In the first season finale, George Sr. has a heart attack, and Maeby is jealous when George Michael likes another girl. Meanwhile, Lindsay decides to leave Tobias until a book he wrote a long time ago becomes a gay bestseller, and Buster and Annyong compete over women.
Season finale's 49 jokes in 49 minutes sustain 87.6 momentum through deadpan character chaos.
Directed by Paul Feig · Written by Mitchell Hurwitz, Jim Vallely
WAR
67.6
Wins Above Replacement
“Let Em Eat Cake” ranks #9 of 84 Arrested Development episodes on the Humor Index, scoring 87.6 — Elite. The episode packs 49 scored jokes at 1.7 per minute, averaging 7.5 on craft and 7.2 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
George Sr. · Narrator: There's a good chance I may have committed some light treason. This might even be considered light treason.
Doctor: We lost him. He just, uh, got away from us. I'm sorry.
Doctor Misdirection Setup/Punchline ★ Rewatch Gob: Zero hour, Michael. It's the end of the line. I'm the first born. Sick of playing second fiddle. Always third in line for everything. Tired of finishing fourth. Being the fifth wheel. There are six things I'm mad about, and I'm taking over.
Gob Escalation Character Comedy ★ Rewatch George Sr.: I'm gonna get a lethal injection because my son won't eat a potato.
Narrator: The book, initially unsuccessful, had suddenly caught fire, although, strangely, only in the gay community.
Narrator Irony/Sarcasm Character Comedy ★ Rewatch Callback All Jokes — 49 analyzed
Show all ↓ Hide ↑ Michael · George Michael: Popcorn? Really? Cool. Yeah, the hell with Atkins, huh? Oh. Yeah. Oh, why blow it now? I'll fry up some bacon.
Michael · Gob: Bees? Beads. Beads?
Michael: Gob's not on board.
Michael Wordplay/Pun ★ Rewatch Callback Gob: Z-z-z-z-z! Bz-z-z-z-z-z! We'll see who brings in more honey.
Gob Physical/Slapstick Absurdist ★ Rewatch Callback Michael: He's thinking about bees again.
Michael Deadpan/Understatement Callback Callback Lindsay: Hey, you put an ugly kid in, you can't be surprised when an ugly adult comes out.
Lindsay Dark/Subversive Observational Lindsay: Great. Before you know it, I'll be in the red. And you can take that to the bank.
Michael: Who'd want a bee as a gift?
Michael Callback Deadpan/Understatement ★ Rewatch Callback Annyong: Mother said no carbohydrate for you if you ever gonna get girlfriend that's not old lady.
Annyong Character Comedy Cringe/Discomfort Callback George Sr.: Good to see you. You know what? Don't get too close to me. 'Cause I've got an itch you can't believe. I think something laid eggs on me.
Gob: And now I'm expected to climb back on top of Kitty and do my thing again.
Gob Cringe/Discomfort Character Comedy Prison guards: He's got bees! No bees! Get it!
George Michael: You know, thanks to this diet craze, the last time we had a customer, the banana stand was still green.
TV Producer: Lose it. No, lose the whole kid. We'll just go with the Iraq piece.
Kitty: Can we please have one conversation that's not about my rack, Michael?
Kitty Cringe/Discomfort Character Comedy Callback Michael: Well, I want a hamburger and French fries, but I can't have the bun or potatoes. Get real.
Michael Observational Deadpan/Understatement Callback Narrator: The book, initially unsuccessful, had suddenly caught fire, although, strangely, only in the gay community.
Narrator Irony/Sarcasm Character Comedy ★ Rewatch Callback Lindsay: Well, that would've worked if you'd sprung for a bigger sink.
Lindsay Deadpan/Understatement Character Comedy Lindsay: Some girl. I mean, she barely has a face. You couldn't pick her out of a lineup of one.
TV Reporter: Now, a lot of this damage is just due to shoddy workmanship, but the real surprise here is that these homes appear to be American-built to begin with.
Lindsay: Does that look a little like our kitchen island?
Lindsay Observational Visual Gag ★ Rewatch George Sr. · Narrator: There's a good chance I may have committed some light treason. This might even be considered light treason.
Gob: What about macaroni... let me finish... salad?
Gob: This is a side of you I'd never noticed before. Have they always been that big?
Gob Misdirection Cringe/Discomfort Callback Lucille: He never told me where he was going, but he used to come back from those business trips reeking of lamb. And people would send figs... not even at Christmas. In the middle of October. Oh, and once, someone sent him a toe, and he went white as a sheet.
Gob: Zero hour, Michael. It's the end of the line. I'm the first born. Sick of playing second fiddle. Always third in line for everything. Tired of finishing fourth. Being the fifth wheel. There are six things I'm mad about, and I'm taking over.
Gob Escalation Character Comedy ★ Rewatch Gob: I've made a huge mistake.
Gob Running Gag Reaction Beat ★ Rewatch Callback Tobias: The Man Inside Me. For Lindsay, my rock. I could not have done this without him.
Tobias Irony/Sarcasm Character Comedy ★ Rewatch Callback Tobias: For there is a man inside me, and only when he's finally out can I walk free of pain.
Tobias Irony/Sarcasm Character Comedy ★ Rewatch Callback Tobias: I was hoping for more women. Perhaps I shouldn't have just used 'he.' I think that was a mistake.
Tobias Irony/Sarcasm Character Comedy ★ Rewatch Callback George Sr. · Michael: First time. I've never heard of a second.
George Sr. · Michael: - First time. - I've never heard of a second.
Maeby: Are you kidding? I don't need to brag that some people haven't even been on a date!
Maeby Character Comedy Cringe/Discomfort George Sr.: Your mom had a good feeling about him.
George Sr. Deadpan/Understatement Character Comedy Callback George Sr.: I'm gonna get a lethal injection because my son won't eat a potato.
George Sr.: You can shop... I love my... Can't breathe. I can't breathe!
George Sr. Physical/Slapstick Cringe/Discomfort ★ Rewatch Lucille: What kind of diet is this? It's too much meat. I want all of you off this immediately. Except you.
Lucille Character Comedy Setup/Punchline Callback Tobias: Also, Dale, one of the gentlemen from my reading, is a nurse here, so we were able to park right out front.
Tobias Irony/Sarcasm Character Comedy ★ Rewatch Callback Barry: I did. I have poison oak. Do you believe it? Where the hell did I get that?
Barry Misdirection Character Comedy Michael: I'd rather not, obviously. Don't know what I'd say. Why do I have to be the one? I don't need this. Why does this have to become my problem? No. I'm out. Forget it. Find somebody else. I'm sick of it. I'm sick of doing everything for this family.
Michael: I wanted to watch Hindsight, and you weren't there. I want to pack up and desert the family, and you don't want to. Is it this new girlfriend?
Michael Observational Character Comedy Michael: The state or the police. Maybe the Magicians' Alliance will pick up some slack.
Michael Absurdist Callback ★ Rewatch Callback Michael: Ever since he's been dating this Annie McNo-face, he's been blowing me off.
Michael Character Comedy Callback Callback Michael · Doctor: It's just glucose. We're all trying to stay away from sugar.
Gob: Old bear! He likes the honey!
Gob Callback Absurdist ★ Rewatch Callback Annyong · Michael: Heart attack never stop old Big Bear. I didn't even know we were calling him Big Bear. We never had a chance to!
Doctor: We lost him. He just, uh, got away from us. I'm sorry.
Doctor Misdirection Setup/Punchline ★ Rewatch Lindsay: Why would a doctor say he's 'gone' when he means he's escaped? God, I've missed bread. Mmm. Wouldn't you say, 'He left out the window' or, 'The room's empty.'
Lindsay Observational Callback Callback Maeby: Maybe we should kiss again and teach them a lesson about obvious.
Maeby Irony/Sarcasm Cringe/Discomfort ★ Rewatch Callback Top Episodes — Arrested Development
