After 12 seasons and nearly 25 years, Larry David’s opus of a series on standing up for social norms Curb Your Enthusiasm has come to an end. We all knew (well, those paying attention) that the finale was going to be some kind of do-over. With the bell lap leading to the finale, Larry announced at the start of the season that he would effectively remake the Seinfeld finale, and then… he did exactly that, with only minor variations on the formula. Maybe we spent less time on the cameos and more time giving curtain calls to the supporting cast, but it was basically the exact same thing but with a middle finger to critics.
I’ve always liked the Seinfeld finale since it originally aired, and was confused by the backlash that started immediately afterwards and basically never went away. Seinfeld had its own system of morality where these awful people would be punished by the universe for their behavior. It’s not like they were Tony Sopranos who were awful but still kept winning. The show’s humor is built on karmic retribution for these four characters’ selfishness. Okay. Okay. They are not awful people, just heightened versions of the stereotypical cynical and self-centered New Yorker. With Curb it makes much more sense with Larry than with Jerry and his gang. As Wesley Morris said in a fantastic NYT Magazine piece published recently, “… Larry’s been the avatar of both the perpetrator and the victim of our collective loss of manners and civility. He’s also suffered for it, not to the extent of Job, but enough.” So to have a Kafkaesque accounting at the end is perfect.
“Donald Trump. Vladimir Putin. Larry David.”
This was certainly a defiant finale. Some thoughts …
-Jerry Seinfeld showing up was something I had no idea I wanted. He brought a bolt of energy to the finale, and his interactions with Larry were hilarious. And Seinfeld’s offhand aversion to accents in general is kind of strange and bizarrely funny.
-Though it was kind of interesting that the Seinfeld gang were on trial for not helping someone, while Larry’s crime was helping his friend, who was hot and thirsty. Also, neither of them knew what they had done was a crime.
-One of the protestors is carrying a sign that reads: “Yada Yada Yada.” Nice little Easter egg.
Flash back to Curb’s pilot episode and “No Lessons Learned” … The conversation with the man in the cell across from him about the fold in his pants forming a “pants tent” is a fun little reference. Which really makes it another callback to the Seinfeld finale, in which, when first seated in prison, Jerry discusses shirt-button placement with George, referencing a conversation they had in the Seinfeld pilot episode. So it’s like an echo of an Ouroboros joke.
Larry David got to have his cake and eat it too, making clear that he stands by the Seinfeld finale, while acknowledging that many fans didn’t like it and giving them what they wanted this time. Pretty. Pretty. Pretty good.