The Busboy

"**The Busboy**"
"The Busboy"
Seinfeld episode
Episode no.	Season 2; Episode 12
Directed by	Tom Cherones
Written by	Larry David & Jerry Seinfeld
Production code	203
Original air date	June 26, 1991
Guest appearances
	David Labiosa as Antonio; Doug Ballard as Eddie; John Del Regno as Manager;
Episode chronology
← Previous; "The Chinese Restaurant"	Next →; "The Note"
	Seinfeld season 2
	List of episodes

Last updated October 07, 2025

"The Busboy" is the 17th episode of Seinfeld to air. It was the third episode produced for the second season, but was the 12th and final episode to air.^[1] It aired on NBC on June 26, 1991.^[1]

Plot

Out at dinner, Jerry and Elaine peg another diner as a hair transplantation recipient, while George, regretting trying pesto, eats their food. Elaine is smug that Eddie, a visitor from Seattle, was so taken by her that he is returning to stay with her for a week. George stamps out a burning menu that a busboy carelessly left next to a candle, and Elaine exaggeratedly complains to the manager. The manager reprimands the busboy and fires him. George and Elaine regret causing this, while Jerry, with his conscience clear, guilt-trips them further.

Elaine manages to get the ex-busboy's address, so that George can go apologize and offer help. With Jerry busy and Elaine borrowing his car to pick up Eddie, Jerry sends Kramer to back up George. George is intimidated by Antonio (David Labiosa), the ex-busboy, who stares him down in silence and only acknowledges Kramer speaking Spanish to him. Because they left his apartment door open, Antonio's cat gets out, and he finally loses his composure and screams at them in English. They fail to find the cat, and Kramer breaks Antonio's lamp. George leaves Antonio his business card.

A week later, George is paranoid that Antonio is stalking him. George and Kramer make Jerry relay their finger-pointing at each other over the phone. Elaine, having quickly fell out of love with Eddie, spent the entire week faking her period and is now hellbent on seeing him off to the airport punctually. Elaine obsessively plans every detail of the airport trip, even buying a new alarm clock and paying a taxi driver to learn a shortcut via Rockaway Boulevard.

Elaine and Eddie oversleep when the alarm clock fails to ring. With only one hour left, Elaine haphazardly packs Eddie's suitcase with maniacal impatience, and sets out with them both half-dressed and barefoot. As George recites his encyclopedic knowledge of public restrooms to Jerry, Elaine arrives, disheveled and crazed from her heroic drive to the airport—thwarted only by a pileup on the very same shortcut she paid for.

Kramer lets Antonio in, to George's horror, but Antonio poignantly thanks George for inadvertently sparing him from a gas explosion at the restaurant, which killed the busboy who replaced him. He has also found a better job and his cat, in one fell swoop. Leaving, he and Eddie bump into each other, coming to blows. Both fall down stairs and suffer crippling injuries, leaving George stuck caring for Antonio's cat and Elaine stuck caring for Eddie indefinitely.

Production

This episode was noted by the supporting cast in an interview used for a DVD set as the first sign that Jerry would be a generous writer, being very good about including the co-stars into simultaneous story lines. Jerry himself does not have a lead role in either of the episode's plots.^{[ citation needed ]}

Larry David identifies this episode as the first time that multiple storylines intertwined.^[2]

This episode was filmed in October 1990, simultaneously with "The Pony Remark" and "The Ex-Girlfriend".^{[ citation needed ]}

Reception

David Sims of The A.V. Club gave the episode a C+.^[3]

It was ranked fifth on a list of Seinfeld's "Not-so-top episodes", compiled by the New York Daily News , choosing the best and worst five episodes of the series.^[4]

References

1 2 "Seinfeld Season 2 Episodes". TV Guide . Archived from the original on December 2, 2021. Retrieved December 2, 2021.
↑ "How It Began (6/6)". YouTube . Archived from the original on August 28, 2022. Retrieved August 28, 2022.
↑ "Seinfeld: "The Ex-Girlfriend"/"The Pony Remark"/"The Busboy"". June 17, 2010. Archived from the original on October 14, 2016. Retrieved December 21, 2016.
↑ Vaccaro, Chris (July 8, 2008). "A look back at the best - and worst - Seinfeld episodes". New York Daily News . Archived from the original on December 17, 2021. Retrieved August 17, 2009.

External links

"The Busboy" at IMDb

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Text is available under the CC BY-SA 4.0 license; additional terms may apply.
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[tvguide-1] 1 2 "Seinfeld Season 2 Episodes". TV Guide . Archived from the original on December 2, 2021. Retrieved December 2, 2021.

[Youtube-2] "How It Began (6/6)". YouTube . Archived from the original on August 28, 2022. Retrieved August 28, 2022.

[3] "Seinfeld: "The Ex-Girlfriend"/"The Pony Remark"/"The Busboy"". June 17, 2010. Archived from the original on October 14, 2016. Retrieved December 21, 2016.

[4] Vaccaro, Chris (July 8, 2008). "A look back at the best - and worst - Seinfeld episodes". New York Daily News . Archived from the original on December 17, 2021. Retrieved August 17, 2009.

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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