The Apology (Seinfeld)
"The Apology" | |
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Seinfeld episode | |
Episode no. | Season 9 Episode 9 |
Directed by | Andy Ackerman |
Written by | Jennifer Crittenden |
Production code | 909 |
Original air date | December 11, 1997 |
Guest appearances | |
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"The Apology" is the 165th episode of the NBC sitcom Seinfeld. This was the ninth episode for the ninth and final season.[1] It first aired on December 11, 1997.[2] In this episode, Jerry learns his girlfriend is a nudist, George tries to get an apology out of his old friend Jason Hanky (played by James Spader) through Hanky's participation in Alcoholics Anonymous's twelve-step program, and Kramer gives up on keeping his showers short, opting to instead spend all day in the shower.
Plot
George learns that his childhood friend Jason Hanky is a recovering alcoholic and, as Step 9 of Alcoholics Anonymous's Twelve Steps, is apologizing for all his misdeeds. George gets angry when Jason moves on to Step 10 without apologizing for embarrassing him at a party a few years earlier. George asked to borrow his sweater, and Jason refused, saying the neck would be stretched out, which made everyone else laugh. When George broaches the subject, Jason refuses to apologize, saying that his concern about his sweater was sincere. George petitions Jason's sponsor to intervene; his anger over the old embarrassment instead convinces the sponsor to enroll George in an anger management class. Jason goes to the anger management class after snapping at George and some teenagers at his job at an ice cream shop. He and George have another confrontation at the meeting.
After Jerry informs
Elaine makes up with Peggy by inviting her over for a dinner cooked by Kramer. When Kramer reveals that he prepared the dinner while showering, they are all horrified. David has to go back to Germophobes Anonymous, with Peggy and Elaine now joining him.
Production
James Spader was invited to fill the role of Jason Hanky by Seinfeld co-creator/star Jerry Seinfeld, who was a friend of Spader's.[3] Jason Alexander had worked with Spader previously in the 1990 film White Palace.
The
Critical reception
In a 2012 retrospective review, David Sims of The A.V. Club praised David Puddy's scenes, as well as Kramer's live-in shower and how it ultimately ties in to the Elaine story. He also said Megan Cole "is very good at looking freaked-out by Elaine". He was less enthusiastic about the George and Jerry stories, saying that while James Spader is perfectly cast and the stories had good premises, he did not like the directions they went in.[4]
Social science writer Eric Horowitz cited the situation between George and Jason as "a fairly accurate representation" of how a person's desire for an apology stems from feeling angry and wanting assurance the transgression won't happen again, and of how perpetrators want to make an apology when they regret the action. Because Jason does not regret what he did to George, he sees no reason to apologize, and this same lack of regret is what makes George want the apology all the more.[5]
References
- ^ "Seinfeld Season 9 Episodes". TV Guide. Retrieved December 14, 2021.
- ^ "The Apology" - TV.com
- ^ a b c Seinfeld Season 9: Notes About Nothing - "The Apology" (DVD). Sony Pictures Home Entertainment. 2007.
- ^ Sims, David (March 8, 2012). "The Apology / The Strike". The A.V. Club. Retrieved April 11, 2013.
- ^ Horowitz, Eric (January 4, 2013). "What Seinfeld Can Teach Us About Apologies". Peer-Reviewed By My Neurons. Archived from the original on May 25, 2013. Retrieved April 11, 2013.
External links
- "The Apology" at IMDb