Marta Complex - Plot

Plot

Michael Bluth convinces his mother to throw what she thinks is a Valentine's Day party, but is, in fact, an anniversary party for Tobias and Lindsay. In attendance is Gob's girlfriend Marta, who is impressed by the romantic side of Michael when she finds out he's responsible for the party. Like his father, George Michael is also harboring a secret crush, on his cousin Maeby. He searches for a sign using the messages stamped on candy hearts. After some digging, he finds one that reads "Maybe Tonight" and considers that a sign. And Lucille, still trying to break up the relationship between Buster and Lucille Austero, sets Lucille up with Carl Weathers, Tobias's acting coach, on a night Buster has class. Michael gives a stirring toast to each couple and to love in general, and that's when Marta realizes that Michael is the one she should be with, not Gob. The next morning, Lindsay says the party finally woke her up: she needs a divorce. Tobias's never-nude affliction is too much for her.

Meanwhile, Gob thinks Marta is cheating on him with a man named Hermano after overhearing her on the phone talking to her mother. Hermano is Spanish for "brother": she was talking about Michael. But neither Michael nor Gob realize this, and they agree to work together to find Hermano. Lindsay decides she and George Michael will switch roommates: he'll bunk with Tobias now, and she with Maeby. George Michael fears that Tobias saw the "Maybe Tonight" candy heart and figured out his cousin-crush. Buster, fed up with Lucille's interference, decides to move out and live with Lucille 2, but she doesn't want to be his substitute mother, so she doesn't allow him to move in. Lucille 1 refuses to let him move back in.

Michael follows Marta around all day in an effort to track down the mysterious "Hermano." Visiting the set of her show, he asks around for Hermano and gets directed back and forth between two brothers. Elsewhere, Lucille visits George Sr. in prison for some advice, because she's living alone for the first time ever and she's a little nervous. George Sr., who has just released a self-help video about his learning experiences in prison, advises her to find happiness in being alone.

Buster arrives at the model home, where Tobias is excited about an upcoming audition. Marta drops by, and Buster immediately falls in love with her. Michael, who had been following Marta, arrives shortly after, and is surprised to see both Buster and Marta. Michael agrees to let Buster stay with him for a while. Marta asks Michael if they can go out to dinner to have a talk. Upstairs, Lindsay confesses to Maeby that she and Tobias are having trouble. In the next room, Tobias confesses to George Michael that he hasn't made love to Lindsay in years. He also mentions that they couldn't conceive, which makes George Michael wonder if Maeby isn't a blood relative. But then Carl Weathers calls to tell Tobias that he has gotten the role of "Frightened Inmate #2."

At dinner at Marta's home, Marta and Michael talk at cross purposes: she alludes to her attraction to Michael, while he implies that he "knows" she's cheating on Gob. Michael, still believing that Marta is having an affair with someone named Hermano, calls out Marta for her affair; she asks him to leave. Then he notices a gift and note addressed to him. Michael asks Marta's son what "hermano" means, and finally realizes that she meant him.