It’s very easy to argue that a lot of the characters on Seinfeld were the absolute worst since this show was almost completely populated by neurotic and emotionally challenged individuals that showed us a world in which being psychologically damaged in some way was the norm. And yet somehow, someway, George Costanza was the absolute worst. It’s not because he was mean or nasty, oh no, it’s because he was essentially the whipping post for a lot of other characters since he was a nervous wreck most of the time and because he rarely ever stood up for himself, at least not successfully. The guy was nervier than a poodle crossing a bridge that’s being flung about by a violent storm, and that was on a good day. Some folks might want to point out George’s good qualities, and that’s all well and good, but it’s a short list, much like anyone on Seinfeld. In a big way, it almost feels as though this was a show that was mean to make people laugh by showing them just how ridiculous the lifestyles of the truly neurotic and emotionally repressed were, and it was made into one of the most famous shows of all time as a result.
This is just more proof that people love struggle and strife, especially when it’s paired with comedy, which is quite naturally really since despair and comedy tend to go hand in hand without fail. George is, unfortunately, not a decent enough person to rise above the show’s roots, since like it or not he can be every bit as conniving as anyone, as it appears to be more of a survival trait in his case since being hen-pecked by his parents for so long has left him as someone that’s almost emotionally crippled in a lot of ways since finding a woman and keeping a woman is kind out of George’s wheelhouse since it’s very likely that thanks to his own inability to break out of his funk.
It’s kind of a credit to Jason Alexander’s acting ability that people have liked George at all, but there are many people that can’t stand him. As one of the most annoying characters on the show, and this is saying something, he was one of those that couldn’t be taken off but somehow to be endured. In a movie he’d be the guy that everyone was hoping fervently would be killed by a monster or somehow meet a gruesome or pointless end since it would end the misery of everyone that had to listen to him. That might sound cruel, but it’s the absolute truth. Trying to like George was like trying to like a rock in your shoe, sometimes it wasn’t so bad to see and hear him since he was less of a presence in some scenes. But every now and then he’d step in and things would really take a turn for the irritating since the moment he started talking one knew that he was going to start complaining about something. The problem with this wasn’t always the actual complaining, it’s that he became so insanely predictable, much like several other characters on the show, that it was no longer fun to laugh at him.
Plenty of people might want to disagree with this assessment since it would indicate that the Seinfeld show wasn’t funny in some fundamental way, but getting laughs out of a guy that was the equivalent of a grown man acting like a baby whining about anything and everything that wasn’t fair is a bit tough to deal with all the time. Over the years it became easier and easier to avoid this show since there was so much else to watch and while a lot of shows dealt with even more neurotic characters, they were presented in a way that wasn’t nearly as annoying, and they were given character arcs that were actually fun to watch and went somewhere other than right back to the same old place again and again. That’s one major gripe against George, he didn’t grow as a person and as a result, he became one of the many boring New York stereotypes.
Nearly every show has its stereotypes since they happen quite naturally, but there are those that lean into them so heavily that they tend to kill the character arc in a way that feels like it’s a purposeful attempt to keep the character firmly rooted in their lane and incapable of moving up or down within the show. This is great for people that don’t like said characters to change, but it’s horrible and definitely emotionally trying for those that love to watch a show develop. Those that want to say that George developed throughout the course of the show need to go back and watch the initial pilot episode and then watch the final episode.New York stereotypes
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