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Outbyte PC Repair FREERepair Windows errors before they cause bigger problemsFix Now →Outbyte Driver Updater FREEFix the driver behind crashes, sound loss and screen glitchesFind Drivers →Spoilers ahead. “The Colostomy Bag,” Curb Your Enthusiasm Season 12, Episode 8, turns Richard Lewis’s hunt for a vintage car into a chain reaction of bad smells, bruised feelings, and Larry David’s misplaced attempts to make things right. The car’s supposed “new car smell” is actually old tobacco odor—and Larry’s forgotten cheese eventually makes the problem much worse.
What is “The Colostomy Bag” about?
“The Colostomy Bag” is the eighth episode of Curb Your Enthusiasm Season 12. Apple TV lists its US release date as March 24, 2024, and gives a runtime of 30 minutes; Prime Video’s surfaced catalog listing shows March 23 and 32 minutes. Those are differences in platform metadata, so it is safest to call it a roughly 30-minute episode. HBO announced Season 12 as the series’ final ten-episode season.
| # | Preview | Product | Price | |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 |
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Curb Your Enthusiasm: The Complete Series (DVD) | $69.99 | Buy on Amazon |
| 2 |
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Curb Your Enthusiasm: The Complete Twelfth Season (DVD) | $18.99 | Buy on Amazon |
| 3 |
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Curb Your Enthusiasm: Season 1 | $8.54 | Buy on Amazon |
| 4 |
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Curb Your Enthusiasm: Season 9 (DVD) | $11.99 | Buy on Amazon |
| 5 |
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Curb Your Enthusiasm: Season 3 | $6.26 | Buy on Amazon |
The main story begins when Richard, whose sense of smell has been lost after long COVID, asks Larry to inspect a vintage car. Larry can smell what Richard cannot: tobacco odor. His attempt to turn that observation into a bargain sets off the episode’s central run of awkward reversals.
The best moments in “The Colostomy Bag”
These are standout beats from the episode, not an objective ranking.
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1. Larry’s mock trial exposes the valet-key problem
As Larry prepares for the Georgia case connected to the water-bottle incident, a mock jury reacts poorly to him. Larry suspects that his casual toss of his car keys to a valet made him look like a “big shot.” Later, a valet tells him that throwing keys can be dangerous. Larry takes the criticism personally, giving the opening gag a direct payoff.
2. Jeff asks Larry to take power of attorney—secretly
Jeff is facing back surgery and wants Larry to hold power of attorney. He does not trust Susie to make the decision he would want if something went wrong, so he asks Larry to keep the arrangement hidden. They plan to exploit the fact that their lawyers share an office building. It is a typically Jeff-and-Larry solution: a quiet scheme that is unlikely to stay quiet.
3. Richard recruits Larry as his nose
Richard cannot smell the vintage car he is considering, so he relies on Larry’s assessment. Larry detects stale tobacco odor. The setup makes Larry’s nose an unusually important part of the car-buying process—and gives Richard a reason to ask for a lower price.
4. The $3,000 smell discount goes nowhere
Richard wants the seller, DiCarlo, to knock $3,000 off because of the odor. DiCarlo sees the request as a scam and refuses. Larry’s suggestion of a pine-tree air freshener offers a simple alternative, but it does not resolve the negotiation or the underlying awkwardness.
Rank #3
- Factory sealed DVD
5. Larry’s colostomy-bag joke lands badly
Larry makes a dark joke about DiCarlo having a colostomy bag, then interprets the seller’s reaction as a sign that the joke may have hit too close to home. When Larry learns DiCarlo has had surgery, he tries to make amends. The episode turns Larry’s usual confidence in his own social instincts into another reason for trouble.
6. Larry buys the car to make up for the joke
Guilt pushes Larry to buy the car from DiCarlo at the original price, despite the smell and its flaws. He then sells it to Richard for the discounted price they had wanted in the first place. Larry takes the financial hit, effectively paying to repair the damage he thinks he caused.
7. Conan’s borrowed car brings back the key toss
Richard is supposed to get “Conan clearance” before Larry approaches Conan O’Brien. Meanwhile, Larry’s electric car becomes unusable after a valet unplugs it. Conan helps Larry out by lending him a car, and the key-toss joke returns when Conan throws keys at Larry.
8. Richard thinks he is picking up “the one”
Delighted with his purchase, Richard heads to pick up a date he believes could be “the one.” The reveal is that he is picking up his wife, Joyce Lapinsky. Richard’s enthusiasm sets up the episode’s apparent happy ending: the car deal seems to have worked out, and he is eager to share it with someone he loves.
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Best Value
- Factory sealed DVD
9. Forgotten cheese turns the car into a disaster
Larry has left cheese in the car. Richard cannot smell it, but the odor drives Joyce away. The same car smell that started as a negotiation problem has become a romantic one, with Larry’s carelessness supplying the final, much worse odor.
10. Susie uncovers Jeff’s plan
Susie discovers the secret power-of-attorney arrangement. Larry and Jeff end up signing the paperwork back over to her, so Jeff’s attempt to bypass Susie collapses alongside Richard’s hoped-for date. Neither storyline gets the tidy resolution its schemers wanted.
Independent reader supportYour contribution helps us test, update, and keep practical guides available for everyone.How does the car storyline end?
Larry buys the vintage car at DiCarlo’s asking price after feeling guilty about his joke, then sells it to Richard at the lower price Richard had sought. Richard is initially thrilled and takes it to pick up Joyce. But Larry has left cheese inside; its smell repels Joyce, and the apparent win turns sour. The episode’s “new car smell” hook is ironic: the story is driven by old tobacco odor and forgotten cheese, not a fresh-car fragrance.
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