Beef Consommé

"Beef Consommé" is the thirteenth episode of the first season of the American television satirical sitcom Arrested Development. It was written by supervising producer Chuck Martin and co-executive producer Richard Rosenstock, and directed by Jay Chandrasekhar. It originally aired on Fox on February 15, 2004.

The series, narrated by Ron Howard, follows the Bluths, a formerly wealthy, dysfunctional family, who made their money from property development. The Bluth family consists of Michael, his twin-sister Lindsay, his older brother Gob, his younger brother Buster, their mother Lucille and father George Sr., as well as Michael's son George Michael, and Lindsay and her husband Tobias' daughter Maeby. In the episode, the family must appear at George Sr.'s arraignment hearing, but proceedings are jeopardized by Michael and Marta's relationship guilt and Gob's hunt for his unknown rival for Marta.

Plot
Michael (Jason Bateman), Lucille (Jessica Walter), George Sr. (Jeffrey Tambor), and their attorney, Barry Zuckerkorn (Henry Winkler) meet at the prison to discuss George Sr.'s arraignment the next day, where Barry tells them they should all show up and appear loving and supportive. Gob (Will Arnett) is still looking for "Hermano", the man he suspects is having an affair with Marta (Patricia Velásquez), and Michael tells him that he will talk to Marta for him. At Marta's house, she and Michael confess their mutual attraction and decide to "do the right thing" to honor their families, but end up doing "the wrong thing" but reminders of Gob are all around, and they decide to tell him before going further. While, Maeby (Alia Shawkat) is tired of Tobias (David Cross) and Lindsay (Portia de Rossi)'s constant fighting, George Michael (Michael Cera) wonders whether Maeby really is his blood relative and decides to investigate. Gob tells Michael his plans to beat up Hermano, and Buster (Tony Hale) overhears, wondering what it would be like to get into a fight, having lived his entire life under his mother's wing.

Lucille calls to remind the family about George Sr.'s hearing the next afternoon, and George Michael begins his investigation into Maeby's conception by asking Tobias to elaborate on his earlier comment about having trouble conceiving. Tobias becomes distracted when he realizes that his role as "Frightened Inmate #2" is a shower scene, and as a never-nude, this poses a problem for him. Buster asks Gob if he can ask Marta out, and Gob, not taking him seriously, tells him to go ahead. When he overhears Buster say hermano and learns what it means, Gob assumes Marta is involved with the actor who plays her character's brother Tio on El Amor Prohibido. He leaves to find that man, and Michael goes after to stop him. George Michael learns that Maeby was a test-tube baby, which he assumes means they are not actually related, and Gob reaches the soap opera set and takes a swing at the actor he's looking for, who knocks Gob out.

When Gob wakes up, Michael tells him he is the "hermano", and Gob gives him his blessing and Michael rushes over to tell Marta. Lucille interrupts, calling to say that Michael is late for his father's hearing. Buster had rented a mariachi band to proclaim his love for Marta, but arrived just a few seconds after Michael did. Tobias, with Lindsay's help, tries to overcome his problem with nudity. At the courthouse, only Lucille and Gob show up for the hearing on time, with Barry arriving shortly after George Sr. is led in, and Buster comes in with the mariachi band. He tells Gob about seeing Michael kissing Marta a few minutes ago, which makes Gob jealous. As the judge reads the long list of charges against George Sr., Michael finally arrives and is immediately accosted by Gob, and they brawl their way out of the courtroom and out into the street. George Sr. uses the chaotic situation to escape through the courthouse stairwell, but accidentally runs back to the holding cells. While Michael, Gob and Buster fighting on the courthouse lawn, Lucille leaves for home. Marta arrives, sees them fighting, and says she doesn't want either of them, and Michael and Gob make up. Tobias and Lindsay take their clothes off together, and Tobias is finally able to be fully nude, leading them to reconnect as a couple for the first time in years.

On the next Arrested Development...
Tobias, after overcoming his never-nude problem, walks naked into the dining room while the family eats breakfast.

Production
"Beef Consommé" was directed by Jay Chandrasekhar, and written by supervising producer Chuck Martin and co-executive producer Richard Rosenstock. It was Chandrasekhar's second directing credit, Martin's second writing credit and Rosenstock's third writing credit. It was the twelfth and final episode filmed of Fox's original season order after they picked up the series from the pilot, and was designed to serve as a series finale if they had chosen not to order any more.

Reception
The A.V. Club writer Noel Murray praised the episode, calling it "a damned funny episode, and heavier on the slapstick and visual gags than usual". In 2019, Brian Tallerico from Vulture ranked the episode 55th out of the whole series, saying "it still suffers from the goofiness of that “Hermano” arc" from the previous episode, "Marta Complex". In the United States, the episode was watched by 5.21 million viewers on its original broadcast.