Over the last eight seasons, we have followed the team behind Archer on many adventures. They’ve taken us to exotic lands, underwater, and outer space. Season 9 promised a love child between Indiana Jones and Jurassic Park, instead of the noir tribute of last season. But four episodes in, it has yet to make good on that promise. Now that the show is taking place entirely in Sterling Archer‘s mind with new settings each season, can the animated series maintain the humor and plotlines which have kept fans coming back?
Dynamic Duos
In recent seasons, we’ve seen the rise of the Archer/Pam coupling. It first began in Season 4, specifically “The Papal Chase” where Pam makes her debut as a budding (if bumbling) field agent. Archer Dreamland threw Archer and Pam together as sometime rivals and collaborators.
But it’s only in this season that we get to experience the duo as they should be. Pam’s gruff yet vulnerable exterior is the perfect foil for Archer’s grandeur (delusional or not). Without sexual tension, the jokes and delivery go beyond cliché and explore a platonic relationship. A perfect example is in “Strange Pilot” after a strapping young man walks past the pair:
Pam: I would murder that.
Archer: Me too.
Pam: I meant sexually.
Archer: I meant murderly.
Highlighting Pam and Archer’s new Chewbacca/Han Solo relationship does take time away from what has previously been the focus of the show: Lana and Archer. This is a welcome break from what has become a predictable pattern between the two main characters. But this comes at Lana’s expense as she is demoted from the straight man comedic role to the princess trope. One can only hope that this is a set up for a more complex character like it was in Archer Dreamland.
Classic Archer
Many animated shows targeted toward adults use meta-humor, and Archer is no exception. The series revels in self-referential jokes which, over time, become inside jokes with the audience (phrasing, anyone?). This is done without breaking the fourth wall; maintaining the illusion of the world the characters live in.
Another tactic used is stranding Sterling in an inescapable, life-threatening situation. He then works through it (likely using liquid or narcotic courage), and defies death with a combination of indifference and dumb luck.
These two strategies function well in Season 9, particularly in episode 2 “Disheartening Situation”, where Archer is left to his own devices on a failing jet. He even says to himself: “I must be immortal. That would actually explain a lot.” In spite of the new setting and character dynamics, it’s good to see that the humor fans know and love is still very much a part of the show.
Birds vs. Babies
An odd but hilarious development this season, is the introduction of Crackers, the talking Macaw voiced by Lucky Yates (who voiced Doctor Krieger). This element of magic realism adds a new layer that pushes the boundaries of the existing Archer universe, opening up exciting possibilities for the future. It also helps that Crackers is a wise-cracking, one-liner, comedy machine. His interactions with Archer and Pam consistently end in a laugh.
He is a welcome replacement to the previous tiny sidekick introduced in the Season 5 finale: baby AJ. In Season 6, plotlines revolving around AJ confirmed what we learned from ’90s sitcoms—babies are not funny. If there isn’t a baby at the onset, adding one rarely (if ever) improves the show. Look no further than Friends, Mad About You, and more recently The Big Bang Theory. The ousting of baby AJ is a welcome change that started in Archer Dreamland and continues now into Archer Danger Island. It’ll be much more entertaining to watch Crackers in adorable little outfits as he swoops into the tiny sidekick role.
Slow but Not Steady
Archer fans have been used to a larger arc or mysterious thread that is woven throughout each season along with the single episode plots. But, in this new season, viewers had to wait until the third episode for the larger story thread to crop up with the mention of ‘the idol’. For an eight-episode season, three episodes seem like a long time to wait to finally set the characters on a season-long path of intrigue.
It might feel that way because the independent plots of each episode lack some of the punch of previous seasons. Think back to the twists and turns of early-season episodes like Archer Vice “A Kiss While Dying”, where Lana is forced to uncover betrayal while Pam eats her cocaine cast and Sterling recovers from a lethal head wound. By comparison, the beginning of Archer Danger Island seems flat and devoid of action.
Although the Season 9 episode, “A Warrior in Costume” showed some amazing production value, it did little to move the action forward or build on the flimsy thread from other episodes. This is an unfortunate side effect of having to set up the new location and character relationships. There is still hope that the slow start can make way for an exciting pay-off as the season progresses.
While new character dynamics and old situational humor have kept the show funny, the slow pace and world-building have kept it uninteresting. If the show’s creators want fans to continue watching, they’ll need to spend less time introducing the new framework every season. The focus should be on humor and exciting narrative. Four episodes is too long to wait for the real story to begin.
