“Curb Your Enthusiasm” was Larry David's tribute to a great American hero: “Larry David”

“I am 76 years old old and I have never learned a lesson in my whole life.'

In his series finale Curb your enthusiasm, Larry David says this to a kid in an Atlanta hotel lobby who throws him a ball. The mother wants the child to learn the lesson of saying “I'm sorry,” forcing Larry to stay put and accept that apology. Larry has no time for that, and unleashes what is essentially the maxim for the entire series — and perhaps David's entire career.

Of course, this statement also works as a good summation of the finale, which essentially recreates the much-hated Seinfeld finale only for his purposes Curb. Larry is on trial for violating election law in Florida for giving a bottle of water to his aunt Leon (Ellia English) while she was waiting to vote. The prosecution, played by Greg Kinnear, brings out a parade of people who have been wronged by David all to complain about him (Mocha Joe, Mr. Takahashi). The jury finds him guilty and the judge (Dean Norris) sentences him to a year in prison, but Jerry Seinfeld gets him off on a technicality, having met one of the supposedly deadlocked jurors at a restaurant. The case is thrown out and Larry walks free. With that said, it's not an exact replica of it Seinfeld finale where everyone goes to jail, which is observed.

In the show, Larry's main characteristic is stubbornness. He's a man who has taken his grievances so far that he spitefully opened a shop next to a coffee shop he didn't like. The final episode proves that stubbornness is also a key characteristic of David, who refused to let the audience live with his distaste for Seinfeld is ending despite the fact that it aired almost 30 years ago.

But David actually lets something go: Curb himself. And, in a way, the finale served as a reminder of just how disappointing it really is. Yes, the clip show element gave it a nostalgia that usually only comes when something is over, but otherwise, “No Lessons Learned” could have just been a regular episode.

The lie of the sitcom is familiarity. After spending countless half hours with these characters, you start to feel like you know them. The actors' real personalities, whatever they may be, begin to merge with their fictional ones. If you cross paths with a sitcom star on the street, you might have to do a double take. Who you are Really meeting? A performer? Or the person they have played?

This is never more true than in his case Curb. Larry David on screen and real life Larry David are not exactly the same person, but they are handsome, enough Shut up. Or at least they seem to be. “Larry David” by Curb it always felt more real than “Jerry Seinfeld.” Seinfeld. Maybe it's because Curbin contrast with Seinfeld, was not shot on a sound stage and did not adhere to the rules of network television. But it's also because Larry's weaknesses seem more bare, and at least seem to be rooted in a deeper truth. (Jerry up Seinfeld it was always very cool. Larry up Curb it was never like that.)

I think of the loosely fictional version of “Larry David” as the version of him as he would like to exist in society — free to be himself and completely hated. For example, I was shocked to learn that a recent plot point in which Larry brings his own eggs to the country club restaurant for the chef to cook was based on Larry's actual behavior. He actually brought his own eggs!

And it's because “Larry David” and Larry David seem so close that its end Curb it feels particularly brutal. David himself seems to be still going strong. Why can't his show? Why should we leave “Larry David” if Larry David is still with us?

David gave his reasons. He is 76 years old and Curb it has been on and off for 24 years. However, while this final season hasn't been perfect, it doesn't seem like it's run out of material.

The finale alone gave us a ton of high jinks regardless of the character witness trial against Larry. Larry refuses to turn off his cell phone on the flight to Georgia, then starts screaming at Leon (JB Smoove) and Jeff (Jeff Garlin) when they don't. Larry nails Richard Lewis' new girlfriend, an old flame played by Allison Janney, as a liar for not letting him into a lane when he tries to exit the freeway. He then tries to get her to admit that she attempted suicide after her first breakup with Richard. (The last thing we hear about her is that she bought a gun presumably to shoot Larry. I almost expected the series to end with Larry dying at the hands of CJ Cregg) And Larry and Jeff fail Susie (Susie Essman) once again by stealing a salad dressing recipe from Aunt Ray for her anniversary present. The best jokes weren't thanks to the memories of everything Larry has done in the past. It was what Larry is at present act.

The last time David said it was over Curb after the eighth season, he eventually ended up returning for four more seasons. David's stubbornness would mean there is always an opportunity for the show turning around I don't think this will happen again. After all, the unspoken sadness of this season was the death of Richard Lewis, a reminder of the very real distance between the fictional world of “Larry David” and his real-life counterpart. David's heartbreaking statement about Lewis' death showed a level of emotion that Mr Curb Lari he would never dare to show.

The last shot of the series shows all of Larry's main friends and enemies – Richard, Susie, Jeff, Leon, Jerry, his ex Cheryl (Cheryl Hines) and her friend Ted Danson – all on the plane arguing. The end of it Curb means we have to imagine them bickering in perpetuity: Susie calling Jeff a “fat fucker,” Leon saying something weirdly hilarious, Richard getting waxed for a woman who will become his new wife. And Larry, or “Larry,” will always be there, finding something new to get mad about.

Curb has thrived on discomfort, but over the years has become more and more of a comfort show for its fans. We learned to find nobility in Larry's stubbornness. It often leads to disaster, sure, but it often has a point. The more time you spend with Larry, the more you see justice in him. This is the line where Larry David and “Larry David” begin to blur even more.

Life will always offer little indignities and opportunities to confuse Larry David. Now, we'll just have to continue without turning them into a TV.