Summary

• Larry's enemies testify against him in court, mirroring a Seinfeld finale formula with a hilarious "greatest hits" compilation vibe.
• Key characters like Mocha Joe, Mr. Takahashi, and Alexander Vindman give damning testimonies against Larry in his trial episode.
• The series finale showcases familiar faces and unresolved storylines from past seasons as Larry faces the consequences of his actions.

From Bruce Springsteen to Alexander Vindman, a bunch of Larry’s enemies from Curb Your Enthusiasm’s history appeared in court to testify against him in the series finale. The final episode of Curb Your Enthusiasm – season 12, episode 10, “No Lessons Learned” – sees Larry travel to Atlanta to stand trial for breaking a controversial Georgia law by giving a bottle of water to Auntie Rae at a polling station. The prosecuting attorney – Earl Mack, played by guest star Greg Kinnear – brings out a succession of character witnesses to paint an unflattering portrait of Larry with their testimony.

This same basic formula was used in the Seinfeld finale. Jerry, George, Elaine, and Kramer were all put on trial for breaking an obscure local law and the courtroom was filled with all the people they’d wronged over the years. In both cases, this procedural formula allowed the final episode to act as a sort of “greatest hits” compilation rehashing some of the show’s funniest storylines. From recurring Curb villains like Mocha Joe and Mr. Takahashi to deep-cut characters like Rachel Heineman and Tara Michaelson, the Curb Your Enthusiasm finale was full of familiar faces.

10 Mocha Joe

Latte Larry's arch-nemesis makes a comeback

The first witness who takes the stand is Mocha Joe, Larry’s arch-nemesis, played by Saverio Guerra. Mocha Joe was first introduced in season 7, episode 10, “Seinfeld,” in which he asked Larry for a favor and got roped into a rivalry that has since lasted for over a decade. When he takes the stand, Mocha Joe recounts an encounter with Larry from season 10, episode 1, “Happy New Year,” in which Larry complained about his cold coffee, soft scones, and wobbly tables.

Larry vowed to open a “spite store” next door named Latte Larry’s, with the intention of putting Mocha Joe out of business. Throughout the season, Larry opened the spite store and put a dent in Mocha Joe’s business, but in the finale – season 10, episode 10, “The Spite Store” – an accidental fire burned down both of their stores. In the courtroom, Mocha Joe claims that Larry set his store on fire on purpose.

9 Mr. Takahashi

The owner of the country club finally gets revenge on Larry

Dana Lee reprises his role as Mr. Takahashi, the owner of the country club where Larry is a member. Larry has had all kinds of disagreements with Mr. Takahashi over the years, so there are any number of stories that he could’ve told on the stand. But he chose to tell two stories in particular. He started with the most recent incident: Larry hitting Academy Award winner Troy Kotsur with a golf ball in season 12, episode 3, “Vertical Drop, Horizontal Tug.”

The second story that Mr. Takahashi tells is from his first appearance in Curb Your Enthusiasm: season 7, episode 7, “The Black Swan.” When Mr. Takahashi’s prized pet swan came running at Larry on the golf course, he swung his club and killed it in self-defense. Mr. Takahashi has never forgiven Larry for killing his swan.

8 Alexander Vindman

The celebrated whistleblower blows the whistle on Larry

Alexander Vindman, the celebrated whistleblower who testified before Congress in the first impeachment of Donald Trump, returns to the courtroom to blow the whistle on Larry in the Curb Your Enthusiasm finale. Vindman had previously guest-starred in season 11, episode 10, “The Mormon Advantage,” in which he overheard Larry trying to bribe a city councilor over the phone. Larry was trying to get the five-foot fence law repealed and Vindman caught him using sneaky, duplicitous methods to do so.

A testimony from Vindman puts Larry in the same corruption camp as Trump. While taking the stand, Vindman compares Larry to Trump and Putin. Larry once again protests that his conversation with the city councilor was “a perfect call,” a phrase he repeatedly used when Vindman caught him in the season 11 finale, but Vindman doesn’t believe him.

7 Rachel Heineman

Larry made Rachel jump off a ski lift

On the second day of Larry’s trial, the first witness to take the stand is Rachel Heineman, played by Iris Bahr. Rachel is the daughter of the head of a kidney consortium, who Larry tried to schmooze in an attempt to get Richard Lewis bumped up the donor list in season 5, episode 8, “The Ski Lift.” Since Rachel and her father are Orthodox Jews, Larry pretended to be Orthodox and had Susie pose as his wife as he took the Heinemans on a skiing trip.

While everything was going great at first, the skiing trip took an unfortunate turn when Larry and Rachel got stuck on a ski lift. Since Rachel’s beliefs don’t allow her to be with a man after sundown, she determined that one of them had to jump. As she testifies in the finale, Larry refused to jump, so she had to jump instead.

6 Maureen

Larry's assistant from the Seinfeld reunion returns

Jillian Bell reprises her role as Maureen, who worked as an assistant to both Larry and Jerry Seinfeld when they were working on the Seinfeld reunion. In season 7, episode 6, “The Bare Midriff,” Larry and Jerry tried to figure out a way to get rid of Maureen without firing her, because her habit of wearing clothes that expose her midriff made them uncomfortable. While Larry was visiting Maureen and her deeply religious mother, he accidentally splashed a portrait of Jesus with pee in the bathroom.

When Maureen and her mother found the pee on Jesus’ portrait, they mistook it for a miraculous tear. In the Curb Your Enthusiasm finale, Maureen testifies that Larry led her to believe it was a miracle so she’d quit her job and take it on the road for others to see. Suffice to say, she wasn’t too pleased with Larry.

5 Katsuya Maitre’d

Larry shouldn't have said, "IRASSHAIMASE!"

Sonny Saito reprises his role as the host of Katsuya, a Japanese restaurant frequented by Larry, in the Curb Your Enthusiasm finale. Larry visited the restaurant in season 11, episode 5, “IRASSHAIMASE!,” on a couple of dates with a friend of Jeff’s named Gabby McAfee. He ran afoul of the maitre’d when he kept uttering the chefs’ signature phrase – “IRASSHAIMASE!” – along with them whenever a new customer entered the restaurant.

The chefs requested that Larry stop saying it, and the maitre’d passed on that request, but Larry, as usual, chose to ignore it. He kept saying, “IRASSHAIMASE!,” out of spite, leading to a long-standing rivalry. This wasn’t as bad as some of the other transgressions revealed in the courtroom, but it helps to establish the pattern that Mack is trying to demonstrate to the jury.

4 Irma Kostroski

Larry's ex returns for vengeance

Tracey Ullman reprises her role as Larry’s ex-girlfriend Irma Kostroski in the Curb Your Enthusiasm finale. Larry dated Irma throughout the second half of season 11 and the first half of season 12, initially in a bid to get an annoying local law repealed by the city council and later because her A.A. sponsor wouldn’t let him dump her. Throughout that time, there were plenty of transgressions that Irma could’ve brought up in court.

The incident that Irma decides to mention in the courtroom is arguably the worst thing that Larry did during their relationship, and one of the worst things he did in the whole series. After getting dog poop on his shoes outside a Holocaust museum, Larry decided to replace the shoes with a pair from the exhibit. It was Larry’s ultimate act of historic disrespect.

3 Bruce Springsteen

The Boss Zooms in to accuse Larry of intentionally giving him COVID

The most recent victim of Larry’s antics to appear in the courthouse is Bruce Springsteen. Springsteen has to appear in the courtroom via a Zoom call, because he’s still self-quarantining due to the COVID he caught from Larry in season 12, episode 9, “Ken/Kendra.” Springsteen had to postpone a big gig in L.A. after his diagnosis, turning his massive fan base against Larry. In his testimony, Springsteen claims that Larry intentionally gave him COVID.

It wasn’t actually an act of malice, as Springsteen claims in his testimony. When Larry went over to Jeff and Susie’s house to meet Springsteen, he didn’t even know he had COVID. He took the test and realized he’d caught the virus the following day. In the courtroom, Larry protests Springsteen’s claim and says that he caught COVID from Springsteen instead.

2 Tara Michaelson

The little girl from "The Doll" is all grown up

When Mack announces the arrival of a witness called Tara Michaelson, Larry and his friends are initially unsure who he’s referring to. She’s the little girl that Larry met in season 2, episode 7, “The Doll,” widely considered to be Curb Your Enthusiasm’s greatest episode. Larry cut her doll’s hair, which she didn’t realize wouldn’t grow back, which led to a series of disasters that ended with Tara having a terrible misunderstanding with Larry in the bathroom.

In the Curb Your Enthusiasm finale, she reveals that she’s been in therapy for years, trying to overcome the trauma from that misunderstanding. Tara is played by Bailey Thompson, the same actor who originally played her in “The Doll,” now a grown woman. This cameo appearance was a hilarious callback to Curb Your Enthusiasm’s first truly iconic episode.

1 Auntie Rae

The only witness on Larry's side also turns against him

Auntie Rae, played by Ellia English, is the only witness on Larry’s side – and his only hope of overturning the jury’s decision and getting a “not guilty” verdict – but, as she walks into the courtroom, she overhears Jeff using the obscure term “catawampus” and realizes he tricked her into giving away her secret salad dressing recipe (and Larry was in on it). By the time Auntie Rae takes the stand, she’s turned against Larry.

She reveals all the terrible things Larry did while she was living with him, from using a despicable slur to hugging her with an erection, and storms out of the courtroom. Larry’s hopes of getting the jury back on his side are quickly dashed. Auntie Rae is the last witness to take the stand before Larry himself has to take the stand in the Curb Your Enthusiasm finale.