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Justice Is Blind

"Justice Is Blind"
Directors: Jay Chandrasekhar — Writer: Abraham Higginbotham — Aired: March 21, 2004 — Icon-image      


"Justice Is Blind" is the seventeenth episode of Arrested Development's first season.

G.O.B. steals a file on the government's case against the Bluth Company that Maggie had given to Michael. Tobias is sent to Maggie's house to get evidence, George Michael tries to prove Maeby's fraud, and Lindsay fights to remove the Ten Commandments from the courthouse lawn.

Synopsis[]

Michael and Maggie[]

Follow the events earlier that day, at the model home Michael contemplates reading the Bluth family evidence file blind attorney Maggie asked "Chareth Cutestory" to review (not knowing that Chareth was actually Michael Bluth.) G.O.B. enters and urges Michael to read it. In the kitchen Michael stresses to Maeby to not abuse the legal system when Lindsay suggests suing their high school for not having a handicapped ramp in the fieldhouse. Michael then decides to come clean to Maggie, who admits that she knew it was him since the hearing the day before and gave him a dummy evidence file. They try to say goodbye but end up having several drinks and going home together.

1x17 Justice is Blind (06)

The next morning, Michael misses a meeting at prison with his family because he and Maggie are still sleeping together. G.O.B. reveals to his parents and Barry that he stole the evidence list from Michael and George suggests G.O.B. steal the real evidence from Maggie's house. G.O.B. later coyly convinces Tobias to use his cat-like agility to break into Maggie's house.

Upset at the thought that he would be displaced if his father was released from prison, Buster turns himself into the police to testify against his father. Maggie interrogates him and finds out he knows nothing. Michael takes Justice for a walk and pretends to be blind to see what it is like. When Justice leads him into traffic he takes the dog to a vet who reveals that Justice is blind and therefore Maggie can see. Maggie returns home as Tobias is breaking in but must keep up her blind act. Unable to complete his mission, Tobias is cornered by Maggie. To escape he sprays perfume in her eyes and flees.

At the courthouse Michael attempts to get the case thrown out by proving that Maggie has been faking her blindness. He throws a Bible at her face but she has been temporarily blinded by the perfume. The court enters recess and Michael apologizes to Maggie. They say goodbye to each other but sleep together for one last time in the courthouse.

1x17 Justice is Blind (35)

George Michael and Surely[]

George Michael confronts Maeby about her alter ego Surely Fünke, who is preparing to "roll" for Student Council Treasurer. She tells him that she plans to kill the character off before prom. He later hurts him arm helping Surely to the top of the bleachers and Maeby stages a protest outside the courthouse to get ramps installed. George Michael urges her to stop but when she calls him a hero in front of a crowd he gets swept away and joins her protest.

1x17 Justice is Blind (29)

Lindsay's crusade[]

After leaving the courthouse during the previous day's hearing, Lindsay breaks a heel on a statue of The Ten Commandments. She is then given a flyer urging people to rally for the separation of church and state. She protests the statue and it is removed from the courthouse, but is accidentally dropped on Barry's car.


Appearances[]

1x17 Justice is Blind (23)
1x17 Justice is Blind (39)
Recurring
Guest
  • Timothy Davis-Reed as Office Kelley
  • Jay Ward as Jay
  • Ping Wu as Proctor
  • Frank Whiteman as Judge

Recurring themes[]

1x17 Justice is Blind (08)
1x17 Justice is Blind (21)
1x17 Justice is Blind (30)

Callbacks/running jokes[]

  • Barry's secret life - Barry picks up a prostitute who is actually an undercover cop, and gets booked, hence the mug shots (and his joke about his date working "two jobs").
  • Catlike Agility - Tobias shows off his catlike agility by breaking into Maggie's home.
  • It Looks Better on Him - In a flashback to events before the Pilot, Lucille says that a tie "looks better" on Buster. In the actual Pilot, she says the same thing of Lindsay's blouse on Tobias.
  • Misquoting Holy Books - Maggie and G.O.B. both misquote the 10 Commandments. In "Fakin' It", George Michael similarly misquotes the Torah to serve his own purposes.
  • The Trial of Captain Hook - When playing the prosecutor in The Trial of Captain Hook, young Michael begs the judge to throw the book at Captain Hook. Here, he literally throws a book at Maggie Lizer to prove she's not really blind.
  • Is Tobias gay? - Referencing his catlike agility he claims that during his adolescence "I always ended up on all fours."

Hidden/background jokes[]

1x17 Justice is Blind (20)
1x17 Justice is Blind (04)
1x17 Justice is Blind (17)
1x17 Justice is Blind (40)
1x17 Justice is Blind (27)
  • The banner Maeby/Surely tows behind her wheelchair reads, “Surely Funke rolling 4 Treasurer. I would run 4 it, but I can’t.”
  • Carl Weathers's headshot can be seen on the wall of photos during Buster's testimonial. He was previously Tobias's financially cheap acting coach.
  • The flyer that a protestor hands Lindsay outside the courthouse reads, “JOIN US in keeping our churches and courthouses separate. Meet today on the Courthouse steps. Let’s take back control of our rights. We shall not be abused. We SHALL overcome!”
  • The crane that lifts The Ten Commandments off the courthouse steps is decorated with several crosses.
  • In the interrogation room, there is a chart that features everyone connected to the Bluths. The people on the chart are:
    • The Bluth and Fünke Family
    • Kitty
    • Marta (Her face is crossed out)
    • Annyong
    • Carl Weathers
    • Lucille Austero
    • Surely Fünke
    • A "No Photo Available" is seen near Marta. Theories for the picture are the following: G.O.B.'s wife, Michael's dead wife Tracy, Oscar, the fifth Bluth sibling who didn't give their permission to be in the show (Mitch Hurwitz mentioned he was thinking of doing this in the commentary for the extended "Pilot"), or perhaps the narrator of the show. Another theory for the "No Photo Available" person is Ann Veal, George Michael's girlfriend who was listed in the school yearbook with no photo available, even though she was actually pictured. Throughout the series Maeby refers to Ann as a "no face" and being plain.
  • Tobias' photo is one of the head-shots from "Visiting Ours". It later appears in "Not Without My Daughter".
  • Maggie Lizer has a Cornballer tucked away on a shelf adjacent to her refrigerator.
  • Maggie misquoting the Ten Commandments is an allusion to Hamlet. Her quote: "Well, it’s like the Ten Commandments say, you know? “Be true to thine own self, and to thine..." where Michael finishes the line "own self be true. Number 7". In Shakespeare's Hamlet, Polonius gives his son, Laertes, the advice "To thine own self be true" which is ironic because Polonius is a liar and mistrusts Laertes. This reflects back on Maggie since everything she does in the show is deceitful.
  • Deliberations is the name of the Bar where Maggie and Michael discuss the Bluth case.

Foreshadowing/Future References[]

1x17 Justice is Blind (10)
  • Lucille as Mastermind - As Lucille is reviewing the summary of evidence that G.O.B. stole from Maggie Lizer during the family's prison meeting with Barry Zuckerkorn, she accidentally blurts out, "Well, it certainly looks like they’ve got a lot on us... uh... you. I was raising the children." This seems to imply that she has a more central role in the Bluth company's various crimes, although this is not revealed explicitly until the series finale "Development Arrested".

Quotes[]

→ See more quotes from "Justice Is Blind" at Transcript of Justice Is Blind.

Notes[]

  • 1x17 Justice is Blind (22)
    The episode title ("Justice is Blind") is a play on Maggie's dog's name and medical condition.
  • Guest stars Julia Louis-Dreyfus and Ping Wu appeared together on several episodes of Seinfeld, starting with "The Tape." He played Ping, the Chinese food delivery boy who sued Elaine for opening a taxi door into his path when delivering via bicycle.
  • This episode is rated TV-PG-DLS.

Images[]

→ See more images from "Justice Is Blind" at Category:Images from Justice Is Blind.

Videos[]

SEASON ONE EPISODES

1. "Pilot"
2. "Top Banana"
3. "Bringing Up Buster"
4. "Key Decisions"
5. "Charity Drive"
6. "Visiting Ours"
7. "In God We Trust"
8. "My Mother, the Car"

  9. "Storming the Castle"
10. "Pier Pressure"
11. "Public Relations"
12. "Marta Complex"
13. "Beef Consommé"
14. "Shock and Aww"
15. "Staff Infection"
16. "Altar Egos"

17. "Justice Is Blind"
18. "Missing Kitty"
19. "Best Man for the Gob"
20. "Whistler's Mother"
21. "Not Without My Daughter"
22. "Let 'Em Eat Cake"

Season OneSeason TwoSeason ThreeSeason FourSeason Five
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