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Larry David still regrets how the finale of his biggest hit show, Seinfeld, ended. He even took a few digs at that final episode, which had aired on May 14, 1998, in Curb Your Enthusiasm, the satirical meta-comedy show he created and starred in. Now, 26 years later, Larry David tries to redeem himself for the 'Seinfeld' fiasco by taking a similar path in the finale of Curb Your Enthusiasm, only to veer off and pursue its own sensible direction. Moreover, he even enlists Jerry Seinfeld in his mission of redemption. Larry David Birthday Special: Did You Know He Was Related to Bernie Sanders? 5 Facts About the Curb Your Enthusiasm Star You Didn’t Know!
As you are aware, the 12th season of Curb Your Enthusiasm is also its last season, and the final episode of the series aired on April 8. Like Seinfeld's finale, it also centred around courtroom proceedings. However, unlike Seinfeld, where the lead quartet ended up in jail due to legal hassles established only in the finale, the running theme of season 12 of Curb Your Enthusiasm was Larry David facing trial for breaking a law in Atlanta, Georgia. He unknowingly broke the law by passing a bottle of water to Aunt Rae, who was standing in line to vote under the sweltering sun.
While Larry was hailed as a hero by dissenters of the law, we know better, but let's say, we were also worried about how the show would end. The Seinfeld route was predictable, given the established theme of the trial being the main recurring element of the 12th season. This was an opportunity for him to rectify past mistakes, but for most of the episode, Curb Your Enthusiasm seemed to be heading down the same flawed path where the episode brought back cameos and past incidents to expose Larry David's flawed character.
Larry David's Past Catching Up
The public prosecutor, portrayed by guest star Greg Kinnear, continuously summoned figures from Larry's past who harboured deep grievances against him, each shedding light on his reprehensible character. From Mocha Joe (Saverio Guerra), who recounted the calamity resulting from Larry opening a competing store adjacent to his, culminating in a fiery confrontation (season 10 finale), to Rachel Heinemann (Iris Bahr), who was compelled to leap from the ski lift she shared with Larry (Season 5 episode 8), the episode served as a stark reminder of Larry's vexatious conduct throughout history. The jury, along with the audience, was regaled with accounts of his misdeeds: the killing of a swan, an accidental act of urination on a portrait of Jesus Christ, pilfering flowers from a memorial, inviting a sex offender to a party, and even appropriating shoes from a Holocaust memorial.
Bruce Springsteen also made a cameo appearance, reminiscing about his prior involvement in the series via a video call, and blamed Larry for infecting him with COVID-19. Additionally, Alexander Vindman, the real-life Director for European Affairs for the United States National Security Council, who testified against the former US President Donald Trump in the Trump–Ukraine scandal, was summoned as a witness against David for bribery allegations (season 11 finale).
To our surprise, even Tara Michaelson (Bailey Thompson), the little girl we saw in episode 7 of season 2 who thought Larry was a pervert thanks to a plastic bottle hidden in his pants (don't ask), came to testify against him, while revealing she had to undergo years of trauma as a result.
Return to Seinfeld Fiasco?
To Larry's chagrin, even his own defence caused more trouble. Firstly, he botched up his lawyer's opening statement by distracting the jury while trying to kill a fly. Aunt Rae (Ellia English), whom Larry had given the water bottle, ended up testifying against him when she learned that Larry and Jeff tricked her into revealing her secret salad dressing. Even Susie (Susie Essman), who pretended to be Larry's wheelchair-bound girlfriend to earn him brownie points, stormed off the court when she realized that Jeff's anniversary gift - Aunt Rae's secret salad dressing recipe - was obtained through trickery (though she returned in later sessions to support Larry).
Needless to say, Larry lost public sympathy and support (while Ted Danson scored with his protests). The jury found Larry guilty of violating the Election Integrity Act of 2021, and the judge (Dean Norris), while reprimanding Larry for all his mistakes, sentenced him to a year in prison. Later, we see Larry in his cell, looking down at his pants and making a 'pants tent' joke with a fellow inmate, recalling a similar joke he made in the first episode of the first season of Curb Your Enthusiasm. The Larry David Story Trailer: Documentary About Seinfeld and Curb Your Enthusiasm Creator Premieres on March 1!
Watch That Scene Here:
This is also what Seinfeld's finale did in its ending scene, when George Costanza and Jerry Seinfeld also end up in a pointless chatter over a button, just like they did in the show's first episode. So, did the final episode of Curb Your Enthusiasm also become just like Seinfeld's controversial finale? Did History repeat itself again for Larry David?
No.
Wait...
The Twist
Jerry Seinfeld also returned to cameo in the episode in support of Larry during his trial. To our utter surprise, it was he who - in a twist of poetic irony - ended up saving Larry from spending a year in prison!
While visiting a Mexican restaurant in Atlanta - perhaps the same one which Larry told his friends to avoid (thankfully for him, Seinfeld wasn't present there) - Jerry ends up annoying a patron after telling him he looks like Joe Pesci (the patron inadvertently imitates Pesci's iconic scene from Goodfellas thereby validating Jerry's observation). The next day in court, Jerry sees the same man among the jury members. Since the judge specifically warned the sequestered jury not to interact with the outside world until the trial was over, the man was in clear violation of the same (a 'bad sequester', as Larry puts it). Therefore, after Jerry pointed this out to the judge (who verified the man's presence in the restaurant from security footage), the judge declared it a mistrial, thus allowing Larry to walk out as a free man. It is an episode that aptly lives up to its title, No Lessons Learned, as Larry hasn't learnt anything from his mistakes (which he had proudly declared to a kid earlier in the episode) and yet ends up walking out a free man. And you wanted to root for him when he did so...
The Redemption
This twist worked greatly with a dual purpose. While we didn't want Curb Your Enthusiasm to end up exactly like Seinfeld, despite the whole final season threatening to do so and have Larry get sent to prison (which eventually happened), we also didn't want Larry to be treated as a hero. This twist allowed Larry to not only walk out as a free man but also keep his image of a self-preserving, confrontational jerk intact while doing so.
But more so...
The scene also ended up redeeming both Larry and Jerry, both being the creators of Seinfeld and sharing the blame for how the finale turned out (never mind the roaring success of the show). This is something they also realised when Larry tells Jerry that this is also what they should have done with the final episode of Seinfeld - bring in a twist development that would have allowed Jerry, George, Elaine, and Kramer to walk free, rather than putting them behind bars for a crime that felt least offensive compared to their past misdemeanours.
The Final Scene
The final scene has Larry, Jeff, Susie, Leon (JB Smoove) and Richard Lewis (who has broken off with his disturbed girlfriend, who wants to kill Larry) returning home on a flight. The episode concludes with them bickering amongst themselves, providing a fitting and consistent scene and tone to conclude the show. However, as Larry isn't in jail, it leaves the ending somewhat open-ended, suggesting that Larry and the others could return at some point in the future if they choose to. Except for the late Richard Lewis, may his soul rest in peace. Curb Your Enthusiasm is streaming on HBO, Max and in India on JioCinema.
(The above story first appeared on LatestLY on Apr 08, 2024 12:57 PM IST. For more news and updates on politics, world, sports, entertainment and lifestyle, log on to our website latestly.com).
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