Hand to God gives more attention to the bizarre twist at the end of Out on a Limb, Buster's loss of a hand to a seal while swimming in the ocean. Learning more about it and seeing more of the family's reactions probably won't have a viewer get used to the change already; if anything it seems more strange when we learn GOB is responsible. That sort of reflects how Arrested Development's conflict is typically man vs. man rather than man vs. nature, and that its story lines are about family. Meanwhile, Michael learns Maggie's pregnancy is not real, and Maggie's client is pregnant instead, with the baby going to two gay cops.
There's some good in this episode. True to the show's tragedy and celebration of flawed characters, we have George Michael saying he's "almost always" alone and Michael using George Michael and saying he's a better guy than he actually is- he says he can raise Maggie's baby knowing it's not his own, but then regrets saying that immediately. We also see the literal doctor again and his joke this time- "all right"- works. Then we have Maeby "lying for no reason," which is funny because it's true.
So why do I think Hand to God is one of the weakest episodes of season 2? Overlooking the strangeness of the hand loss story, seeing Buster's hook cutting and hurting people (particularly Oscar) and seeing the blood (including a cut on Buster himself) is not pleasant, more like cringe-worthy. Note that hook hands in real life are not that sharp, so it's a misrepresentation, too. The episode has some laughs but it's not the funniest.
And what of that twist ending? When Michael and Maggie have sex at the end, the episode implies Maggie actually did get pregnant this time. But we never see Maggie again in the series so we don't know the consequences. Had the show lasted longer, she probably would have returned again, and the pregnancy story could be developed. However, this show has led us to believe several things about Maggie that turned out not to be true, so it's possible she's still not really pregnant. Unless an AD movie is made and Maggie's in it, we'll unfortunately never know.
There's some good in this episode. True to the show's tragedy and celebration of flawed characters, we have George Michael saying he's "almost always" alone and Michael using George Michael and saying he's a better guy than he actually is- he says he can raise Maggie's baby knowing it's not his own, but then regrets saying that immediately. We also see the literal doctor again and his joke this time- "all right"- works. Then we have Maeby "lying for no reason," which is funny because it's true.
So why do I think Hand to God is one of the weakest episodes of season 2? Overlooking the strangeness of the hand loss story, seeing Buster's hook cutting and hurting people (particularly Oscar) and seeing the blood (including a cut on Buster himself) is not pleasant, more like cringe-worthy. Note that hook hands in real life are not that sharp, so it's a misrepresentation, too. The episode has some laughs but it's not the funniest.
And what of that twist ending? When Michael and Maggie have sex at the end, the episode implies Maggie actually did get pregnant this time. But we never see Maggie again in the series so we don't know the consequences. Had the show lasted longer, she probably would have returned again, and the pregnancy story could be developed. However, this show has led us to believe several things about Maggie that turned out not to be true, so it's possible she's still not really pregnant. Unless an AD movie is made and Maggie's in it, we'll unfortunately never know.
