Let 'em Eat Cake is the first season finale, and also the best season finale. And that's saying a lot considering all three seasons went out with a bang. Written by Mitchell Hurwitz and Jim Vallely, it's a climactic point in the show's story but it also sets up new stories for the show's second season. In it, Michael finds out his father's crimes may have been bigger than he once thought- George may have built houses in Iraq for Saddam Hussein. Furious with George, Michael gives up on his job and the family and tries to leave with his son George Michael- but George Michael doesn't want to go. Then they hear that while taking a lie detector test, George had a heart attack.
In a history class on the American South, my professor showed us an episode of the Beverley Hillbillies. Is it possible that, years from now, when schools are teaching the early twenty-first century, they'll show students this episode? In a way it reflects its era, both with the Atkins diet fad and the war on Saddam. One can only hope they'll show it. And while the episode reflects the era it was made in, in other ways it'll probably be timeless. The old incest jokes ("It is a struggle"), George Michael's bad banana joke that becomes funny when we see John Beard's reaction, Barry's itch. There's the Dip-a-Pet joke that's dark without being graphic and disgusting. There's the priceless "Your business... might not." And we have the first Ann jokes, which take on a life of their own in season 2. Incidentally, Ann's played by a different actress in this episode. The change in casting may have been wise- the first actress' monotone may have gotten annoying after a while.
But this episode also has an emotional dimension. It won't make you cry (I think Arrested Development is too funny to make anyone cry), but I do feel emotion when the Bluths think George has died. Before that, Jeffrey Tambor puts emotion into his performance as George in the lie detector scene, and before that, Jason Bateman as Michael portrays frustration and anger well when he quits. We see some of the show's heart when George Michael doesn't want to go- and this is a notable character development, since it's rare for George Michael to defy his father. On the side, we learn about the connection between Lindsay and Tobias. All in all, this is top 10 material.
In a history class on the American South, my professor showed us an episode of the Beverley Hillbillies. Is it possible that, years from now, when schools are teaching the early twenty-first century, they'll show students this episode? In a way it reflects its era, both with the Atkins diet fad and the war on Saddam. One can only hope they'll show it. And while the episode reflects the era it was made in, in other ways it'll probably be timeless. The old incest jokes ("It is a struggle"), George Michael's bad banana joke that becomes funny when we see John Beard's reaction, Barry's itch. There's the Dip-a-Pet joke that's dark without being graphic and disgusting. There's the priceless "Your business... might not." And we have the first Ann jokes, which take on a life of their own in season 2. Incidentally, Ann's played by a different actress in this episode. The change in casting may have been wise- the first actress' monotone may have gotten annoying after a while.
But this episode also has an emotional dimension. It won't make you cry (I think Arrested Development is too funny to make anyone cry), but I do feel emotion when the Bluths think George has died. Before that, Jeffrey Tambor puts emotion into his performance as George in the lie detector scene, and before that, Jason Bateman as Michael portrays frustration and anger well when he quits. We see some of the show's heart when George Michael doesn't want to go- and this is a notable character development, since it's rare for George Michael to defy his father. On the side, we learn about the connection between Lindsay and Tobias. All in all, this is top 10 material.
