![]() ![]() Also, just as Will Shakespeare employed doubles and mistaken identities, so did Archer include villains disguised as Canadian Mounties at the same time that the actual Mounties appeared. As in the Bard’s yukfest The Comedy of Errors, if something could make the situation in “The Limited” any funnier, then that something happened: there is an ocelot loose, the train will not slow down because Cheryl’s family owns the train and she wants to break the travel time record, a Nova Scotian separatist movement exists, etc. “The Limited” – the wildest, fastest, most hilarious, most joke-filled, most hilarious, and best episode of Archer’s third season – was practically Shakespearean in its comedy. Season Analysis: Brought to life by one of the most – if not the most – talented voice casts in the business, Archer is a truly unique animated vision, thanks a great deal to its retro vibe, which seems almost accidental, yet also integral. There’s the classic duo of Sterling and Lana (which leads to Archer sarcastically that he sarcastically climbed the building that Lana was scaling just so that he could find out how much her bonus was worth), and Pam and Cheryl stick themselves into Cyril’s situation, which is perfect, because Cyril is easily egged on and Pam knows how to egg him on (leading to such exchanges as “They are on a mission.” “-ary position!”). Honestly, any character combination on Archer is electric, but those of “The Honeymooners” were especially so, at least for this instance. ![]() So, “The Honeymooners” worked particularly well because it teamed up its characters in ways that are particularly electric. The plots are usually beside the point they’re just settings for the ISIS crew to have conversations that are infuriating for them and delightful for us. I am tempted to just list the best quotes I wrote down while watching this episode of Archer, because it is the hilarious banter that makes the show what it is. But the lack of significance thing, I’m sticking with that. And that bit about not laughing as much – turns out, that may or may not be true. And looking over the grades I gave to the episodes this season, I’m not really sure what the hell I’m talking about when I say I didn’t like it. ![]() But the decrease in laughs comment is significant, since Archer is so much about the construction of comedy, and I was not as impressed with that construction this year. I generally do not like that line of criticism, because it is about as subjective as one can get it, so I will also say that this season did not feel as significant as the last one. Season Analysis: I did not laugh as much during Season 4 of Archer as I did during Season 3. The slow fade out of the sound as he struggled to process the news was audiovisual storytelling at its finest. Then there was the surprisingly affecting final scene, in which Lana introduced Sterling to his daughter. There was a bit of a deus ex machina feel to the machinations, but they were as narratively justified as they needed to be. The actual events at San Marcos seemed like they would have little long-term bearing (beyond the psychological effects), and that wasn’t because what had happened was going to be ignored but because everything was dealt with as it needed to be. It was like a real-life dream (or nightmare) that the ISIS crew actually lived through, as everything essentially reset at the end. But as all the pieces came together in the season finale, and it was clear that this year had been designed by creator Adam Reed and his team like clockwork from the beginning, it began to click for me, and I was feeling the satisfaction that Archer: Vice was attempting to inspire in its viewers. But I think the arch humor of this show has not really evolved and has thus lost some of its zest. I will admit that my lack of laughs this season may have had to do with me watching the episodes at a time of night when I was tired and/or my mind was just elsewhere. ![]() Season Analysis: Re-branded as Archer: Vice, the season-long transformation of ISIS into drug runners did not produce laughs as consistently as in previous years, but it was always admirable in its ambition. ![]()
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