Review: Archer: 1999 “Dining With the Zarglorp”
Archer is in the belly of the beast now
Overview:
The crew and their ship has been swallowed whole by a giant space monster, all except for Cheryl who maintains her own space fighter. Lost inside the space beasts belly, the crew comes across a lost traveler. This lost captain, Glenda, begins to brainwash Cyril that he should commit suicide so that the survivors can eat them.
Meanwhile, Mother connects with Cheryl on the outside and requests her help. Unfortunately, Cheryl seems content to fly away and start a new life. It is up to the crew to find their own way out of the monsters digestive track. Utilizing the other abandoned ship, Glenda makes the sacrifice to allow Archer’s team to escape.
Our Take:
Honestly, how could you take all of these wonderful characters, place them in an intergalactic spaceship, and not have them be eaten by a giant space monster? It just had to happen. If this season offers nothing more than a checklist for all of the science fiction clichés, then I’m okay with it. And, on board. The beginning of this episode has our heroes facing a massive space squid, like a Guardians of the Galaxy movie, what more could you really ask for? How about a stranded spaceship captain that has lost their minds? Yeah, they squeeze a lot into this one.
Additionally, thus far this year, we have been establishing this new timeline and the roles that each member of the crew plays. Because of this, Archer himself has taken a backseat from driving the show. Well, in this episode, Archer is back in full-form becoming the central star once again. And, it becomes so evident how vital H. Jon Benjamin is to this show. His humour and delivery are unmatched, and he delivers some of the best lines he’s had yet this year when taking charge in these events.
Jillian Bell guest stars as the abandoned Captain Glenda. She delivers a strong performance seemingly out of nowhere. The unsuspecting character comes in with an attitude and mystery that doesn’t give many hints as to what her motives are (even though the clichés already kind of spoil it). The way that she manipulates Cyril is hilarious considering the latter’s character traits. But, by the end, she manages to redeem herself, giving her a complete arc. Needless to say, she was a delight to see on the show.
It seems like the themed Archer: 1999 season continues to get better each week. The more we have established, the more the humour begins to fly. The last two episodes have stood firm beside some of the classic Archer seasons. There are still so many places that Archer and crew could go with this space theme that we haven’t even reached the peak of where this season will go. But, this was a well-rounded episode that had a solid plot and theme matched with a substantial amount of humour. What more could you need?
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