Every character who returned for the Seinfeld finale, from the Soup Nazi to the low-talker

The two-part finale featured 52 credited guest appearances and turned the last episode into a kind of greatest-hits reunion — for better or worse.

What happens in the finale

Jerry gets his NBC show greenlit (finally), and the four main characters fly to California on NBC's private jet. When the plane has to make an emergency landing in a small Massachusetts town, they witness a carjacking and do absolutely nothing to help — except film it on Kramer's camcorder and make jokes. A local "Good Samaritan Law" makes their inaction a crime, and they're arrested.

What follows is a full trial, in which the district attorney calls a long parade of witnesses to prove that these four have a well-established pattern of selfishness.

Who took the witness stand

This is where the real fun is. The prosecution called back characters from across all nine seasons:

• The Soup Nazi / Yev Kassem (Larry Thomas) — his real name was revealed for the first time. Testified that Elaine ruined his business.
• Babu Bhatt (Brian George) — blamed Jerry for bad restaurant advice and for getting him deported due to mixed-up mail.
• Mabel Choate (Frances Bay) — the elderly woman Jerry mugged for a marble rye.
• Sidra Holland (Teri Hatcher) — Jerry's ex, subjected to an undercover sauna investigation about her breasts.
• The Low-Talker / Leslie (Wendel Meldrum) — returned from "The Puffy Shirt." True to character, nobody in the courtroom could hear a word she said.
• Joe Bookman (Philip Baker Hall) — the library cop. His first name was finally revealed.
• Dr. Wexler — recalled George's disturbingly cheerful reaction to fiancée Susan's death.
• George Steinbrenner (voiced by Larry David) — called George "a lovely boy" and then declared him a communist.
• Marla Penny (Jane Leeves) — "the virgin" from the early seasons.
• Donald Sanger — the Bubble Boy.
• Marcelino — encouraged cockfighting, then testified against Jerry and Kramer for participating in it.

Who packed the courtroom gallery

The spectator seats were just as loaded: Newman, Uncle Leo, Frank and Estelle Costanza, Morty and Helen Seinfeld , David Puddy, J. Peterman, Mickey Abbott, Kenny Bania, Keith Hernandez, Susan Ross's parents, Rabbi Glickman, and Babs Kramer, among others.

Jackie Chiles (Phil Morris) served as the defense attorney — and after the verdict, he walked off arm-in-arm with Sidra, delivering the callback line: "And by the way — they're real, and they're spectacular."

How it ends

Guilty on all counts. One year in prison. In the very last scene, Jerry is doing standup for the inmates (Kramer is the only one laughing), and Jerry and George are overheard having the exact same conversation about a shirt button that opened the very first episode of the series. Full circle.