Seinfeld fans: "What's the deal with 'The Finale'?"

Just finished revisiting the entire series on DVD and once again came across the final episode, "The Finale." It's a bittersweet process trying to get through the last episode...from day one, something did not sit right with me when I first saw it the first time on that Thursday night back in 1998. For years after, I would watch this episode again trying to dissect why exactly the episode has caused me (and apparently many, many other fans) the discomfort that it has.

Larry David had left the show after the seventh season and returned to write the final episode at the end of it's ninth and final season of the show. Larry has never disappointed fans with a classic Larry David penned Seinfeld episode (and he's proven that his own show, "Curb Your Enthusiasm", that he is a master of story writing). But suddenly, here is this finale that just doesn't sit right. It's a very elaborate story, classic Larry David nuggets of conversation and banter, a mini reunion of all past characters...so how could this fail?

My feelings towards the show:

• While Larry is a master at weaving a great story and arc, I feel this particular episode was simply too heavy on a very specific story that took away from the natural feel of the show. The show always seemed to glide effortlessly through the plot without you even noticing what was happening. It was all so subtle. Here in this episode, from the very moment Jerry calls Elaine and says "George and I are moving to California!" the viewer automatically knows ok, well this is where this episode is going. Will they end up in California? And the story moves along---very quickly. And a little too conveniently. They make an emergency stop in Lathem, Massauchusets, witness a robbery, and they get arrested for not stopping the robbery, and they're in court facing a five year sentence within a day or two. BAM. There's your story. So how do they get out of it?
  
• The bonus feature of this story setup is that Larry manages to rally up almost all the character actors from the show's history: the Soup Nazi, Susan's parents, Babu, the low talker and on and on. They all take the stand to testify just how evil these people are. It's a way to get them all back together again but also a nice way to sneak in a couple clips of each character from the show. So, it becomes a mini clip show right in the middle of the show. Clever idea--but we just saw a one hour Clip show before the Finale. Why another set of clips again? It's this idea of getting the entire cast together is, I believe, Larry's first mistake with this show. It's this decision and this decision alone that forces Larry to come up with this particular story line:
  
  How else would you be able to get all characters in one room? What other scenario would cause this? A courtroom. How do we get Jerry, George, Elaine and Kramer in a courtroom...what crime would they commit? How about not helping a person being robbed? Where would they have such a weird law like that? A small town in Massachusets. How do they get there? What if they're plane breaks down? Why are they on a plane? What if their private plane has technical issues and needs to make an emergency stop? Where did they get a private plane? From NBC. Why did NBC give them a private plane? Because they want to pick up the "Jerry" sitcom again. And here's your show.
  
  
  
• The main reason I feel this episode doesn't feel right is because suddenly the characters are forcefully thrown into the real world. They've now left the "Seinfeld" world that we all knew where things are safe, where they escape out of jams relatively unscathed-and into our world where there are consequences, laws and jail! It's a huge change from what we're used to and it puts the viewer in a confused state. Which leads us to the final verdict:
  
• They're found guilty. Could this episode been saved if they were found not guilty? Maybe. Technically, the verdict of them being guilty follows along with the show's tradition: the characters always lose in the end. But here though, the consequences are much, much greater...they're going to jail. This is serious stuff now. This isnt just some social faux paus or some awkward moment they can sort of weasel out of...it's jail. What's so jarring is that the characters don't win. Even when they lose, you feel like it's no big deal; they'll be fine. But not this time. It's revealed that they're only in jail for a year--sort of making this thing a little better. But the show ends on a very, very somber tone. The last shot is a tracking shot as the camera zooms out at the cast sitting in their jail cell. They were smart to add Jerry doing comedy in jail as the credits rolled but it really didn't take away the sour taste of the entire episode.

In the end, I think the idea of them all going to jail together sounded much better on paper than it actually being played out. It's a nice little fantasy to think about but not really something I want to see flushed out. The final episode's story could have easily been expanded into a full season arc and could have had some great moments and maybe even worked better if it took on that type of pacing. But all that story and exposition in one 50 minute show was very un-Seinfeld like and in the end took away from the moments that Seinfeld made so great: social struggles, personal turmoil, facing awkward situations and weaseling your way out of it. The last episode was such a departure from the format that when it was all over...we still wanted more.



Anyone have thoughts? Did anyone actually love this final episode?

 

No love here. From my review:

"On a website I visit, someone ran a thread to discuss the least favorite episode of Seinfeld. “The Finale” was the runaway winner for that “honor”, and the readers of that site aren’t the only ones who feel disdain for this episode. Does it deserve to live in disgrace?

Probably not, but even as we near the show’s 10-year anniversary, it remains a disappointment. I could live without the self-referential ways it toys with the audience, as these seem too contrived and clever-clever. It also gives us an idiotic premise once the cast ends up in the small town. Even for them, it’s awfully cold and cynical to watch them mock a car-jacking victim, and the use of the “Good Samaritan” law is completely stupid. The show’s text commentary tells us of an actual Massachusetts law in this regard, but I don’t think that it means ordinary citizens are forced to confront armed criminals.

Hmm… the more I think about it, the more I think “Finale” does deserve to be regarded as one of the series’ worst shows. Granted, the Seinfeld crew had to live up to high expectations while they also stayed true to the show. It’s not like Cheers or M*A*S*H where they could have some really natural end point and/or indulge in weepy sentimentality. A satisfying ending to a series about nothing would be difficult to achieve.

And that’s the problem with “Finale”: they tried way too hard to make it about something. It’s such a big, dramatic set of events that it feels contrary to the series’ tone. Perhaps the “Finale” should’ve gone in the absolute opposite direction of expectations and created the smallest scenario possible. Give us an hour of the main four chatting in the coffee shop. That would’ve been much more subversive than all the audience teasing done here and it also would’ve been true to the series."

 

There was no way a final episode of Seinfeld was ever going to live up to the legacy it had created.
Enjoy the 178 episodes that came before it and rewatch forever more (hopefully on Bluray before much longer).

 

Thanks for the review...glad to see that another fan feels the same way. The final episode was not the time to throw us a story-heavy, fate-changing epic. The show should've left the way they came in: small.

 

See, I always hear that but I can't say that it's completely true. I mean had they gone the other way and not created such a huge story that was dependent on life changing events---the episode would have been accepted much better than it was. Had the show ended on just a basic premise...like a Soup Nazi or "the contest"--that would've been much more in the scope of Seinfeld. I think they (Larry) got too caught up in putting the characters in a "Thelma and Louise" moment. From a writing standpoint, I can see how fun it would have been to go this direction but this was no way to END a series especially when the show was always this fun, out of reality type of landscape.

 

Yup - I think that's what I tried to express in my review, that the finale was the opposite of the series' stated goals. I think they succumbed to the pressure to make a BIG FINISH, even though that wasn't what the series was about...

 

Just not one of the better shows,,not a total waste for Seinfeld fans ,does
have old cast members show up to remind you of better seasons

last line isn't bad ,but most didn't get it,Larry would make up for it on his show

 

I've never really thought it about it being a 'disappointing' show.

To me, it was fitting that the 4 who always got away with all the crap they were involved in finally got to pay their dues. I loved Seinfeld and thought it was a clever way to reminisce.

I mean, you saw them every episode sitting in the coffee shop. Don't you want something a little different? Or is it more of a comfort level for you?

The good guys don't always ride off in the sunset. At least they weren't killed off!

 

And it also leaves the door open should there ever be a reunion.

 

It's not a "comfort level" thing - it's a "the ending seemed stupid and didn't fit the series" thing. I'd have been fine with something "daring" - as long as it felt like it was part of the same series. "The Finale" was too contrived and ridiculous...

 

The finale never sat well with me. I felt patronized by the courtroom parade of side characters and agree with the idea that they should have gone out like they came in - small. (Can't help thinking of the touching final moments of Cheers - a last breeze-shooting in the bar and "We're closed." Not that I would have expected Seinfeld to be touching had they gone that route.) On the other hand, the finale seemed like the natural result of how silly the show had gotten in its last seasons, and perhaps suddenly toning down the wackiness wasn't even a creative option.

----
www.jazzshelf.org

 

They should of made the blandest show possible for the finale.

 

I always suspected that since David had left the show almost two years earlier he had lost a feel for the characters and the show by the time he was assigned the task of the writing the finale. There was also probably a lot of pressure on him to produce something extra special. A lot of the episode feels forced and is not funny. Frankly, it's just sub-par writing in comparison to every other episode of the series, and I would add the same criticism to much of the acting in this last episode, too.

 

I always thought all the episodes were contriving and sometimes ridiculous. That it what made the show so good.

So if you had to pick, IYO, the best and worst episode, what would they be?

 

I like the finale. I think it was a brilliant way to bring back a lot of guest stars. I also think the finale has aged well. Not a classic Seinfeld episode, but a solid one.

 

That seems more appropriate, IMO.

 

I think one of the reasons why they reunited on Curb Your Enthusiasm was to have a more fitting end to the characters without the pressure of a 'reunion'

 

I got to see Terri Hatcher again in the final episode so I was happy.

 

On Jon Hein's old "Jump the Shark" TV website, this was a hotly-debated issue. I think you can make a fair argument that Seinfeld is one of the rare shows that only went bad with the very last episode.

I actually liked the show and understood what they were trying to do, but I also concede it was very negative and oft-putting for the fans. One thing you have to bear in mind that, at its core, the show was about four very self-centered, narcissistic, neurotic people. Eventually, their pasts were going to catch up with them.

But I agree, the events of the episode are very contrived and hokey, particularly the speed of the trial, the way the witnesses are paraded, and how they all wind up in one cell (including Elaine, who of course would've never been there in real life). A lot of the previous Seinfeld episodes used some major leaps and contrivances to tie together all the subplots, but this one went a bit far.

And yet... it still made me laugh. The series is classic enough that I don't think the finale really hurt it, even though it's not a great episode.

 

I'm glad you said this because I wanted to also make it a point of saying that the show made me laugh too. It was very well written. But I hated that I had to stop laughing at the classic Seinfeld moments for more of that heavy-handed story. "Hahaha, that was fantastic! OH right...now back to the trial." The story became this very clunky thing I just wanted to keep on dodging just to get back to the Seinfeld that I knew--which were the small, tiny moments that were actually in between the trial scenes: Jerry eating cereal at the courthouse complaining how he's had to ration his milk. Good stuff there.

As someone mentioned, they redeem themselves wonderfully on the reunion arc on "Curb Your Enthusiasm." Some fine, fine moments there that really deserve to be put up with Seinfeld's best moments.

This is a great idea to explore. Perhaps there was some disconnect with Larry and the show he left behind. Perhaps he overestimated the show and went TOO far? As much as we want to admit that the final episode was a "departure" for the show, the show was slowly but surely getting crazier and outlandish by the ninth season. It had started right as Larry left. The premises were getting more and more out there...Elaine hires a guy in fatigues to write for the catalog (which then sets off a blocked war memory from Frank Costanza and makes him go nuts), Kramer and the Van Buren Boys, George digging up his keys in the pothole, George napping under his desk...the show was just getting hilariously out of the realm of reality.

 

An alternate ending to this show would have been to have been arrested, told that they were facing prosecution and possible jail time. BAM..freeze frame and roll credits with the last shot being them dragged away in cuffs. In Seinfeld, there was always a threat or a hint at the serious consequences. We didn't always see them being served. The show ends before we see the full aftermath. By the next week, the problems were somehow fixed and all was back to normal. We just assume things worked out.

Here in this finale, we don't actually want to SEE these characters sit through a court case. It's not fun and games anymore. It's turned into a weird combination of Seinfeld and Perry Mason. It doesn't leave much to the audience's imagination to the fate of these characters which is what Larry should have done...leave it open enough so that the audience could make up their own ending, much like we did after each episode of the show. But here, he eliminates that and gives us the ending: they're in jail. Buzz kill.

 

Here's my theory: in the first few seasons, Larry David was forced to make various compromises to placate the executives at NBC. In Larry's mind, the end result was a somewhat watered down version of HIS VISION of what "Seinfeld" should be.

Larry left the show in 1996, but briefly returned two years later just to write the finale. At that point, he knew he had enough power to get away with ANYTHING he wanted, without repercussions. (What was NBC gonna do, fire him?? Cancel the show? Ha!)

When you combine that mentality with the fact that Larry had been "out of the game" for 2 years, the end result is a stilted, uneven production that barely resembles the tone that had been set years earlier.

Larry was finally able to present "his vision" of "Seinfeld", but what he didn't realize was that "Seinfeld" was no longer "his" alone -- it had taken on a life of its own. Instead of writing a finale that "fit" within the natural evolution of the characters, he wrote a finale that only fit within HIS idea of what the characters SHOULD have become.

 

Huge fan of the show. Hated the finale.

I wished Larry David shot the full reunion episode they had bits of on Curb Your Enthusiasm and gave it to us as a bonus on the Season 7 DVD set.

 

Did. Not. Like.

Worst. Episode. Ever.