Review: Archer ‘White Elephant’

Spoilers Below

Not only is this my first time reviewing a new episode of Archer, but it’s also my first time watching a new episode of Archer. I previously had an opportunity to see a new installment (in fact, it was a special advanced screening of this very episode at NY Comic Con) but at the time, I hadn’t seen more than a few minutes of Archer, and I sure as hell wasn’t going to start with the first episode of Season Five – a season that I had just found out while “interviewing” series creator Adam Reed, was to be drastically different than the previous four. So as the Geek Nerdingtons around me gawked at the giant screen above our heads, I bee-lined it to the closest beer vendor.

But now I finally watched it, and I know I’ve overused this cliché, but the episode & season really did start off with a bang! Okay, technically it began with a cheery and hilariously brilliant musical number – a phrase which I rarely (if ever) say – but that number ended with a bomb exploding, so the phrase fits.

Turns out, ISIS is not actually a legit spy organization, and the FBI conducted a violent raid on the offices with the whole gang inside. The only casualty was ISIS’ Brett Buckley, and let’s be honest: he was bound to eventually die via bullet. (Or as Archer said: “He died doing what he loved: getting shot.)

While being interrogated, most the ISIS employees sang like a mismatched crew of freakish canaries, but Lana & Sterling cleverly (and forcefully) escaped from detention, and sprang the rest of the gang.

However it didn’t matter, since Malory was already cutting a deal to free the whole group. Each character then mused about their potential fallback careers, when Sterling suddenly acknowledged the supposed elephant in the room by asking: “What are we going to do with literally – not figuratively – a ton of cocaine?”

The episode then ended with a preview montage of upcoming scenes from Season Five – and to be honest, I could’ve done without all the mini-spoilers. Oh well, we’ll all know the score soon enough.

So overall, this episode really had all the right ingredients. Let’s run down the list:

1) Guest voices? Check. Gary Cole played the head FBI agent, in a role that’s only the second most evil he’s ever been in an office.

2) Relatability? Well, I kind of sympathize with Krieger’s anxious attempt to clear his computer’s browser history before being arrested. Don’t judge.

3) Archer pissing off Lana? Yep, and apparently she has a weird-looking va-jay-jay.

4) Archer pissing off Cyril? Like when Sterling told his mother to give Cyril a bad future job reference – in front of him.

5) Muppets jokes? It’s Dr. Bunsen Honeydew, Mr. Archer, and I would expect you to remember a fact like that.

6) Lana pregnancy gags? Rule one of gun safety: NEVER point a gun at anything you don’t want to shoot.

All laughs aside, the most important part of this episode was the tone it set for the rest of the season. The premiere clearly showed that the series is taking a different angle, throwing the whole ISIS plotline (you know, that thing Archer as we know it was founded upon) off a building, and trying something totally different. And this is in the prime of the show! I can already here low rumbles of viewers on the Interweb rambling and calling for Adam Reed to be more committed – not to the original story, but to an insane asylum for taking such a ridiculous risk. Yes, there’s no doubt that some die-hard fans will lament these changes, or the simple fact that plot & story will most likely become a bigger part of the show (or as John Blabber put it, “going the Breaking Bad route”) – but who are we to say what decisions show creators should make? Or what will or won’t work out? We are but mere mortals. And besides, be it Breaking Bad, Weeds, We’re the Miller, or whatever – it’s a known fact that the idea of selling drugs (which the Archer gang is clearly gearing up to do) is humorous and entertaining in all cases. Well, except if that case is your real life. Then it can be kind of dicey.

Obviously we won’t actually find out if this new Archer succeeds until we simply let time tell us. The series could reach a level higher than any potential we ever imagined, or fall on its face. Regardless, at this point it’s hard to deny: this show has BALLS.