Jerry Seinfeld Divulges His True Feelings On Seinfeld's Finale

For a show that ran for nine seasons and over 170 episodes, it is hard to pinpoint when — or if — "Seinfeld" ever jumped the shark. Some fans point to Larry David's departure ahead of Season 8 as a line in the sand, and certainly there is a tonal shift that happened when Jerry Seinfeld took over creative control, as well as zanier, more surreal plot lines. Still, it is safe to say that Seasons 8 and 9 didn't fall off completely. After all, they're the era that produced Elaine's spastic little kicks, bizarro Jerry, and a Festivus for the rest of us.

If there is one maligned episode from late-era "Seinfeld," it is the much-debated season finale. "Seinfeld ends" on a dark note, even by the show's misanthropic standards, and sees the foursome locked up in a small town in Massachusetts. Here's how Jerry Seinfeld really feels about the "Seinfeld" finale.

In 1998, 76 million people tuned in to watch the "Seinfeld" swan song, which Larry David returned to co-write (via EW). In the episode, things seem to be going well for the gang, and they charter a jet to Paris to celebrate Jerry and George finally selling their pilot. The plane has to make an emergency landing in Massachusetts, where the apathetic foursome witness a carjacking and crack jokes instead of intervening. A good samaritan law does them in, and countless character witnesses, including Babu Bhatt, David Puddy, and the Soup Nazi, ensure they get jail time.

For Jerry Seinfeld, the finale provided a sense of closure and served as a miniature reunion for former guest stars. "I was happy with the 'Seinfeld' finale because we didn't want to do another episode as much as we wanted to have everybody come back to the show we had so much fun with," Seinfeld wrote in a Reddit AMA. "It was a way to thank all of the people who worked on the show over the years that we thought made the show work."

Seinfeld may have more positive feelings about the finale than some of its detractors, but even co-star Julia Louis-Dreyfus has a sense of humor about the ill-received ending. When she appeared in David Letterman's last-ever "Late Show," the actress took a dig at her former show. She joked, "Thanks for letting me take part in another hugely disappointing series finale."