S4E1 · Flight of the Phoenix

Complete story — includes the ending

After severing his ties with the majority of the family, Michael Bluth finds himself in economic turmoil after completing the Sudden Valley housing development under his new company, only to face the 2007 housing bubble which results in Sudden Valley turning into a secluded ghost town. After unsuccessfully attempting to receive a loan from Lucille Austero, the primary shareholder in what is now the Austero-Bluth Company who is running for a congressional seat, Michael moves in with his son George Michael in his dorm at the UC Irvine, while himself enrolling in University of Phoenix. George Michael is working with his other roommate Paul on 'Fakeblock' software, which George Michael explains is a privacy software, and is uncomfortable with Michael's presence. When Michael's scheme to kick Paul out of the dorm fails, George Michael, Paul, and a visiting Maeby vote Michael out of the dorm, with meticulous planning on Michael's part resulting in himself receiving a unanimous vote. A disappointed and confused Michael goes to the airport, where he attempts to buy an in-flight magazine that features an article about him, and is forced to buy a plane ticket. He is later saddened when he finds out the article portrays him as a failed businessman. He returns home to Newport Beach, planning to take up residence in his mother's vacant apartment, and is surprised to find the apartment has been trashed. He is then attacked by an ostrich.