Seinfeld Declassified Episode 5: Did he really steal the statue?

What’s up, guys? Hope things are going well. We all remember the iconic episode, the statue, but it’s never revealed whether he actually stole it or not. And so it remained a mystery for many decades…that is until now. So let’s jump right in here, shall we?

I actually had to go back and do a rewatch for this episode but it was all worth it because I think I’ve found the answer. Here’s what we have so far. In the aftermath of emerging victorious from inka dink, Georgie boy places the statue in the kitchen right in front of the microwave. From there on in, it is visible in every shot of the kitchen right up until after Ray (to quote jerry) “did a tremendous job cleaning his apartment.”

So this seems like an open and shut case, right? Well, not so fast. As Newman would say, there’s more to this sordid little affair. You see, in the next scene, we see the statue in his apartment right out in plain sight. Now think about it; why would someone steal something and then leave it out in the open where any visitor could see it? I mean he may not have thought Jerry would ever be in his apartment but, in any case, why take the risk?

So naturally I did some research into Ray’s alibi and, from what I can see, it checks out. Singapore has one of the best economies and ranked as one of the safest nations in the world thereby making it a highly desirable retirement destination for American expats. But what about the pawn shop? Well, I’ve never actually seen any statues in a pawn shop before but they’ll buy and sell pretty much anything (so long as it’s in decent condition )so that angle checks out.

And at this point, it’s worth noting I did some research into the statue itself. It does not, in fact, appear to be an actual real-life statue but rather a prop created solely for the series itself. So there was no way to look into the value of it or whether or not it’s rare but, if he just threw it in a box and left it in the basement, that’s a pretty good indicator it is not in fact valuable or rare in any way, shape or form (at least not to their knowledge). Plus, if they’re being bought and sold in pawn shops like a common pair of jeans, you can bet they’re pretty much a dime a dozen.

But here’s where it gets interesting because we have to ask ourselves this: if he didn’t steal it, what happened to Jerry’s statue? Well, that’s sort of where the trail goes cold but I do have a few theories. The most logical would be either Jerry misplaced it or Ray inadvertently knocked it behind the fridge or counter while he was cleaning. I combed through the footage and there are no shots of the back of the fridge but these do seem to be most the logical explanations.

I mean don’t forget back in high school, he misplaced that library book that was thirty years overdue and there was also an episode where he couldn’t find his remote so he clearly has a track record of misplacing his own possessions. On a bit of side note, I think it’s worth noting I took a poll amongst the most fervent Seinfeld enthusiasts and the majority of them think he did actually steal it but I think that’s exactly what the writers want us to presume.

The truth is we’ll never actually know unless Larry himself either confirms or denies it (& I doubt he ever will) but, the way I see it, Ray is innocent until (or unless) proven guilty and, since we have no incontrovertible evidence that he’s a thief, I proclaim the verdict to be not guilty. So that’s about all I have for you guys today but thank you so much for reading. Have a great weekend and I will see you back here next time for a brand new episode of Seinfeld declassified.