What Happens In Seinfeld's Finale
Seinfeld's finale begins with Jerry Seinfeld getting the news that he has finally struck a deal with NBC to create "Jerry," the fictional show within a show that was a meta storyline in Season 4. NBC lends Jerry their private jet, and as a last hurrah, the gang heads to Paris to celebrate. But as they are en route, Kramer stumbles into the cockpit, causing the plane to crash in the fictional town of Latham, Massachusetts.
As they wait in Latham for their plane to be repaired, they witness a man getting carjacked at gunpoint. In typical Seinfeld fashion, they laugh at the man instead of helping him, as Kramer films it on his video camera. But when the police show up, the victim reports the four of them for not helping, and they are all arrested under the "Good Samaritan Law," which requires bystanders to help out when they witness a crime.
Why Fans Hated Seinfeld's Finale
In addition to the already-massive expectations for the Seinfeld ending, considered the greatest Sitcom of all time, co-creator Larry David, who had left the show after Season 7, returned to write the final script. But when 76 million people tuned in, many thought it did not strike the right tone. Seinfeld had a winning formula of getting viewers to root for despicable characters, mainly because their antics were so funny.
Some also found that the final episode undermined the show's entire premise. It got a bit overwhelming to recall all the terrible things they had done throughout the series — all in an hour. The whole joke of Seinfeld is that it is "a show about nothing," where every episode features the characters getting into comic situations of little significance, then making some selfish decision that makes everything worse. But no episode had any real consequences.
Why Seinfeld's Ending Is Great
TV finales often attempt to be the best episode of the entire series, especially for a show as beloved as Seinfeld, which had so much success throughout its run. Some shows succeed in making everyone happy, but only some can finish great. It's still a funny, well-crafted episode after peeling away all the hype and expectations. The "Good Samaritan Law" is the ultimate Seinfeld joke, a ridiculous, annoying thing from the real world that gets played out to completion.
Almost every beloved side character made an appearance, and to comic effect — not just to show face. George Steinbrenner shows up to testify, and Frank Costanza interrupts to yell, "How could you give $12 million to Hideki Irabu!" — a callback to Jerry Stiller's Frank Costanza's Jay Buhner rant from "The Caddy." Most cameos add to the episode's arc, where they could have served no purpose.
The Ending Of Seinfeld Won't Be Followed Up – Which Makes It Better
Several television shows are getting reboots, but Seinfeld isn't one of them, making the ending better even if it was divisive. Unlike popular shows like Sex and the City, Charmed, or Gilmore Girls, the Seinfeld ending was the definitive end of the series. It was great to finally see that the gang got some comeuppance for their self-centered behavior throughout the show, ultimately bringing closure to the long-running TV series.
Bringing Seinfeld back would cheapen the ending of the TV show, rendering all of their antics and punishment insignificant.
Jerry Seinfeld Knew When To End The Show
One reason people didn't like the Seinfeld Finale might have been the confusion over losing the popular television show. Seinfeld changed a lot from season 1, when it struggled to find its footing and was constantly afraid of being canceled. However, by season 9, it was a massive hit that showed no signs of slowing down. Nevertheless, Jerry Seinfeld (via Esquire) admits the decision was easy and mutual among the cast when they all met in his dressing room as season 9 began.
Seinfeld recalls discussing with the others: "We've had a lot of good fortune here. Maybe we shouldn't push our luck too far. And we all agreed that this was the right moment." Looking at Jerry Seinfeld's career and his approach to the show, coming to this conclusion is not all that surprising. Seinfeld has always been interested in the legacy of what he leaves behind rather than seeing how long he can continue.
What The Seinfeld Cast Said About The Finale
Despite saying he was "happy" with the Seinfeld ending in a 2014 Reddit AMA, Jerry Seinfeld seemed to walk those comments back in a 2017 interview at the New Yorker Festival. "I sometimes think we really shouldn't have even done it," he said. "There was a lot of pressure on us at that time to do one big last show, but big is always bad in comedy." Seinfeld even said that he thought the judge should have declared a mistrial and freed all four of them, letting them off of their crimes (via CBC).
For his part, Jason Alexander said it was "a good episode, not a great episode" in an interview with Emmy TV. Julia Louis-Dreyfus made an infamous joke on David Letterman's final episode, saying, "Thanks for letting me take part in another hugely disappointing series finale." However, that was a joke, and Louis-Dreyfus has since said she is happy with the finale. "Absolutely not. We made a great show," she said about the criticism (via CBR). "That was my big takeaway. That’s what stuck with me."
