Larry David seems to take great satisfaction in his seeming indifference to public opinion, which added humor to the “Curb Your Enthusiasm” series finale and his acknowledgment of the criticism he received for his “Seinfeld” farewell 26 years prior. He nevertheless also took advantage of the event to take a journey down memory lane, sprinkling references and highlights from the 12 seasons of the HBO series—which are astonishingly spread over twice as many years—into his speech.
With the benefit of hindsight, the entire season’s story, which centered on David breaking Georgia’s Election Integrity Act and emerging as an unexpected hero, was really a set-up for what amounted to a “Seinfeld” reunion. Among the many celebrities, news anchors, and “Curb” guest stars strewn throughout the last hour was a lengthy cameo by Jerry Seinfeld.
Similar to “Seinfeld,” the episode focused on Larry being put on trial, which gave the writers permission to call on fictional witnesses to remind the audience of all the horrible things he had done in the past.
In addition, Larry’s friend Leon (J.B. Smoove), who had been watching “Seinfeld,” had finally gotten around to watching it. This presented David with the opportunity to not only raise concerns about the show’s conclusion, but also to directly address outside opinions about that series and this one by telling them, “I’m not really interested in your opinion.”
Coincidentally, the show had a touching backstory for David’s buddy Richard Lewis, who passed away earlier this year and was a longstanding series staple.
“Curb” consistently mirrored David’s distinct, jaded perspective on human nature and the numerous, little-scale acts of dishonesty that accompany interactions with other people. It was surprising and unexpectedly nice to use the finale to effectively re-litigate the hoopla surrounding “Seinfeld’s” exit in a very different TV era—perhaps because of that, even—like a small measure of redemption, not that David needed or even desired that.
In the epilogue, MSNBC presenter Chris Hayes was seen characterizing David as a “petty, conniving and frankly spiteful man,” a description that he had maintained throughout the trial. “Curb” utilized those attributes for humor, which the climax executed with characteristic fervor.
Creatively speaking, David had earned the right to leave HBO on his terms and, yes, without worrying about the response. Nevertheless, it was good to see that David could laugh at both himself and what many have long considered to be one of his few notable missteps in the “Seinfeld” storyline.
In summary, the outcome was, as Larry likes to say, very, pretty good—in fact, it was even somewhat better than that. Although Larry stated in the show that he had never learnt anything in his life, evaluating this in comparison to other series finales would imply otherwise.