Arrested Development (TV Series) The One Where Michael Leaves (2004) User Reviews

Another compelling reason to watch Arrested Development

[gizmomogwai · 9/10 · 7 March 2009]

In the first episode of AD's second season, Michael and George Michael are set to leave the family and begin a new life in Arizona, but things are complicated when their lawyer tells them they can't leave California, since the police want Michael after his father escaped from prison. Tobias and Lindsay decide to have an open marriage (meaning, they can have sex with other people), and Tobias aspires to become a Blue Man performer. When Tobias is hit by a car and the family goes to the hospital, Michael re-unites with his family.

This episode, like the Pilot and Let 'em Eat Cake, toys with the idea of Michael wanting to emancipate himself from his dysfunctional family- here portrayed through a great sequence of flashbacks of Michael calling it quits. But, as this episode demonstrates, Michael needs his family and they need him, and Michael will continue to be stuck with his family for a while. This episode is consistently funny, involving some subtle foreshadowing as Michael takes on the pseudonym of Dr. Blueman and a seal attack is mentioned on TV news. Some of the humour is embarrassing- like the police finding George Michael sitting on Michael's lap- and that's no surprise since this episode was co-written by the great Mitchell Hurwitz. Other bits of humour in this episode are delightfully ridiculous- GOB as a magician turned president of the Bluth company, Tobias' dubious reasoning that an open marriage might work, and the physical humour in which Tobias gets hit by a car. This leads to the hospital scene where it's nice to see the family is upset by Tobias' accident and apparent death. (In the terrible episode Prison Break-In, Tobias is dying and no one seems to care). It's good to mix humour with heart- though as always, Arrested Development has more of the former. A+

The One Where Michael Leaves

[lassegalsgaard · 9/10 · 14 July 2022]

I began watching this show while I was sick and didn't have anything else to do. After a full season of this show, I'm now officially categorizing myself as a big fan, mostly due to its interesting style and its great sense of humor. I think the first season finished on a hilarious note that made me hate the patriarch of this family even more than I already did, and I was sure that the second season would not fail and be a load of fun. The premiere episode is another great example of the power of this show and its sense of outlandish humor.

The title in itself seems like a big joke as it's obviously a classic reference to the title formula of "Friends," but also touching on the fact of Michael's big "decision." In the first scene, we get told that he's moving to Phoenix. We're told that again in subsequent scenes throughout the episode in a fun recurring joke that doesn't overstay its welcome. And then the episode is very much about the thing that we've known all along. The fact that this family need each other. Not because they like being around each other or wants to help out, because its so dysfunctional that it couldn't possibly work separated. Mitchell Hurwitz has brought them to this point in the story, and I think that this episode solidifies the fact that they can't work unless they're together. There's a lot of challenges throughout that tries to bring the family apart, but none of it works. Whether it's Michael wanting to leave, or the open relationship between Lindsay and Tobias. None of it works. And I kinda like that as a big family man myself. The emotional pull of this episode, and in return the whole series, is really where the strength lies. Along with the humor, which this episode has a lot of. I'm enjoying Jeffrey Tambor so much more as Oscar than as George, so I hope that he stays around as that character for a while. I also love the idea of Tobias joining the Blue Man Group. What a match made in heaven.

"The One Where Michael Leaves" is a great example of undisputable fact that this family is so dysfunctional that they can't function apart at all. The dramatic elements work wonders in this show, but only because the comedy is already so good that it doesn't take a hit from being dramatic at certain points.