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The Finale, Part 2

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"The Finale, Part 2” is the twenty-third episode of the ninth and final season of Seinfeld and the 180th overall. This episode first aired on May 14, 1998. It was written by Larry David and was directed by Andy Ackerman.

Plot[]

Jon Hayman

Jon Hayman portrays the prison guard who escorts Jerry off the stage. “All right, Seinfeld, that’s it. Let’s go.”

Picking up where Part 1 left off, Jerry, Elaine, George and Kramer get lawyer Jackie Chiles to represent them.

The trial is covered by Geraldo Rivera and Jane Wells, who report that the defendants have become known as the New York Four. At the Latham District County Court, the trial is attended by Jerry's parents Morty and Helen Seinfeld, George's parents Frank and Estelle Costanza, Newman, Uncle Leo, Babs Kramer, Jacopo Peterman, David Puddy, Mickey Abbott, Kenny Bania, Susan Ross' parents Mr. Henry Ross and Mrs. Ross, Rabbi Glickman, Matt Wilheim, George Steinbrenner, Jay Crespi, Stu Chermak, and Keith Hernandez and is presided over by Arthur Vandelay (George smirks at his name since he has used that alias very frequently in the past). Officer Vogel shows Kramer's video and Howie, the victim, tells his story.

The trial gets bogged down when character witnesses such as Mabel Choate, Marla Penny, Donald Sanger, Lola, Dr. Wexler, Sidra Holland (who Jackie gets attracted to), Joe Bookman, Robin, O'Brien the Parking Garage Officer from "The Parking Garage," Detective Hudson, Leslie, George Steinbrenner, Marcelino, Roger Hoffman, Fred from "The Pick," Justin Pitt, The Soup Nazi (whose full name is revealed as Yev Kassem), and Babu Bhatt tell their stories, leading the judge to finally call a halt to such testimonies in the interest of time.

As the jury goes over the evidence, Estelle enters Judge Vandelay's office in order to get him to reduce the punishment for her son by doing something for him. Everyone else is seen killing time in different ways:

  • Mabel Choate, Justin Pitt, Marla Penny, Marcelino, Joe Bookman, and some other people are in the halls of the courthouse.
  • Rabbi Glickman is reading something from his book to Jerry's parents and Frank Costanza.
  • J. Peterman, Keith Hernandez, Kenny Bania, and Mickey Abbott are playing pool for money at the bar.
  • David Puddy is lying under a tree using a tanning mirror on his face.
  • Matt Wilhelm is trying to break up an argument between George Steinbrenner and a waiter.
  • Newman is eating food in his car while lying down in his back seat.
  • Yev Kassem, aka. the Soup Nazi is seen outside a building serving some of his soup to Babu Bhatt, Robin, Mr. Lippman, and Poppie. When Poppie is seen asking for some salt for his soup, Yev Kassem does his "No Soup for You" gesture and takes away his soup and spoon.
  • Henry Ross is seen buying a gun.
  • Jackie Chiles makes out with Sidra until he gets a call that the jury has reached a verdict.

The next day, it is determined that the New York Four is guilty and will spend a year in jail. As everyone starts to leave, Elaine tells David not to wait for her to which he says "Alright." Frank tries to wake up Estelle from her fainting so that they can beat the traffic as Uncle Leo comforts Babs. Before leaving with Sidra, Jackie tells Jerry "And by the way: they're real, and they're spectacular!"

After the four are led to a holding cell, Jerry and George reprise their conversation about a button in George's shirt from "The Seinfeld Chronicles".

The final scene is of Jerry performing a comedy act for the prisoners at the Latham County Prison. Kramer is the only one laughing at his jokes, as the rest of the prisoners heckle him. One of the haters (voiced by Larry David) yells to Jerry, "You suck! I'm gonna cut you!" The prison guard (portrayed by Jon Hayman) escorts Jerry offstage, saying "All right, Seinfeld, that's it. Let's go." Jerry calls to his audience, "You've been great! See you in the cafeteria!" as the audience boos and Kramer gives him a standing ovation, wrapping up the show.

Characters testifying against the New York Four[]

The following characters testify against the New York Four when called to the stand by District Attorney Hoyt in order of appearance:

There were also others who testified in deleted scenes:

Notes About Nothing[]

  • This is the fifth most-watched television finale of all time.
  • It cost $1,000,000 to have a commercial in this episode.
  • When this episode originally aired on NBC, another television station that often showed classic shows, TV Land, paid tribute by not programming any shows opposite it, instead just showing a still shot of a closed office door with a hand written note that said, "We're TV Fans so... we're watching the last episode of Seinfeld. Will return at 10pm et, 7pm pt."
  • This episode was criticized by many for portraying the main characters as bad people with no respect for society, and for mocking the audience who tuned in to watch them every week.
  • The U.S. West Coast airing of the finale of Seinfeld coincided with the death of Frank Sinatra. Sinatra's ambulance was able to make it to Cedars-Sinai Medical Center in 10 minutes in very light traffic, due to many in Los Angeles being indoors to watch the show.
  • The conversation in prison, about the "second button being the most important", is exactly the same conversation that begins the pilot episode. This causes George to remark, "Haven't we had this conversation before?" To this, Jerry responds, "Yeah, I think we have."
  • This is the only Seinfeld episode to bear the Seinfeld URL during the Castle Rock logo.
  • Elaine is the only character not to be in the pilot episode and the last scene (since there were no longer any co-ed prisons by this time, and she could not have logically been present in a men's prison).
  • Before NBC announced it was officially ending the sitcom of Seinfeld, it was close to achieving the title of longest-running prime-time TV sitcom, which is currently held by ABC/CBS Family Matters.
Season Nine Episodes
The Butter Shave | The Voice | The Serenity Now | The Blood | The Junk Mail | The Merv Griffin Show | The Slicer | The Betrayal | The Apology | The Strike | The Dealership | The Reverse Peephole | The Cartoon | The Strong Box | The Wizard | The Burning | The Bookstore | The Frogger | The Maid | The Puerto Rican Day | The Chronicle | The Finale, Part 1 | The Finale, Part 2
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