This show proves one thing over and over again: having a family is not easy. It's never easy to be thrown in the midst of a lot of people that you haven't chosen for yourself, and you have to do with what you have. In this episode of "Arrested Development," we see two families meet up and the difference in how they live their lives, as well as how they influence their children. I've always said that I'm very happy with my family and I was very lucky, but there are those who seem to influence their children way too much and frame them in the ways that they want them to grow up. This episode, as well as the show overall, has dealt with that with the character of George Michael and Maeby being clear examples of what happens when parents have too much control and too little interest. In this episode, we're also introduced to Ann's family and the religious culture that she was brought up in. She's presented as someone who loves her family and the teachings, but also someone who is really looking outside the bubble and wants to explore that life as well. This episode was another great one for "Arrested Development," this time proving that they also know what they're doing when they're simply focusing on the comedic. I don't think I've laughed this much in a long time, or had so many different emotions going into an ending like I had with this.
I'm not sure that any of the episodes so far has had a finale that I liked as much as this. It was very unexpected to see everything going at each other, but it made for the hilariosity that we've come to expect from "Arrested Development." From everything to the fight sequences to the police mistaking Gob's black doll for a car thief. It couldn't have been a better sequence of comedic genius, and I give a big hand of applause for Mitchell Hurwitz and everyone involved in making this sequence get me laughing as much as it ended up doing. That's a good job!
It was nice to finally get a little bit of backstory to Ann and to see where she comes from. The show has been very firm of making her stick out as forgettable and that has added to a lot of comedy, but they've also hinted at things about her throughout like her religious tendencies. And now, we get introduced to the root of that which is a very religious family that may actually be on the verge of cracking. Again, the writers show the difference in how families work, yet still manage to show the frictions that there are.
There have been a lot of very complex episodes that deal with serious themes through the comedic medium. However, this episode is a great reminder of the fact that this show can also be great when it only deals with comedy. Not only did this episode make me laugh harder than many others, but it also had such an outlandish premise that it threatens to expose the show as being simply full of dumb jokes. Luckily, we know better, and this episode didn't do anything, except showing that these writers are comedic geniuses with a lot of different talents.
It was great to see Alan Tudyk in this episode, an actor who is mostly known for his voice work. He doesn't feature heavily in this episode, but the scenes he had were some of the funnier ones, and I think it's because of his serious approach to the material he was given. In the same vein, I also think that David Cross' work has gotten better and better for each episode that he's in, and with this, he reached peak ridiculousness. I'm certain that this "Mrs. Doubtfire" character has met her end, and I can only say what a run.
"Meat the Veals" is not only a clever title, but it's a great episode that shows this show at its peak comedy. It has all the flavors that we want from this show, and doesn't lean into the serious as much as it could, but instead proves that it works as well as a pure comedy.
