I wanted to love Arrested Development Season 5.
I really did, but a lot has happened in the five years since Season 4. Unfortunately, The Bluths no longer seem outlandish, so I no longer have the patience for them or the desire to laugh at their antics. It’s also no longer fun to watch a family cluelessly wandering around Mexico, treating the country as though it were their playground as they praise the idea of a wall. All those plot lines are no longer escapist entertainment. America has a real problem, which colored every painful minute of watching Arrested Development.
This season cut too close to the bone. It’s way too easy to substitute the Trumps for the Bluths and call it the news. To make matters worse, the male cast members of Arrested Development tried to excuse Jeffrey Tambour’s treatment of women, particularly Jessica Walter. With an actual scandal affecting the show and the poor handling of it, I couldn’t escape back into the world where The Bluths’ were hilariously bad people and I thought it was brilliant.
If you are able to go back to a time where the news didn’t color every piece of entertainment, you will find that the show has redeemed itself. While Season 4 was an interesting experiment that failed and the first episode of Season 5 was more recap than plot — the five other Season 5 episodes I watched were a return to form. It had the same quick pace and callbacks that are the reason fans love the show.
Arrested Development may have grown out of its awkward phase, but it’s too late. The world has moved on and left Arrested Development in the past.
Arrested Development Season 5 (the first half) is currently streaming on Netflix.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=gXg2_yExgVY
