The Best Episodes of Arrested Development

Episode Rankings

1. #1 Fan Favorite
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   9.1/10(3400 votes)

   #1 - Development Arrested

   S3:E132/10/2006

   After returning home from Iraq, George Sr. is finally cleared of all charges, and Michael is relieved to be the head of a successful company for a change. The real brains behind the madness is revealed, and just as the family begins to celebrate their victory, a whole new set of problems emerge.

   Director:John Fortenberry

   Writer:Unknown

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   Director:John Fortenberry

   Writer:Unknown
2. 

   9.0/10(4182 votes)

   #2 - Pier Pressure

   S1:E101/11/2004

   Buster realizes that medical marijuana will help cure Lucille 2's vertigo, and pays George Michael to get it for him from Gob. Lindsay sends Maeby to spend a day with Lucille to punish her for bad grades. Michael thinks George Michael is on drugs and attempts to teach him a lesson.

   Director:Joe Russo

   Writers:Mitchell Hurwitz, Jim Vallely

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   Director:Joe Russo

   Writers:Mitchell Hurwitz, Jim Vallely
3. 

   9.0/10(3308 votes)

   #3 - Good Grief

   S2:E412/5/2004

   Lucille hires a bounty hunter, Ice, to find George Sr., who may be closer than everyone thinks. Gob tries to pull off an elaborate illusion, Maeby tries to set Lindsay up with Ice, and Michael tries to mend George Michael's broken relationship.

   Director:Jeff Melman

   Writer:John Levenstein

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   Director:Jeff Melman

   Writer:John Levenstein
4. 

   9.0/10(3389 votes)

   #4 - Afternoon Delight

   S2:E612/19/2004

   Gob stages mass firings after being inadvertently roasted at the Bluth Company Christmas party. Michael is forced to rebuild the Banana Stand, and Buster plays hooky from the Army at an arcade game.

   Director:Jason Bateman

   Writers:Abraham Higginbotham, Chuck Martin

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   Director:Jason Bateman

   Writers:Abraham Higginbotham, Chuck Martin
5. 

   9.0/10(3152 votes)

   #5 - Meat the Veals

   S2:E164/3/2005

   George Sr. tries to find a way to attend an anniversary dinner for Lucille while Michael deliberately offends Ann's devout Christian parents. Tobias goes overboard performing his "Mrs. Featherbottom" persona.

   Directors:Anthony Russo, Joe Russo

   Writers:Barbie Adler, Richard A. Rosenstock

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   Directors:Anthony Russo, Joe Russo

   Writers:Barbie Adler, Richard A. Rosenstock
6. 

   8.9/10(2757 votes)

   #6 - The Righteous Brothers

   S2:E184/17/2005

   Gob hides George Sr. while the model home's plumbing is checked; George Michael helps Ann protest Maeby's new movie; Tobias takes a liking to Kitty after Michael asks him to keep an eye on her.

   Director:Chuck Martin

   Writers:Mitchell Hurwitz, Jim Vallely

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   Director:Chuck Martin

   Writers:Mitchell Hurwitz, Jim Vallely
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7. 

   8.8/10(3128 votes)

   #7 - Amigos

   S2:E311/21/2004

   Michael is increasingly frustrated over being abandoned by the family, and when the staircar is found in Mexico, Michael vows to find his father and give him a piece of his mind. Also, Buster spends time with Lupe's family and thinks he's in Mexico.

   Director:Lee Shallat Chemel

   Writer:Brad Copeland

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   Director:Lee Shallat Chemel

   Writer:Brad Copeland
8. 

   8.8/10(2602 votes)

   #8 - Exit Strategy

   S3:E122/10/2006

   Gob goes to Iraq to perform his Christian magic act on the USO tour and ends up incarcerated. Michael learns George, Sr. sent Gob to Iraq to burn down the model home he built there, so Michael and Buster fly to Iraq to spring their brother from prison.

   Directors:Lev L. Spiro, Rebecca Asher

   Writers:Dean Lorey, Chuck Tatham, Mitchell Hurwitz, Jim Vallely

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   Directors:Lev L. Spiro, Rebecca Asher

   Writers:Dean Lorey, Chuck Tatham, Mitchell Hurwitz, Jim Vallely
9. 

   8.7/10(3212 votes)

   #9 - Justice Is Blind

   S1:E173/21/2004

   Gob steals a file on the government's case against the Bluth Company that Maggie had given to Michael. Tobias is sent to Maggie's house to get evidence, George Michael tries to prove Maeby's fraud, and Lindsay fights to remove the Ten Commandments from the courthouse lawn.

   Director:Jay Chandrasekhar

   Writer:Abraham Higginbotham

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   Director:Jay Chandrasekhar

   Writer:Abraham Higginbotham
10. 

    8.7/10(2990 votes)

    #10 - The One Where Michael Leaves

    S2:E111/7/2004

    Michael and George Michael leave for Phoenix but go back to ensure the family misses them. Lindsay wants to have an open marriage, which causes Tobias to try to join the Blue Man Group under the impression that they are a support group for depressed men. Lucille signs Buster up for the Army after being goaded by a Michael Moore look-alike. Gob becomes president of the Bluth Company.

    Director:Lee Shallat Chemel

    Writers:Mitchell Hurwitz, Richard A. Rosenstock

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    Director:Lee Shallat Chemel

    Writers:Mitchell Hurwitz, Richard A. Rosenstock
11. 

    8.7/10(2716 votes)

    #11 - Hand to God

    S2:E123/6/2005

    Michael tries to find out who's the father of Maggie's baby, or if it's just another of her lies; Gob tries to find out whether he was responsible for Buster's accident.

    Director:Joe Russo

    Writers:Mitchell Hurwitz, Chuck Martin

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    Director:Joe Russo

    Writers:Mitchell Hurwitz, Chuck Martin
12. 

    8.7/10(2835 votes)

    #12 - Mr. F

    S3:E511/7/2005

    Michael must deal with a huge mole problem in order to salvage a major real estate deal with Japanese investors. In an effort to help Michael, Gob and Buster team up with George Sr.'s surrogate, Larry, to devise a plan and save the deal, but their plan falls apart in a big way. Meanwhile, Tobias mistakes a CIA agent for a CAA agent and inadvertently betrays the family, and Michael makes Rita a proposal she can't refuse. Frankie Muniz makes a cameo as himself.

    Director:Arlene Sanford

    Writers:Jim Vallely, Richard Day

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    Director:Arlene Sanford

    Writers:Jim Vallely, Richard Day
13. 

    8.7/10(2682 votes)

    #13 - Making a Stand

    S3:E812/19/2005

    Michael is tired of his father always having Gob compete with him, so Michael gets Gob his own banana stand franchise, only to find that Gob has set it up 20 feet from the old one. After the two compete, they decide to teach their father an elaborate lesson, and Buster refuses to use his handicap to scare kids. Meanwhile, Maeby uses Lucille's surgery in a horror film.

    Director:Peter Lauer

    Writers:Chuck Tatham, Mitchell Hurwitz

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    Director:Peter Lauer

    Writers:Chuck Tatham, Mitchell Hurwitz
14. 

    8.6/10(3018 votes)

    #14 - Let 'Em Eat Cake

    S1:E226/6/2004

    In the first season finale, George Sr. has a heart attack, and Maeby is jealous when George Michael likes another girl. Meanwhile, Lindsay decides to leave Tobias until a book he wrote a long time ago becomes a gay bestseller, and Buster and Annyong compete over women.

    Director:Paul Feig

    Writers:Mitchell Hurwitz, Jim Vallely

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    Director:Paul Feig

    Writers:Mitchell Hurwitz, Jim Vallely
15. 

    8.6/10(2705 votes)

    #15 - Sword of Destiny

    S2:E153/27/2005

    Gob and Buster team up for some magic tricks with the help of Buster's fake hand, but when Tony Wonder, a rival magician, starts to mentor them, somebody gets the finger. Meanwhile, Michael is forced to delegate some work when he's hospitalized and Lindsay teaches George Michael how to drive using the staircar.

    Director:Peter Lauer

    Writer:Brad Copeland

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    Director:Peter Lauer

    Writer:Brad Copeland
16. 

    8.6/10(2730 votes)

    #16 - S.O.B.s

    S3:E91/2/2006

    George Sr. suggests a last-ditch effort to save the family by holding a fund raiser to raise money to pay their legal expenses. Michael suggests to Lindsay that she take over the house work, and he sends George-Michael to an expensive boarding school. Meanwhile, Maeby has trouble with a snowboarding film and Tobias tries to be a "discipline daddy".

    Director:Robert Berlinger

    Writers:Jim Vallely, Richard Day

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    Director:Robert Berlinger

    Writers:Jim Vallely, Richard Day
17. 

    8.6/10(2515 votes)

    #17 - Family Ties

    S3:E112/10/2006

    In an effort to get to the bottom of things, Michael tracks Nellie down and hires her as a consultant for the Bluth Co. Unfortunately, Michael discovers Nellie's hands-on approach is more than he bargained for.

    Director:Robert Berlinger

    Writer:Ron Weiner

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    Director:Robert Berlinger

    Writer:Ron Weiner
18. 

    8.5/10(3254 votes)

    #18 - Shock and Aww

    S1:E143/7/2004

    Michael falls for his George Michael's ethics teacher, whom his son also has a crush on. Meanwhile, Lucille adopts a 14-year old Korean boy, and George Sr.'s "Caged Wisdom" tapes have given him a new admirer.

    Director:Joe Russo

    Writers:Jim Vallely, Chuck Martin

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    Director:Joe Russo

    Writers:Jim Vallely, Chuck Martin
19. 

    8.5/10(3068 votes)

    #19 - Altar Egos

    S1:E163/17/2004

    Michael attempts to have a one-night stand with an attorney whom he doesn't know is not only blind, but the prosecutor who is trying to put his father in jail. Also, Gob gets married on a dare, Maeby pretends to be a girl with a made up disease, and George Sr.'s admirer turns out to be an undercover SEC agent who has truly fallen for him.

    Director:Jay Chandrasekhar

    Writer:Barbie Adler

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    Director:Jay Chandrasekhar

    Writer:Barbie Adler
20. 

    8.5/10(2932 votes)

    #20 - Not Without My Daughter

    S1:E214/25/2004

    Michael takes Maeby to work with him on Take Your Daughter to Work Day. After being slighted by Michael, Tobias, George-Michael and Gob all go to the mall to prove that they are just manly. Oscar takes Lucille and Buster to Annyong's soccer game.

    Director:Lee Shallat Chemel

    Writers:Mitchell Hurwitz, Richard A. Rosenstock

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    Director:Lee Shallat Chemel

    Writers:Mitchell Hurwitz, Richard A. Rosenstock
21. 

    8.5/10(2910 votes)

    #21 - The One Where They Build a House

    S2:E211/14/2004

    Michael is driven crazy by Gob when he impresses the board as the new company figurehead due to Michael's legal troubles. Meanwhile, George Sr. is arrested in Mexico for a crime Oscar committed, and Buster witnesses something that utterly shocks him.

    Director:Patty Jenkins

    Writers:Mitchell Hurwitz, Jim Vallely

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    Director:Patty Jenkins

    Writers:Mitchell Hurwitz, Jim Vallely
22. 

    8.5/10(2732 votes)

    #22 - Motherboy XXX

    S2:E133/13/2005

    Lucille abducts George Michael for a mother-son dance, Buster adjusts to having a hook for a hand and Gob reunites with his estranged wife. Also, Tobias stars as George Sr. in a biopic about the Bluth family, which causes Lindsay to become more attracted to him.

    Director:Joe Russo

    Writers:Mitchell Hurwitz, Jim Vallely

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    Director:Joe Russo

    Writers:Mitchell Hurwitz, Jim Vallely
23. 

    8.5/10(2646 votes)

    #23 - The Immaculate Election

    S2:E143/20/2005

    George Michael runs for student body president, which Gob manages to ruin. Buster has an affair with Lupe, who is being sought after by Lindsay and Tobias attempts to move out of the model home, then develops a new persona when he regrets his decision.

    Directors:Anthony Russo, Joe Russo

    Writers:Barbie Adler, Abraham Higginbotham

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    Directors:Anthony Russo, Joe Russo

    Writers:Barbie Adler, Abraham Higginbotham
24. 

    8.5/10(2577 votes)

    #24 - Spring Breakout

    S2:E174/10/2005

    Gob confronts the editor of the videos that showcased his magic mistakes. Michael tricks Lucille in to rehab, and then attempts to get her out after George Sr. is kidnapped.

    Directors:Anthony Russo, Joe Russo

    Writers:Barbie Adler, Abraham Higginbotham

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    Directors:Anthony Russo, Joe Russo

    Writers:Barbie Adler, Abraham Higginbotham
25. 

    8.5/10(2621 votes)

    #25 - The Cabin Show

    S3:E19/19/2005

    Michael learns that it's actually George Sr.'s twin brother Oscar serving time in prison, not George. After getting a tip from Barry, Michael heads to Reno to find George, but that costs him a camping trip he promised his son.

    Director:Paul Feig

    Writers:Mitchell Hurwitz, Jim Vallely

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    Director:Paul Feig

    Writers:Mitchell Hurwitz, Jim Vallely