Jerry and George have finally struck a deal with NBC to produce their pilot, Jerry, as a series and will be leaving New York City for California to begin work. Jerry is given use of NBC’s private jet as a courtesy and he, George, Elaine, and Kramer decide to go to Paris for “one last hurrah”. On the plane, George and Elaine argue over the quality of the plane and what Elaine considers an “effeminate” way in which George sits in the jet, while Kramer is still trying to get water out of his ears from a trip to the beach he made earlier in the day.
Kramer’s desperation to get the water out of his ears causes him to jump up and down on the plane and, as a result, he stumbles and falls into the cockpit, which causes the pilots to lose control. While the plane is nosediving, the four prepare for death. George, momentarily feeling the need to confess, reveals he cheated in “The Contest,” and Elaine begins to tell Jerry that she always loved him; but the plane steadies itself and they make a safe emergency landing in the small town of Latham, Massachusetts.
While waiting for the plane to be repaired, they witness an overweight man (John Pinette) getting carjacked at gunpoint. Instead of helping him, they crack jokes about his size while Kramer films it all on his camcorder, then proceed to walk away. The victim notices this and tells the reporting officer, who arrests them on a duty to rescue violation that requires bystanders to help out in such a situation. Because this is the first case implementing this law, the prosecutor wants to find out everything he can about Jerry, George, Elaine, and Kramer in order to win. Jerry and his friends don’t have any choice but to call on Jackie Chiles to represent them for the upcoming trial.
The second part starts with people associated with the main characters packing for the trial. Jerry’s parents, George’s parents, Newman, Uncle Leo, J. Peterman, David Puddy, Mickey, Kenny Bania, Susan’s parents, the rabbi from Elaine’s building, the pool guy, George Steinbrenner and Keith Hernandez are among those shown. Chiles mounts the defense that the witnesses are only exaggerating to settle scores with the four and that the four did not want to get shot by the criminal, and that the carjacker is free to “laugh and lie”.
A lengthy trial ensues, presided over by Judge Arthur Vandelay. George considers this to be a good sign, as Arthur Vandelay was one of the many fake names he used for himself and phony companies he claimed to have worked for. In addition to the officer who arrested them and the carjacking victim, many of the four’s former acquaintances — including Marla Penny, the low-talker, Donald Sanger, Babu Bhatt, Yev Kassem, George Steinbrenner and Dr. Wexler from “The Invitations” — are called as character witnesses against them. In addition, many others from New York have made the trip to watch the trial in the courtroom.
Despite the effort of George’s mother to try to convince Judge Vandelay to reduce the punishment, the jury finds Jerry, George, Elaine and Kramer guilty of doing nothing and they are sentenced to one year each in a state prison.
In the final scene before the credits, the four main characters sit in a jail cell. Kramer is finally able to get the water out of his ears after days of trying. Jerry begins a conversation about George’s shirt buttons, using lines from the first episode.[3] George then wonders if they have had that conversation before.
Throughout the first half of the episode, Elaine tries to get hold of her friend Jill. First, she can’t get any reception with her cell phone on the street. Then, Jerry interrupts her with news of the pilot pickup and Elaine hangs up on Jill to take the call. Jerry then scolds her for, first, trying to rush the call before they all leave for Paris and, next, for thinking about calling from the plane. Finally, Elaine decides that she’s going to use her one phone call from prison to call Jill, saying that the prison call is the “king of calls”.
In the final scene of the series, Jerry is wearing an orange jumpsuit, and performing a stand-up routine of prison-related jokes to an audience of fellow prisoners (including Kramer and George; Elaine is not seen as she is in a women’s prison). No one is laughing, except for the studio audience and Kramer. As he is then yanked off the stage, he says to his audience, “Hey, you’ve been great. See you in the cafeteria.”