Curb Your Enthusiasm’s Series Ending Explained: How Larry David Wraps It Up After 25 Years & Fixes Seinfeld’s Finale

Larry David has wrapped up Curb Your Enthusiasm after 25 years on the air with a highly anticipated finale episode that ends the series in a fittingly unsentimental way. Curb Your Enthusiasm’s aptly titled series finale – season 12, episode 10, “No Lessons Learned” – delivered the Seinfeld finale redo that everyone was expecting, and then completely upended the Seinfeld finale in a surprising final twist. The finale followed up on Larry’s arrest in the season 12 premiere with a trial in Atlanta, where most of Larry’s enemies from the series’ history resurfaced to testify against him.

From Mocha Joe to Mr. Takahashi to the little girl from season 2’s “The Doll” all grown up, the Curb Your Enthusiasm finale was jam-packed with cameo appearances by fan-favorite characters that Larry has wronged over the years. After their testimony paints a decidedly unflattering portrait of Larry, the jurors decide on a “guilty” verdict and the judge – played by Breaking Bad’s Dean Norris – sentences Larry to one year in prison. So far, so Seinfeld. However, just as Curb Your Enthusiasm is about to end the exact same way as Seinfeld, a surprising twist comes along.

Curb Your Enthusiasm’s Ending Repeats Seinfeld’s Finale (& Then Completely Upends It)

The Curb finale does what everyone expected – and then delivers a surprising twist

Ever since Larry was arrested in Atlanta in Curb Your Enthusiasm season 12, episode 1, the prevailing theory was that the Curb Your Enthusiasm finale would repeat the Seinfeld finale, with Larry’s many misdeeds from the show’s history being dredged up by character witnesses in court. The genius of Curb’s final episode is that it does just that, with Larry’s many enemies showing up at his trial and the jury deciding on a “guilty” verdict, and then completely upends the Seinfeld finale. As Larry sits in jail, awaiting his prison sentence, a mistrial is declared, so he can go home.

Why Curb Your Enthusiasm Ends With Everyone Fighting On The Plane

Larry is back to his old ways within moments of being released from prison

After Larry is released from jail, he and all the Curb supporting characters who came with him to the trial – Jeff, Susie, Leon, Cheryl, Richard Lewis, and Ted Danson – all sit together on a plane, flying back to L.A. As Susie opens the shade on her window, blinding everyone in the row with sunlight, a huge argument breaks out between all the characters. This final scene shows that, even after facing prison time for his curmudgeonly attitude and his many transgressions, Larry has learned absolutely nothing. This was the point of the show’s overall arc – and the final episode’s title.

Why Jerry Seinfeld Is The One Who Saves Larry In Jail

There are several layers of meta-ness in Jerry Seinfeld’s Curb finale cameo

Rather than being saved by Jeff or Leon or another recurring Curb character, Larry is saved by his old writing partner, Jerry Seinfeld. Jerry spotted a juror breaking his sequester, so he was able to get the case thrown out. There’s a hilarious meta element to Jerry being the one who saves Larry from jail. Jerry saves Larry’s fictional self from suffering the same fate that Larry doomed Jerry’s fictional self to in the Seinfeld finale. On their way out of the jailhouse, they even mention that this twist would’ve been a better ending for the Seinfeld finale.

The Real Purpose Of Richard’s Girlfriend Buying A Gun In Curb’s Ending Explained

It’s both a morbid mislead and another Seinfeld finale callback

When Larry arrives in Atlanta, he has problems with Richard’s girlfriend before he even knows she’s Richard’s girlfriend. He gets into an altercation with her in traffic, then questions the legitimacy of some of her claims. After Richard breaks up with her, he says that she bought a gun and plans to kill Larry. Not only does this gun twist mislead the audience into thinking Curb is headed for a morbid ending with Larry’s gruesome murder; it’s also a reference to Susan’s father buying a gun in the Seinfeld finale, seemingly to kill George if he’s found innocent.

All The Witnesses At Larry’s Trial Explained

From Mocha Joe to Mr. Takahashi

A lot of Larry’s enemies from throughout the series return to testify against him in the finale’s trial. The first witness to appear is Larry’s arch-nemesis, Mocha Joe, who claims that Larry burned down his coffee shop (although it was an accident). The owner of the country club, Mr. Takahashi, explains that Larry killed his prized black swan and hit Troy Kotsur with a golf ball. Alexander Vindman returns to blow the whistle on Larry and reveals that he overheard him bribing a city councilor. Rachel Heineman appears and explains that she jumped off the ski lift to avoid Larry.

Larry’s old assistant Maureen shows up to explain that Larry peed on her portrait of Jesus and misled her into thinking it was a miracle. The host from the Japanese restaurant where Larry insisted on saying, “Irasshaimase!,” takes the stand. Larry’s ex-girlfriend Irma Kostroski reveals that he stole shoes from a Holocaust museum. Bruce Springsteen Zooms in to claim that Larry intentionally gave him COVID. Tara Michaelson, the little girl from season 2’s “The Doll,” takes the stand. Finally, Auntie Rae – whose request for water got Larry arrested – takes the stand, but turns against Larry, because he stole her recipe.

Why Larry Killing A Fly In The Courtroom Is So Significant

As it turns out, he would harm a fly

As Larry’s lawyer Sibby gives her opening statement and tries to convince the jury that Larry is a good guy, Larry is distracted by a fly buzzing around his table. Instead of listening to Sibby’s statement, the jurors watch Larry desperately waving his hands around, trying to swat the fly. When he finally snags the fly, Larry stamps on it to make sure it’s really dead. This is so significant because it tells the jurors right away that the phrase “He wouldn’t harm a fly” doesn’t apply to Larry. This foreshadows the jury gradually turning against Larry throughout the trial.

Curb Your Enthusiasm Finale’s Premiere Callback & Meaning Explained

Larry has another “pants tent” in his jail cell

While he sits in his jail cell and waits to be taken to prison, Larry complains to a fellow convict about his “pants tent” (a build-up of material in the crotch of his pants that looks like an erection). This is a callback within a callback. It’s a callback to the very first gag from Curb’s very first episode: season 1, episode 1, “The Pants Tent.” That callback in itself is a callback to the Seinfeld finale. As Jerry, George, Elaine, and Kramer sit in a jail cell, Jerry and George repeat their shirt button conversation from Seinfeld’s first episode.

The Real Meaning Of Curb Your Enthusiasm’s Ending

Larry really hasn’t learned any lessons

The message of Curb Your Enthusiasm’s final episode is summed up in its title: “No Lessons Learned.” Even after being sent to prison for his unruly behavior, Larry still doesn’t know any better. After he’s released from prison and heading back to L.A., Larry is back to his old ways, complaining about insignificant minutiae and enforcing his rules on the rest of society. Most TV shows end with their main character experiencing some growth and becoming a better person, but Larry is the same person at the end of Curb Your Enthusiasm as he was at the beginning.