The One Where Michael Leaves
"The One Where Michael Leaves" is the first episode of season two and 23rd episode overall of the TV comedy series Arrested Development.
Synopsis
Michael takes George Michael to start a new life in Phoenix, without saying goodbye to the family. When he realizes that the impact of his departure might have been lost on them, he returns to inform them that he is leaving. Gob and Lindsay speculate that Michael needs them more than they need him. Michael is frustrated that no one is taking his "I'm out of here" seriously, because he is out of there. Seriously. On the road once again, Michael gets pulled over; the police inform him that George Sr. has been caught. Michael decides to return a second time, to tell his father he is leaving.
The police have actually arrested George Sr.'s twin brother, Oscar. Family lawyer Barry Zuckerkorn tells Michael he can't leave the state without paying bail, so Michael goes looking for the company checkbook. At the office, Gob is redecorating; Michael learns from him that Lucille has the checkbook. After Michael leaves, Gob starts making holes in the drywall with a sledgehammer; he finds a briefcase containing a contract between George Bluth and Saddam Hussein. Lindsay and Tobias decide to try an "open marriage," and Lindsay immediately makes what she thinks is a date (it's actually an appointment with a realtor). Tobias spots a flyer and attends what he thinks is a support group for depressed men, but it's a performance of the Blue Man Group. He decides to audition.
Lucille is questioned by a Michael Moore-type documentary filmmaker, who inquires about the family's patriotism, asking whether she'd ever enlist her son or daughter in the Army. She immediately signs Buster up. Michael realizes he must ask the family for the bail money. Tobias leaves for the theater to audition for the Blue Man Group, but is run over by Barry Zuckercorn. At the hospital for the second time in two days, the family pours out their troubles and begs Michael for help. Dr. Fishman (aka Dr. "Wordsmith") makes another confusing announcement, and the police try to arrest Oscar, thinking he is George Sr. Michael explains the mixup, and "Oscar" leaves. Then, the real Oscar walks in; the other one was George Sr. in a wig. He has stolen the briefcase containing the Saddam Hussein contract. In the final scene, Gob comforts Michael by saying, "You've made a huge mistake."
Episode notes
Cultural references
- Blue Man Group Tobias first sees the Blue Man Group in this episode and although he paints himself blue, he mentions that he has not yet even auditioned to be an understudy.
- Friends The title is a play on Friends-style episode titles, which usually start with the phrase "The One..."
- Kegel exercise Lindsay's exercise video is actually for Kegel exercises, a set of exercises designed to strengthen and give voluntary control over the pubococcygeus muscle; the exercises are used to increase sexual gratification.
- Michael Moore The documentary filmmaker is a spoof of Michael Moore, whose documentary, Fahrenheit 9/11, included a segment in which he asked senators to enlist their sons or daughters in the army.
Callbacks/running jokes
- Gob's inability to use the phone When Michael and Gob are at the company office, Gob cannot use the phone to intercom, and eventually Michael gets him to just hang up
- Abbreviated cursing Buster abbreviates the word "rape" to "R." He previously abbreviated the word "screwing" to "essing" in "Pier Pressure," and later abbreviates "bitch" to "B" in "Ready, Aim, Marry Me."
- Blender Lucille interrupts Michael's speech with a blender.
- Blue paint For the first half of Season 2, blue paint (usually in the form of a randomly-placed blue handprint) can be seen in the background on the walls of the Bluth model home.
- Bluth Company Board/workers are incompetent The board approves Gob as the president of the company after he performs a magic trick where he incinerates a $100 bill to "convert it" into 100 pennies.
- Buster's real father Several hints are made that Oscar is Buster's real father, each accompanied by the same dramatic music and knowing glances between Oscar and Lucille:
- When Buster says they told him his father was at the police station, Oscar suggestively says, "Did they?"
- Oscar suggestively agrees that Buster needs "a father figure."
- When Oscar suggests that Buster should grow his hair long, Buster notes, "Then I'd look like you." Oscar responds, "More than you'll ever know."
- Hiding in the walls The narrator mentions that George Sr. has a tendency to hide things inside walls. This was previously shown in "Top Banana," in which he lined the walls of the banana stand with $250,000.
- A huge mistake When Michael announces to the family that he's leaving, he tells Gob to bail himself out next time he makes a "huge mistake." At the end of the episode, Gob tells Michael he has made a huge mistake.
- Lindsay's nose Michael reveals that Lindsay's nose is fake, and that she used to have a larger nose when she was younger. This is referenced numerous times in later episodes.
- Pilot callbacks
- George Michael remembers Michael saying family is the most important thing.
- Lindsay is wearing a "H.O.O.P" t-shirt during the Monkey Freedom Rally set-back. H.O.O.P. is her anti-circumcision movement, mentioned several times in "Pilot."
- Michael and George Michael are once again leaving for Phoenix, Arizona, like they almost did in the pilot.
- Lucille twice gives the same wink that she did in the pilot.
- This episode's ending is identical to the ending of the pilot.
- Phone This is the first episode in which Gob's inability to operate the company phones is displayed.
- George Michael tips his hand when making a phony phone call to Lucille's pretending to be Dr. Blueman's office, conceding that they'll just get a hold of Michael in Phoenix (he would have no knowledge of this and his father's departure moments before). He had previously done this at a younger age, referring to his father as "Dad" while impersonating the Jerky Boys during a business meeting in "Burning Love."
- Police brutality Whenever Oscar is arrested by the police, he is beaten over the head with a baton by Officer Taylor, who always says "Yeah" after doing so. This happens four times in the episode.
- Rape horn Lucille mentions she has a rape horn, a possible callback to Buster's "rape whistle" in "Charity Drive."
- Tobias is gay Numerous jokes are made regarding Tobias' sexuality.
- Tobias "accidentally" sets off Lucille's rape horn just before Michael mentions that Lindsay thinks he's a homosexual.
- Tobias says, "No, I'm afraid I just 'blue' myself."
- When Lindsay walks in on Tobias in the bedroom, he is seen practicing her "EZ-Keglin" Kegel exercise tape.
- Wig George Sr.'s technique of using a wig to disguise himself while escaping is shown several times throughout the course of the series.
- "Wonderful things" Michael says, "He said some wonderful things" in regards to Tobias' "I just blue myself" line. Michael said the same thing about George Sr.'s "Daddy horny" line in "Visiting Ours."
- "Who wants to go to the hospital?" This begins a running gag in which Tobias ends his storyline for each episode by going to the hospital. It is repeated several times in Season 2.
- "I am having the time of my life" Said by the Barry Zuckerkorn in the "On the next" part of the show; refers to when George Sr. is first visited in prison by Michael, where he says the same thing with the same gestures.
- Atkins Oscar, before being beaten the first time, is asking about diet information. Also, there is a plate of untouched cinnamon buns on Lucille's dinning table. These are references to the previous episode when everybody was on the Atkins diet.
Hidden/background jokes
- Hair Several scenes after Buster brushes Lucille's hair, it is noticeably more of a mess than usual.
- Never-nude Tobias can be seen wearing his cut-offs as he walks around the model home in blue paint.
- Sign At her "Monkey Freedom Rally," Lindsay holds a sign that reads "Free this orangutan." The fact that orangutans are apes, and not monkeys, serves to reinforce Lindsay's ignorance.
Foreshadowing
- Blue Man Group Michael pretends to be a doctor named "Dr. Bluman" on the phone to Lucille, hinting at the upcoming storyline with Tobias joining the Blue Man Group.
- Seal Attack While Buster is combing Oscar's hair, John Beard reports, "And a seal attack. Meet one surprised bather, coming up!" The camera then pans to Buster. This foreshadows Buster's attack by a seal in "Out on a Limb."
- Adopted When George Michael and Michael are driving to Phoenix, George Michael asks if Lindsay is not his real aunt, possibly hinting that Lindsay was adopted.
- Oscar During the final scene at the hospital, Buster is clearly uncomfortable with the way Oscar is massaging his shoulders, a hint that it is George Sr. disguised as Oscar.
Character cameos
- Ian Roberts makes his second appearance as Dr. Fishman, also known as "the literal doctor" and Dr. "Wordsmith." Tobias "looks dead" because he is covered in blue paint; Lindsay "looks hot" because she has a fever of 104 degrees Fahrenheit.
- Jay Johnston returns as Officer Taylor, the police officer who hits Oscar over the head. He later plays a large role in the episode "Hand to God."
Goofs
- When the family sees Lindsay in the shower and goes downstairs to leave, someone (possibly a crew member) can be seen in the mirror sitting down in the background.
- When Oscar is at the police station, he can be seen wearing George Sr.'s wedding ring.
External links