Michael jumps at a chance to spend more time with George-Michael, who seeks a clueless president for Fakeblock. Tobias relocates his makeshift family.
In 2018, there were 495 scripted shows airing amongst the linear channels and streaming services. The way people are consuming content now is so different than it used to be. It happens according to one's own schedule. As such, there is less necessity to provide ample coverage of each specific episode in any given season from a show. Moreover, it is simply impossible to watch everything. As such, this site is making the move to shorter episodic reviews in order to cover as many shows as possible. With all of that being said, here are my thoughts on the next episode of Netflix's Arrested Development.
"Taste Makers" was written by Mitchell Hurwitz and directed by Troy Miller
George-Michael is unlike the rest of this family because he has an unnerving amount of anxiety over the actions he has taken to scam the rest of the world. He has created a fake company that only continues to grow. Fakeblock may be in financial ruin. However, it's still running as if nothing is out of the usual. The employees aren't really doing any work for a program that can actually help with privacy online. They are being paid to goof around at the office space even though George-Michael didn't realize they were all still on the payroll. He believes that filing for bankruptcy is the only way to get out of this. Michael talks him out of that idea simply by trying to compare his situation with his new position of running the Bluth Company once more. The show would love for Michael and George-Michael to be on the same side. They are learning about the wall project George Sr. and Lucille are trying to do. They see themselves as the people who can blow the lid off of this thing to save the family and the company. However, they are in just as much personal danger themselves. George-Michael is even more so once all of this implodes for him. He recognizes that. But he's also similar to the rest of his family in just putting Gob in charge to ensure that there is someone just clueless enough as president in order for him to sell the company to someone else so it can be their problem. That's absolutely ridiculous especially when coupled with the fact that Gob doesn't know how email works. He is so naive about technology and shouldn't be running a tech startup. That's the position he now finds himself in though. Of course, it's also much more personally compelling to see him get an invitation from the gay mafia for a meeting. That too is a very telling scene at the close of this episode. It's actually the most compelling moment of the overall episode. It shows the power that Argyle Austero actually wields over the world. He immediately becomes a suspect in his sister's disappearance. That too may offer a convenient excuse for Buster to be off the hook for any kind of criminal charges. But it also showcases that Argyle was behind the accident that killed Tony Wonder. And now, Gob is indebted to him by having to say publicly that conversion therapy doesn't work while also getting rid of the body. Now, it's crazy that the gay mafia feels they have to cover up this murder considering it happened in such a public way. Of course, the public was also fooled into believing that it was a disappearing act in which they just never saw the final outcome. It's simply more important that Gob is a public gay man and can never change that because of the magician's code. However, there remains the hope that the show is aspiring for an overall message of there being more than one way to be a part of the queer community. Gob is questioning his sexuality which absolutely should be respected and valued just as much as anyone who has come out and embraced themselves. Instead, Argyle and his minions are telling Gob that he is straight without really knowing who he is. They see themselves as the ones with all of the power in this situation. That may absolutely be true. Gob can surprise people as well even though it's often accidental consequences of his actions. He may not fully be aware of the world around him and the people he hurts in the process. However, he should be allowed to go on this journey granted that it is going somewhere meaningful and important to the overall narrative.
