It's hard to review a Seinfeld season, since they don't tend to have running seasonal storylines (with a few exceptions). The best Seinfeld season has the best lineup of episodes, plain and simple, and while the second season is a massive improvement on the first, it's still not anything amazing.
Seinfeld is infamously a show about nothing. The whole show is build around relatable humor, so each episode has its characters put in situations that many people tend to experience. Season 2 still seems unsure if this is the route it wants to take, however, as it still contains a whole bunch of generic sitcom plots like the first. For every episode like The Chinese Restaurant, we get something like The Duel that focuses almost entirely on Jerry and Elaine figuring out if they want to end up together. Speaking of which, something odd that I noticed about Seinfeld's second season is that it has the worst continuity in the whole show. Seinfeld tends to have a light continuity in that events from previous episodes are at least referenced, so there is something to gain from watching the show in order. That is not the case in Season 2, however. George made a ton of money from stocks back in Season 1, but that wasn't brought up at all. And the aforementioned The Duel ends with Jerry and Elaine starting a relationship together. Next episode, they're both single again.
This isn't to say Season 2 of Seinfeld is bad. Generally, the writing is far sharper and more funny, and the penultimate episode of the season, The Chinese Restaurant, is easily the funniest and most confident episode yet. Even better is the characters, who are far more dynamic and enjoyable to watch. Seinfeld's cast is iconic, and for good reason. Jerry, George, Kramer, and Elaine have an amazing dynamic, and all have their own little character quirks that make them memorable. Kramer, in particular, is pretty much perfect already. Michael Richards found a way to make the character his own, and you just can't imagine him being played by anyone else.
Despite the short length of the season, there are still a few good episodes:
The Revenge: This episode pretty much solidifies the Kramer that we know today. His laundromat subplot is really funny, and showcases Michael Richard's amazing penchant for physical comedy. Also, Newman makes his first appearance, albeit an offscreen one.
The Chinese Restaurant: For such a generally average season, it's astonishing that it manages to have my favorite episode in the whole show. The Chinese Restaurant is genius. It perfectly captures the pain of waiting for an table while also just being a genuinely hilarious bottle episode. Easily one of the finest comedic episodes of all time.
Overall,
2/5 Stars
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