Arrested Development Season 4 – Five Questions Left Unanswered

This should go without saying, but SPOILERS AHEAD!

I was 10 years old in March of 1987 when I saw the greatest professional wrestling match I’d ever seen.

Ricky “The Dragon” Steamboat defeated Randy “Macho Man” Savage for the Intercontinental Title (with our friend George “The Animal” Steele in his corner) in a match that is now commonly held as one of the best of all time. I’ve never watched the match since, and I have no plans to.

The moment was so great because it was the payoff of six months of build-up. The match itself was far from pedestrian, but the goosebumps would disappear without the backstory.

Arrested Development fans face the same problem with season 4. It’s possible we’ve priced ourselves out of the proper appreciation market by overly romanticizing the show’s original run. The first 53 episodes weren’t wall-to-wall ‘Final Countdown’ montages and “Her?” jokes; there were extended, sometimes tedious setups to laying-in-wait payoffs, jokes that would sometimes take episodes to materialize.

We’ve had 7 years in which to idealize Arrested Development, which is why early reviews of season 4 (primarily based on the first 4 or 5 episodes) were far from shining. Where are all the callbacks and Cornballer cutaways? Waiting until the right time to hit you, just as they always have, and if you’re patient- you’ll get a Baby Tock cutaway for your trouble.

Arrested Development rewards the patient fan- not that we have a choice. We’ll all have to be patient as we wait to see when or if we’ll ever get answers to these open-ended season 4 plot points:

What happened to Lucille 2?

The final episodes of Arrested Development season 4 play out like a vintage Dynasty season finale. Primarily, the whereabouts of Lucille 2 are a mystery. Michael having a motive and arriving back at the model home having “made a huge mistake” (and what seems to be blood on his shirt) is too obvious, right?

This theory Rob Payne wrote for Pajiba regarding who’s responsible for Lucille 2’s fate is unbelievably good, and not just because I’m a huge Clue fan.

[image: Arrested Development Wikia]

What was the result of the extra footage that gave us 3 more eps?

When news of an Arrested Development resurrection first broke, it was reported that Netflix had ordered 12 episodes for season 4. During production, writer Mitch Hurwitz announced that he had so much surplus footage that he could fill three more eps, which Netflix happily scooped up. Season 4 grew to 15 episodes, but the question is- what would we have missed without the extra 3?

[image: Splitsider]

It’s hard to imagine season 4 any more abbreviated than it was. Historically, Arrested Development shines brightest when it has room to stretch. The payoffs are undeniably sweeter when we have to reach deep into our memory to recall the joke’s genesis. There’s a slight feeling of personal victory when you notice something in episode 14 that’s only funny because of something in episode 2. As tightly packed as the 15 episode season was, imagine how dense the plot and jokes would have been in 12 eps.

What does Anonymous have planned for George Maharis and Fake Block?

George Michael’s “anti-social network” Fake Block is a privacy software that protects against piracy. It’s also completely fake, and represents George Michael’s first attempt at and willingness to lie.

He plans to come clean at Cinco de Cuatro, but decides to perpetuate the lie(s), drawing what we assume is the ire of super-hacktivist group Anonymous.

[image: Abine]

What are Tony Wonder and Sally Sitwell up to?

Two long-time Bluth nemeses/love interests teamed up in season 4, as real-life couple Ben Stiller and Christine Taylor joined forces for a few brief on-screen moments. The clandestine nature of the Wonder-Sitwell merger is never fully hashed out, which for fans of the show is somewhat akin to you intentionally leaving your wallet at someone’s place so you just have to go back for it. Whatever form the next new Arrested Development content comes in, Hurwitz and co. are sure to revisit this plot point.

Who wins the election?

Much of season 4 centers around right wing politician and Herman Cain reference Herbert Love’s Congressional campaign against Lucille Austero. After Maeby pimps her mother (posing as Cindy Featherbottom) out to Love, Lindsay ends up campaigning in Love’s place when he is found in a coma at Cinco de Cuatro. Got all that?

[image: International Business Times]

So who wins? With Austero missing in action, does Lindsay win by default?

Does Michael get his movie made? Who ends up with Rebel Alley? Will the all of the Richters ever reconcile? What other questions do you have about season 4 of Arrested Development?