This is the fifth of five episodes of Arrested Development to feature Michael's love interest Rita, a British woman who, unbeknownst to Michael, is mentally disabled. In The Ocean Walker Michael and Rita are planning to marry so Rita can stay in the country, and Michael begins to worry he and Rita won't have a physical relationship. However, his son figures out Rita's condition and tells an astonished Michael. Meanwhile, George and Lucille learn Rita is worth millions and on those grounds approve of the marriage, even though they know Rita's mentally challenged. Michael calls off the wedding and discovers his parents nearly let him go through with it.
The Rita episodes are sometimes mentioned whenever the question is raised as to whether the show jumped the shark. I wouldn't consider myself anti-Rita per se (and I certainly don't think the show jumped the shark), but nevertheless I'd include three Rita episodes, For British Eyes Only, Mr. F and The Ocean Walker, in my bottom five. And The Ocean Walker is the weakest of those, and the second weakest episode in the series. (Forget-Me-Now was good and Notapusy was the best Rita episode, though she was hardly in it). The idea of pairing Michael up with a mentally disabled woman is ludicrously tragic, and thus true to Arrested Development, but the execution isn't as good as the idea. The problem appears to be two new writers (who, like Mitch Hurwitz himself, appear to have started out as writers' assistants) who recycle way too many jokes from previous episodes. Apparently they lack the self-confidence to come up with new material. Whenever we get new jokes, they're good, and I liked the flashback sequence when Michael realizes Rita's mentally disabled, but generally this episode isn't a standout. As for Michael's parents nearly letting him go through with the marriage, although that isn't a stretch for their characters, ending the episode without any kind of reconciliation between Michael and his parents leaves The Ocean Walker feeling somewhat incomplete. (Buster also knew and nearly let Michael go through with it, and Lindsay, though smiling at the wedding and thus possibly aware of Rita's millions, still seems surprised when the disability is revealed). Nominated for an Emmy for editing.
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