Archer Review: Comparative Wickedness of Civilized and Unenlightened Peoples (Season 9 Episode 7)

On Archer Season 9 Episode 7, Archer, the cannibals, and the OG crew keep Fuchs and the gun-happy Germans from avenging their eaten comrade by killing all of the soldiers using an ingenious plan and lady luck.

Sadly, Fuchs didn’t die. However, the good side of him being alive means that we can expect him to come and attack everyone all coke strong with a huge fighter robot at his disposal.

So, in related news, someone’s going to die in the finale. You know, in addition to Fuchs, who will most likely die a slow death, regardless.

Was this episode satisfying to you guys?

I’ve been begging for more action scenes since season 9 began; however, I didn’t mean at the expense of a narrative.

Narratively, only one thing happened in this episode — Fuchs no longer has an army at his disposal. That’s it.

Archer took 22 minutes to tell a story that could’ve been told in 10 or less, and it seems like every other episode has been filled with filler like this one.

During the first episode, we spent the whole time getting introduced to the characters. On episode 3, we watched them spend 22 minutes showing Pam and Archer break into an apartment with no security to copy a map.

On episode 5, we suffered through an entire episode of Pam and Archer bickering. And lastly, in this episode, they have one big battle.

Although I like the pacing and consistency, when you only have 8 episodes in 1 season, it seems like a waste of time to include half a season of filler.

Someone could easily make the argument that most of the Archer episodes are filler. The main draws to this show have always been the quick wit, the sexual tension between Lana and Archer, Archer’s charisma, and the action.

Nevertheless, that doesn’t seem to be enough anymore, or maybe, it’s no longer enough paired with the changes Reed keeps making to the characters and their surroundings.

Something has been missing from Archer ever since Archer Vice, and I can’t quite put my finger on it. This season seemed so promising, and although, I am enjoying this season much more than season 8, it’s still not the same.

That doesn’t necessarily mean the episode wasn’t good. I still enjoyed it.

The animation was spectacular, as always, and the Malory moments were worth waiting for (oh, how I love that woman).

Additionally, watching Archer actually be successful at something is incredibly refreshing. As I explain in my review of Archer Season 9 Episode 4, a big difference between Danger Island Archer and the old Archer we’ve come to love is that Danger Island Archer is actually incompetent.

Spy Archer wasn’t incompetent; he was just lazy.

So, it was fun to watch him put in a minimal amount of effort and still run circles around everyone at the agency. Because of this, I loved that Archer’s plan worked out spectacularly.

Although Archer didn’t have much at his disposal, he used the little he had, created a plan, and like always — everything worked out in the end.

We got to see Danger Island Archer become excited and be happy. I didn’t realize how much I missed Archer’s enthusiasm until this episode.

In total, we got action, happy Archer, and amazing animation during this episode. That’s substantially more than we’ve gotten in previous ones, so paint me as a happy girl.

The only things that would’ve made this good episode better are more Lana and an episodic narrative. However, as it stands now, it’s still moderately high on the list of good season 9 episodes.

Archer Self-Referential Allusions:

• Cyril’s Season 3 Space Race: Part II fighter robot that Barry uses to entice Archer to fight him
• Cheryl letting her “queen” role get to her head as we also see in Space Race: Part II
• Coke strong Fuchs with the crazy eyes that we see on coke strong Pam on Season 5 Episodes 2-5 of Archer Vice

What did you think of Archer Season 9 Episode 7? What were your favorite parts? Share your thoughts in the comments below!

Reviewer Rating:

User Rating:

 

Archer airs Wednesdays at 10/9c on FXX.

Follow us on Twitter @telltaleTV_

Want more from Tell-Tale TV? Subscribe to our newsletter here!