Seinfeld (Season 9)

This is it, the final season of one of the most ground-breaking and influential seasons of all time, this was its chance to stick the landing. And for a while, it seemed like it would... but then the finale happened...  

The first two-thirds of this season was pretty great all around. I think the fact that this is the final season means that a lot of people tend to forget just how amazing the first half of the season is, but Season 9 got off to a phenomenal start! It felt like it was keeping up the same level of quality of Season 8, packing in tons of iconic moments, scenes, and vernacular. Can you believe that Festivus wasn't introduced until this season? And neither was Serenity Now! We got an episode that pioneered the concept of an episode taking place in reverse. At its best, Season 9 is Seinfeld at its most creative and hilarious. Around the second half, Seinfeld was started to drop off in quality a bit, but even then, there were some solid episodes like The Frogger. Even with several weaker episodes near the end, including the divisive The Puerto Rican Day and the lazy clip show episode The Chronicle, as long as they stuck the landing, this could still have been one of Seinfeld's best seasons.

ButSadly, not only did they not stick this landing, Seinfeld ended up having probably my least favorite series finale of all time. It's genuinely stunning just how much of a disappointment The Finale is. While the concept of the main cast finally being called out for being jerks by a bunch of returning characters is definitely a good way to end the season, this was absolutely not the way to handle it. I've already voiced my complaints about Seinfeld's bizarre turns, but having the main cast arrested for breaking a law that was never implemented before this episode after a long, drawn-out trial that brought back a bunch of side characters who live in completely different locations just felt fantastical. Jerry, George, Elaine, and Kramer are incredibly flawed, petty and arrogant individuals who have done some pretty bad things (The Invitations, anyone?), but they're still not much different from any other average person. Why do they need to get arrested? They get punished every single episode anyway, it just doesn't make sense. Maybe this wouldn't be as bad if the episode was funny, but it wasn't. It was a glorified clip show, packed with flashbacks, and all of the returning characters did nothing outside of spouting their catchphrases. If any show deserved a "and life goes on" ending, it's Seinfeld, but instead we have something far more dramatic, unrealistic, and cynical than anything the show has ever done.

Despite my issues with the finale, the first two-thirds of the season did still give us some great episodes:

The Serenity Now: I don't think I mentioned this much but Frank Costanza is a genuinely hilarious side character and he had a ton of great episodes this season. The Festivus episode is great and all, but I love how Frank implants this "Serenity Now" phrase in everyone's minds resulting in most of the episode's storylines.

The Merv Griffin Show: So the concept of Kramer getting a Merv Griffin set and installing it in his apartment is a bit out there, but it's just so funny. I love how the other characters use it as an excuse to voice their issues, while Kramer spends the whole episode acting out the show. And the plot about George trying to play with his girlfriend's toys is great too.

The Betrayal: The Betrayal is the last of my Top 3 Seinfeld episodes, probably for being the absolute best usage of reverse chronology of all time. Not only did this episode introduce the concept, but the way it utilized this technique to tell its jokes is nothing short of phenomenal, particularly the sneeze gag. Not to mention the main storyline of the group going to India for a wedding being incredibly fun in its own right. Not to mention the fact that it coined yet another iconic quote "Stuff your sorries in a sack" (I also used this phrase a ton before knowing where it came from).

Overall, Seinfeld's ninth season had a stellar start with some of the show's best episodes, but the quality slowly dipped throughout, ending on one of the worst series finales ever.

2/5 Stars

My ranking of the Seinfeld seasons is:

8 > 4 > 5 > 7 > 3 > 6 > 9 > 2 > 1

My ranking of the Seinfeld finales is:

5 > 7 > 4 > 8 > 3 > 6 > 1 > 2 > 9

Favorite Episode: The Chinese Restaurant