I don’t watch HBO’S Curb Your Enthusiasm from Larry David all that much. Periodically. But I’ve been watching it a bit more this year now that it’s the show’s final season. I had an odd thought after the second episode, and it’s been supported enough now through the fifth. So…I think this is the direction the show is going. It’s only a folderol observation, of course, but – It’s weird (although also funny) that this final season appears as if it might be headed towards ending the same way that Seinfeld did – in a courtroom, with the star on trial for flaunting local laws. Early on in the season, Larry goes down to Atlanta, it’s a hot day, the mother of a main character lives there and is standing in line to vote. And Larry hands her a bottle of water. Almost immediately, a nearby police officer sees this, comes over and arrests him. (As you may recall, in an effort to suppress voting, prompted in large part, I believe, by long lines in minority districts, Georgia changed its election laws a couple years ago, making it illegal to give food or water to people in line to vote.) In the next episode, Larry’s lawyer sets up an easy plea deal for him, and he’s happy to pay the fine and leave town. But for reasons too long to get into, he’s sort of become a folk hero to people who understandably hate the law – and who think Larry did this intentionally as a social protest (which he didn’t…). And so, he was sort of backed into a corner to plead “not guilty” and be seen as a folk hero. The case is now in the hands of the court to set up a date for the trial. And that’s where we stand. They keep referencing the trial, so this isn’t a story line that’s going away. They certainly may resolve it before the last episode. But since it’s a running plot point, that’s the story you tend to hold for the finale. And more to the point, holding it for the last episode would be a direct bookend of the Seinfeld end. While I don’t know what they’ll do, of course, if I had to bet, it would be that they’re saving it for the last episode, and specifically as a nod to Seinfeld which Larry David, of course, co-created and for which he co-wrote that last episode. Which was so famously reviled. (I understood the annoyance, and wasn’t crazy about the episode, but I sort of liked what they did.) And being Larry David, I just have the sense that he would love throwing everyone’s dislike of the Seinfeld finale back in their faces. We’ll see…
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AuthorRobert J. Elisberg is a political commentator, screenwriter, novelist, tech writer and also some other things that I just tend to keep forgetting. Feedspot Badge of Honor
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