[7.5/10] You can feel the show rushing to tie off its long-running storylines here, and so some of the resolutions end up seeming a bit quick. But that’s easily forgiven since the show’s episode order was cut and then cut again. Even if it’s not seamless, I admire Mitch Hurwitz and company giving us answers to the big questions and settling these accounts before they sailed off into the sunset.
George Sr. really was a patsy! He was building homes in Iraq through a British building company organized by the CIA so that they could spy on prominent Iraqis. The treason was a setup the whole time! It’s a little out there, but it works for the tone of the show, and the boys discovering the secret works as a nice way to resolve the charges against the family.
Likewise, George Michael going through Maeby’s address book to try to throw her a surprise 16th birthday party, only to accidentally get her fired from her job as a studio executive is a clever way to wrap that up that long-running plot thread as well. It’s the combination of something well-intentioned by George Michael mixed with the perfect way to Maeby.
Speaking of outings, this is a fun Tobias episode. The whole bit with him in Maeby’s suit is a laugh, and I like him once again mistaking some kind of operation by the CIA/the prosecution to be an invite for a job audition. His blithe obliviousness about all of this -- falling for a sting scrapbooking operation by none other than Detective Munch -- makes for some big laughs.
This one also features some of the show’s most pointed commentary on the War on Terror. Michael warns his son that GOB’s not in an Iraqi prison, but rather an American one, so “who knows what they’re doing to him.” The fact that the WMD the boys find turns out to be a homefill feels like a funny but barbed critique. And the very fact that the whole premise of the show comes down to one half of the CIA not knowing what the other half is doing is pretty damning. Throw in the “burning bush” riot, the efforts to train up Iraqi prison guards, and talk of taking “Haliburton Way”, and you have one of the more explicitly “current events”-focused episode of the show.
That’s augmented by some great swan songs for the show’s running gags. I love Michael saying “Who’s tougher than us?” to his son, only to have George Michael do his usual cowering when his dad tosses him the keys. Buster’s british nurse telling him he’s “such a pussy” and Michael adding, “That means she likes you” is a great coda to the bits from “Notapussy.” And I like that we’re still doing “vodka goes bad” jokes.
Buster’s whole deal with the coma pays off nicely, with the fickle nurse who claims to want her patients to prove their love by recovering but then accuses them of faking their illnesses when they do. Lucille and Lindsay pretending to be in rehab while accidentally ending up at a dry spa is worth a few chuckles.
That just leaves two big bits -- the rest of the visit to Iraq (aka “Operation Hot Brother”) which again feels pretty rushed, but leads to some good gags and solid narrative resolution. (For whatever reason, I especially love one of the Sadam lookalikes apologizing for acting like an Uday lookalike.) And then there’s Maeby and George Michael thinking they’re drunk and going to second base together after the reveal that Lindsay might not be Maeby’s mother. The reveal in the tag is sufficiently awkward for this show, but once again, feels like driving toward a resolution to one of Arrested Development’s longstanding thread.
Overall, I still wish the show had more time, if only to do more of a build to some of this stuff. But the laughs are still there, and I appreciate the effort to give the audience closure.
Review by Andrew BloomVIP 9BlockedParentSpoilers2021-05-16T03:34:28Z
[7.5/10] You can feel the show rushing to tie off its long-running storylines here, and so some of the resolutions end up seeming a bit quick. But that’s easily forgiven since the show’s episode order was cut and then cut again. Even if it’s not seamless, I admire Mitch Hurwitz and company giving us answers to the big questions and settling these accounts before they sailed off into the sunset.
George Sr. really was a patsy! He was building homes in Iraq through a British building company organized by the CIA so that they could spy on prominent Iraqis. The treason was a setup the whole time! It’s a little out there, but it works for the tone of the show, and the boys discovering the secret works as a nice way to resolve the charges against the family.
Likewise, George Michael going through Maeby’s address book to try to throw her a surprise 16th birthday party, only to accidentally get her fired from her job as a studio executive is a clever way to wrap that up that long-running plot thread as well. It’s the combination of something well-intentioned by George Michael mixed with the perfect way to Maeby.
Speaking of outings, this is a fun Tobias episode. The whole bit with him in Maeby’s suit is a laugh, and I like him once again mistaking some kind of operation by the CIA/the prosecution to be an invite for a job audition. His blithe obliviousness about all of this -- falling for a sting scrapbooking operation by none other than Detective Munch -- makes for some big laughs.
This one also features some of the show’s most pointed commentary on the War on Terror. Michael warns his son that GOB’s not in an Iraqi prison, but rather an American one, so “who knows what they’re doing to him.” The fact that the WMD the boys find turns out to be a homefill feels like a funny but barbed critique. And the very fact that the whole premise of the show comes down to one half of the CIA not knowing what the other half is doing is pretty damning. Throw in the “burning bush” riot, the efforts to train up Iraqi prison guards, and talk of taking “Haliburton Way”, and you have one of the more explicitly “current events”-focused episode of the show.
That’s augmented by some great swan songs for the show’s running gags. I love Michael saying “Who’s tougher than us?” to his son, only to have George Michael do his usual cowering when his dad tosses him the keys. Buster’s british nurse telling him he’s “such a pussy” and Michael adding, “That means she likes you” is a great coda to the bits from “Notapussy.” And I like that we’re still doing “vodka goes bad” jokes.
Buster’s whole deal with the coma pays off nicely, with the fickle nurse who claims to want her patients to prove their love by recovering but then accuses them of faking their illnesses when they do. Lucille and Lindsay pretending to be in rehab while accidentally ending up at a dry spa is worth a few chuckles.
That just leaves two big bits -- the rest of the visit to Iraq (aka “Operation Hot Brother”) which again feels pretty rushed, but leads to some good gags and solid narrative resolution. (For whatever reason, I especially love one of the Sadam lookalikes apologizing for acting like an Uday lookalike.) And then there’s Maeby and George Michael thinking they’re drunk and going to second base together after the reveal that Lindsay might not be Maeby’s mother. The reveal in the tag is sufficiently awkward for this show, but once again, feels like driving toward a resolution to one of Arrested Development’s longstanding thread.
Overall, I still wish the show had more time, if only to do more of a build to some of this stuff. But the laughs are still there, and I appreciate the effort to give the audience closure.