¡Amigos!

Synopsis

Michael arrives at work to find his brother G.O.B. adjusting to his new job as president of the Bluth Company. Michael tells G.O.B. of his plans to take George Michael to Legoland for the weekend. G.O.B. replies that he plans to call some of his friends, though Michael doubts that he has any. Lucille finds Michael in his office and informs him that she has hired her faithful private detective, Gene Parmesan, to find George Sr. Gene enters the room, disguised as a janitor, and after setting off the smoke alarm tells Michael that the staircar, which George Sr. used to escape, was seen in Encanta, Mexico. G.O.B. overhears, and suspects that Michael is escaping to a foreign country, leaving the failing business behind. He calls upon Ice, a bounty hunter, to track Michael. In the meantime, Michael asks George Michael to accompany him to Mexico, but is told that his son has plans with his girlfriend Ann. Michael comments that he hasn't had time to get to know Ann, and tells George-Michael that they will be going to Mexico. Michael, still searching for another driver to Mexico, asks Tobias, but is turned down due to Tobias being on standby for the Blue Man Group. Lindsay agrees to go to Mexico to spend quality time with Maeby.

Later, at the party that Lucille throws for Buster, it is clear that Buster does not approve of his mother's affair with Oscar, and that Lucille does not approve of Buster going into the Army. In fact, Buster does not wish to enlist in the Army, and begs Michael to help him get out of it. Upon hearing that Michael is going to Mexico, Buster plans to stow away. George Michael tells his father that he invited Ann along, and Michael reluctantly accepts. Michael drops off Lupe at her house in Santa Ana, and Buster hops out of the trunk of the car, thinking he is in Mexico. After realizing that Ice doesn't see him as a friend, G.O.B. seeks out companionship but finds none in any of his family members. Lucille, suspicious of G.O.B., tells Gene to follow her son and report on his doings. Michael and company find the staircar in Mexico, but not George Sr. Unbeknownst to Michael, George Sr.'s funeral is underway in a nearby church, with Kitty in attendance. George Michael, wanting his father to become friends with Ann, requests that the two ride back together. Ice finds Michael, but accepts his offer to look for George Sr. instead. Lindsay, wanting a chance to hook up romantically with Ice, pretends to know about her father's whereabouts to garner interest from the bounty hunter. Maeby, disgusted by her mother's flirting, decides to ride back with Michael. A misunderstanding results in Maeby riding with Michael, George Michael riding with Lindsay, and Ann stranded in Mexico. Upon this realization, George Michael and Michael race back to Mexico to retrieve Ann, and do so, but only after Michael mistakes someone else for Ann. G.O.B. follows Michael to Mexico this time, and reveals that he has no friends. Michael tells him that the only reason he didn't bring G.O.B. is because the last time he did the chicken dance, considered extremely inflammatory in Mexico (at least, G.O.B.'s version), and tells him he will always look out for G.O.B. just as G.O.B. always looks out for him. At this time, Ice arrives and tackles Michael, while G.O.B. comments that he saw it coming, but wanted to see where Michael was going with his heartfelt speech. Gene Parmesan then arrives, having followed G.O.B., in a sombrero and poncho. Michael hires the bounty hunter, the P.I., and G.O.B. to search for George Sr. (largely a gesture toward hiring G.O.B. friends for the weekend) and heads back, fully intent on getting to know Ann. Upon his return, G.O.B. asks Michael how he feels now that he knows Ann a little better, to which Michael can now confidently say "I don't like her".

Episode Notes

• This episode is titled ¡Amigos! on the Season 2 DVD, though no press releases listed the exclamation marks in the title when the episode was broadcast.
• This is the first episode where the Bluths visit a different country, which later happens again in Exit Strategy.
• As in the previous episode, Tobias is painted blue in every scene in which he is present.
• This is George Sr.'s smallest role in an episode to date, with just one, brief non-speaking appearance.

References

• Friends - This episode continues the titular references to Friends used in the first two episodes of the season, as "amigos" is Spanish for "friends." It also refers to the fact that G.O.B. is searching for a friend, how quite a bit of the episode takes place in Mexico, and the storyline of Buster making friends with Lupe's family.
• Abu Ghraib - Lucille talks about Buster being in a "naked pyramid," a reference to the photos taken in the Iraqi prison.
• Blue Man Group - Tobias continues to color himself blue for a chance to work with the performance group. The Blue Man Group's performances start at 8:00pm, and Tobias paints himself blue and counts down to 8:01pm on his watch every night just in case they need him as an understudy.
• Star Wars - After Oscar goes back to unload his items, Lucille gives Annyong money and tells him to "go see a Star War."

Callbacks/Running Jokes

• Banner - The first of many of the Bluth family's suggestive banners, which says "You're killing me, Buster" can be seen at Buster's party. This banner later appears again in Hand to God.
• "Blue myself" - Tobias mentions that he "blue [himself] early so he'd be nice and relaxed for a 9:00pm dinner reservation." Tobias first used the term "blue myself" in The One Where Michael Leaves.
• Buster's real father - Oscar hints that he is Buster's father, saying that Lucille is not having an affair with Buster's "uncle." Overly dramatic music plays after this is said.
• Charlie Brown - Lucille and Buster refer to testicles as "Charlie Browns." Buster first did this in The One Where They Build a House. He later refers to Michael's penis as his "Linus" in Out on a Limb.
• Chicken dance – G.O.B. does his chicken dance for the first time since the season one episode Staff Infection, and it's revealed in this episode that, in Mexican culture, the chicken dance is considered an offensive gesture.
• Circumvent - This is the first instance where G.O.B. fails to pronounce the word "circumvent" properly. This later becomes a running gag, and eventually spreads to other words too.
• Come on - Gene Parmesan remarks "Come on!" after counting his money. "Come on!" becomes a recurring phrase later in Afternoon Delight.
• Her? - This episode continues the running gag of jokes made at the expense of George Michael's girlfriend, Ann.
  • When George Michael mentions wanting to spend time with Ann, Michael has no idea who he is talking about.
  • When George Michael calls Ann his girlfriend, Michael replies, "Her?"
  • Michael calls George-Michael an "Ann-hog," in reference to him spending all his time with his girlfriend. This nickname transfers to Ann herself and is mentioned multiple times in the episode.
  • Lindsay says to Michael "Check out who's on that hog in the rearview mirror," referring to Ice on his motorcycle. Michael screams out "George Michael!" believing the hog Lindsay was talking about was Ann.
  • After Michael and Maeby's talk in the stair car, the narrator mentions how "there were only four people in their group," implying that the narrator forgot about Ann (there were five in their group).
  • After returning to Mexico to find Ann, Michael still doesn't recognize her.
  • Michael refers to Ann as "Plant" after George Michael says "Way to plant, Ann!"
  • When Gob learns that about Ann is George-Michael's girlfriend, Gob asks, "What, is she funny or something?"
• Incest - Short mention is made of George Michael's feelings for his cousin, and the general theme of incest.
  • When Maeby asks, "Why do people have to date anyways?" Michael responds, "Isn't family enough for people?" which could be construed as Michael condoning incest.
  • After Michael tells George-Michael that his cousin (Maeby) is "one hell of a girl" and "it's too bad you can't date her," George-Michael does a double take and asks Michael if he "would have a problem with that," and then tries to cover it up.
• "It'll be an adventure" - Michael promises George Michael they'll have one looking for George Sr. in Mexico. He promises this again to him later in Hand to God.
• "Don't be Afraid to make a Mistake" - G.O.B.'s inspirational poster is in response to his denial of making mistakes in The One Where Michael Leaves.
• Labeling - G.O.B.'s laptop bears his name, in similarity to his Segway.
• Legoland - Michael states that he is going to buy tickets to Legoland for him and his son; in season 3, Lucille tells Uncle Trevor that she thought she heard Michael saying he was taking Rita to Legoland.
• Michael the murderer - Michael's comment about putting people in the trunk and Lupe's facial expression is a reference to the misunderstanding in Charity Drive.
• Stair car - Mexicans use the stair car to jump over the border, just like the prisoner tried to use the stair car to jump the prison fence in Visiting Ours.
• Tracy - Another joke is made at the expense of Michael's dead wife Tracy, again proving how insensitive the Bluths are.
• "Who wants to go to the hospital?" - Tobias is again injured when Ice tackles him.
• Yawning - While Buster prepares a videotape telling Lucille of his escape to Mexico, he begins to yawn in the middle of his sentence. This is a reference to the Season 1 episode Bringing Up Buster, in which Buster often did the same thing.

Hidden/Background Jokes

• Blue paint - Blue hand-prints can be seen in various places in the model home.
  • When Ice tackles Tobias we see a long smear of blue paint on the floor, and a section of Tobias' face has no blue paint, indicating his face was rubbed along the floor for a couple feet.
• Cloudmir - A Cloudmir sign is seen in Mexico.
• Maeby - Lindsay comments that she has "sensed [Maeby] feeling a little left out lately", in reference to the small role Maeby played in the first two episodes of the season.
• Mentally challenged - Lupe thinks Buster may be mentally retarded.
• Poster - Three posters are seen, two of which are ironic.
  • "Keep An Open Mind" - The poster is in the background when Michael is talking to Ann on the phone. It takes on an ironic meaning when Michael tells G.O.B. that he doesn't like her.
  • "Never Give Up" - A poster that says "Never Give Up" falls down, to which G.O.B. says, "F--k it. Just leave it where it is."
• Quincy Jones - Starla is wearing a "Q" necklace, in reference to her love of Quincy Jones (it should be noted that Quincy Jones is one of the producers of the FOX sketch show MADtv and the actress who plays Starla is Mo Collins, who was a cast member on the show from 1998 to 2004).
• Spanish translations - There are three instances of Spanish sentences being translated into English:
  • In the silent film-style flashback of how the chicken dance came to be offensive in Mexico, there's a title card that reads, "Usted baila como un hombre que vive como mujer," which translates to "You dance like a homosexual" (literally, it means, "You dance like a man who lives like a woman").
  • When Lupe finds Buster on her front lawn, she remarks "Ahora tengo que cuidar para retardo", which the subtitle translates to, "So now I must take care of Buster" but actually means "Now I have to take care of retard."
  • The Cloudmir sign in Mexico is in broken Spanish, reading "La feliz beber: hay Cloudmir si tienes sed" (translated, it means, "The happy drink: There's Cloudmir if you're thirsty.")
• The Cornballer - The Cornballer, the Cornballer box, and a box of Cornballer mix can be seen in Michael's office.
  • A Cornballer advertisement can be seen in Mexico.

Foreshadowing

• Blue Man Group - The blue picture of George Sr. foreshadows him joining the Blue Man Group in Righteous Brothers.
• Buster's Hand - *Upon seeing his former "hand chair," Buster comments, "I'd never thought I'd miss a hand so much." He then touches the chair with the hand he later loses in Out on a Limb.
• Scandalmakers - Ice mistakes Tobias for George Sr., foreshadowing when Tobias plays his father-in-law in the television show.

Cameos

• The angered Mexican, the chicken-dancer and the piano player who ends up getting shot in the black-and-white video are played by Jason Bateman (Michael), Will Arnett (G.O.B.), and Tony Hale (Buster), respectively.
• Gene Parmesan makes his first and only appearance in the show with this episode, though is mentioned again several times throughout the series.
• Ice makes his first appearance in this episode, making a brief cameo later in the next episode, Good Grief.
• This is the first episode where Mae Whitman has a speaking role as Ann.

Goofs

• Kitty, as in the previous episode, has lost her lopsided breast implants.

Sources

• The-OP.com
• FOX
• Quotes for this episode on WikiQuote

SEASON TWO EPISODES
1. "The One Where Michael Leaves" 2. "The One Where They Build a House" 3. "¡Amigos!" 4. "Good Grief" 5. "Sad Sack" 6. "Afternoon Delight"	7. "Switch Hitter"   8. "Queen for a Day"   9. "Burning Love" 10. "Ready, Aim, Marry Me" 11. "Out on a Limb" 12. "Hand to God"	13. "Motherboy XXX" 14. "The Immaculate Election" 15. "Sword of Destiny" 16. "Meat the Veals" 17. "Spring Breakout" 18. "Righteous Brothers"
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