‘Curb Your Enthusiasm’ Season 9, Episode 9 Recap: “It’s Hard To Be Fair”

Larry David received some wonderful news last week on Curb Your Enthusiasm: the fatwa placed on his life had been lifted, and he could resume work on his musical so long as gets Lin-Manuel Miranda in the lead role. So, how’s his recent good fortune affecting his life this week?

CURB YOUR ENTHUSIASM SEASON 9, EPISODE 9 RECAP

An overjoyed Larry gathered most of his friends for a dinner party to celebrate his recent luck, proclaiming, “At last the fatwa is over!” However, he and Jeff must abide by the council’s casting choice, meaning Miranda has to portray Salman Rushdie in the play. Larry, then, segues into an anecdote concerning how he had previously seen Hamilton, Lin-Manuel’s iconic performance, but inadvertently fell asleep during it.

As he concluded his tale, he noticed his shucker overheard the embarrassing admission. “Sleep is sleep, and you fell asleep,” the shucker asserts. However, he does agree to keep it a secret so long as Larry can get him a ticket to Hamilton. Moreover, the woman who previously owned Larry’s house, Mrs. Roe Shapiro, knocks on the door. She tactlessly expresses her disapproval for how Larry redesigned her house, but she eventually leaves. Adding to Larry’s quickly diminishing good mood was how his girlfriend Bridget was sharing stories of her ex, which ultimately inspires him to kick everyone out.

The next day, Larry and Jeff are chatting before their meeting with Lin-Manuel. Our hero’s intrigued by Jeff’s new hat, which he obtained after Larry’s party. Susie’s taken with his new look, with Jeff boasting how he’s received “more love and affection” he’s “ever had before.” After Larry takes a moment to appreciate Judge Judy, Lin-Manuel soon greets them and the meeting begins. However, something’s amiss – Larry’s unintentionally agreeing to all of Lin-Manuel’s requests. As it turns out, the power dynamic is askew in Lin-Manuel’s favor, as Larry isn’t accustomed to being faced with such an imposing desk.

We then cut to Larry’s house, with Larry and Bridget watching television together in his bedroom. Larry expresses his disapproval for Bridget’s affinity for sharing embarrassing stories of her exes, explaining how he knows he could become the subject matter for stories. Bridget insists everything’s “regular,” though he remains skeptical. Larry also notices Mrs. Shapiro’s again loitering on his property, watering the plant she left him. She explains she still had her old key to the house, and Larry must’ve never bothered to change the locks.

We’re greeted by a quick scene of Susie and Jeff enjoying a private moment, though Larry’s manager looks visibly unpleased. Jeff later admits to Larry that he’s unhappy with Susie’s recent infatuation with him, noting how tiring it is. Ted Danson, who’s having a meeting at the same establishment where Lin-Manuel works, walks by and the three converse. Larry politely asks when Ted will quit acting, expressing how he always has to see Ted on TV. Ted believes he still has a few parts left in him, and he also makes a passing mention of his forthcoming vacation to Tahoe with Cheryl. Once Lin-Manuel arrives, he tells Larry that he couldn’t obtain a ticket for the shucker, although he effortlessly could if it was for Larry personally, who in turn retorts that he’ll take the ticket for himself. Lin-Manuel, although skeptical, affirms that he’ll get him a ticket. Afterwards, Larry and Lin-Manuel dash to the latter’s office, which erupts into a somewhat violent takedown. Lin-Manuel wins, however, meaning he reclaims his commanding seat.

We’re back at Larry’s home. Leon and Larry discuss the potential merits of having an NDA concerning sexual-related matters when Jeff arrives. Lin-Manuel’s agreed to be in the musical, and several of Larry’s friends are investing. Furthermore, Jeff relinquishes the hat to Larry muttering how he can’t wear it anymore, since Susie “sprained his dick.” He takes a few painkillers, and gives Larry a few. Larry, however, makes a startling discovery – his plant is gone! He correctly deduces who stole it, and he and Leon head over to her house to reclaim it. They fail to achieve this goal, instead leaving her house with the promise of a lawsuit.

Larry heads over to Cheryl’s place, demanding to know if she told Ted about what happened at Tahoe. As he’s confronting her, he also takes issue with not being invited to her party. While there, he also spots his shucker. He returns the hat to its rightful owner, but he also asks for his ticket back. Lin-Manuel, as Larry was driving there, called Larry, telling him that his wife would be present at that Hamilton showing. She, in fact, will be seated right next to Larry, meaning Larry actually needed to be there. The shucker bribes Larry, who pays with a credit card. Afterwards, Larry’s with Bridget at his house again. He jokes that he’s “sexually a very simple man,” but he does have an idea to spice things up: an NDA covering their sexual exploits! Bridget leaves in disgust.

As usual, everything coalesces into a mess for Larry. He’s on Judge Judy with Mrs. Roe Shapiro, demanding his plant back. Although she does concede that his plant was technically stolen, she awards custody of the plant to Shapiro as she actually cared for it. Cheryl, Bridget and Susie watch Larry’s poor performance live. Our episode closes as Larry meets Lin-Manuel’s wife and her friend as Hamilton starts. Larry’s usual scattershot manner of speaking doesn’t scare them off, fortunately, but Lin-Manuel’s wife and the cast of the show seem rather displeased when Larry, under the influence of painkillers, falls asleep…

“The Shucker” was another fun episode of Curb Your Enthusiasm. Without giving too many details away, it made several fun callbacks to the previous episodes in this season while pushing the narrative forward. I’m excited for the season finale!