Gob 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.
Wordplay and character comedy sustain an 80.8 score across fifty-eight rapid jokes.
Directed by Jay Chandrasekhar · Written by Abraham Higginbotham
WAR
126.4
Wins Above Replacement
“Justice Is Blind” ranks #37 of 84 Arrested Development episodes on the Humor Index, scoring 95.6 — Elite. The episode packs 79 scored jokes at 2.8 per minute, averaging 7.6 on craft and 7.6 on impact, with Michael landing the most laughs. Every joke is ranked below with its individual craft and impact scores.
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Top Jokes
Michael · Maggie Lizer: Flashback exchange: "I really can't see anybody right now." / "Oh, well, I can't see anybody ever. I'm blind." / "I'm wasted."
Tobias · Maggie Lizer: "On the next" stinger: Tobias breaks into Maggie's house to steal evidence — only to discover she's not blind
George Michael · Maeby: George Michael discovers Maeby has been running a fake sick twin scam at school fund-raisers as 'Surely Fünke'
George Sr. · Cindi Lightballoon: George Sr. discovers Cindi's "I know for a fact" was actually "I have faith" — and the key distinction: she misheard his blooper where he said "Faith is a facet" as "Faith is a fact"
Gob · Michael: "On the next" stinger: Gob encounters a maritime lawyer — "How am I ever gonna find a maritime lawyer?" / Michael's fake identity appears / "I trade trained seals for a living."
All Jokes — 79 analyzed
Show all ↓ Hide ↑ Barry: Barry reveals he hasn't read the plea bargain he just praised and urged the family to take
Barry Character Comedy Misdirection ★ Rewatch Barry: Barry's non-sequitur announcement at a family legal strategy meeting: "F.Y.I., I'm trying to get back into the dating world."
Barry Character Comedy Absurdist Lucille: Lucille's response to seeing a woman near the courthouse: "Hey, you're not one of those silly men that's dressed like a woman, are you?"
Lucille Character Comedy Irony/Sarcasm Michael · Lucille: "I don't understand how a person can put their sex life in front of their work." / "He's a man, Michael. He needs a woman."
George Sr. · Cindi Lightballoon: George Sr. misinterprets Cindi saying "I'm a mole" as referring to her teeth and launches into dental advice
George Sr. · Lucille · Michael: George Sr. wants to fight the case because of Cindi's secret encouragement — "I want to fight this thing. I can beat it. I know it for a fact." — mirroring her exact words
Barry: "Is that a shot at me? 'Cause that makes me want to read it less." — Barry, about reading the plea
Barry Character Comedy Deadpan/Understatement Callback Lucille · Narrator: Michael's reveal that he was in a drama club production of 'The Trial of Captain Hook' to satisfy an English requirement — implying he played a lawyer in 10th grade
Michael · Lindsay: "I don't remember that." / "Well, you left during my solo."
Michael · Lindsay: "And I'm surprised my twin sister can remember that, considering she was repeating the ninth grade at the time."
Tobias · Lindsay: Tobias's tutoring pitch to the tutor: "I will pack your sweet pink mouth with so much ice cream, you'll be the envy of every Jerry and Jane on the block."
Tutor: "We're the only house on the block." — The tutor's flat correction of Tobias's offer
Tutor Deadpan/Understatement Reaction Beat Gob Bluth · Michael Bluth: Gob: 'If you'd slept with more than four women, you'd know that.' / Michael: 'I have, Gob.' / Gob: 'More than five?' / [beat] / 'Let's say five.'
Gob · Michael: Gob claims Michael has slept with fewer than five women; Michael neither confirms nor denies, and Gob says "Let's say 'five'."
Gob: "These are lawyers... that's Latin for 'liar.'"
Gob Wordplay/Pun Character Comedy Maggie Lizer: Maggie Lizer introduces herself: "I'm Maggie Lizer, as in 'Maggie lies her ass off.'" Then: "One person laughed at that once, and I don't know why I keep trying it."
Maggie Lizer: "Submarine chaser." — Maggie's response to learning Michael does maritime law
Michael Bluth · Maggie Lizer: Michael gives his fake name: 'Chareth Cutestory' — Maggie says 'Cutestory?' / 'Yes. Chareth Cutestory.' / 'That's an interesting name.' / 'Is it?'
Maeby · Tutor: Maeby's school test where she wrote 'S. Fünke' — tutor explains that 'S' means single, not her name initial
Maeby · Tutor: Maeby pays the tutor $120 (six $20s) claiming it's $200 — and the tutor notices but lets it go
Maeby Fünke · Tutor: Tutor asks Maeby 'Are you getting paid for this?' / Maeby: 'There was talk of ice cream, but not exactly on my terms.'
Narrator · Michael: Narrator: "The next morning, Michael was wondering how to end his first one-night stand."
Maggie Lizer: "Is he as handsome as he smells?" — Maggie asking Justice the dog about Michael
Michael: "Well, it's tough with your hands in the way." — Michael's comment when asked to show his smile
Michael Deadpan/Understatement Reaction Beat Michael · Maggie Lizer: Michael flashes back to Maggie saying "I have an irreversible case of ocular retinoblastoma" and he responded "Hey, I thought we said no more law talk"
Michael · Maggie Lizer: Flashback exchange: "I really can't see anybody right now." / "Oh, well, I can't see anybody ever. I'm blind." / "I'm wasted."
Narrator: Narrator: "Michael realized that the woman he was attempting to never see again was blind."
Narrator Irony/Sarcasm Deadpan/Understatement ★ Rewatch Michael: Michael's guilt monologue: "Come on. I took a blind woman home with no intention of dating her again? Please!"
Michael Character Comedy Irony/Sarcasm George Sr. · Cindi Lightballoon · Lucille: George Sr. and Cindi are discovered tweaking nipples through a chain-link fence; Lucille arrives
Lucille: Lucille calls Cindi "this great redwood of a whore"
Lucille Character Comedy Wordplay/Pun George Sr.: George Sr.'s defense of Cindi: "She has seen everything I've done. You understand? Everything."
George Sr. · Cindi Lightballoon: Cindi laments being a home-wrecker; George Sr. comforts her, clearly not meaning it
Cindi Lightballoon: Cindi, after causing the Bluth marriage to explode: 'Oh, God. I'm a home-wrecker. I never wanted to be that person.'
Gob: Gob's brag: "You could have seen me get some major action from a major blonde who just majored in marine biology, if you know what I mean."
Gob Character Comedy Wordplay/Pun Michael Bluth · Gob Bluth: Michael: 'I told you to walk away. I told you to give a fake name.' / Michael: 'I did. Thanks very much. I'm Chareth Cutestory, a pirate lawyer.'
Gob: Gob: "You've just won the gold medal at the sexual Special Olympics! She can't ever find you again. Don't you see that you're so lucky?"
Gob Dark/Subversive Character Comedy Michael · Gob: Michael cuts off Gob's advice with "God! How do you not s—" then catches himself
Michael Gob Reaction Beat Meta/Self-Referential ★ Rewatch Gob: Gob reveals he got married on a dare the previous night — to a woman who dared him to do things
Gob Character Comedy Escalation ★ Rewatch Gob · Michael: Gob reveals he accidentally got married: 'She knows that I'm Gob Bluth, and we got married, and I just...' Michael: 'What?' Gob: 'Well, she was a darer.'
Narrator: Narrator explains that despite building dares, "the one thing they never dared each other to do was consummate the marriage"
Narrator Irony/Sarcasm Deadpan/Understatement ★ Rewatch Gob · Gob's Wife: "Do you ever listen to what I say?" / "I'm sorry I don't memorize every word that comes out of your mouth. Sometimes I just like to think... think my thoughts."
Narrator: "It was hot." — Narrator's one-line assessment of Gob and his wife's argument
Narrator Deadpan/Understatement Irony/Sarcasm Gob · Narrator: Gob: "Believe me, we didn't do any sleeping. I had sex last night." Narrator: "But he really didn't."
Maggie Lizer · Michael: Maggie: "I thought I smelled you coming." / Michael: "Mm. Yeah, here I am."
Michael: "You don't have any evidence of handsome." — Michael's response to Maggie calling him handsome
Michael Deadpan/Understatement Wordplay/Pun ★ Rewatch Maggie Lizer: "So you didn't get a case of 'I just had a one-night stand with a blind girl'-itus?"
Maggie: Maggie: 'So you didn't get a case of I-just-had-a-one-night-stand-with-a-blind-girl-itus?'
Maggie Wordplay/Pun Character Comedy Michael: Michael offers to be Maggie's "Seeing Eye dog" on their walk
Michael Irony/Sarcasm Wordplay/Pun ★ Rewatch Michael: Michael starts narrating the park to Maggie: 'There's an elderly couple walking hand in hand... Three years is what I give them, and then one of them dies...'
Michael · Maggie Lizer: Michael describes the park to Maggie while secretly reading the plea document — his descriptions of the 'elderly couple' are actually him reading the plea
Maggie Lizer: Maggie: "I can smell right through you, Chareth. You're reading."
Maggie Lizer · Michael Bluth: Maggie: 'I can smell right through you, Chareth. You're reading.' / Michael: 'Leash your dog, you...' [stops]
Warden Gentles · George Sr.: Warden Gentles reveals he enjoyed Caged Wisdom and specifically mentions the 'blooper bonus footage' including George Sr. nearly strangling himself with his own prayer shawl
George Sr. · Cindi Lightballoon: George Sr. discovers Cindi's "I know for a fact" was actually "I have faith" — and the key distinction: she misheard his blooper where he said "Faith is a facet" as "Faith is a fact"
George Sr. · Narrator: George Sr. in the blooper footage: "Faith is a fact. No. Faith is a facet. I almost said faith is a fact."
Maeby · George Michael: Maeby has an 'A' on a test she clearly didn't earn — she's been paying her own tutor and collecting the money
Michael: Michael confesses he didn't read the plea: "I definitely definitely read this uh... the first part of this first, uh, section." Long pause. "Uh, no. Did not read it."
Michael Character Comedy Deadpan/Understatement Callback Lucille: Lucille: "How many times are you going to screw up before the rest of this family sees you for the screwup you are?"
Lucille Character Comedy Irony/Sarcasm Gob · Barry: Gob can't get an annulment because he didn't consummate the marriage — but insists he did, for his own dignity
Gob Barry Character Comedy Irony/Sarcasm Callback Lucille: Lucille reveals she and George Sr. are divorcing; reassures Michael/Lindsay: "Oh, don't worry, sweetie. No one is fighting over you."
Lucille Character Comedy Dark/Subversive Lucille: Lucille: "You'd think a man locked up in prison would be able to abstain."
Lucille Character Comedy Deadpan/Understatement Lucille: Lucille: "Your father, with his disgusting tweaking!" / [beat] / "I couldn't breast-feed any of you kids because of that man!"
Lucille Escalation Character Comedy Callback George Sr.: "They still look fabulous." — George Sr.'s response to Lucille's breast-feeding complaint
George Sr. · Lucille: George Sr. reveals he slept with Lucille's sister — but frames it as having been a good thing "Got her to stop drinking, didn't it?"
Lucille · George Sr. · Michael: The family collectively decides to take the plea without reading it, persuaded by Lucille saying "It's so nice and thick."
Lucille: Nobody will read the plea — even in the courthouse. Lucille: 'It is thick. Why don't we just take it?'
Lucille Running Gag Character Comedy Callback Narrator · Maggie Lizer: Narrator reveals Maggie is the prosecutor — "Yes, Maggie was the most feared prosecutor in all of Orange County."
Narrator · Maggie Lizer: Narrator explains Maggie wins cases "not because she was a particularly adept lawyer, but because she won the sympathy... of the defendants themselves" — cut to a defendant saying "I was in that room"
Michael: Michael panics in court: "You gotta get more time. Get more time. She can smell me. She smells everything."
Michael Character Comedy Escalation ★ Rewatch Gob · Lindsay · Michael: Gob: "That's the blind chick you slept with?" Lindsay: "Michael, you're in bed with the prosecution?" Gob: "It's genius. You can get all the information we need."
Gob: "The solution to all our problems is staring you right in the face and it can't even see you."
Gob Wordplay/Pun Character Comedy ★ Rewatch Gob Bluth: Gob: 'The solution to all our problems is staring you right in the face and it can't even see you.'
Gob Bluth Wordplay/Pun Dark/Subversive ★ Rewatch George Michael · Maeby: George Michael discovers Maeby has been running a fake sick twin scam at school fund-raisers as 'Surely Fünke'
Gob Bluth: Gob: 'Yeah, I better get back to the wife. I think I'm going to take a scenic drive down to the City of Industry.'
Gob Bluth Character Comedy Deadpan/Understatement Unknown: "Somebody get her a cupcake!" — reaction to Maeby's reveal as Surely Fünke
Maggie Lizer · Michael: Maggie gives Michael the government's entire case summary against the Bluth family — then asks "Do we have a case?" revealing she trusts a man she met in a bar to evaluate the evidence against his own family
Gob · Narrator: "On the next Arrested Development" tag: Gob's seal business update — "The seal deal fell through. Three of the seals died on their way to Chad."
Gob · Michael: "On the next" stinger: Gob encounters a maritime lawyer — "How am I ever gonna find a maritime lawyer?" / Michael's fake identity appears / "I trade trained seals for a living."
Tobias · Maggie Lizer: "On the next" stinger: Tobias breaks into Maggie's house to steal evidence — only to discover she's not blind
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