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The Best Episodes of Arrested Development

Every episode of Arrested Development ranked from best to worst. Let's dive into the Best Episodes of Arrested Development!

Binge this in 1d 11hPeaking at 8.9/10

The story of a wealthy family that lost everything, and the one son who had no choice but to keep them all together.

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Episode Rankings

  1. #1 Fan Favorite
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    Arrested Development Season 2 Episode 6 - Afternoon Delight
    8.9/10(21 votes)

    #1 - Afternoon Delight

    S2:E6

    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.

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  2. Arrested Development Season 2 Episode 3 - Amigos
    8.8/10(23 votes)

    #2 - Amigos

    S2:E3

    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.

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  3. Arrested Development Season 2 Episode 4 - Good Grief
    8.8/10(20 votes)

    #3 - Good Grief

    S2:E4

    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.

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  4. Arrested Development Season 2 Episode 16 - Meat the Veals
    8.8/10(23 votes)

    #4 - Meat the Veals

    S2:E16

    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.

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  5. Arrested Development Season 1 Episode 10 - Pier Pressure
    8.7/10(29 votes)

    #5 - Pier Pressure

    S1:E10

    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.

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  6. Arrested Development Season 2 Episode 12 - Hand to God
    8.7/10(26 votes)

    #6 - Hand to God

    S2:E12

    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.

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    The 20 WORST Episodes of Arrested Development

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  8. Arrested Development Season 3 Episode 13 - Development Arrested
    8.7/10(23 votes)

    #7 - Development Arrested

    S3:E13

    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.

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  9. Arrested Development Season 1 Episode 22 - Let 'Em Eat Cake
    8.6/10(27 votes)

    #8 - Let 'Em Eat Cake

    S1:E22

    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.

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  10. Arrested Development Season 1 Episode 16 - Altar Egos
    8.5/10(27 votes)

    #9 - Altar Egos

    S1:E16

    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.

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  11. Arrested Development Season 1 Episode 17 - Justice Is Blind
    8.5/10(28 votes)

    #10 - Justice Is Blind

    S1:E17

    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.

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  12. Arrested Development Season 1 Episode 21 - Not Without My Daughter
    8.5/10(25 votes)

    #11 - Not Without My Daughter

    S1:E21

    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.

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  13. Arrested Development Season 2 Episode 5 - Sad Sack
    8.5/10(23 votes)

    #12 - Sad Sack

    S2:E5

    George Sr. fears he's losing Lucille to Oscar. Gob motivates Buster for the Army while Lindsay spends more time with Maeby to get closer to Steve Holt and Tobias starts working out.

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  14. Arrested Development Season 2 Episode 13 - Motherboy XXX
    8.5/10(22 votes)

    #13 - Motherboy XXX

    S2:E13

    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.

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  15. Arrested Development Season 2 Episode 18 - The Righteous Brothers
    8.5/10(21 votes)

    #14 - The Righteous Brothers

    S2:E18

    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.

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  16. Arrested Development Season 3 Episode 3 - Forget-Me-Now
    8.5/10(23 votes)

    #15 - Forget-Me-Now

    S3:E3

    George Sr. is placed under house arrest by the family's new attorney Bob Loblaw, and finds that it's not exactly a walk in the park. Michael sets up his first date with Rita, but Rita has an unfortunate encounter with the family beforehand.

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  17. Arrested Development Season 3 Episode 6 - The Ocean Walker
    8.5/10(22 votes)

    #16 - The Ocean Walker

    S3:E6

    After Michael announces he's marrying Rita, George Sr. worries that she's after the family's money. But when Rita's Uncle Trevor tries to stop the wedding by revealing some surprising information about Rita, Michael must decide if he wants to walk down the aisle.

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  18. Arrested Development Season 2 Episode 1 - The One Where Michael Leaves
    8.4/10(21 votes)

    #17 - The One Where Michael Leaves

    S2:E1

    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.

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  19. Arrested Development Season 2 Episode 14 - The Immaculate Election
    8.4/10(23 votes)

    #18 - The Immaculate Election

    S2:E14

    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.

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  20. Arrested Development Season 2 Episode 15 - Sword of Destiny
    8.4/10(23 votes)

    #19 - Sword of Destiny

    S2:E15

    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.

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  21. Arrested Development Season 3 Episode 5 - Mr. F
    8.4/10(21 votes)

    #20 - Mr. F

    S3:E5

    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.

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  22. Arrested Development Season 1 Episode 14 - Shock and Aww
    8.3/10(28 votes)

    #21 - Shock and Aww

    S1:E14

    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.

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  23. Arrested Development Season 2 Episode 2 - The One Where They Build a House
    8.3/10(22 votes)

    #22 - The One Where They Build a House

    S2:E2

    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.

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  24. Arrested Development Season 2 Episode 10 - Ready, Aim, Marry Me
    8.3/10(23 votes)

    #23 - Ready, Aim, Marry Me

    S2:E10

    With the company in dire financial straits and the Bluths no longer the primary shareholders, Michael must turn to old family friend "Uncle" Jack Dorso for financial assistance. Uncle Jack, however, wants something in return.

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  25. Arrested Development Season 2 Episode 11 - Out on a Limb
    8.3/10(21 votes)

    #24 - Out on a Limb

    S2:E11

    Just as Michael's relationship with Sally starts to flourish, Maggie Lizer returns nine months pregnant, and Michael immediately assumes he's the father. George Michael attempts to break up with Ann, and Buster learns he's being deployed to Iraq.

    Director:Danny Leiner

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  26. Arrested Development Season 2 Episode 17 - Spring Breakout
    8.3/10(21 votes)

    #25 - Spring Breakout

    S2:E17

    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.

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Best Episodes Summary

"Afternoon Delight" is the best rated episode of "Arrested Development". It scored 8.9/10 based on 21 votes. Directed by Jason Bateman and written by Mitchell Hurwitz, Abraham Higginbotham, it aired on 12/19/2004. This episode scored 0.1 points higher than the second highest rated, "Amigos".