The ending of ‘Seinfeld’ explained
The entire concept behind Seinfeld seems just messy enough to work. They lived up to their title of creating a show about nothing, making the most extravagant plotlines around the more absurd details of life, as we follow Jerry Seinfeld throughout his life as a stand-up comedian in New York City. While the series defined the 1990s for many viewers, the ending has left fans scratching their heads for decades.
Even though the show would become a defining piece of media for fans worldwide, the finale left a lot to be desired for many fans. Considering how we had followed the gang throughout various situations, seeing them get thrown into jail by the end of the series felt like a huge disappointment. While there was a lot of time invested on the audience’s part, there were just as many people who probably got what they had expected.
In retrospect, no one should have gotten their hopes up for a show that was never about anything to begin with. Throughout every season, there are only a handful of times in which the characters learn something from their actions, with George Costanza and Jerry’s wild neighbour Kramer usually running away from their problems.
When examining the show objectively, both Seinfeld and Larry David may have been looking to do something more than just a show about nothing. Since many episodes tend to end with Jerry standing in front of an audience while talking about the various minor aspects of life, it’s easy to see the series as being about how a comedian borrows his material from life.
When did Seinfeld end?
Seinfeld had previously been on the air for nearly a decade by the time creators Seinfeld and David decided to shut down the show. After its debut in July of 1989, the show wrapped up on May 14th, 1998, barely missing the nine-year run.
Written as an elongated episode by David, the show was preceded by a clipshow featuring some of the biggest moments in the series’ run. Although the show had become a mainstay for fans across the world, the anticipation for the finale would be one of the largest viewer audiences that television had ever seen.
By the time fans sat down to watch the final episode of the series, over 73.6 million viewers had tuned in to see how the lives of Jerry, George, Kramer and Elaine were going to end up. This would be one of the biggest audiences in television history, being one of the most-watched series finales alongside M*A*S*H*, Cheers, and The Fugitive.
Why did Seinfeld end?
While Seinfeld may have been in its strongest era during its finale, many fans wondered why they would choose to pull the plug so early. When asked about why the show was being retired, Seinfeld talked about it coming down to being realistic about how long the show was going to run.
Since he didn’t want to be defined by one show for the rest of his life, Seinfeld felt that it would be best to quit while he was ahead before he became bitter with the show. When talking about the legacy of the show, Seinfeld would go on to say that he thinks he made the right decision leaving the show when he did, telling The New York Times, “It was the perfect moment, and the proof that it was the right moment is the number of questions you’re still asking me about it”.
Even though many legacy acts have reprised their roles years after the fact, Seinfeld would go on to say that he has no desire to bring back his iconic TV series for another run. Since both David and Seinfeld have moved on to other roles, the comedian thought that any chance of them getting together to make the same scenario all over again would make them look like they ran out of original ideas.
How did Seinfeld end?
Even though fans could catch up at any episode and be satisfied that no one has grown as a character, things seemed to be heading in a satisfying direction towards the end, with Jerry and George pitching their idea about a show about nothing entitled Jerry to the airwaves. Getting a private jet, Jerry and George bring the gang to the offices, only to nearly crash the plane and end up in Massachusetts.
When the group run into a civilian on the street getting forcibly assaulted and removed from his car, though, they end up in hot water with the authorities when they fail to do anything to stop the crime. Even though they probably see behaviour like this walking down the street daily in ‘The Big Apple’, the small town they landed in is not as ignorant towards crime, taking them to court for failing to react.
To have some fun amongst their old castmates, many of the testimonies given at the courthouse come from their favourite recurring character, including the ‘Soup Nazi’ getting time to scold Elaine for the way she behaved in his restaurant. Since all characters feign indifference to their actions, they are each sentenced to one year in prison as the episode ends.
As each of the cast sits dejected in a cramped jail cell, even they can’t be bothered to feel that broken up about being locked away forever. When talking about how they ended up in the situation, Jerry quickly changes the subject to George’s shirt buttons, thinking that the top button is still slightly out of place compared to the rest of it.
