Review: Archer “The Figgis Agency”

In “The Figgis Agency” the gang opens their own private investigation company under Cyril’s name. Their first case is to break into a mansion to help repair the honor of a Hollywood starlet.

This was a pretty good season premiere for Archer. It certainly falls short of being the best, but one of the highlights of the episode is that despite all of the changes over the seasons, this really feels like they’re going back to basics. The life of crime is over, they aren’t working under the shoe o the CIA, they are finally operating by themselves again. They call the shots once again.

While they kicked off the episode showing that they are private investigators, it didn’t take them long for the episode take a turn into familiar territory. The entire breach on the mansion felt like more secret agent stuff. You can take this as a positive or a negative. On one hand it’s giving us what we know. The characters have been secret agents first and foremost throughout the entire series. That is their skillset, so they would obviously approach their cases in a similar fashion.

On the other hand it could just come across as lazy. When they were presented as private investigators, I was under the impression they would be doing a lot more investigating with less emphasis on the action. This wasn’t the case. They questioned their client for a few minutes and went off to complete their mission.

As far as the characters go, it feels like nothing has changed. The banter between the characters that the show is famous for is as strong as ever. The dialogue is absolutely hilarious. The fine balance between appreciation and disdain between all of these characters helps make any situation and interaction feel natural.

The story itself was really only an introduction for what’s to come this season. In other words, it was lacking. We didn’t really get to know the villain or his motives and there is a cliff-hanger/plot twist ending that has me intrigued for the next episode. We also don’t really have a solid pick-up point from last season. It’s been so long since season six, I sort of forgot what happened to get us to where we are now. So I’ll have to revisit the last few episodes to get some clarity on some details.

Overall, I think this was a very solid return for the show. Despite a couple of flaws, I still had a lot of fun hanging out with these characters again. They’re like a giant dysfunctional family just waiting to blow up (maybe literally). Personally, I don’t think we’ve seen the best days of Archer yet. Season seven is pretty late into any show’s run but it seems that we’re in for yet another hilarious season. Hopefully you join us every week and chime in with your thoughts on the episode. Let me know if you agree or disagree with me. Most of all, have fun with this season! Unlike most animated shows, Archer doesn’t go for over twenty episodes. The seasons are short and sweet and they’re gone before you know it. We’re off to a good start, can’t wait for next week.