Review: Archer “Plaque Removal”

Overview:

A trip to the other side of the pond pits The Agency team against a notorious art smuggler who sets his sights on a certain priceless artifact whose cultural significance comes only second to the supposed curse that accompanies the relic. Lana has her own ulterior motives for why she wants The Agency to pull off this mission, which should be business as usual for the spy organization because there’s no such thing as curses…Right? 

And The Agency asks the age-old question: Is it okay to fight/kill a child?

Our Take:

Who are the good guys and when is it okay to compromise one’s values for a “greater good?” This is a fundamental question that’s frequently being asked in spy stories, but it’s ostensibly been the thesis for Archer’s past three seasons. Sterling, Lana, and the rest of The Agency team have accomplished some of their greatest milestones during the past few years, yet these victories have consistently been steeped in a certain suspicious melancholy where Archer and company don’t truly know who calls the shots. There was some plausible deniability in the past when Malory was the one signing the checks, but Lana’s new role in charge reopens old wounds and examines if they ever really healed in the first place.  “Plaque Removal” is an entertaining analysis of this long-standing question that grows even stronger by tying it together to an excellent Indiana Jones parody.

“Plaque Removal” sets up The Agency for what seems like a fairly simple gig that should be an easy opportunity for them to flex their credibility, make some easy cash, get A.J. into a prestigious prep school, and prove that they are the good guys in the spy world. A British museum entrusts The Agency to protect a golden plaque that’s prone to theft, but it’s a potential curse that has the team–well, really just Sterling–more concerned. There are a lot of angles that “Plaque Removal” could go down and for a minute it seems like this could be an Archer episode that dips its toe in arcane rituals and dark arts. “Plaque Removal” keeps the audience guessing as to whether this is just cryptic apocrypha or if there’s proof of a paranormal presence that defies explanation

This season has struggled to reconcile Agency’s field agents and homebodies, which is increasingly apparent in “Plaque Removal.” This episode at least acknowledges this tension and gives the HR crew plenty to do, but it’s all fluff in comparison to Archer, Lana, and Zara’s material. There’s not even much of a resolution to the storyline other than the characters agreeing to disagree on this company-wide malfeasance. It’s not a bad idea to engage in such a story, especially in a farewell season that seems to be interested in holding parallels up to the show’s freshman year (Hello Beauregard!), but it has to be in service of something other than empty nostalgia. 

Archer is doing what it should by not simply ignoring these characters, but episodes like “Plaque Removal”–and this season as a whole–highlight the perils of Archer’s fairly large cast and how many of them are often left with nothing to do other than get some easy jabs in on Cyril. It should be interesting to see how the rest of this season handles Cyril, Pam, Cheryl, and Krieger. As it stands, they feel like relics of a lost series–not unlike the gold plaques that the Agency and Ibadan Jones are after–that are still entertaining, but don’t necessarily fit. Phrasing.

Archer’s action sequences have properly evolved from silly satires to genuinely skillful setpieces that can hold their own with the genre’s finest. There’s an effective action sequence early on in “Plaque Removal” that begins with Zara and Lana on motorcycles and concludes with them, plus Serling, apprehending smugglers on the top of a moving truck that all plays against an enchanting moonlit night. There’s one shot later on where Archer tries to stop Ibadan and Half Pint as they’re boarding a cargo ship, Sterling’s arm entwined with Ibadan’s bolo, all of which is illuminated under a vivid full moon. It’s an absolutely gorgeous visual that genuinely feels like cinematography from an early Indiana Jones film. It’s easy to miss, but it once again speaks to the meticulous artistry or Archer’s animation department and how they’re trying harder than ever 14 seasons in. 

“Plaque Removal” is an Archer episode with a lot to say, while it tells a story that’s able to properly take advantage of it being the series’ final season. This plot wouldn’t be unsuccessful in earlier Archer, particularly the start of the show’s run, but as much as it tackles broad action-adventure blockbuster parodies and hypothetical curses, it’s really a meditation on morality and responsibility. These are topics that Sterling and Lana would have snidely ignored during Archer’s start, but they connect with a tactile intensity now that these individuals are a little longer in the tooth and ready to consider their grander legacies. “Plaque Removal” still feels slightly lost between Archer’s two extremes of reinvention and regression. However, there are solid laughs, suspenseful action sequences, and effortless dialogue that makes this farewell season a curious joy rather than feeling like compulsory human relations paperwork. 

And yes, you can laugh and cough up blood at the same time.