Review: Archer “Mission: Difficult”

Overview:

The members of The Agency find themselves in unprecedented parallel as their war with Fabian and the IIA reaches its climax. Separated from the rest of his team, Sterling fights for both his own survival and the well being of an old friend who’s currently not acting like himself. Archer searches for solutions of an emotional nature as the rest of Agency risks life and limb to protect the world and cripple IIA’s master plan.

Our Take:

The season finales on Archer are typically occasions for especially heightened exercises in the action genre. The series’ respective finales haven’t been afraid to push both the characters and the fate of the world into peril, with season 11’s finale going the furthest in this regard in terms of the scope of the danger that Sterling is tasked with extinguishing. The start of this season expressly addresses the growing pains of The Agency after accomplishing such a milestone, yet the team find themselves in an equally volatile position in “Mission: Difficult.” The fallout of “Colt Express” threatens to trigger fallout of a much more dangerous and nuclear nature when the best agents of Agency and IIA, plus a cyborg psycho, all fight over a very important memory stick. It’s an episode with a direct goal, yet it presents constant obstacles to wade through, which allows this finale to prioritize giant action spectacles and cathartic character development as it closes out its year in an incredibly satisfying, mature manner.

There’s been a vein of serialization throughout this entire season of Archer, but it’s rare that there’s as direct of a cliffhanger as what occurs during the final moments of the previous installment, “Colt Express.” Each season tries to reserve the return of Barry for one of their bigger episodes and this season patiently waits until its big finish to return to this satisfying territory. It’s initially a bit of a disappointment that all of the character development that the cocky cyborg experienced back in season 11 is erased (don’t attempt to jailbreak your cyborgs at home, kids), but Sterling’s struggle to repress Other Barry becomes the emotional crux of the episode. This is easily one of the series’ most elaborate episodes and there are no shortages of explosions that occur, but these millions of dollars’ worth of destruction pale in comparison to how Archer just wants to recover a lost friendship. In a season where he’s often felt more disconnected from his spy companions, Sterling’s desire for a real friend is seriously sweet. 

Sterling has arguably received more brutal beatdowns than what he experiences courtesy of Other Barry and Fabian, but it’s the psychological damage that leaves him vulnerable during the apex of this mission. The typical hero of the series is turned into a bargaining chip to avoid nuclear devastation. It’s an effective way to have all of these characters working towards the same goal, but in very different ways. Sterling is front and center in “Mission: Difficult,” but the best part of this episode is the way in which it allows all of The Agency to work together and prove their worth, as individuals and as a team. More ancillary characters like Cheryl get their due and suddenly her wild card passion for chaos is harnessed into a superpower for the situation at hand. Even Krieger gets to experience a moment of emotional clarity when he loses his other half, Eric Andre’s scientist Jeremy, who could have easily fit in as a permanent friend for the oddball in season 13.

Archer can sometimes be a little more sly when it comes to what’s on tap for next season and with the recent announcement of the show’s season 13 renewal it’s a guarantee that more Agency antics are on the way. A general framework for what this next season might look like is teased with The Agency’s buyout by IIA and how Fabian, former foe, now appears to be their boss. There’s enough history there to give what’s to come a unique flavor as the group attempts to trust this powerful interloper. There’s also arguably never been a better time to return to the longstanding mystery of the identity of Sterling’s father, now that his mother is absent. It’s almost as if all of the moments from the finale where the mysterious mover character aids Archer are setup for him to return to Sterling’s life in this expanded capacity.

Naturally, one of the major questions that’s on the audience’s mind during this finale is how it’s going to handle the unfortunate situation of Jessica Walter’s passing. The episode seems to tease this anxiety on some level as characters frequently check in regarding Malory’s absence and it feels like a shell game of what’s going to be her fate. In the end, “Mission: Difficult” makes the best decision on this front and the final minutes of the season become an extremely respectful tribute to Malory saying goodbye. It’s such a warm decision to send her character off in an optimistic way (with Ron Cadillac no less, preserving Walter and her real-life husband, Ron Leibman in this state of animated bliss). It eternally leaves Malory in a state of uninterrupted peace and happiness, rather than an exit that’s centered around her death or a sloppy absence that’s not properly explained. The breadcrumbs for this exit are peppered throughout the season in a subtle manner. It’s a bittersweet goodbye due to Walter’s posthumous performance, but Archer has always been about laughter, not sadness, and Malory’s exit celebrates that. Duchess, like all of us, will learn to go on without her. 

Expand or die, after all.