The Soul Mate

"**The Soul Mate**"
"The Soul Mate"
Seinfeld episode
Episode no.	Season 8; Episode 2
Directed by	Andy Ackerman
Written by	Peter Mehlman
Production code	802
Original air date	September 26, 1996
Guest appearances
	Wayne Knight as Newman; Tim DeKay as Kevin; Bruce Davison as Wyck; Kim Myers as Pam; Lisa Mende as Carol; Rende Rae Norman as Ms. Baines; Tommy Redmond Hicks as Mr. Cross; Jill Talley as Gail; Jill Holden as Lisa;
Episode chronology
← Previous; "The Foundation"	Next →; "The Bizarro Jerry"
	Seinfeld season 8
	List of episodes

"The Soul Mate" is the 136th episode of the American television sitcom Seinfeld. This was the second episode for the eighth season, originally airing on NBC on September 26, 1996.^[1] In this episode, George tries to figure out what caused the damage to a briefcase he left behind at a meeting of the Susan Ross foundation, Elaine is attracted to a man based on his professed disinterest in having children, and Jerry and Kramer find themselves on opposing sides of a love triangle.

Plot

The foundation chair, Wyck, clears his throat just before describing Susan's death as an "accident", making George suspect Wyck thinks he murdered Susan. Jerry suggests he put a running tape recorder in his briefcase and leave it behind at the next board meeting so he can hear what the board members say about him in his absence. Following Jerry's advice, George returns to find the briefcase damaged and the tape with a recording of the horrified exclamations "What are you doing?!" and "Dear God!" followed by a loud thud. After struggling to come up with a theory which could explain this, George confronts the board with the recording. Wyck claims Quint was moving a chair and dropped it on the briefcase. He offers no explanation for the horrified cries, but George is satisfied with his story and leaves with his briefcase this time. He thus misses the board members casually commenting that they all believe he murdered Susan.

Elaine insists she has no desire to have a baby. When a man, Kevin, overhears her declaration and seconds it, she starts dating him. However, when Kevin tells her he got a vasectomy, she gets second thoughts about whether she wants to have children.

Kramer falls in love with Jerry's girlfriend Pam, but is restrained by loyalty to Jerry. When Elaine tells Kramer that Jerry is not in love with Pam, he gets the confidence to confront Jerry about his feelings. However, his praises for Pam convince Jerry that she is too good a woman to let go of. Kramer enlists Newman's help; the smooth-talking Newman feeds Kramer romantic lines which enable him to win Pam's heart. When Newman taunts Jerry over this, Jerry convinces him to stop helping Kramer in exchange for advice on wooing his obsession, Elaine. His advice is that Elaine doesn't want children.

Pam tells Jerry and Kramer that she has feelings for them both and can't choose between them. She mentions she doesn't want to have children, so they line up with Newman for their own vasectomies. Elaine and Kevin go to get his vasectomy reversed. Realizing Elaine must have changed her mind about children, Jerry and Newman leave before their scheduled vasectomies, but after Kramer gets his.

Production

The episode is dedicated to Victor Wayne Harris, an assistant prop master for the show who died in August 1996 of complications of a stroke. Harris appears in the episode "The Pilot", in the scene where George is on the phone calling for his test results; right at the end of the scene Harris appears as a man with a white t-shirt and a cap approaching the phone.

In Elaine and Kevin's conversation about his vasectomy, Elaine references the hairstyle she wore in the last two episodes of Season 7 ("The Wait Out" and "The Invitations").^[2]

The scene at the bookstore is an homage to Edmond Rostand's play Cyrano de Bergerac, while the Jerry/Newman chase sequence is an homage to the chase sequences in Bugs Bunny cartoons.^[2]

External links

"The Soul Mate" at IMDb

References

^ "Seinfeld Season 8 Episodes". TV Guide. Retrieved December 10, 2021.
^ ^a ^b Seinfeld Season 8: Notes About Nothing - "The Soul Mate" (DVD). Sony Pictures Home Entertainment. 2007.

[tvguide-1] "Seinfeld Season 8 Episodes". TV Guide. Retrieved December 10, 2021.

[NaN-2] Seinfeld Season 8: Notes About Nothing - "The Soul Mate" (DVD). Sony Pictures Home Entertainment. 2007.

[1]

[2]

v t e Seinfeld episodes
Season 1	"The Seinfeld Chronicles" "The Stake Out" "The Robbery" "Male Unbonding" "The Stock Tip"
Season 2	"The Ex-Girlfriend" "The Pony Remark" "The Jacket" "The Phone Message" "The Apartment" "The Statue" "The Revenge" "The Heart Attack" "The Deal" "The Baby Shower" "The Chinese Restaurant" "The Busboy"
Season 3	"The Note" "The Truth" "The Pen" "The Dog" "The Library" "The Parking Garage" "The Cafe" "The Tape" "The Nose Job" "The Stranded" "The Alternate Side" "The Red Dot" "The Subway" "The Pez Dispenser" "The Suicide" "The Fix-Up" "The Boyfriend"† "The Limo" "The Good Samaritan" "The Letter" "The Parking Space" "The Keys"
Season 4	"The Trip"† "The Pitch" "The Ticket" "The Wallet" "The Watch" "The Bubble Boy" "The Cheever Letters" "The Opera" "The Virgin" "The Contest" "The Airport" "The Pick" "The Movie" "The Visa" "The Shoes" "The Outing" "The Old Man" "The Implant" "The Junior Mint" "The Smelly Car" "The Handicap Spot" "The Pilot"†
Season 5	"The Mango" "The Puffy Shirt" "The Glasses" "The Sniffing Accountant" "The Bris" "The Lip Reader" "The Non-Fat Yogurt" "The Barber" "The Masseuse" "The Cigar Store Indian" "The Conversion" "The Stall" "The Dinner Party" "The Marine Biologist" "The Pie" "The Stand In" "The Wife" "The Raincoats"† "The Fire" "The Hamptons" "The Opposite"
Season 6	"The Chaperone" "The Big Salad" "The Pledge Drive" "The Chinese Woman" "The Couch" "The Gymnast" "The Soup" "The Mom & Pop Store" "The Secretary" "The Race" "The Switch" "The Label Maker" "The Scofflaw" "The Highlights of 100"† "The Beard" "The Kiss Hello" "The Doorman" "The Jimmy" "The Doodle" "The Fusilli Jerry" "The Diplomat's Club" "The Face Painter" "The Understudy"
Season 7	"The Engagement" "The Postponement" "The Maestro" "The Wink" "The Hot Tub" "The Soup Nazi" "The Secret Code" "The Pool Guy" "The Sponge" "The Gum" "The Rye" "The Caddy" "The Seven" "The Cadillac"† "The Shower Head" "The Doll" "The Friar's Club" "The Wig Master" "The Calzone" "The Bottle Deposit"† "The Wait Out" "The Invitations"
Season 8	"The Foundation" "The Soul Mate" "The Bizarro Jerry" "The Little Kicks" "The Package" "The Fatigues" "The Checks" "The Chicken Roaster" "The Abstinence" "The Andrea Doria" "The Little Jerry" "The Money" "The Comeback" "The Van Buren Boys" "The Susie" "The Pothole" "The English Patient" "The Nap" "The Yada Yada" "The Millennium" "The Muffin Tops" "The Summer of George"
Season 9	"The Butter Shave" "The Voice" "The Serenity Now" "The Blood" "The Junk Mail" "The Merv Griffin Show" "The Slicer" "The Betrayal" "The Apology" "The Strike" "The Dealership" "The Reverse Peephole" "The Cartoon" "The Strongbox" "The Wizard" "The Burning" "The Bookstore" "The Frogger" "The Maid" "The Puerto Rican Day" "The Chronicle"† "The Finale"†
† Indicates two-part episode