The first half of Arrested Development's third season was not the best. The premiere was solid and resolved the season finale's cliffhangers well enough, but the initial Mr F arc was incredibly overlong, taking up over a third of the whole season when it should have just taken two-to-three-episodes. The arc was about the Bluths trying to find a mole, while Michael's has a new and quirky (eventually revealed to be mentally handicapped) British girlfriend. It's not super hilarious or compelling (outside of a specific episode that I'll mention later), and some of its jokes have not aged all that well. And right after the Mr F arc ended, we get the worst episode of the whole show: Prison Break-In, which seems to rely on gross-out and incredibly mean-spirited humor that just feels wrong for the show. It really felt like Arrested Development was starting to run out of steam...
And then the second half of Season 3 started and the quality drastically shifted. "Making A Stand" onwards was easily one of the best stretches of episodes this series has ever had, culminating in an insane four-part finale that wraps up all of the character arcs, running gags, and plot threads in a fittingly chaotic bow. I'll go more in-depth later on in the review, but it's genuinely impressive just how much manages to get paid off to the point where, by the time the series ends, I don't think there's a single loose end, not a single plot hole or unresolved storyline. Every Chekhov's Gun has been fired, every running gag has been paid off, and the final episode is a pitch-perfect bookend to the show as a whole. I know that there are two more seasons, but Season 3 is my ideal end to Arrested Development. The show wasn't perfect, but these first three seasons still form one of the most thoughtfully-crafted sitcoms I've ever seen.
Despite a rough first half, this season still had plenty of great episodes, especially in the second half:
Mr F: While I wasn't a fan of the Mr F arc, this episode probably made the whole thing worth it. The reveal of who Mr F was and what it stood for was actually pretty funny and genius, but the real highlight of the episode was that beautifully bizarre jetpack-kaiju sequence at the end.
Making A Stand: Pier Pressure is probably the most well-liked and iconic episode of Arrested Development. So of course the show would make a sequel that completely ups the ante. The banana stand rivalry was so much fun to watch, and that final sequence of double-crossing after double-crossing was as hilarious as it was shocking and nail-biting. All of the show's best running gags popped up here, making for what feels like the definitive Arrested Development episode.
SOBs: It was apparent that this episode was shot after the series got cancelled, because this may be one of the most spiteful episodes of TV that I have ever seen. It was packed with tons of hilarious jabs at the network and clever moments of meta humor while also being an entertaining episode about the family trying to improve their reputation. Not to mention the episode is literally called "Sons Of Bitches", I wonder who that's targeted towards?
Fakin' It: Coming right after SOBs, Arrested Development absolutely does not let up with this episode serving as a hilarious and biting parodies of reality TV, as the family participates in a mock trial for George Sr. Not only does it serve as a rapid-fire series of running gags and payoffs that uses the family in its entirety, but it's also the start of Arrested Development's excellent four-part finale.
Exit Strategy: While not the funniest episode in the series, Exit Strategy is easily the most eventful, revealing that George Sr never actually committed treason at all. It's an excellent twist and results in a surprisingly satisfying ending that could've worked as the series finale, though I'm glad it wasn't because...
Development Arrested: This series finale is pretty much perfect. It replicates the main storyline of the pilot episode to show how much the characters have developed, it resolves all of the character arcs, it's packed with insane plot twists that change your perception of the whole show, and the final sequence is Arrested Development at its chaotic best. Easily one of the best series finales ever made.
Overall, Season 3 had a bit of a rough start with the shaky Mr F arc, but the second half was the best Arrested Development had ever been, and a phenomenal ending to the series.
The first half: 3/5
The second half: 5/5
4/5 Stars
Season Ranking: 2 > 3 > 1
Finale Ranking: 3 > 1 > 2
Favorite Episode: Making A Stand
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