Arrested Development Season 5 Preview

This preview is based on seven episodes, eight will release first with the other half arriving at a later date in the year. The fourth season of Arrested Development was fine, it didn't have the same magic yet was still an enjoyable time. The remix cut that released recently for the fourth season of episodes was hit or miss for me. It took awhile to get going and flowed much better as it went along. Throwing both of those aside, this fifth season of the show is a great improvement. It feels so beautifully streamlined, features the entire cast together naturally and has a much better structure to it. I'm personally not a fan of the split season style they're going with as I like to binge my shows, but it's nice to see this one return.

The balance of sharp narration with the whole group interacting was splendid, they really have recaptured that magic again. It does build upon events of the previous season so it's somewhat important to view that one prior. Some things have changed as they jump around with the time line, but the crew is still up to their typical weird array of things. Everyone has some sort of wacky thing going on and it's the interactions between the group that sees hilarious results. There's a nice mix of seeing everyone together and still going off on their own at times to build their separate story. You still see them come across other members of the family, it's mostly the quantity that changes during solo trips.

This really does feel like a tease however despite being half the season. I have an idea of what they're building towards, yet it's only been lightly touched upon. Everyone seems to be back to their own selves with some progression for various characters which is nice. The dynamics at play are at times random, but it's always worthwhile to see how it all plays out. They've even managed to get back so many familiar faces and that was a treat. It really is amazing to see how each individual can retain their old character traits after so many years and grow as well with the new moments that come into play.

There seems to be some mystery with this season as they deal with a disappearance though that doesn't seem too present as of the halfway point. It's great that they didn't forget any plot points as well making sure that this feels like a natural next step in the story. I'm very interested to see what happens when the full season is available later in 2018, but as of right now this might be the best one in the series. I've kept things vague as not to spoil anything, if you're a fan this is going to be great. If you haven't checked out Arrested Development yet, do so.

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