Archer is probably one of the most well written (and most inconsistent) television cartoons ever created. Created by Adam Reed and airing on FX (and later FXX after its rating plummeted), the show gained popularity for its parody of spy dramas and 1950’s workplace aesthetic. Its early seasons serve as an homage to the first films in the James Bond franchise, the choice in animation style clearly and accurately reflects the time period in which the show takes place. The show maintained a consistent cast of characters with clear motivations, purposes, and story arcs. The show centers around a spy agency called ISIS. The fictional agency unfortunately and unintentionally shared the same name as real life terrorist organization and the writers later pivoted by the show, to distance it from the real life organization. In the show the agency is originally owned and founded by former OSS agent, Mallory Archer. The agency employs an ensemble cast of incompetent characters, most important of which includes her son, Sterling Archer (reffered to only as Archer throughout the show).
Fans of this show fell in love with its first five seasons, and begrudgingly stuck around for later releases hoping that the show would eventually return to its roots. Unfortunately, the show went off the rails starting in season 6 and has been floating dead in the water ever since. It is hard to criticize the show as a whole because its individual elements: (like the characters, the unique transitions between scenes, the long running jokes, and the animation), are incredibly captivating, but the plot of every season after season 5 are so unforgivably bad. I have been watching this show religiously since it first started airing in 2009 and fell in love with the show’s premise and vulgarly colorful cast of characters. I was sad to see this show end, but have since become numb to its cancelation, because the show has been promising to end since its 5th season.
The following is a brief summary of seasons 6 through 12. Keep in mind this show is meant to be a spy comedy:
SEASON 6 – They lose the agency and become drug dealers… but like… they’re all really bad at it and also Archer and Lana have a baby.
SEASON 7 – They still lost the agency, BUT the gang still wants to do intelligence work so they all become private detectives… but like… they’re really bad at it. Also Archer gets shot in the last episode and might be dead 🙁
SEASON 8 – SURPRISE! Archer is not dead, he’s just in a coma! He dreams that he is a 1940s detective that is trying to avenge his partner that was mysteriously murdered. The plot of this season is really complicated but doesn’t matter because the entire thing is a dream sequence. Don’t get too attached to the new storyline because they’re going to change the entire premise of the show over the next 3 seasons anyway.
SEASON 9 – Archer is now an alcoholic seaplane pilot from the 1930s and all the other characters have new names, purposes, and motivations in the show. Some characters are not human anymore as they have taken the form of birds. This season also rips off 1980’s TV show The Golden Monkey as it essentially steals its entire plot.
SEASON 10 – ARCHER IN SPACE!
SEASON 11 – Archer wakes up from the coma and 3 years have passed. Mallory has reopened the agency (now owned by the CIA) and Archer tries to acclimate to a world that has moved on without him.
Don’t be fooled by that description, the show tries to return to its roots in this season, but is nothing like the first 5. Archer is disabled and broken in this season. He is meant to learn a lesson at the end of every episode, which is nice but strongly contrasts against his core personality and what made the show great.
SEASON 12 – The agency is back and being funded by a billionaire, but there is competition and they are literal supervillains. This season does provide insight into Archer’s past, which I found really interesting. The actress that played Mallory passed away during the filming of this season which made the ending very heartfelt and sad.
This show has been promising to end for over 6 years. Every season has been set up for a finale with Archer dying in the last episode of at least 2 of the seasons mentioned above. Season 12 promises to be the show’s final season, but that seems too good to be true. Somehow this show will inevitably be renewed for a 13th run, like a fool I will watch it; hoping that its continued run will somehow return this show to the glory of its first five seasons.
