It’s been 20 years since Seinfeld left TV, and its ratings-grabbing final episode remains
divisive among both critics and fans.
Here's what happened during the last episode of this long-running sitcom, and how it fits
into the rest of the hug-free, learning-free, laugh-filled show about nothing.
“So everybody I know is a character on the show?”
“That’s right.”
“And it’s about nothing?”
“Absolutely nothing!”
Breaking the mold
While sitcoms existed before Seinfeld, no other show captured the quirks of everyday
life quite like it.
Older sitcoms relied on likable characters and goofy hijinks, but Seinfeld, in contrast,
famously had the unofficial motto of "no hugging, no learning.”
In one of many tongue-in-cheek plots, we even watched characters pitch a Seinfeld-esque
show to an NBC executive as "a show about nothing."
“I think I can sum up the show for you with one word: nothing.”
“Nothing?”
“Nothing!”
The show's tendency to make episodes out of anything meant that viewers had no idea what
the show would focus on week to week.
Viewers could jump in anywhere without getting lost and the characters of Seinfeld would
never learn a lesson... even if they really should.
That all changed in the series finale.
Looking up
The series finale starts off on a positive note.
Jerry and George seem to have finalized their deal for the Seinfeld-esque show they're making
called Jerry.
“He wants to sit down with us and talk about Jerry.”
"Our show Jerry?”
“Right.”
“Jerry?
Oh my god he wants to talk about Jerry.”
"Ya!"
Network executives even loan the cast a private jet, so Jerry and his pals decide to go to
Paris.
It's about the happiest ending the self-obsessed crew could get, so of course it doesn't last.
Almost immediately, they muck things up by nearly crashing the plane, and get stuck in
a small Massachusetts town while they wait for it to get fixed.
In classic Seinfeld fashion, they witness a crime and crack jokes instead of helping
the victim.
“Ah it’s a shame, alright I’m gonna call NBC.”
However, the characters aren't in New York, and their big city attitude lands them in
court for failing to help.
They finally experience real consequences for their daily rudeness almost as soon as
they leave New York.
Karma for past deeds
Of course, it's ridiculous that they're arrested for failing to help a carjacking victim, especially
when, as their lawyer reminds the judge, the actual criminal is still out there.
"So how can a bystander be guilty?
No such thing.
Have you ever heard of a guilty bystander?”
Still, you can't say that Jerry, George, Elaine, and Kramer didn't have it coming in some way.
“So they just stood there and did nothing?”
“Yeah, nothing, nothing!”
The actual crime they get arrested for might be "criminal indifference," but the real reason
that they get arrested is that they've amassed so much negative karma over the years that
something needed to break.
Even their acts of kindness are tainted with selfishness, like when George tries to take
back a tip when the cashier doesn't notice him originally tipping.
Character witnesses
During their trial, a series of character witnesses become a greatest hits parade of
some of the funniest Seinfeld episodes, while also reminding viewers just how many awful
things the cast has done.
“The idiots clowns did not know how to order...I banned that one, the woman for a year.
Then one day…she came back.”
Instead of taking the opportunity to realize how many people they've hurt, Jerry, Elaine,
George, and Kramer seem largely unmoved.
And then, they're judged...
“We find the defendants guilty!”
...and sentenced to a year in prison.
Nothing ever ends
“Oh yeah, the second button is the key button, it literally makes or breaks the shirt.
Look at it, it's too high.
It’s in no man’s land.”
After they get convicted, Jerry talks to George about his shirt button placement, in an exact
rehash of the very first lines of Seinfeld.
“See now to me that button's in the worst possible spot.
The second button literally makes or breaks the shirt.
Look at it, it's too high.
It’s in no man’s land."
George responds by asking if they've had the conversation before, and having completely
ignored any chance to redeem themselves, the show ends exactly where it begins: with George
and Jerry having a conversation about nothing.
Controversial conclusion
Love it or hate it, the ending is certainly bold.
Unfortunately, it was also pretty divisive.
Entertainment Weekly gave it a C- at the time, while USA Today published a scathing review
of the finale.
On the other hand, Grantland published a defense of the finale in 2015.
It wasn't just critics who were torn either, the actors were divided about the unique ending.
Jerry Seinfeld himself initially defended the show in a Reddit AMA, saying
"I was happy with the Seinfeld finale because we didn't want to do another episode as much
as we wanted to have everybody come back to the show we had so much fun with."
Julia Louis-Dreyfus, who played Elaine, even made a joke about the finale on The Late Show
with David Letterman.
“Thanks for letting me take part in another hugely disappointing series finale.”
Not the real ending?
While the actual finale of Seinfeld might still be debated, it's not necessarily the
final word from co-creator Larry David.
On Curb Your Enthusiasm, David put together a Seinfeld finale more in keeping with fans'
expectations, when he brings the cast back together in a ploy to regain the affections
of his ex-wife.
“Larry we already screwed up one finale, we can’t do another.”
“We didn’t screw up a finale, that was a good finale!”
"Yaaa…."
In the reunion, Jerry has gotten together with Elaine, while George tries to get back
together with his ex-wife Amanda after losing all of his money in pyramid scheme.
Jerry and Elaine have even had a daughter together.
The ending is much closer to what fans likely pictured when Seinfeld was wrapping up its
run, and David even called the faux reunion, quote, "a perfect way to do something like
that but not to do it."