Lots of fandoms get some decent enjoyment out of wondering about the lives of their favorite characters following the end of their respective stories. Some write fanfiction, others simply discuss the possibilities with their friends, and still, others create strange horror versions for some reason. Then there's Jason Alexander, who has no qualms about exactly the type of thing his character George Costanza from NBC's Seinfeld would be doing to this day.
George, like most characters from NBC's fondly remembered show about nothing (including the lead played by Jerry Seinfeld himself), is rather terrible. He's self-serving, completely lacking empathy, and eternally allergic to effort, and Alexander himself seems to still have a perfect handle on that abrasive personality. When asked how George would be dealing with the COVID-19 pandemic, he seemed to already have a full scenario planned out in his head, even accounting for the incarceration of the show's main characters at the end of the series.
"I mean, you're assuming he got out of prison?" Alexander flew right into his theory when asked about the idea by US Weekly. "If you saw the Curb [Your Enthusiasm] reunion, he made all his money with the iToilet app and then lost it to Bernie Madoff. So, my imagining is that George is probably quarantined in with his parents and refuses to leave the room. He only eats through some sort of food app and will not come out of his room." Long-time fans of Seinfeld are likely already nodding their heads in agreement with this extremely predictable turn of events for the eternally down-on-his-luck, yet also eternally privileged individual. Plus, that's not even to mention Seinfeld's plethora of memorable one-off characters.
The reunion Alexander mentioned refers to a 2009 episode of Curb Your Enthusiasm, which saw the main cast of Seinfeld reunite in character (sort of) for the first time since their original show's 1998 finale. The episode established that George had become successful due to his iPhone app called iToilet, which directed the user to the nearest "decent" public toilet. He then lost his fortune due to the widely publicized Madoff investment scandal, resulting in him having to move in with Jerry. Alexander's prediction fits perfectly in line with the character fans have gotten to know throughout Seinfeld's 9-season run, with the idea that he would once again move in with his parents feeling particularly appropriate.
Truly, the pandemic would probably be the kind of situation where George would absolutely shine, allowing his awkwardness and general dislike of people to fully go into overdrive and further drive home his decision to completely self-isolate. His parents, Frank and Estelle, had always enabled much of his self-stagnating behavior even if they had plenty to say about it, so there's little question that they would go along with it. Alexander even went on to explain that Frank and Estelle themselves would be just as cautious as George, being the types of people to probably wear roughly 15 masks each. Suddenly the connection between Seinfeld and Persona 5 appears more bizarrely clear-cut.
With the vaccines finally beginning their rollout across the country and around the world, hypotheticals like this are almost starting to feel more like a novelty and less like a coping mechanism. So to keep rolling with it, maybe Jerry would be skeptical of social distancing but still get nervous when people got too close. Elaine would follow guidelines dutifully, maybe a little too dutifully. Kramer would buy into every conspiracy theory he hears, even if they conflict with each other. Hey, Seinfeld's nowhere near as surreal as Twin Peaks, but that doesn't mean it can't be just as fun to think about.
Seinfeld is now available on Netflix.
Source: US Weekly