Review: Archer Vice ‘House Call’

Spoilers Below:

As recently as last year, if I were to begin a description of an Archer episode with, “They never go outside…” it wouldn’t matter what followed; Archer has always been a show where the zanier the adventure, the bigger the laughs. The characters frequently jetted off to places like Russia (or is it the Soviet Union?), Monte Carlo, Morocco, up in space, or under the sea, not only because it was pertinent to the plot, but because that’s what happens in shows & films about secret agents.

However, creator Adam Reed said nuts to all of that when he began the fifth season by turning the ISIS staff into drug dealers. So why not keep them shut inside a big mansion, throw an FBI agent into the mix, and make them run around trying to hide their ginormous stash? Alright, maybe there’s was a bit more to it than that. Let me explain.

The episode began with the usual recap (usual for the recent episodes, at least.) From the original 1,000 kilos (a.k.a. one metric tonne, because, as the episode repeatedly points out, the metric system is something everyone in the world uses – save Liberia, Burma, and the United States) there is only 125 kilos remaining. Correctly identifying that Pam is the biggest threat to the remaining supply, the others attempted an intervention with her, before Woodhouse – who was NOT trapped for once – knocked her out with a frying pan and tied her up.

Krieger proposed using his “new and improved mind-control chip” to curb Pam’s habit, or possibly turn her into lettuce like Len Trexler (Season 2, Episode 2: “A Going Concern.”) Malory also floated the idea of using the chip to cure Cheryl’s stage fright and make her a (hopefully profitable) country music star.

In the middle of all this, and just after Pam broke free and escaped somewhere in the house, Special Agent in Charge Holly (Gary Cole returning to guest voice) showed up, clearly knowing a lot about what the gang has been up to.

After everyone split up, Archer overheard Lana discussing her options at this point, including turning informant and testifying against her friends, as well as getting thrown in prison and giving birth to her baby there. Archer quickly eliminated the latter choice when he claimed babies born in prison are taken away from their mothers so quickly that “they don’t even dry them off!” and encouraged Lana to run. She refused, despite currently residing in the same room as the cocaine. Luckily, a well-placed revolving wall took care of Coke Mountain just in time for Agent Holly’s arrival.

Meanwhile, Ron Cadillac walked out (or hobbled out, since he was recently shot) on Malory after seeing her fondly recalling Len Trexler.

When the dust settled, there was still a decision to be made about the microchip, which I can’t phrase any better than Cyril himself: “I guess we have to decide if we want regular lame Cheryl and a Pam who’s not going to overdose on cocaine and die, or potentially-famous country singer Cheryl and a Pam who…tits.” Spoiler: They picked Cheryl.

Maybe it was the illness I’m getting over, or the Maker’s Mark I’ve been self-medicating with, but the jokes flew so rapidly and frequently last night that a second viewing was absolutely essential. From the early back-and-forth about units of measurement and currency, to Archer’s various comments & actions regarding cocaine/yogurt (“Oh, my God – and little kids eat it?!”) to the ongoing listing of fetish porn (I counted at least tit bondage, GILF, and preggo porn) this episode had barely a single lull in laughs. Sure, there were a couple moments of sincerity – like Lana and Archer’s conversation toward the end regarding her future – but even that exchange involved multiple uses of the terms “blowjob” and “rimjob,” so how serious could it really have been?

And in case you missed it:

1) Anyone notice Krieger’s first reaction to Pam breaking from her bondage was to film it with his iPhone?

2) Three, count ‘em, three of the people shot with tranquilizer darts enjoyed it: Malory, Woodhouse, and Cheryl.

3) Archer referred to using the metric system as living in “Nazi Canada.”

4) Cyril provided yet another bit of actual, useful law advice – this time regarding illegal search & seizure.

5) Agent Holly referred to Woodhouse as “Yoda’s Dad.”

6) Have they actually not been doing phrasing jokes?

7) We should expect to see Gillette walking soon, as, according to Krieger, the fix to his paraplegia is as easy as a CPU reboot.

8) Claiming Myrtle Beach “actually is not the best,” is the understatement of the season.

9) Secret passages are still kick-ass.

The fact that all this praise came from an episode with less outside character influence than the movie Clue (Oh man, how good is Clue?) is quite admirable. Not only did Archer already ditch the previous, wildly-successful blueprint, but even within this new angle is finding ways to repeatedly re-invent itself. And sometimes re-inventing itself can mean a change so simple that it’s almost not a change at all – like suddenly limiting the setting to one house and not introducing a single new character (and using only one non-regular). The show has come a long way from being about, in the words of Malory, “gallivanting around under the pretense of work just to visit the flesh-pots of the world.”

And hey, for those fans wishing for a return to the old ways: who knows, they were also just talking about reconnecting with old contacts around the world to move the blow. In the meantime, no one can fault the show for being just as funny, entertaining, and witty as it’s always been – even when the setting didn’t change once.

And besides, you could clearly see through the mansion windows that it was raining. Who would want to go outside in that?