Review: Archer “Saturday”

Overview:

A lazy Saturday quickly transforms into a life-or-death mommy-daughter bonding session as Lana finds a volatile IIA mission interrupting her peaceful time with A.J. Lana attempts to juggle these many balls (phrasing) while A.J. effortlessly catches whatever’s thrown at her and Sterling helps punctuate the suffocating echo chamber of doubt that hangs over this frazzled family play date.

Our Take: 

It’s kind of remarkable that Lana Kane becomes a mother all the way back in the season five finale, “Arrival/Departure” and she’s technically been a parent for more of Archer than she hasn’t, if not for the many “coma seasons.” Despite the lengthy span of time that Lana’s had a child to look after in Archer, there have been remarkably few episodes that actually focus on A.J., let alone the difficulties that Lana (or Sterling) faces as the demanding responsibilities of espionage work clashes with the tender intimacy of healthy parenting. The forever skewed mother-daughter dynamic that existed between Malory and Sterling is proof of what can happen when these separate worlds aren’t properly compartmentalized, but Archer has kept Lana’s abilities as a guardian under much heavier lock and key. “Saturday,” an episode that finally allows Lana’s expertise as a spy and naivety as a parent to collide, is a brilliant concept for an episode that’s a long overdue change of pace for the series.

“Saturday” is exactly the type of story that Archer should have been exploring the moment that Lana first gave birth to A.J. The idea that Lana struggles to balance these separate realms and that she’s much more comfortable in life-or-death scenarios where the fate of the free world is at stake then she is on diaper duty or having a frank discussion about the birds and the bees. In this sense, the parental exercise that plays out for both Lana and Sterling in “Saturday” is hardly a revelatory concept, but it’s something that the characters have actively avoided and almost hoped that everyone else–or the audience–will fall into a similar oblivious complacency. Archer effectively looks at how Lana and Sterling–but mostly Lana–struggle to reconcile their personal and professional lives on what’s supposed to be a relaxing day off. 

Archer operated for a decade with Adam Reed as its head–and often sole–writer, which has led to some exciting opportunities for new voices during the past few seasons. “Saturday” is penned by Asha Michelle Wilson, who’s still a relatively recent addition to the series’ writing staff, having only previously penned Season 12’s “Photo Op,” another episode with a heavy emphasis on family. Despite Wilson’s shorter tenure on the series, she delivers an exceptional script that’s full of life and love for the characters. The episode makes heavy use of cutaway reveals, more so than other episodes and it actually harkens back to the humor from the show’s earliest seasons. Cutaways can be a crutch or needlessly gratuitous, but they’re well-executed in “Saturday” and used as ways to maximize the amount of comedy in the episode rather than a lazy punchline. All of this amounts to an episode that’s fun, natural, makes great use of all of Archer’s characters, yet still has a sense of stakes behind it all.

The moments in Archer where Sterling gets to impact sincere wisdom, let alone guidance that reflects emotional depth, are few and far between and one of the greatest reflections of just how far he’s come since exiting his coma. Lana’s larger worries about the overly demanding nature of her job are also completely valid and a worthwhile concern for “Saturday” to address. This single incident is really emblematic of a larger problem, which Sterling, and slowly Lana, eventually understand. Finally, “Saturday” speaks to the unity of the Archer/Kana family unit, but some of the episode’s most endearing sequences involve Pam’s time with the young kid. It’s shocking how much character development this episode accomplishes in a short span of time and when A.J. shouts out “Aunt Pammy” in Pam’s direction it actually means something and is genuinely sweet. That’s no small task, especially in a show that can be as sarcastic as Archer.

“Saturday” is a breath of fresh air from Archer that’s not just the strongest episode of the season, but one of the best installments in a very long time. Archer’s 13th season has shown remarkable signs of recovery and assurance after a so-so premiere and it’s consistently comforting to see what directions these new episodes go down. “Saturday” is a triumph in character development and emotional storytelling, but it still excels at the same sarcastic, bawdy, action-filled version of the series that keeps audiences coming back for more. Archer may still be a long way away from making A.J. a permanent part of the cast or a regular fixture at The Agency, but “Saturday” is proof that this wouldn’t be a disappointing development for the spy series.