Key Decisions

"Key Decisions" is the fourth episode of the first season of the American television satirical sitcom Arrested Development. It was written by co-producer Brad Copeland and directed by producer Anthony Russo. It originally aired on Fox on November 23, 2003.

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, Michael begins to grow an interest for Gob's girlfriend, Marta, while Gob locks himself in his father's prison, promising to escape later in the week.

Plot
Michael (Jason Bateman), returning the family jet, gets a new family car, which happens to be the jet's stair car. Lindsay (Portia de Rossi), upset by this, joins a tree activist named Johnny Bark (Clint Howard) and spends a night with him sitting on a tree. The next day, Johnny follows her home and expresses his love for her. She rejects him, as the tree they were in last night is cut down.

Gob (Will Arnett), wanting to perform a publicity stunt for his magic career and spend time with his father, George Sr. (Jeffrey Tambor), decides to go inside the Orange County prison and promises to escape later in the week. Before his arrival, Gob swallows a key but is unable to poop it out. In the courtyard, Gob is stabbed by an inmate called White Power Bill and is sent to the hospital, fulfilling his promise to escape the prison. Meanwhile, Michael takes Gob's girlfriend, Marta (Leonor Varela), a soap-opera actress, to a television award show. There, Michael begins to grow an interest in Marta.

The next day, the pair hear about what happened to Gob and rush to the hospital. Once there, Michael watches as Gob recommits to Marta, and becomes upset. Buster (Tony Hale), having gone to the award show without glasses, accidentally flirted with Lucille Austero (Liza Minnelli), one of Lucille Bluth (Jessica Walter)'s friends. While visiting Gob at the hospital, Buster meets Lucille Austero once again. Learning about his accidental flirt, and her interest for him, Buster suffers a panic attack, while Lucille Austero suffers a vertigo attack.

On the next Arrested Development...
Gob is told by his doctor that the key he had swallowed prevented the shank from stabbing his small intestine. Meanwhile, Buster tells Lucille Austero that he wants to start dating.

Production
"Key Decisions" was directed by producer Anthony Russo and written by co-producer Brad Copeland. It was Russo's third directing credit and Copeland's first writing credit. It was the fourth episode of the ordered season to be filmed after the pilot.

Reception
In 2019, Brian Tallerico from Vulture ranked the episode as the third best of the whole series. The A.V. Club writer Noel Murray praised the episode's writing, stating that "It’s not just that this is an especially funny episode, with multiple strong storylines that barrel ahead fairly unpredictably. It’s that every single detail seems to have been thought through..." Joe Reid from Decider praised the introduction of the character Lucille Austero, play by Liza Minnelli, stating that, "By the time AD brought her on, Minnelli was far from the regularly working actress she’d once been. But there’s no rust on her in this episode. Far more than just a celebrity cameo, Minelli was doing superb work, both verbally and with Lucille 2’s debilitating bouts of vertigo." In the United States, the episode was watched by 6.26 million viewers on its original broadcast.