There have been many suggested incest issues throughout the show's run. The most notable is George Michael Bluth's secret love for his cousin Maeby Fünke.
George Michael and Maeby[]
Season 1[]
George Michael Bluth first showed feelings for his cousin Maeby Fünke in the "Pilot", when Maeby devised a plan to get her mom, Lindsay, to notice her. The plan was to kiss George Michael when she walked by. The attempt failed (her mother took no notice), but it had a noticeable impact on George Michael. He became an ardent fan of the French film Les Cousins Dangereux (and the poor American remake Almost Cousins). He also uses DNA test Maeby to see if she is really related to him.
Season 2[]
In the season 2 episode, "Righteous Brothers", Maeby jokingly kisses George Michael in the model home to prove that two cousins kissing wouldn't cause them to "get swallowed up into hell", making fun of the church's protests over the American remake of Les Cousins Dangereux. After this, George Michael sits down on the couch, which subsequently causes the house to cave in. Because of this, Maeby falls down on top of George Michael, where they begin kissing. Gob would walk in on them kissing, but was too distracted by the sunken house to notice the two.
Season 3[]
From this point, George Michael and Maeby would try to distance themselves from each other to try and forget what they had done, but after they were forced to go to Reno with Lindsay, they decided to finish the kiss to "get it out of the way". However, Michael drove George Michael to the cabin before they could go through with it. In the season 3 episode "Exit Strategy", George Michael sends invitations for Maeby's sixteenth birthday party to everyone in her address book. However, these would go to her co-workers at Tantamount Studios where Maeby was a studio executive, revealing her true age and getting her fired. This left George Michael and Maeby alone at the model home for her party, where the two drank fake wine they believed to be real. While the two were "drunkenly" talking, George Michael revealed that the two may not be biological cousins. After hearing this, the two would begin making out and get to "second base". The next day, Tobias showed the photos of Lindsay giving birth to Maeby, proving that they were biological cousins. In the season three finale, "Development Arrested", George Michael tells his father, Michael Bluth, about them making out. Michael is disappointed and for the first time, recommends Ann Veal.
Season 4[]
In the episode "Señoritis", following his father's advice, George Michael ends his romantic relationship with Maeby, who then reveals he is a bad kisser. The two would not talk to each other until George Michael's senior year at college in the episode "It Gets Better", after he signs on to be Maeby's tutor. Reinvigorated after a sexual encounter he had with a Spanish housewife the year before, he makes several attempts to seduce Maeby when she arrives at his dorm room. These attempts fail due to Maeby's complete lack of knowledge on math, bothering George Michael so much that he decides to teach her Algebra instead. He then lies to Maeby about Fakeblock being a revolutionary privacy software app in an attempt to impress her. Eventually, George Michael decides to come clean to Maeby about his fakeblock lie, but she mentions that she'd "let him do anything with her in bed" if he became a tech billionaire, which immediately changes his mind. He later agrees to take Maeby to the Opie awards, booking a two bed hotel room in the hopes they would get physical, but is crestfallen to find out about Maeby's boyfriend, a supposed undercover cop named Perfecto Telles.
Season 5[]
The two would kiss in the season 5 episode "Sinking Feelings". It was Maeby's plan to sabotage Lindsay's run for congress. Although the kiss had no effect, Maeby suggested that the two should kiss again to "teach them a lesson", although it was likely this was because she had enjoyed the kiss. In the series finale, the two would be seen making-out one last time before George Michael left for good with his father.
Maeby and Steve Holt[]
Maeby Fünke exhibits interest in Steve Holt, who is also eventually revealed to be her cousin (fathered by G.O.B.). The two kiss in the first season when Maeby portrayed Benedick and Steve portrayed Beatrice in the school play Much Ado About Nothing. ("Bringing Up Buster") They dance at the school's Diversity Dance. ("Shock and Aww")
Maeby and Steve begin dating but don't take it to the next step. Instead, Maeby drugs Steve Holt with a forget-me-now pill. George Michael then informs her that Steve is their cousin. ("Forget-Me-Now")
Maeby and Annyong[]
When Annyong begins attending high school and is invited to the Diversity Dance by Maeby, George Michael says "great, another uncle to compete with." ("Shock and Aww")
When George Michael begins to show interest in Ann, Maeby tries to get his attention by kissing Annyong. Annyong is temporarily smitten by her, mimicking the relationship between George Michael and Maeby in "Pilot". ("Let 'Em Eat Cake")
Lindsay and Steve Holt[]
Lindsay displays interest in Steve Holt, unaware that Maeby is trying to woo him. Maeby convinces Steve that Lindsay is a transvestite and Lindsay backs off when she realizes Maeby is attracted to Steve. ("Sad Sack")
"Uncles and Aunts"[]
In the second season the episode "Afternoon Delight" plays on this theme when Michael Bluth and Maeby Fünke (and later George Michael Bluth and Lindsay) sing the Starland Vocal Band song "Afternoon Delight", being unaware of its sexual nature.("Afternoon Delight")
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Lindsay and George Michael singing in "Afternoon Delight"
In Season Four George Michael doesn't recognize Lindsay wearing the wig and says "Gentlemen start your engines" after looking at her from behind. This mirror Michael's scene.
Uncle Jack "Bullet" Dorso[]
When the family business is failing, they call upon Uncle Jack to bail them out, saying it's not the first time Lucille has "taken a bullet" for the company. In season 5 it's mentioned that he also used to date Lucille's mother before her, and by dating Lindsay it appears that he has dated 3 generations of the family. Throughout the episode it is constantly mentioned that he is not actually anyone's uncle.("Ready, Aim, Marry Me")
| In season 5 it is revealed |
|---|
| Uncle Jack may be Lindsay's father since she's Lucille's half-sister. |
Rita[]
Rita Leeds, Michael's mentally challenged girlfriend, has her limited mental capabilities attributed to her parents being cousins according to her Uncle Trevor. ("The Ocean Walker")
Michael and Nellie[]
This theme is also explored in the episode "Family Ties" through the character of Nellie, whom Michael thinks for a time might be his older sister, but who herself presumes Michael is interested in her for sex. The fact that Nellie is played by Jason Bateman's real life sister Justine Bateman (who also starred in the 1980s sitcom Family Ties) lends the plot line an additional layer of comic complication.("Family Ties")
Murphybrown and Tobias[]
During Season Five a relationship between Murphybrown and Tobias is hinted. Everybody assumes that Murph is Tobias' partner, not acting partner. However, he is revealed to be Tobias' "son" (although it isn't 100% confirmed).
Murphybrown and Maeby[]
During Season Five Murphybrown often says that his half-sister, Maeby is rather very hot, without knowing she's his sister. This happens in "Sinking Feelings" and is later mirrored "Check Mates" when they are both dressed as elderly women and Murph defines Maeby as rather quite attractive
Michael and Lindsay[]
In the season three finale "Development Arrested" it is revealed that Lucille Bluth and George Bluth adopted Lindsay before Stan Sitwell — their business rival — could. With this new information, Lindsay tries to seduce Michael, but he persuades her out of it. G.O.B. then tries to seduce Lindsay but she denies him. ("Development Arrested") In Season Four Michael doesn't recognize Lindsay wearing the wig and says "Gentlemen start your engines" after looking at her from behind. ("Flight of the Phoenix") This mirror George Michael's scene.
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Buster's father[]
Oscar Bluth, George Bluth identical twin brother, also (very blatantly) hints that he is Buster Bluth's real father, through his relationship with Lucille Bluth. When Buster first learns of the truth, he exclaims, "My father is my uncle!"
Buster's oedipal complex[]
Another running joke throughout the series was Buster Bluth's Oedipal obsession with his mother. This strange relationship is highlighted in the episode "Motherboy XXX" where Buster says, "Whenever she'd change clothes, she'd make me wait on the balcony until zip-up—and yet anything goes at bath-time." Buster's mixed feelings about his mother are also shown through his relationship with his girlfriend and mother's nemesis, Lucille Austero.
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"Why I want to marry my mother" article by Buster Bluth in an issue of Balboa Bay Window as seen in "Switch Hitter"