Archer Season Finale Review: A Discovery (Season 9 Episode 8)

Archer Season 9 Episode 8 almost felt like the show we’ve been missing for the last couple of years. We got funny, sexually charged banter between Archer and Lana, hilarious jokes, action, and an interesting plot.

While we watch, we find out that, in the end… after all of that, Archer dies saving the crew from Fuchs. And I’ve come to find out that I’m a prophetess.

Yep. That’s right. I called it from the beginning.

In my review of Archer Season 9 Episode 3, I said that the idol would fall in a vat of lava, and I was completely right. I just… didn’t guess that Archer and Fuchs would fall with it.

Whhiichh, what was that ending anyway?

My guess is it could be two things: a simulation or a preview to the next season.

A simulation seems like the most fun option to explore. It could give Adam Reed, Archer‘s creator and writer, the opportunity to write in multiple reboots in one season, maybe even every episode where we’d have to acclimate to random and crazy scenarios.

It would give Reed the creative freedom he’s clearly been craving, and it would be fun for the audience to see more adaptations of our favorites.

The idea of a simulation follows the logic of why everyone is thrown out of it after they fail to get the idol. It also makes sense as to why, when Archer wakes up, he asks his mother why she didn’t just get a snow globe instead, as in, he would rather die frozen than in a boiling vat of lava.

Although it makes sense, I can acquiesce that a simulation doesn’t make the most sense. Since Season 8, Archer has played with the idea that Archer is still in a coma and we’re just in his mind.

Just in the beginning of this season, we slowly zoom in on Archer sleeping so we can’t see his surroundings, and we hear Pam talk about how peaceful he looks.

At this point, the audience may guess, or even hope, that the reboots are over and we’re back to the spy world. However, just like Archer gets his dreams snatched away from him, so does the audience and we quickly realize they’re on Danger Island.

So, what most makes sense is that we don’t see the fall out after Archer dies because his mind can’t process a world where he’s not in it.

So, instead of just fading to black, his mind immediately drops us off in another universe, which spells another reboot for us. And I’m not complaining one bit.

Reed is getting better and better at fine-tuning these reboots so that everyone is happy. This season had a lot of the old jokes, old banter, and similar relationships.

Additionally, he gave Archer his agency back so that he’s more than a glorifies errand boy. And finally, this ending wasn’t nearly as anticlimactic as last season, and we actually got some intrigue right there at the end.

Nevertheless, with that said, this season was still a bit lacking for me. Don’t get me wrong, Archer: Danger Island is my second favorite reboot (right after Archer Vice), but they never address the Lana issue.

Lana had fewer lines than Cheryl and Malory. Hell, she had fewer lines than the parrot, and this sucks because Lana and her dynamics with Archer are a huge draw to this series for me.

The whole time Pam and Archer fight Fuchs, I just stared at Lana waiting for her to do something other than yell at Archer to do something. Especially when Fuchs ran out of ammo, Lana could’ve tried anything.

Her and Fuchs have a sexual past. She could’ve grabbed a bone and tried flirting with him and stabbed him in his other eye or something.

Honestly, anything would’ve done, but instead, Reed just stripped her of her badassery.

I’m upset and very pressed about this. Lana’s role has been disintegrating bit by bit in the last two seasons, and I’m over it. I realize Aisha Tyler is busy, but a few more lines wouldn’t have killed anyone and an action scene doesn’t require words anyway.

So why was Lana completely sidelined this season?

Not only is she an amazing heroine with the best dry sarcasm you can think of, she brings out the best side of Archer.

In just 22 minutes on the finale, Archer begins slipping into his old persona that makes jokes that aren’t mean, laughs more, and shows off by doing ridiculous things just to impress her.

Right before he dies, we get the old Archer personality that has been sorely missed for the last two seasons of Archer.

Archer needs more Lana — the show and the character. They’re soul mates; one just feels empty without the other.

Overall, I enjoyed this season of Archer: Danger Island. Although it doesn’t make it to the top list of Archer seasons, it’s definitely one I can rewatch later this year when my Archer cravings hit me in full force.

What did you think of Archer Season 9 Episode 8? Did you like this season? How would you rank the Archer seasons as of now? Share your thoughts in the comments below!

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Archer returns in 2019 on FXX.

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