Review: Archer “Colt Express”

Overview:

Archer and the rest of The Agency team find themselves on borrowed time as Fabian and IIA forces get ever closer to changing the state of the free world. Archer’s mission is clear, but he struggles to act when a crucial ingredient to their success remains tied to an unreliable figure with an especially spotty memory. The Agency and IIA both race forward, with collision imminent, while Sterling, Lana, and Krieger all try to stay on task without their personal lives sending them down individual tailspins and global destruction.

Our Take:

Archer is a series that’s no stranger to radical “mad science” and storylines that may spit in the face of logic, but amount to incredibly entertaining half-hours of television. The series has established a progressively loose baseline where insane ideas are celebrated more than they’re chastised. Accordingly, it’s nothing new for the series when Archer’s “Colt Express” begins in a “pretty mad scientist-y” manner when Sterling volunteers for Krieger’s latest questionable experiment, which in this case entails going into a scientist’s brain all Inception style. 

Archer engages in all of the pomp and circumstance for this premise, which turns out to just be extensive misdirect when Krieger’s mad science doesn’t work. Granted, it pulls Eric Andre’s scientist out of his coma, but it doesn’t kickstart the fantastical adventure that it teases. This is the right level of playfulness to have during the season’s final episodes, especially when the “normal” seasons have still done Fantastic Voyage riffs and other broader storylines that feel aligned with this false flag. What actually follows is considerably more grounded and there’s zero brainjacking to be had, but it’s still a very strong episode that continues to deconstruct these characters in mature, overdue ways.

“Colt Express” is a fast-paced episode, but it’s still able to have some more reckless fun before it starts to get moving. Eric Andre’s scientist character–maybe Colt–needs to regain his memories to help solve this international problem. There’s a ludicrous proposal to put “Colt” back into a coma as a way to re-trigger his memories, like it’s a series of successive knocks to the heads from coconuts on Gilligan’s Island. It’s a plan that’s incredibly Krieger in nature and a prime example of how he’s the living, breathing embodiment of “it’s crazy enough to work.’ Coma or no coma, Colt’s secret-filled lobes reveal a veritable doomsday device that takes him and the rest of The Agency team all of the way to IIA headquarters in Singapore as they prepare to descend into the belly of the beast.

Some of the highest stakes that the Archer team have ever faced are present in “Colt Express,” but thankfully the episode doesn’t erase the emotional drama that’s been brewing throughout the past few episodes. It’s become standard for each episode to at least feature a little of Lana and Robert’s stilted awkwardness. Sterling decides that it’s time for Lana to properly acknowledge this, which blossoms into a really tender sequence. It’s so sweet that Archer has evolved to a point where Lana can earnestly open up about relationship problems with both Sterling and Cyril, who may still be slightly petty, but can mostly approach the situation as adults and not just as some sex appeal competition. 

The majority of episodes from Archer’s 12th season have featured turbulent action scenes in their final acts, but “Colt Express” assembles a whole team of assassins, Diamond Force, to take out IIA’s trash. This culminates in one of the more chaotic and well-orchestrated chase sequences and shoot outs from the season. The weight of Diamond Force is appropriately felt, but at the same time it wouldn’t have hurt to introduce this danger earlier. Eight episodes isn’t a long season, and Archer hasn’t exactly wasted its time this year, but a few more episodes where Archer and company feel the pressure from being hunted could have resulted in a more suspenseful second half to the season.

“Colt Express” never stops moving and it’s the right type of episode to lead into this season’s finale. It continues this season’s explosive missions from around the world and gradually collects all of the personal trauma that’s impeded these characters for the entire season. “Colt Express” is at its best when it focuses on its characters, rather than the mission, but it still sets up a massive spy showdown finale that may flip this dynamic. If there’s no residual fallout from Diamond Force then there will at least be some from Fabian and the IIA. “Colt Express” may not be perfect, but as Krieger is known to scream in delight, “It’s working!”, and that’s the right energy to have as the season heads into its finale next week.