Looking Back on an Overlooked ‘Curb Your Enthusiasm’ Classic

The nuance of Curb Your Enthusiasm continues to be unparalleled in this “golden age“ of television. With the announcement of the latest Curb season comes a mounting excitement only Larry David fans are able to casually introduce into the ether. While we wait for the latest installment by the grumpiest man alive, let us celebrate one of the most low-key fantastic episodes to take on the Curb name featuring a dying dog, Pinkberry, and the virtues of not being a complete asshole. I’m talking, of course, about the season 8 classic, “Vow of Silence.”

To jog your memory, Jeff and Susie are about to move to New York for a few months while their daughter attends an acting program. To celebrate, they throw a going away party where (surprise!) Larry manages to bring out his best neurotic shit-head manners. Things quickly snow ball as he accuses a party goer of the “chat and cut” (a technique used by all who hate waiting in line) and then meets Vance, a spiritual man who has taken a vow of silence. By all accounts things are pretty in tune for a Curb episode, that is, until Susie reveals that the beloved family dog is sick. Tasked with providing the dog with his last meal, Jeff and Larry wander out into the world to return empty handed to the dismay of Susie (and presumably) the dead dog.

What’s great about the set up here is Larry’s extreme distaste for the line cutter contrasted with his own inability to manage a task without fucking it up. Like most narcissists, he’s unable to admit when he’s wrong or needs help. Now, the main problem Jeff and Larry should run into is that they eat the dog’s last meal while callously chatting. However, it’s not until Vance see them in the act that the gravity of their blunder will even come to light. As Vance attempts to communicate non-verbally, Larry gives him the brush off, confident of his secret being kept because he’s so certain no one understands Vance anyway.

Part of Curb’s appeal is the extreme awkwardness that washes over the audience in the middle of an episode. With the Pinkberry debacle, there’s this constant gurgle in the pit of your stomach as you watch things fall apart quickly. While Larry berates the line cutter early on, he pulls the same move while trying to acquire frozen yogurt, only to get push back from the folks waiting in line. The surprise on his face when he’s told he’s not allowed to pull a move he despises is maddening, and hilarious. The lack of awareness of the world around him is incredible. Now is this disconnect relatable? For most no; there’s a privilege Larry experiences that most of us will never get close to. Between his wealth, social status, and seeming lack of empathy, he’s forgiven by a society that only exists because of people like him. As an audience it seems we’re able to enjoy the uncomfortable nature of these situations because of their improbable reality.

The funeral comes along and Larry and Jeff sit squirming on their secret. Susie informs Vance of the dog’s last meal never happening, and Vance quickly tries to tell her the truth, only to get another brush off because she can’t understand him. The lack of communication speaks clearly to their world; there’s more than one way to converse with someone, however trying takes time and patience which is something Larry and co have no sense of. They don’t need to, they have money. Really Susie brings Vance around as an accessory- he’s her spiritual man in the same way clueless leaders have kept spiritual figures around throughout humanity, though in this case it’s a false sense of supremacy.

To add insult to injury, Larry runs into a man who asks him to be a part of a charity event that would consume his whole day. God forbid he do any good, Larry instead insists he’ll be in New York for the weekend. By “happy” coincidence it, turns out the event is on a different date, to which Larry responds he’ll be in New York for three months to work on a new show with Seinfeld. Now A) that’s cruel to anyone who is a fan of the two of them considering this project doesn’t exist and it will soon make the rumor circuit. Oh and B) Larry can’t help some kids out for a single day? Fuck those kids, he’s got other lives to mess with.

By the time he leaves an angry note on a car that parked like an asshole, the whole episode has been laid out in this convoluted story line that only works on Curb. The car turns out to have been parked and owned by Vance, who in turn breaks his vow of silence to tell Susie the truth about Pinkberry. Understandably upset, she exclaims she’ll be happy to be away from Larry for three months, only to have the news broken that he’ll also be moving to New York at the same time.

When the episode first aired, there was an annoyance by critics and audience members alike about the endorsement of the Pinkberry brand. Sure, it seems like they were given some money to talk about the frozen yogurt shop. But considering HBO’s lackadaisical stance on Larry David, it’s more probable that they used the brand for it’s ridiculous name, and visibility to the viewing public, than for a meager paid endorsement. Fuck your money, Pinkberry marketing team. Tell me you don’t think of Larry hoovering a dying dog’s frozen yogurt every time you see a Pinkberry. Oh, you can’t? Well then.

‘The Vow of Silence’ embodies the show’s point, which of course is that there isn’t one. It’s mindless to a degree, hilarious, and takes us out of our comfort zones so viscerally it’s almost hard to finish. Larry and Susie’s turbulent relationship over who owns the right to Jeff is one of the best rivalries to ever grace pop culture. For god sake Larry’s antics literally break a spiritual man’s spirit. That’s not easy you guys, I’ve seen it in action. So while this episode tends to toil in the back of viewer’s minds, we can only bubble up with glee at the prospect of whole new season of random awkward anxiety, and perhaps yet another instance of Larry leaving Richard Lewis hanging for a lunch date. (Cue music)