It’s been almost a month since Arrested Development Season 4 premiered on Netflix with 15 episodes all at once. And in that time, the show that was once adored by critics has found itself the subject of many less than wonderful reviews, with the new season dubbed as ‘an interesting idea that was more exciting on paper’ and even called the death of the entire series by the New York Times. My only response to these reviews is: WHAT? After finishing all the episodes (which took me about a week because annoyingly I had to do normal stuff like go to work around it), I was surprised to find out so many critics were disappointed.

TV series usually play out week by week, but to throw a whole season out there at once presented a new opportunity and a new way of storytelling, meaning creator Mitch Hurwitz didn’t have to stick to the same format as the first three seasons of Arrested Development– and he didn’t. Each episode follows a specific character, which is both new, fresh, and a clever way of getting around the casts hectic schedules outside of AD. I will admit, I did miss seeing the characters all together, and I would have loved another Buster or Lucille episode, but it’s good to try new things. The first few episodes aren’t filled with laughs, and feel bloated and slow. But it’s around Episode Four when you finally begin to see that this season is an intricate jigsaw, the pieces slotting into place the more you watch. And the more you watch, the faster the laughs come, and episode by episode Arrested Development Season 4 reveals itself to be incredibly smart. Episode Seven, Gob’s first centric outing, is a highlight, and possibly one of the funniest AD episodes to date, in my opinion. One complaint seems to be that this jigsaw-esque narrative is ‘too complicated.’ But Arrested Development was never an ‘easy’ watch. It differentiates itself from the likes of The Big Bang Theory and Two And A Half Men with its smart, witty, fast paced humour. It’s a show that rewards you for watching: with hidden jokes and clever writing. It doesn’t treat the viewer as an idiot, presuming any innuendo based joke or the simple yell of ‘Bazinga!’ will make you laugh. It works for your laughter. Arrested Development was often considered a ‘before-it’s time’ sort of show. It fits much better in the era of post-30 Rock, where viewers are ready to be challenged for their laughs and almost expect meta humor. ‘Maybe it’s not a movie…maybe it’s a TV show.’

Season Four also took the opportunity to show real character growth – apparent when Lindsay discovers she’s much more of a Bluth than she ever thought. Michael, meanwhile, is in a downward spiral as his relationship with his son begins to suffer and he quickly drifts away from being the family’s calm, moral center. This seemed to annoy a lot of viewers and critics alike. But why? Just like Lindsay, Michael IS a Bluth after all – and even the best Bluth is going to slip up occasionally, just as Michael does as he makes a series of very bad decisions which finally leads to the dramatic last scene. But that’s what makes this season interesting: it’s the downfall of Michael Bluth. The one son who had to keep the family all together struggles to cope after they are torn apart. A lot of people also seemed to be annoyed by a ‘Michael Cerea-ish’ George Michael. But I don’t think George Michael had morphed into Michael Cera – I just think George Michael grew UP. Of course he wasn’t going to be the shy, awkwardly endearing youth from the first three seasons!

Another common complaint seems to be that the fourth season is clearly ‘just for the fans’ with its throwaway nods to classic AD jokes. I’m sorry, what fourth season of a show should be targeted at NEW viewers? The references to previous, much loved gags and running jokes were excellently done. Going into this season, I was worried it would be self-indulgent on this aspect, and each episode would be filled with overdone references to jokes from the first three seasons. But fan-favorite characters and much loved jokes were slotted in seamlessly, without too much attention and fanfare. They even left some of the most obvious choices out. The chicken dance was never shown, but only briefly alluded to by George Michael. Highlights included ‘Mr. F’, the return of Ann (Her?) resulting in some great new Egg comments, and GOB’s $3,000 suit meltdown.

I’m not going to say everything was perfect – some episodes were much too long, too boring and I’m not a massive fan of the ridiculous George Sr./Oscar storyline. But what were you expecting? No flaws at all? For every slow moment or let-down, however, there was a highlight. The club titled ‘And Jeremy Piven’ (check the opening credits of Entourage if you don’t get that joke), the Facebook notification noise randomly slotted in just to confused a bunch of people, Maeby cussing out the entire auditorium full of entertainment heavyweights and child-stars just to end with the phrase ‘….and please welcome the actors from Phineas and Ferb’, ‘Hello Darkness, My Old Friend’ sadly playing over Gob’s lower moments, the two Bluth brothers being convinced the other was dating Modern Family’s Julie Bowen…I could go on.

It took a long while for Arrested Development to reach the cult status it holds today, so perhaps over time, and many re-watches to catch any jokes you missed, Season Four will become as much loved as the first three seasons. Now WHERE is the movie?!