After dinner, Jerry gets his car back from the valet. He and Elaine get in the car and realize that the valet has really bad B.O.. Jerry goes to great lengths to get the smell out of his car while Elaine goes to great lengths to get the smell out of her hair. Jerry soon realizes that the smell isn't just a mere odor, but an entity unto itself, and finally decides that he has to get rid of his car. Meanwhile, George gets reacquainted with Susan and discovers that he drove her to lesbianism, and Kramer ends up seeing Mona, Susan's girlfriend who left her for him.
Tropes:
- Circular Reasoning:
- Maître'd: What do you mean, "stunk up"?
Jerry: I mean, the car stinks! George, does the car stink?
George: Stinks.
Jerry: Stinks!
Maître'd: Well perhaps you're the one who has the odor.
Jerry: Hey, I've never smelled in my life, buddy!
Maître'd: (skeptical) Really. Well I smell you now.
Jerry: That's from the car!
Maître'd: Well maybe you're the one who stunk up the car, rather than the car stinking up you!!
George: It's the chicken and the egg.
- Eldritch Abomination: Jerry comes to regard the stench in his car as some kind of formless monster that he calls "the Beast." Where it came from is ambiguous, it clings to everyone and everything it touches, it seemingly ruins all the gang's lives (or just inconveniences them), and nothing seems capable of removing it.
- Even Beggars Won't Choose It: Jerry finally rids himself of the unkillable B.O. in his car by just abandoning the car next to some random guy sitting on the side of the road and leaving the keys inside, gesturing to him as if to say, "it's yours now". The guy gets inside, and the episode ends with a freeze frame of his face making an expression that clearly indicates he isn't going to take it.
- Friendship Moment: A double one: George generously offers to buy the car off Jerry despite having experienced the smell firsthand; Jerry refuses to sell it to him as he can't put that burden on him.
- Fun with Acronyms:George: Oh, this is beyond B.O. This is B.B.O.
- Inner Monologue: George has one when he spots two lesbians:George: They're so fascinating. Why is that? Because they don't want us. You gotta respect that.
- Sanity Ball: The main characters are surprisingly normal in this episode. All their grievances are perfectly plausible (or in George's case given the time period) and they don't overreact. While Jerry thinks the odor is alive, given its lingering and clinging effect, there was definitely something very abnormal about it.
- The Unreveal: Exactly what is causing the smell is never directly revealed, but it's implied that the valet from the beginning did it.
