The penultimate Curb Your Enthusiasm episode of season seven – “The Table Read” – really seemed to be an exercise in how Larry’s former co-workers were able to speak with him in any tone that they pleased. Cheryl finally gets to interact with everyone and a Funkhouser even shows up. None of this sounds like it should result in a well rehearsed show, but the Seinfeld reunion seems to be getting under way nicely. We’ll have to wait and see how the season finale finds the cast.

This past week, though, begins as everyone’s settling in to read through the script that Jerry and Larry worked out in the company of their scantily clad secretary. The reading seems to be going well – and regardless of how meta this all is considering a real reunion must be proposed weekly, the oddity of Cheryl acting the part of Cheryl still comes off as unlikely, albeit useful for Larry. His former wife’s performance at the reading and the subsequent run through of the script doesn’t seem like it should have please everyone, but then viewers need to consider whether the Cheryl character is half-assed acting or if Cheryl Hines, the actress, is just phoning it in. Because of that, as well as the fact that Larry hasn’t had a real love interest this season, does this then lead to the end of the show? It’d be  a sensible conclusion: the reunion coming off as all hackery, Cheryl being disappointed and again disposing of her one time love.

What surrounds the readings, though, are where the laughs come. Marty Funkhouser shows up and as Larry’s trying to convince him to leave, the uninvited guest meanders over to Jerry and tells him a pretty (pretty, pretty) unsavory joke. It may have earned a laugh in club or at a bar – and it may have come out of someone’s act, but who knows. It just seemed inappropriate, which makes sense for Funkhouser who, much like Larry, kinda works life out with his own set of rules.

The one through line during “The Table Read” is Larry’s relationship with his assistant’s daughter, which moves from cute if troublesome, to down right bizarre. The few times that Curb moves to include a child into its narrative usually results in Larry making a new enemy. Of course, Sammy, Geoff and Suzy’s daughter is a family friend, but that doesn’t mean there haven’t been times when Larry’s offended her. Here, though, Larry’s assistant gives her daughter his cell phone number and the odd couple begin texting. There’s some personal information exchanged concerning the young girls health leading Larry to believe that he’s in some way contracted a rash from the blond haired youngster. The way that he relates this information, though, results in some suspicion on the part of Larry’s doctor.

The episode ends with a phone call to the police. And while viewers don’t get to watch Larry weasel his way out of it, we should all be more concerned about how the show is going to work this coming week as season seven comes to a close.