Plot
Michael Bluth has called a meeting with his family's longtime attorney, Barry Zuckerkorn, to discuss his father's incarceration. But Barry proves difficult to work with. Michael and his sister, Lindsay, are getting along, which is unwelcome news to their mother Lucille. The over-billing attorney does arrange for the court to release their imprisoned father for "an entire afternoon" so he can participate in the "Living Classics" pageant, which consists of live representations of classic works of art. The Bluths have always been a part of Michelangelo's The Creation of Adam, although Buster is reluctant to play the part of Adam this year, since he already has plans with Lucille Austero. Tobias, still looking to further his acting career, offers to take the part, but Lucille wants Buster to do it. Michael is determined to drop Barry Zuckerkorn as family attorney for the very businesslike Wayne Jarvis. After the meeting breaks up, Lucille mentioning to Lindsay that Michael called her a "stay-in-bed mom." Her attempt to dissolve their burgeoning friendship works. Lindsay's daughter, Maeby, feeling ignored by her parents, decides teach them a lesson.
Gob, meanwhile, has missed the meeting after being delayed by his girlfriend Marta. While Gob takes Marta for granted, Michael is learning Spanish to impress her. Buster gets George Michael to take over as Adam. Lindsay and Michael realize that their mother is playing them against each other; they drink vodka and air their problems. Lindsay tells Michael that her marital difficulties are partly because Tobias is a never-nude, and Michael confesses his love for Marta. Tobias asks George Michael if he can play Adam, and George Michael agrees, but says he will give him the suit later, as he is wearing it. Tobias understands this to mean that George Michael is also a never-nude. Michael finally arranges a meeting with attorney Wayne Jarvis, a professional who doesn't like small talk.
At home, Gob wonders why Michael is learning Spanish and hiring a new attorney. Michael and Lindsay get further evidence that their mother is trying to make them angry with each other, and decide to teach her a lesson. When they find out that their lawyer is taking Lucille to the Living Classics pageant, they realize how embarrassed she would be if George Bluth Sr. found out. Maeby, meanwhile, is still trying to get her parents' attention: she prints out a fake airline ticket to Portugal. And while neither Lindsay nor Tobias see the ticket, Gob does, which confirms his suspicions that Michael is planning to flee the country. And George Michael, who is back to playing Adam, gets nervous when he realizes that playing Adam means wearing the "frontpiece," tiny foam genitalia.
George Sr. gets his 24 hours of freedom as the pageant begins. Michael and Lindsay arrive and find Lucille with Wayne Jarvis, not Barry Zuckerkorn. Lucille, meanwhile, is surprised to see Buster with her rival, Lucille Austero. George Michael causes a scandal by appearing as Adam while wearing a pair of cut-off jeans over his costume. But the biggest scandal comes when George Sr., dressed as God, tries to escape from the pageant. Michael chases his father while Gob (on his Segway) chases Michael; all three knock each other onto the ground. When George Sr. finds out Lucille is on a date, he tries to run back to the pageant but is tasered by a prison guard. The Bluths spend Christmas Eve together at the prison, where Michael is forced once again to rely on Barry. Lucille and Maeby decide that they should spend more time together, and Michael and Lindsay tentatively affirm their allegiance.
Read more about this topic: In God We Trust (Arrested Development)
Famous quotes containing the word plot:
“Trade and the streets ensnare us,
Our bodies are weak and worn;
We plot and corrupt each other,
And we despoil the unborn.”
—Ralph Waldo Emerson (1803–1882)
“The plot was most interesting. It belonged to no particular age, people, or country, and was perhaps the more delightful on that account, as nobody’s previous information could afford the remotest glimmering of what would ever come of it.”
—Charles Dickens (1812–1870)
“Morality for the novelist is expressed not so much in the choice of subject matter as in the plot of the narrative, which is perhaps why in our morally bewildered time novelists have often been timid about plot.”
—Jane Rule (b. 1931)