"Saving for Arraignment Day" is the fourteenth episode of Arrested Development's fifth season.
Synopsis[]
During the 1982 Mr. and Mrs. Bluth pageant at the beach house, the kids parade in their swimsuits in front of their parents. Gob is wearing Stan Sitwell's eyebrow for a fake Magnum P.I. mustache. Lucille's mother Mimi arrives. Mimi mentions Lindsay's upcoming birthday. Lindsay thinks she's turning 14, and Mimi humors her. Lucille says they haven't seen Mimi in five years. Mimi says that she started the family pageant tradition, and she offers a prize for the pageant.
Lucille and George have already bought the trophy for the prize; it's a little magician, meaning they already plan on Michael winning with his magic kit. Mimi's prize is to take a cruise with Lindsay. Lucille tells the kids to go get ready for the talent portion. Mimi usually takes cruises with Uncle Jack, but this year he dumped her for his 80th birthday. Lucille tells Mimi she can't take Lindsay on the cruise, but Mimi hints that Lindsay will be old enough soon to make her own decisions. She jokes that Lucille is making Buster a murderer, and asks to be a judge in the pageant. The camera focuses ominously on the stairs.
In 2015, George and Lucille arrive in court for Buster's arraignment hearing. Lucille complains that Buster never showed up to her trial for hijacking the Queen Mary. Buster has the black fake hand again and claims that he's growing dreads now. Lucille mentions that Buster ordered a new hand from Alibaba (a Chinese website). Michael arrives and Barry goes to wait for the Guilty Guys. Lucille wonders why Michael isn't working on the wall. She guesses that George Michael punched him again, then that he fired him. Michael says that Gob's working on the wall; he told his brother about the foot threat but asked him to keep mum about it. Gob misunderstood, though, thinking that "mum" was the Chinese word for a severed foot, and he tells George Michael all about it. Gob also mentions being threatened by the Gay Mafia at a rock quarry.
The Guilty Guys arrive and enter a plea of guilty. Michael tries to change the plea to not guilty. Barry says that these lawyers are for guilty people, to get the best sentence; they don't represent innocent people. He doesn't know why Michael paid them for two months, which is their longest case ever. Barry asks the lawyers to stay for a not guilty plea, but they refuse. Later, Barry tells George and Lucille that Lottie Dottie wants to go to trial within a month. She's only lost a case to her ex-husband Dustin Radler. Lucille decides to hire Dustin and let him move in with her. George doesn't want her to, but Lucille insists they have to for Buster.
At Fakeblock, Maeby complains to George Michael about Tobias living with her and repeatedly getting her into trouble at the Spotted Palm. George Michael says she should ask Tobias to move out, but Maeby says it's hard, like when Michael moved into the dorm with George Michael. Maeby considers doing a vote to evict Tobias, but warns George Michael that the gang will try to move in with him at Sudden Valley. George Michael tells her about the ongoing construction of the wall. Maeby can't believe he's doing that, and lectures him on the wall "like a slightly self-aware Aunt Lindsay" while he's trying to protect the family like a "minimally woke Uncle Michael." He doesn't tell her about the Chinese threat, so she assumes that he's building the wall out of guilt for firing his father. She storms out, saying he'll be guilty of fraud and should hire the Guilty Guys.
At the beach house, Lucille hires Dustin and gets him to move in. He's eager to confront Lottie Dottie and make her jealous of Lucille. Weeks later, Michael calls Buster in prison and learns about the family plan to get Lottie Dottie to ask for a mistrial. Michael wants to take over the case, even though he's not a real lawyer. He got some money from renting out the beach cottage to a film crew, so he wants to hire somebody different. Buster complains about Michael always trying to be the hero. Michael thinks he has proof that Lucille Austero is still alive because she called him after Cinco. He listens to his voicemails and realizes they are just robocalls, so he finally agrees to go along with the Dusty mistrial plan.
At Fakeblock, George Michael wants Gob to create a distraction at the wall unveiling, so he convinces Gob to do a magic show. Gob hopes to lure Tony Wonder out of hiding, then go back to being straight without angering the Gay Mafia.
The night before the trial, George learns from Lucille that Dustin ran off. Earlier on the beach he flipped out about writing his opening statement. He's nervous about coming out of retirement and he fights with Lucille about Buster. Dustin tries to rejoin his beach gang at their fort, but they reject him for his haircut and suit. Dustin apparently heads back to his home, which he usually does, due to Lucille withholding physical affection. George remembers a 1988 tax evasion case when Lucille gave him a present to get rid of his pre-trial jitters. For Buster's sake, he suggests that she do that for Dusty, even though the "present" is sexual. Lucille goes to Dustin's house and discovers that he's very wealthy with lots of servants, and now she really wants to have sex with him.
On the next AD, Maeby as Annette votes herself out of the condo and packs up to leave. She discovers something that Stan Sitwell left behind, a map with several people crossed out who disappeared from the Spotted Palm. Lucille Austero's picture is circled. Maeby just decides to move into a vacant condo.
Appearances[]
Recurring
- Henry Winkler as Barry
- Dermot Mulroney as Dusty
- Frances Conroy as Lottie Dottie, DA
- Jean Smart as Mimi
- Maria Bamford as DeBrie
- Kyle Mooney as Murph
- Taran Killam as Himself as Young George Sr.
- Cobie Smulders as Young Lucille
- Thomas Barbusca as Young G.O.B.
- Owen Vaccaro as Young Buster
- Steele Stebbins as Young Michael
- Savannah Kennick as Young Lindsay
- Concetta Tomei as Mrs. Livingston
Guest
- Sophi Bairley as Carla
- BJ Bales as Jack Griffin
- Todd Aaron Brotze as Garrison "Harvard" Sweet
- P.L. Brown as Judge
- Jessica Sr. Clair as Anita Bramwell
- Fred Cross as Newport Bay Boy Mikey
- Erin Helm as Servant
- Will Hines as CJ the Baliff
- David Jahn as Mr. Lambert
- Monnae Michaell as Shara Winfield
- Bashir Salahuddin as David "G-Man" Barnes
Recurring themes[]
On the next Arrested Development...[]
- "Maeby uses her mathematical ingenuity to rig an election. But while packing up Maeby comes across something of Stan Sitwell's before she moved in."
References[]
- Alibaba - Lucille asks Buster what happened to the fake hand he ordered from this site.
- Fast and Furious - Dusty's joke in his opening statement was going to be from this film.
- Magnum, P.I. - Young Lucille references this show, as well as mentioning Magnum's rival Jonathan Higgins.
- Making a Murderer - The car scene with Michael and Buster talking on the phone is a reference to Making a Murderer.
- Netflix - The Gulity Guys show, where one case is shown over a season, was rejected by the company for not being binge-worthy. The Netflix website is seen at one point and the next show to be played is "The Bathroom Plea Deal Boys".
- Ray Charles - Lucille asks if Buster thinks he is this musician.
- Vine - One of the staff members at Dustin Radler's house thinks another member of staff would only understand things if they were in this 6 second video format.
Callbacks/Running Jokes[]
- Banners - There is a "Junior Mr. & Mrs. Bluth 1982" banner although it is clear that the sign has been changed and "Junior" and "1982" have been added in later. Also, the illustration is of Lucille and George Sr.
- Blue Man Group - According to Maeby, Tobias has been talking about being a back-up for the group while pretending to be Mrs. Featherbottom.
- Boyfights - Lucille mentions hiding the money from these videos before they went to trial in 1988.
- Captain Hook - Buster references Michael playing Caption Hook's lawyer when Michael offers to defend him, which was first seen in "Altar Egos".
- Charlie Brown - Dusty does the sad Charlie Brown walk after his beach gang reject him.
- Contradicting the narrator - Lucille contradicts the narrator by not talking about the staff. In Season 4, the narrator is also contradicted by Lindsay in "Red Hairing", Maeby in "Senoritis", and G.O.B. and Tony Wonder in "A New Attitude".
- Drive - Gob hears the Cars song "Drive" again while thinking about Tony Wonder.
- Eric Axel - The magic poster in Gob's office features Gob in the same pose as Eric Axel on the magic kit that Michael bought in 1982.
- G.O.B. and languages - G.O.B. says "I don't even know how I know that" when saying that "mum" means "severed human foot" in Chinese. In Beef Consommé, G.O.B. says "I don't know why I know that" when knowing the word for brother in French.
- Mrs. Featherbottom - Tobias is still disguised as her to live in the retirement home.
- Newport Bay Boys - They won't allow Dusty into their fort while he is wearing a suit and tie.
- Prismo - Michael once again gets his car to drive while he uses his phone.
- Stan Sitwell's eyebrows - Young G.O.B. wears Stan's fake eyebrow, as he also does in "Queen for a Day".
- Tying ties - Lucille invited George Sr. to tie Dusty's tie. He ties Buster's tie in "Justice Is Blind".
- Uncle Jack - Mimi mentions that Uncle Jack dumped her.
- "Voices up!" - According to Maeby, Tobias is still shouting this to get into character as he did in "Chain Migration" and "Check Mates".
- Winking - Lucille winks at George Sr. to make him feel bad. Maeby also winks at the camera at the end of the episode.
- "You better bring it..." - Young Lucille says "You better bring it to the talent portion, Michael", while in "Motherboy XXX", she says "You better bring it to the waltz, young man."
- Maeby votes herself out of the condo, like Michael voted himself out of the dorm in season 4. One of the votes has "my daughter" crossed out, like George Michael's crossed out "Dad" vote
Hidden/Background Jokes[]
- G.O.B.'s office - As well as the painting of himself, G.O.B. also has magic tricks, a miniature pool table, a table tennis racket and ball, a small sign with his name on with a star next to it, and a toy rabbit in a top hat.
- Mum - Gob thinks that "mum" is the word for the "Severed human foot". The phrase "mum's the word" is used to tell people to stay quiet about something. Michal said to Gob "I told Gob when it comes to the foot that mum's the word".
- Father - In "The Unthered Sole" the narrator says that Jack Griffin from the Guilty Guys has a state supreme court justice as a father, the judge in this episode is probably Griffin's father
- Gulity Guys' evidence - The Ron Howard and Brian Grazer wigs appear as part of the evidence that is wheeled into the courtroom. In another trolley, there are somberos, a mask with eyebrows and a moustache, and a 3D dental printing of the border wall plan.
- Side Bar - The Guilty Guys drink at this bar, and side bar is also a legal term for speaking to the judge off-the-record.
- Hand - Buster's hand is handcuffed to his fake african-american hand
- Wrench - There's a Wrench pinball machine in George Michael's office
Foreshadowing/Future References[]
- Barry says that Lottie's ex-husband is retired. This foreshadows Dusty not being her husband
- The film crew at the beach house foreshadows the true crime documentary about the Bluths.
- Lucille's mother Mimi says "I wasn't gonna miss the LAST summer" foreshadowing her death.
- Mimi also says "She (Lucille) is gonna make a murderer out of that one (Buster)" foreshadowing her killer.
- The fake hand that Buster bought from Alibaba was sent to the Bluth offices, although they accidentally sent a fake foot instead.
Notes[]
- Lindsay doesn't appear in this episode
Promotional Photos[]
- → See 7 pictures from Saving for Arraignment Day at Images from Saving for Arraignment Day.
External Links[]
| SEASON FIVE EPISODES | ||
|---|---|---|
|
1. "Family Leave" |
7. "Rom-Traum" |
13. "The Untethered Sole" |
| Season One • Season Two • Season Three • Season Four • Season Five | ||