When Kramer invites himself over once too often, Jerry demands he return the spare set of keys Jerry loaned to him, which virtually ends their open-door friendship. Distraught and overwrought, Kramer heads west to California.
Tropes:
- Ask a Stupid Question... / Shaped Like Itself: George and Jerry are looking for Jerry's spare keys in Elaine's apartment. George asks what the keys look like, to which Jerry replies in annoyance, "They look like keys, George. They look exactly like keys."
- Bad "Bad Acting": Kramer on Murphy Brown.
- Brick Joke: Jerry gets fed up with Kramer's constant intrusions and demands that Kramer give him his spare keys. Kramer then demands his own spare keys back, which turns out to be a massive keyring with dozens of keys on it. Fast-forward to the end of "The Trip, Part 2," where Jerry gives Kramer his spare key back...at which point Kramer returns his massive keyring by hurling it onto Jerry's coffee table.
- Chekhov's Gun: Jerry's girlfriend tells him "you were so fast with those keys" as they enter his apartment, pretending to be escaping a murderer. Seconds later, Jerry demands Kramer hand in his spare key to Jerry's apartment.
- Chain of Deals: In return to Kramer giving him his spare set of keys, George has to give Kramer his own. So he goes to Elaine to get them. However, she only agrees to give George his keys back in return for hers, so she can in turn give them to Jerry, who entrusted her with his keys. This leads to a huge, confusing kerfuffle, especially as George has disagreements over who is entitled to whose keys and why. Jerry sums it all up after he and George have a huge debate on the subject.Jerry: You were gonna give [Elaine] her spare keys and she was gonna give them to me. So all that's happening is that instead of giving them to her, you're giving them to me. It's just unfortunate that when she gave you yours, you didn't give her hers, 'cause then she would have given them to me 'cause she has mine. So then I wouldn't ever have asked you for hers so that I could get mine.
(beat)
George: You're right, how did I miss that? - Does This Remind You of Anything?: Kramer acts like a drug addict with the keys, becoming angry and physical when Jerry forces them off him, yet feeling oddly relieved once they're gone."I don't want the keys back!...I was clinging to those keys, man. Like a branch on the banks of a raging river! And now I am free...to go with the current."
- Heroic BSoD: Kramer falls into a state of depression after Jerry takes his spare keys away from him, growing distant from Jerry and eventually leaving everyone behind to start a new life in California.
- O.O.C. Is Serious Business: Things are shown to be serious when Kramer knocks on Jerry's door rather than just slide in like he always does.
- "The Reason You Suck" Speech: Kramer more or less gives one to George by asking him a series of questions designed to prove that George is wasting his life.George: What you call wasting, I call living.
Kramer: Okay, like what? Tell me. Do you have a job?
George: No.
Kramer: You got money?
George: No.
Kramer: You got a woman?
George: ...No.
Kramer: Do you have any prospects?
George: (growing more and more depressed) Uh... no.
Kramer: Do you have any action at all?
George: ...No.
Kramer: Do you have any conceivable reason for even getting up in the morning?
George: ...I like to get The Daily News...
Kramer: George, it's time for us to grow up... (beats chest) and be men. - Sequel Episode: The next episode, season 4 premiere "The Trip" (which was a two-parter).
- Serious Business: The subject of who gets to be entrusted with whose spare keys in this episode leads to a lot of anger, infighting, and almost-broken friendships.
