Three Half Men

"Three Half Men"
Directors: Mitch Hurwitz & Troy Miller — Writer: Mitch Hurwitz, Richard Rosenstock & Jim Vallely — Aired: May 4, 2018 —    ◄    ►

"Three Half Men" was the second episode of chronological re-cut of Arrested Development's fourth season. It premiered on Netflix on May 4, 2018.

George and Lucille come up with a business scheme. Buster deals with some alone time in an unsettling way. G.O.B. prepares to get marries to... Her?

Synopsis

In an episode of And As It Is Such, So Also As Such Is It Unto You, Father Marsala announces that his daughter, Ann, will be getting married to G.O.B. Unexpectedly, G.O.B. also announces that their wedding will be broadcast on the show.

Earlier that year, on the day of the Bluth family's party on the RMS Queen Mary, G.O.B. and Ann wait for Ann to turn 18 on his yacht. However, George Michael finds out that G.O.B. is dating his ex-girlfriend, punches G.O.B. and steals his yacht. G.O.B. runs after Ann and promises to make things right with George Michael.

After the Queen Mary crashes, the family gathers at the coast guard's office where G.O.B. asks George Michael if they're good. G.O.B. realizes that his relationship with Ann can continue, while Buster realizes that his mother, Lucille, is being taken away from him. After Lucille has been arrested, Buster returns home alone and declines Lupe's offer to stay with him. He tries to stick to his daily routine but instead creates a doll of his mother and makes dozens of martinis for her.

Meanwhile, George Sr. visits Stan Sitwell to raise money for Lucille's trial. However, they fight and George Sr. steals his plans to build what he thinks is a monument to George W. Bush. When he visits Lucille later, she explains it's a border wall between the U.S. and Mexico and they decide to build it themselves. Afterwards, George Sr. goes for lunch at the Balboa Club where he bumps into his brother Oscar. Oscar is eating with his friends who all live in the Californian desert. When George Sr. finds out the land is on the border, he offers to buy it for Oscar.

Later that evening, G.O.B. decides he must break up with Ann but sleeps with her instead. The next morning, he tries to end their relationship again but accidentally proposes to her. Meanwhile, Lucille returns home under house arrest only to see what Buster has done to the penthouse. George Sr. visits Lucille again and they continue with their plan to build a border wall. They will offer to build it for the government at a cheaper price than Stan Sitwell but they will get their money back because they will have to sell the border land to the government in order to get the wall built. Lucille and George Sr. decide to get a divorce so nobody thinks they are working together which is why they announce it at the family meeting seen in the previous episode.

Not long after Michael announces that he is leaving the family, he meets G.O.B. at the model home where G.O.B. asks him to be his best man/magician's assistant. Michael declines and realizes that his wedding is going to be a magic act where G.O.B. escapes his upcoming marriage.

On the next Arrested Development: Fateful Consequences... G.O.B. finds out none of his family have come to his wedding that he plans to run away from.

Appearances

Main Cast (in order of appearance)

• Will Arnett as G.O.B.
• Michael Cera as George Michael Bluth
• Jessica Walter as Lucille Bluth
• Tony Hale as Buster Bluth
• David Cross as Tobias Fünke
• Portia de Rossi as Lindsay Bluth Fünke
• Jeffrey Tambor as George Bluth and Oscar Bluth

• Jason Bateman as Michael Bluth
• Alia Shawkat as Maeby Fünke (only appears in a photo)

Recurring

• Mae Whitman as Ann Veal
• Ed Begley, Jr. as Stan Sitwell
• John Slattery as Doctor Norman
• Jeff Garlin as Mort Meyers
• Alan Tudyk as Pastor Veal
• Mary Lynn Rajskub as Heartfire
• Karen Maruyama as China Garden
• Ione Skye as Mrs. Veal

Guest

• Bruce McCulloch as Father Marsala
• B.W. Gonzalez as Lupe
• Greg Worswick as Maitre d'

Recurring themes

References

• Halliburton - The oil drilling conglomerate has rebranded two divisions into "Halliburton Teen" and "Hal & Burton's Frozen Goat Cream".

• Psycho - Buster's two-day solitude in the penthouse mimics some behaviors of Norman Bates in the film Psycho. The narrator states "It looked a little like that Vince Vaughn movie, Psycho" in a reference to the Imagine Entertainment produced and critically panned 1998 remake of the Hitchcock classic.

• "The Sound of Silence" - G.O.B. hears Simon and Garfunkel's song "The Sound of Silence" (namely the lyrics "Hello darkness, my old friend") several times when contemplating how lonely he is.
• Two and a Half Men - The title of the episode is partly a reference to this show.

Callbacks/Running Jokes

• And As It Is Such, So Also As Such Is It Unto You - G.O.B. makes an announcement on the religious talk show, foreign to him, similar to his announcement on Acceso Mexico in "Key Decisions".
• Bees - G.O.B. thinks Michael stole his bee business when he learns of The Michael B. Company. He then explains the woes of his bee company to Michael. He first stole the idea from Lindsay's beads business in "Let 'Em Eat Cake".
• Ann's nicknames: Several Bluth family members forget Ann or her name:
  • G.O.B. calls her "my darling plant", and when she corrects him with "Ann" he thinks she wants him to say "And".
  • G.O.B. calls her "egg", as Michael did in "The One Where Michael Leaves".
• G.O.B.'s religion - Although pretending to be religious to please Ann, he is not:
  • G.O.B. is frightened by a picture of Jesus in Ann's room and says "For a second I thought that was a real guy."
• Handprints - A yellow handprint (parmesan cheese and mustard) is seen on the boulder when G.O.B. crawls back into it in the model home, possibly reminiscent of Tobias' blue handprints all over the Bluth home.

• "Her?" - Terry Veal says "Hair?".
• "I don't want these..." - George says this line about Oscar's friends Dr. Norman, Heartfire, and China Garden. G.O.B. says the same thing about the Veal family.
• Low center of gravity - When G.O.B. runs into Ann he is knocked over and she doesn't budge. This happened previously in "Switch Hitter" and George Michael attributes it to her low center of gravity.
• Lupe - Lupe bleach stained Lucille's teal blazer, making her want to build a wall between the US and Mexico. We also see her with Buster.
• "Marry Me!" - G.O.B. steals Maeby's catchphrase.
• Parmesan cheese and mustard - G.O.B. eats Parmesan cheese and mustard at the model home.
• "Should, should, should, sh-sh-sh-should...", G.O.B. suits, and "Come on!" - G.O.B. stutters on the word "should", stutters about Ann's $32 nightgown that he's wearing, his $6,000 tuxedo (shirt) that Ann's wearing, and a $3,400 something, ending with him saying "Come on!" multiple times. A nod to "Afternoon Delight".

• Sitwell Enterprises - We see inside Stan Sitwell's company again.
• "The Sound of Silence" - Simon & Garfunkel's 1965 song plays when G.O.B. introspects on his life choices, featuring the lyrics "Hello darkness, my old friend." This happens later in "A Couple-A New Starts", "Cinco de Cuatro II", and "Cinco de Cuatro III".
• "Way to plant, Ann" - G.O.B. compliment's Ann's low center of gravity with an identical compliment George Michael gave her in "¡Amigos!". He then proceeds to call her "My darling plant"

Hidden/Background Jokes

• Ashamed of their name - Michael calls his company "The Michael B. Company".
• Buster's cooking abilities - The cupboard that Buster opens as the narrator says he's run out of food that he knows how to make is stocked with very basic instant snack foods.

• Empty chairs - Tobias' picture is not on a seat for G.O.B.'s wedding.
• "I'm going to sit opposite you so it won't look bad." - George says this to Oscar, a nod that they are both played by Jeffrey Tambor and the editing used to make them appear on screen at the same time can look fake if done poorly.
• Psycho - The narrator states that, "To an uninformed observer, it looked a little like that Vince Vaughn movie, Psycho," implying that the "uninformed" part refers to not knowing there was an earlier, much more famous version of Psycho rather than being wrong about Buster's behavior.

Foreshadowing/Future References

• Ann is pregnant - G.O.B. mentions that after their night of making love Ann has let her stomach grow fat.

In Comparison to the Original Cut

This episode is made up from 6 episodes of the original cut of Season 4. Because the re-cut is chronological and combines the characters' stories into one narrative, new narration was recorded and there is even some additonal dialogue. These changes, as well as which scenes appear in which original episode, are listed below:

• G.O.B. on “And as It Is Such, So Also As Such Is It Unto You”, additional dialogue is in italics (4x7 Colony Collapse)
  • The show has new opening titles.
  • G.O.B.: Amen.
• G.O.B. & Ann after Season 3 finale (4x7 Colony Collapse)
  • G.O.B.: My sister? Lindsay? We're related.
• At the coast guard’s office (4x7 Colony Collapse, 4x14 Off the Hook)
  • Narrator: And perhaps it was the baptism at sea that truly made him a man, but G.O.B. was ready to make things right with his family.
• At the penthouse (4x14 Off the Hook)
  • Narrator: It was now Buster’s turn to become a man.
  • Narrator: Spoiler alert: he wouldn’t be.
• George Sr. & Stan Sitwell fight (4x2 Borderline Personalities)
• Lucille & George Sr. at the coast guards (4x2 Borderline Personalities)
  • Narration: And later that day, he shared the happy discovery with his wife, who was still held at the Coast Guard.
• At the Balboa club (4x2 Borderline Personalities)
  • Narrator: Discouraged and questioning his own manhood, George Sr. went for lunch alone at the club…
  • Oscar: And Dr. Norman lives with us now.
• G.O.B. & Ann at her house (4x7 Colony Collapse)
  • Ann’s “pyjamas” are now called a “nightsack” by the narrator in this episode
• Oscar & George Sr. at the bar (4x2 Borderline Personalities)
  • Narrator: And that’s when George Sr. heard something that might help make him a big man.
• Buster at the penthouse (4x14 Off the Hook)
  • Narrator: Buster’s manhood was also being tested as he fended off the panic of his mother’s absence by sticking to his daily routine…
  • The Charlie Brown music plays after he makes a drink for Lucille.
• G.O.B. accidentally proposes to Ann (4x7 Colony Collapse)
• Buster at the penthouse, Lucille returns (4x14 Off the Hook)
• At the desert (4x2 Borderline Personalities)
  • Heartfire: (thinking) “No comment.”
  • Narrator: George Sr. was going to say, “…by gouging the government when they needed the land for Sitwell’s wall”
  • Heartfire: (thinking) “Don't.”
• Lucille & George Sr. at the penthouse (4x2 Borderline Personalities, 4x10 Queen B.)
  • The caption "moments later" doesn’t appear in the remix.
• Family meeting at the penthouse (4x1 Flight of the Phoenix, 4x2 Borderline Personalities, 4x7 Colony Collapse, 4x13 It Gets Better)
  • Mostly footage from 4x1 Flight of the Phoenix & 4x2 Borderline Personalities.
  • Michael’s line “I am done with this family. I hope you’ve saved some money, ’cause you’re gonna need every dime now. What’s this?” appears in all listed episodes.
• G.O.B. and Michael at the model home (4x7 Colony Collapse)
  • Narrator: But Michael wasn’t the only one who was soon in a bolder/boulder place.
  • Narrator: And that’s when Michael finally explained to his brother how to be a real man.
  • A muffled version of Sound of Silence now plays when G.O.B. returns to the boulder.
• On the next… (4x7 Colony Collapse)
  • The “And As It Is Such” theme music now plays over G.O.B. & Ann’s conversation.

Notes

• Maeby Fünke only appears in a photo at G.O.B.'s wedding.
• Although the title is a reference to the show Two and a Half Men, the narrator also comments on G.O.B., Buster, and George Sr.'s manhood throughout this episode:
  • Narrator: And perhaps it was the baptism at sea that truly made him a man, but G.O.B. was ready to make things right with his family.
  • Narrator: It was now Buster’s turn to become a man.
  • Narrator: Discouraged and questioning his own manhood, George Sr. went for lunch alone at the club.
  • Narrator: And that’s when George Sr. heard something that might help make him a big man.
  • Narrator: Buster’s manhood was also being tested as he fended off the panic of his mother’s absence by sticking to his daily routine.
  • Narrator: And that’s when Michael finally explained to his brother how to be a real man.
• Even though the Bluth family are living fairly separate lives in this episode, the narrator keeps drawing parallels between them:
  • Narrator: Across the room, however, Buster was contemplating a relationship that seemed to be ending. [G.O.B.'s relationship with Ann is becoming stronger while Lucille is being taken away from Buster.]
  • Narrator: And perhaps because he knew that, George Sr. went to his competitor. [George Sr. knows Buster won't do well alone so he tries to get money to free Lucille from Stan Sitwell.]
  • Narrator: G.O.B. also had a new friend he didn’t want. [G.O.B. doesn't want Ann while George Sr. doesn't want Oscar's friends.]
  • Narrator: Like his son, George Sr. was finding himself closer to someone than he expected to be. [G.O.B. becomes closer to Ann while George Sr. becomes closer to Oscar.]
  • Narrator: Buster’s manhood was also being tested. [Both Buster and George Sr. are tested by being alone and away from Lucille.]
  • Narrator: But while Buster was constructing a new relationship, G.O.B. was still trying to find a compassionate way to end one. [Buster creates a Lucille doll for company while G.O.B. tries to break up with Ann again.]
  • Narrator: George Sr. had gone to see the equally disturbing home of his brother. [Buster is in the penthouse alone while Oscar is in the desert with his friends.]
  • Narrator: But Michael wasn’t the only one who was soon in a bolder/boulder place. [Michael has made a bold move by leaving the family, G.O.B. is hiding in a boulder to prepare for his escape act.]