Review: Archer “Robot Factory”

Overview:

Archer has had to face a lot of changes and hurdles during his time back with the Agency, but he encounters his biggest struggle yet as he’s forced to work alongside his greatest rival, Barry. However, just like how Archer has gone through a lot during his three years in a coma, so too has Barry. Archer is in no hurry to trust this robot from his past, but when the threat at hand revolves around an army of evil Barrys who are set on enslaving the world and turning the population into even more evil Barrys, Archer must choose the lesser of two evils and try to fight his gut instinct.

And does Archer get a new valet? Maybe!

Our Take:

This season of Archer has been exciting purely on a production level due to the new assortment of writers that have been brought into the fold. Some of the previous talent that have penned episodes this season have written on the more recent seasons of the show, but “Robot Factory” is Matt Roller’s first script for Archer and he brings with him a good deal of pedigree having previously written on both Community and Rick and Morty. These influences are definitely present in Roller’s Archer script, which is easily the biggest episode of the season so far and a loving tribute to apocalypse films along the lines of The Terminator. This of course means that it’s time for more Barry, baby!

The supporting cast gets a lot of good laughs in this episode (the twisted massacre stories from Cheryl’s childhood are brief, but incredible). There’s a clever running joke over the most efficient way to non-lethally neutralize enemies and the many different methods and problems with them all. This discussion of spy mission minutiae is in itself entertaining, but the fact that it’s also able to lead to one guard who consistently escapes from Cyril so he needs to keep catching him is a smart source of levity through the episode. On that note, as much as this season of Archer has focused on Archer’s complacency and inability to feel useful, it’s also juxtaposed this with the legitimate growth that Cyril has experienced.

One of the biggest hurdles that “Robot Factory” faces is where it leaves Archer’s relationship with Barry, but the episode’s conclusion is genuinely emotional and I couldn’t have been happier with the direction that it takes. The way in which Archer serenades Barry with the same Mexican lullaby that he sang to him during his stretch in a coma makes for a beautiful conclusion to this story. At the same time, “Robot Factory” tries to have its cake and eat it too with how it ultimately allows Barry to survive. Hopefully this will lead to more missions where Barry’s allowed to tag along rather than this ending just being a way for Archer to keep its options open in the future, especially if that means that Archer and Barry can tag-team Lana (phrasing).

The conclusion to “Robot Factory” is also still a better ending than if Lana or Archer had blown up Barry through a double-cross and reduced the character to more cannon fodder. In fact, Lana’s ease with this decision does show how she’s become somewhat more detached during these past years. Archer’s decision to not betray Barry is perhaps the biggest sign of growth that he’s shown all season. “Robot Factory” embraces that decision rather than try to erase it.

“Robot Factory” amounts to a cathartic and emotional episode of Archer that’s just as bonkers as it is poignant. It finds a creative way to bring back one of the series’ best supporting characters and actually hints towards some exciting developments in the future. This season remains very focused on change and growth, but this installment explores these ideas in its most challenging way yet as Archer is forced to confront both his metaphorical and physical demons. “Robot Factory” takes Archer on a journey that’s not easy for him, but like with each episode this season, Archer gains a little more of his soul and incrementally improves himself by the end of the episode. Growth isn’t easy, but Archer is getting there, one limping step at a time.