Review: Archer “Deadly Velvet: Part I”

We’re in the home stretch of season seven of Archer. This season has flown by so quickly, it’s hard to believe that next week is the finale. Alas, that’s how these ten episode seasons tend to feel. Quality over quantity though, right? So the final two episodes are a two-part story. Much like the Bel Panto two part story earlier this season, the first of the Deadly Velvet story is really just setting up the dominoes. Set up the mystery, leave us a cliff hanger, pay it off in the epic conclusion. So was the first part of the Deadly Velvet story worth checking out? Read on to find out!

Spoilers Below

In “Deadly Velvet: Part I” a film director hires Archer and the gang to investigate activity on the set of his new movie.

Like I mentioned above, this episode is set up for what’s to come next week. Take that as a negative or as a positive at your own discretion. In a show like Archer where most of the entertainment stems from the interactions between the characters, set up episodes aren’t as annoying. But as far as the story goes, it was pretty weak this episode. It was just the gang being their usual selves, just on a film set. We find a few clues along the way that might indicate what is really going on, but that’s all.

Archer finally gets his wish of hooking up with the actress, Veronica Deane. This causes even more rifts in his relationship with Lana, which is supposedly on a break. As the episode ends, we learn that the director of the film had been murdered and the editing seems to indicate that it was Veronica who is responsible. Tune in next week to see if that’s the case.

The writing and pacing of the episode was great in this episode. Plenty of hilarious moments, but it knew when it needed to throw in a little something to keep the story focused on getting where it needed to be.

Overall, this was a good episode. It didn’t tell the most compelling story but if you’re just a fan of these characters and their antics, you’ll have a great time. Nobody is left behind at HQ this week, so everybody gets to join in on the investigation, at least a little bit. While this episode doesn’t stand very well on it’s own, it does start what could be a very strong two part story. If the payoff is good, it only helps this episode as well.

Next week is the finale, so be ready for something crazy! See you all then!