Hot Take: Seinfeld Basically Ended on Puerto Rico Day

So here’s the thing—they say Seinfeld ended with the whole courtroom “you’re all bad people” finale, but spiritually? Emotionally? Comedically? The show ends on "The Puerto Rican Day." Everything after that is just extra credit and clip-show confetti.

Because let’s be honest: those last two episodes? Clip shows. One is literally just Superman music + montage like the world's laziest DVD special feature. Then they glue on, what, 12 minutes of new scenes? Sprinkle in returning guest characters like, “Remember when we were funny? Here’s a flashback.” It feels like a reunion tour, not a sitcom finale.

Meanwhile “Puerto Rican Day” is full-blown chaos cinema and actually feels like a Seinfeld episode—arguably the last great one.

And yeah, I’ll rewatch it on loop like the handful of other immortals:

  • The Marine Biologist (George vs. whale = peak humanity)

  • The Voice / Kramerica Industries (chicken wire office glory)

  • The Chicken Roaster (red neon nightmare fuel)

  • The Summer of George (Olympics of doing nothing)

This one belongs with the greats.

Production Was So Big Helicopters Literally Swarmed It

The episode is such a spectacle that media helicopters flew over the Universal backlot thinking they were filming the finale. Like paparazzi birds circling a sitcom carcass.

Why? Because the original plan was to shoot in New York, but logistics were like: no.

The usual CBS Radford street set? Too small. They had to move the entire thing to a bigger Universal set just to fit all the cars, extras, and crowd insanity. And that huge action sequence where the crew escapes under the bleachers? Apparently it’s a parody of The Poseidon Adventure, priest cameo included. Love that. High art.

Also, this episode brings back the holy trinity of fake aliases:

  • George → Art Vandelay

  • Kramer → H.E. Pennypacker

  • Jerry → Kel Varnson (last used in The Boyfriend)

The lore is so deep it loops back on itself.

Oh—and George's joke in the fake movie Blimp: The Hindenburg Story? Amazing. Wrong aircraft, but amazing. (We forgive him. George doesn’t do research.)

Here’s the IMDb trivia chunk summarized clean:

Filming took six days, was relocated from planned NYC shoot to Universal due to scale, helicopters mistook it for the finale, the escape scene parodies The Poseidon Adventure, it caused controversy for the flag-burning moment, and it’s rarely shown in syndication for that reason. Also: aliases, callbacks, cinematic chaos.

Why It Should Have Been the Finale

Because it feels like the show, not a eulogy.

The courtroom finale is NBC trying to teach the characters a lesson. Seinfeld was never about lessons. Nobody on this show learns anything—that’s the point.

“Puerto Rican Day” is just pure escalation:

  • Jerry gets into petty car wars

  • George obsessively chases a joke payoff

  • Kramer ignites national controversy

  • Elaine tries to escape humanity like a trapped housecat

That's Seinfeld.

Not “Here are 40 character witnesses to explain the plot to you like a clip show lawyer.”

Final Take

The real ending of Seinfeld is the gang stuck in traffic at a parade they don’t care about, causing chaos, arguing about movie punchlines, and escaping a disaster movie set-piece under bleachers like rats.

The official finale?
Nice museum piece. But the party ended two episodes before closing time.

blog, comedians, comedy, Comedy TV, Television, SitcomBob E. LoggerComment