Arrested Development's George Bluth told his son multiple times that there was "always money in the banana stand," but Michael didn't quite get the message until it was too late. Throughout the critically-acclaimed and Emmy Award winning show, oldest Bluth son Michael, played by The Outsider star, producer, and director Jason Bateman, finds himself at odds with the rest of his family, especially his father George (Jeffrey Tambor). Michael tries his hardest to keep the family and its businesses together while George is put behind bars, and the rest of the family does their best to continue living the lavish lifestyles they've grown accustomed to over the years.
One part of the Bluth-family business that has always proven to be consistent in Arrested Development is the Bluth's Original Frozen Banana Stand. Opened in 1953, the stand became a staple of the Balboa Island boardwalk; its giant banana shape being a common location to buy marijuana, even having inspired a song ("Big Yellow Joint"). In the season 1 episode "Top Banana," Michael's son George Michael, Scott Pilgrim vs. The World star Michael Cera, is made manager (aka "Mr. Manager") of the stand where he is working with his cousin Maeby (Alia Shawkat) and George Sr.'s prison associate T-Bone, a known arsonist (or "flamer" in the parlance of George Sr.).
George Michael, realizing that there is no way to make up for the money that he and Maeby had been taking from the register (made worse by the bananas they were throwing away as an ill-conceived cover for it), decides to set the stand on fire. Having been frustrated with wanting to run the Bluth family company on his own terms and being tired of his own father's constant interference, Michael helps. Besides, George's insistence that there was money in the stand, plus his known criminal activities and sending an arsonist to work there, Michael thinks they can collect the insurance money. That is what his father meant, right?
Unfortunately, it turns out that George was being quite literal. Inside the walls of the banana stand, he had hidden $250,000. George always kept a stash of cash on hand in case there was ever a family emergency and money was needed. Michael just never picked up on the fact that his father meant exactly what he was saying, which isn't hard to believe considering the shady nature of George Bluth's words and actions. To make matters worse, Michael's brother, GOB (played by LEGO Batman Movie's Will Arnett) never sent in the check to the insurance company, meaning they wouldn't collect on the fire.
Like many things in Arrested Development, there being money in the banana stand didn't mean what it sounded like. Michael may have wanted it to believe in the importance of the stand as a business no matter what, so that there would be a piece of the family history to hold on to — something steady that he could rely on to help bring everyone together and keep them all afloat. In the end, Michael rebuilt the banana stand, this time on his own terms, and while it wouldn't be the last time the stand was destroyed and rebuilt, it became a metaphor for his wanting to take the family in a legitimate direction without the interference of his father, George Bluth.