual revenge — discovering the Soup Nazi's recipes — provides one of the show's most satisfying conclusions.
The Secret Code: George refuses to reveal his ATM pin to Susan — the last thing that is entirely his. The Pool Guy: 'You're killing independent George!' as Susan befriends Elaine and George's worlds collide. The Sponge: Elaine must evaluate potential partners for 'spongeworthiness' after her contraceptive supply is discontinued.
The Gum: social contortions required to be kind without telling the truth. The Rye: George retrieves a marble rye from his parents' previous dinner engagement using a fishing rod — one of the show's great physical comedy set pieces. The Caddy: George leaves his car in the car park overnight to appear hardworking; the gap between reputation and reality.
The Seven: George wants to name his future child Seven, after Mickey Mantle. Nobody agrees. He is completely serious. The Cadillac: Jerry buys his father a Cadillac, triggering Morty's political downfall in Del Boca Vista. The Shower Head: low-flow shower heads destroy Kramer and Newman; the show's finest piece of sustained physical comedy in Season 7.
The Doll: George finds a doll that looks exactly like his mother — what it reveals about his relationship with Estelle is the episode's engine. The Friars Club: Jerry steals a jacket; Kramer attempts the Da Vinci sleep method. The Wig Master: Elaine's ex in town; Kramer arrested in a pimp coat.
The Calzone: George gets Steinbrenner addicted to calzones, acquires power through dependency, loses it through hubris. The Bottle Deposit: Kramer and Newman's Michigan bottle scheme — financially sound, logistically catastrophic. The Wait Out: Jerry and Elaine position themselves to date the members of a couple who appears to be breaking up.
Susan dies after licking the toxic glue on their cheap wedding invitation envelopes. George is free. His reaction — relief, briefly masked by grief, then relief again — is one of the show's most discussed moments. Jason Alexander plays it with a transparency that is both funny and uncomfortable: we see George feeling what he feels, which is the worst possible thing to feel, and the show does not judge him for it.
Season 7 ends with a man who wanted out of his engagement getting out in the most permanent possible way — and finding that this is exactly as liberating as he had hoped. That is the show's darkness, expressed without apology.