How did “Seinfeld” end? Revisiting one of TV's most divisive finales 28 years later
How did “Seinfeld” end? Revisiting one of TV's most divisive finales 28 years later
Staff AuthorThu, May 14, 2026 at 12:00 PM UTC
0
Jerry, Elaine, George, and Kramer are about to discover their legal fate
Credit: NBC
After nine seasons that helped define an era of pop culture, Seinfeld aired its series finale on May 14, 1998. To say the eagerly anticipated episode was divisive would be an understatement. While it satisfied some fans, it was heavily criticized by others for failing to stick the landing.
One could argue the “show about nothing” attempted to become about something when it said goodbye to Jerry (Jerry Seinfeld), George (Jason Alexander), Elaine (Julia Louis-Dreyfus), and Kramer (Michael Richards). Its two-part curtain call, written by co-creator Larry David, tried to cater to longtime fans with nods to the sitcom's past while also giving its self-absorbed foursome a fitting farewell.
Now, 28 years after its air date, we’re revisiting the Seinfeld finale — what happens, who shows up, and how its final moments bring the show full circle.
Why do Jerry, George, Elaine, and Kramer get arrested?
This is how George always reacts to turbulence, for the record
Credit: NBC
Like so many Seinfeld episodes, the finale begins with George complaining, but things start to look up when Jerry gets a message from NBC — finally, the network wants to greenlight the pair’s long-gestating sitcom, Jerry. The two will be moving out to California, TV writers at long last.
Fast-forward past a very Seinfeld-ysubplot involving Elaine's inability to pick the right time to inquire about a friend's ailing father, and the foursome finds themselves on a plane to Paris. But the free trip — a gift from NBC that includes the use of its private jet — goes awry when Kramer triggers some unexpected chaos.
While aggressively trying to knock water out of his ear following a swim, he stumbles into the cockpit, sending the aircraft into a spiral. In fact, for a moment it seems the series will conclude with the friends unceremoniously dying in a crash. Instead, they simply have to make an emergency stopover, at which point they can resume their selfish shenanigans.
John Pinette becomes a victim of a carjacking — and the 'Seinfeld' crew's moral apathy
Credit: NBC
Stuck in Latham, Mass., for the time being, they stumble upon a crime in progress: an unassuming man (late standup comic John Pinette) is yanked from his car and mugged. The carjacker avails himself of the poor guy’s wallet and speeds off in his car.
Rather than step in to help, Kramer rushes to capture it all on his camcorder while the others casually crack jokes about the victim’s weight. They're just being themselves — minding their own business without caring about their fellow man — but that’s exactly what gets them in trouble. The four just broke the Good Samaritan Law, which requires bystanders to help fellow citizens in need.
Jerry, George, Elaine, and Kramer being very bad samaritans
Credit: NBC
They're rushed to trial and repeatedly reminded of their moral shortcomings as former friends, foes, and lovers are paraded into court to testify about our favorite antiheroes’ questionable sense of character.
Despite the best efforts of Johnnie Cochran-like lawyer Jackie Chiles (Phil Morris), he's no match for the deplorable tales recounted by the Soup Nazi (Larry Thomas), Bubble Boy (Jon Hayman), Babu Bhatt (Brian George), the "old bag" with the marble rye (Frances Bay), and many others done wrong by the accused over the previous nine years.
Are Jerry and his friends found guilty?
Defense attorney Jackie Chiles in the Trial of the Century
Credit: NBC
While the jury deliberates the fate ofthe “New York Four” — as Geraldo Rivera calls them — the crew worries about what “uniform” they’ll be forced to wear if found guilty. Elaine is especially anxious about this detail: “I cannot wear orange.”
Advertisement
At trial, the jury hears all about the gang’s dastardly deeds. The Virgin (Jane Leeves) unpacks "The Contest." Sidra (Teri Hatcher) details Elaine’s attempts to determine the authenticity of… well, you know. Mr. Bookman (Philip Baker Hall) testifies about Jerry’s long-overdue library book and blatant disregard for society’s rules.
Sidra (Teri Hatcher) gives real and spectacular testimony in the 'Seinfeld' finale
Credit: NBC
With friends, family, and Jerry's nemesis Newman (Wayne Knight) — happily shoveling popcorn into his face — seated in the courtroom, the verdict is delivered: Jerry, George, Elaine, and Kramer are found guilty of “criminal indifference.”
Judge Vandelay (Stanley Anderson) — a callback to George's fictional persona Art Vandelay — scolds them for “callous indifference and utter disregard for everything that is good and decent.” He sentences the shocked friends to one year in prison.
Do they redeem themselves in the end?
In retrospect, no, Judge Vandelay's name was not a good omen after all
Credit: NBC
Absolutely not. Despite the judge suggesting they use their term to “contemplate the manner in which they’ve conducted themselves,” you’d have a better chance of finding a golf ball in a beached whale's blowhole than a redemption arc on Seinfeld.
Seinfeld is the furthest you’ll get from a moralistic fable, so there are no lessons learned or positive messages delivered in its final minutes.
Instead, the crew immediately get up to their usual antics. Kramer is thrilled to have finally drained his water-logged ear, while Elaine pats herself on the back for deciding to use her one prison phone call to check in on her friend's hospitalized father.
What's the meaning behind Jerry and George’s final exchange?
George, Elaine, Kramer, and Jerry wind up — let's face it — right where they belong
Credit: NBC
Jerry and George quickly slip back into their typical banter. The subject in this case is the awkward positioning of the buttons on George’s shirt. As the camera pulls away from the four sitting in their holding cell, Jerry considers the flawed placement of his shirt's second button: “It literally makes or breaks the shirt.”
Of course, loyal fans of the "show about nothing" will recall this seemingly meaningless conversation as the same one the friends had in the series' very first episode in 1989.
Where can I watch Seinfeld?
Newman enjoying a bucket of salty, buttery schadenfreude
Credit: NBC
Every episode of Seinfeld, including “The Finale,” is currently streaming on Netflix.
Get your daily dose of entertainment news, celebrity updates, and what to watch with our EW Dispatch newsletter.
on Entertainment Weekly
Source: “AOL Entertainment”
