Guns Are Great, But Fists Are Cooler

Archer, S04E09

Archer and Lana staked out a hotel to observe some North Koreans rumored to want to illegally buy some uranium, and she and Archer posed as a newlywed couple.   Cyril was convinced by Cheryl and Pam that he should go to the hotel too in order to keep tabs on Lana in case that she fall into bed with Archer again.

Although I understood that Lana would have rather pretended to do anything but be Archer's wife, she looked good in the bridal gown and hair accessories she was wearing at their check-in.  Archer was all too happy to play the role of her husband and enjoy the luxuries of their honeymoon suite instead of doing their actual job.  He made it seem like he'd be thrilled if he could call Lana his wife.  I felt bad for Lana who felt like she was getting a preview of her worst-scenario future (although, she could definitely do worse than Archer).  I can't foresee a marriage between them that Lana didn't regret, considering there are too many cons to even dating Archer (or casually sleeping with him).  They definitely have a mutual attraction and care about each others' safeties, but they are so terrible together.

I liked a lot of the action scenes in this story.  One of such was when Archer had to save Lana from falling off the building.  It was his fault, so I hope he would do everything in his power to keep her from being a splatter on the ground.  I just hate that he has to throw saving her life in her face.  It makes her seem like some kind of helpless woman who's prone to making simple mistakes that turn out to be deadly.  It's more like she gets distracted by Archer and unwittingly gets herself into trouble.

My favorite scene was when they saw their targets in the elevator.  Lana got kicked in the chest, but Archer pulled out some cool-looking moves when he like kicked the guy into the wall.  I feel like their haven't been a lot of good fighting scenes lately, and there were quite a few good ones in this story.  I even sort of liked when Cyril had smoked the room with the fire extinguisher and Lana and Archer were kicking butt among the chaos.  I'd rather see that than see Archer bugging Lana about the coat on his fingernails not being dried.

I wonder what Lana had decided when she was climbing the hotel, though.  Did she think that she was just going to settle down with Cyril after all and stop making herself semi-available to Archer?  I mean, she hasn't really been involved with anyone for a while, so perhaps Archer always thinks that one day she'll just come crawling back to him.  Cyril had blown things with her, but at least he's sort of a normal human being.  However, when Lana found out he was just spying on her, she threw out her decision.  I really would like to know what kind of conclusion she had arrived at before.

It's kind of funny that this time instead of Mallory being behind their mission, it was sort of Krieger.  He was the one trying to sell uranium.  I really think ISIS should concentrate on doing more shady things since they're already doing them.  Right now they're simply pretending that they're a do-gooder organization when they do more harm than good most of the time.

I think I liked this episode because it had pretty good fighting scenes.  It feels like they haven't had any hand-to-hand combat in a while.  There have been plenty of shootings and such, but sometimes I like to see close-range fights.  It was also interesting that Lana had so much to think about when she played Archer's wife and came to some unknown decision about her relationships.  However, Cyril's spying prevented us from knowing what that was.  Although I'm not hoping for Lana and Archer to get back together anytime soon, I feel like Lana's inability to escape her bond with Archer is going to make her walk down the aisle for him some day in the future.

Doing Border Control Or Funding A Remodel?

Archer, S04E08

Archer, Lana, and Cyril were assigned to catch a famous coyote on the Texas border, but things went wrong when Archer decided to help their target escape and left his comrades knocked out on the side of the road.  While traveling with so many Mexicans in the back of his car, Archer easily caught the attention of the border control cops and ended up getting shot in the process.

I enjoyed the development of this story. I mean, it started typical enough for Archer where he's busy acting like an asshole while the others are trying to do their job properly.  However, instead of Archer's overly casual attitude about their mission screwing things up, it was Archer's fondness for the target.  Archer getting distracted by a set of boobs, also isn't something untypical for him, but it's not often that he basically throws his friends and the mission aside just so he can get some.  When you toss in all of the illegal immigrants by his side, it turned out to be a really strange way to hook up.  Obviously, if she was in jail he couldn't get with her, but to run off with her with all of those other people, I don't know how Archer could have thought that would work out.

I thought maybe eventually they'd toss Archer somewhere and continue their escape or Archer would grasp that getting with the woman he just met was more complicated than it was worth.  Nope.  Archer just ended up getting shot in the back when he was kissing (a kiss I found to be a little strange since it was the old woman in the back who shot the cop car) the girl.  It was ridiculous that he let himself get so seriously injured all for the sake of sex.  Like, why is Archer so pressed for sex?  He didn't even stop hitting on her when he was coughing up blood.  I almost wish he had been a bit successful with all that mess he had to go through.  Damn.

One specific thing I liked in the story was all of the jokes about Archer possibly being autistic.  I don't know how serious that Lana was that he could possibly have some form of it, but Archer kept pointing out moments that supported that theory (like counting all of those bullets that where shot in and near him).  Archer definitely has some issues with understanding social cues, but it would be too easy to excuse his behavior as some kind of mental condition.  I'd rather just think that Archer is insane, but I like how he was offended Lana had said those things about him, yet it got him thinking about himself.

I also liked when Mallory asked this one guy to find Archer's station wagon.  Mallory didn't yet see the futility in searching for such a common car in a large area until he kept pulling up results of similar cars on the road.  Mallory got so pissed when he kept asking "Is that it?" over and over again.  I loved it, even if the poor guy got hit so hard by Mallory that he fell over from possibly a heart attack.  Which, ironically, made him pull up the exact image of Archer's car.  But by then, everyone had left the room.

The ending, although good because Archer managed to not die in the back of a car full of people, shouldn't have surprised me, but it did.  I can't believe this was all Mallory's doing again!  When is everyone going to catch on before Mallory gets her way?  Just when I thought that ISIS might be doing something sort of to the betterment of other people or for some cause, it turns out to be the opposite.  Mallory is one sick person to make her employees run around like her lab rats while she collects money to redecorate her room.  I'm sure she didn't expect Archer to run off and get shot like he did, but it had to be part of her plan for him to get seduced and be part of the distraction for border control.  It's a bit frightening how good she is at manipulating people and situations for her own needs.  It's good that Archer, with his personality, didn't quite inherit that knack for using people as his pawns. 

I liked this episode just because of Archer's random involvement with a woman smuggling in people into Texas.  It was strange that he had to get shot and run around with all of those people just so he could get rejected by the woman and find out that it was all part of his mother's plan.  I guess rather than be surprised that their seemingly failed missions are exactly what Mallory intended for them to do, I should now expect that when ISIS looks like they're screwing up, Mallory is behind it all.  Mallory is some kind of mastermind.  It's lucky for mankind that she's not using her skills to plan terrorist attack or steal millions of dollars.  She'd be scarily good at those things.

Archer The Chef

Archer, S04E07

ISIS was employed to work undercover at Seize restaurant, but they had no idea what kind of threat they were supposed to be watching for.  Their cover was also compromised by the filming of the reality show Bastard Chef.  Archer began to follow the example of Chef Casteau, and thought that his true calling might have been cooking instead of spying.  Lana tried to bite her tongue at the chef's harsh treatment of her and kept investigating why they had been tasked to do security on the restaurant, while the others fumbled around in the kitchen.  Mallory bullied Carol and Pam into getting her a reservation at Seize and took Pam's fish hostage until they got her what she wanted.

I think my favorite thing about this story was that Archer was starting to fit in really nicely at Seize and cooking food that the hardass Casteau seemd to approve of.  It's always interesting to see Archer exhibit skills outside of his spy set.  I wouldn't have guessed that someone who probably has little experience cooking would be able to make anything remotely delicious, but Archer could.  Plus, his tendency to order people around and be a general bastard suited well for a sous chef who has to keep on top of others in the kitchen to get dishes out quickly and correctly.  The ambassador of Albania even complimented him on the dish he made from his home country before he died, making Archer's role look less like a cover and more like his true calling.  However, thanks to Castuea being in league with the KGB, he took away Archer's confidence as quickly as he had gained it.  Guess Archer will still remain a spy.

I also liked that the fake threat that Mallory had used to get them inside of Seize turned out to be real and Casteau was the culprit.  I didn't expect to see Barry and Katya in this story, so that was a nice suprise at the end.  I'm really starting to like Katya because she has Barry on lock and key now.  One little comment from her and she can shut his mouth and ruin his fun.  Plus, she threw Casteau out of the helicopter without thinking twice.  Once again, it's really fortune for Archer that she's not out to kill him because she's just as ruthless as Barry is.

It was messed up that Mallory made them waste their time at Seize under the pretenses of a security threat and a possible future employment with the government.  Forget that KGB wanted them to look foolish--Mallory's doing a great job of that on her own.  It makes me wonder what the hell she's trying to do.  She makes her employees look more like her personal assistants rather than talented and dangerous spies.  I'm just glad Lana figured it out because Mallory might have gotten away with it.

I didn't like that Carol had to give Rodney a hand job to find out the number for Seize.  Not really because it was beneath her (she has some twisted sexual preferences), but because it was just a gross exchange in general.  We didn't get to see everything she did, but we had to hear Rodney enjoying it and see his face.  Eww.  And Pam was just standing there watching.  Geez.  At least give them some privacy while you whore out your coworker.

I liked this episode.  It was a nice change of pace to see Archer cooking skillfully instead of murdering people with ease.  Someone did end up dying, but that was just thanks to Katya's excellent plan to use Casteau for her own purposes.  I just wish that Archer could continue to pursue this hidden talent of his.  Even an asshole like him could be beloved if he could compensate for his personality by making delicious food.  Mallory, as the owner of ISIS, needs to get it together.  Either she's going to employ her spies to do something they've been trained to do or she should demote them to being her gophers.  If she's not careful enough they'll probably get destroyed by the KGB before they even know it.   I'd almost like to see that if it'll encourage them to get back to a semi-legit organization again.

A Journey Through Archer's Past

Archer, S04E06

Archer's snakebite caused him to have a dream where he was ushered through his memories by James Mason.  While Roy and Cyril were trying their best to get to safety and get him an antidote, Archer drew closer and closer to uncovering the mystery of who his father was.  Back at ISIS, Lana kept pestering Mallory about her being left out of the mission the boys were on.  Lana was taken back when Carol accurately diagnosed the reason why Lana chooses to stay with ISIS, despite all of her moral issues with their missions.

With the way Archer had prepared for their mission, like wanting to use the map as toilet paper and leaving behind a compass, I don't think that they would have succeeded even if Archer hadn't gotten bit by a snake.  It was sort of poetic justice that he did because he kept doing things to screw over Cyril and Ray at every turn, while not doing anything to improve their situation.  The snake's poison just did what his teammates were thinking every second they were with him.

It's interesting to note that Archer has killing Cyril on his bucket list of things.  Of all things he wants to do before he dies, his second most wanted thing is to see Cyril end his life.  I didn't know that he hated him so much.  Cyril and Archer might not be besties, but does he really have to wish him dead?  I wonder if it's just about how he came between him and Lana (not really because Archer screwed that up pretty badly himself).

The dream that Archer experienced while slowly heading toward death was the most interesting part of the story.  He met James Mason in this smoky place that seemed to be limbo, essentially, and he showed Archer a pivotal point in his life where a stalker shot him and cost him his future as a college lacrosse player.  That was a pretty disturbing scene seeing Archer getting shot by this demented woman.  It was really unexplainable and looked traumatic.  I wonder if there was ever a moment in Archer's life that was pleasant.  No wonder he didn't want Mason to show him anything about himself.

What I really loved was when Archer had to relive the moment where he was shot as teenager and he reminded Mason that he hadn't signed up for this journey through his past:

Yeah, so, I don't know if you're deaf or an asshole or both, but I'm pretty sure I said I didn't want to see this.

I liked that Mason didn't seem to listen to any of Archer's objections, nor really be listening to him in general.  I really wonder what part of Archer's mind created him as a guide.

I also liked when Archer saw himself as a little boy, who still loved alligators (that's a little shocking).  He was alone on his birthday and a strange man brought him a stuffed alligator.  Apparently it was his father!  We didn't get to see his face, nor did Archer remember him once he awoke, but it brought us closer to that mystery than we have been before.  Archer might be able to rack his brain and recall that memory once again.  After all, he has to have it somewhere in his subconscious.

Besides Archer's death visions, I liked when Cyril was trying to communicate that Archer had been bitten by a snake.  However, the word for "snake" was the same for a few other words that the soldiers (or whatever they were) kept mistaking it for.  Ray's frustration at this gave me a good laugh:

How's it the same word for bread and snake and Friday and that damn dog?!

Sounds like a pretty damn confusing language, if you ask me.  Then again, if you learn any language long enough, you'll find something that doesn't quite make sense to you.

I didn't really like what was going on back at ISIS.  I felt kind of bad that Carol (or whatever her name is) could see right through Lana like that.  And what she saw was pretty depressing.  I can't disagree with her analysis, though.  Lana does raise a lot of objections, but she ends up doing things she doesn't agree with all the time.  I think that her love for espionage will tether her to ISIS no matter what sort of horrible things they get involved with.  Lana will hate herself for it, but she won't be able to walk away either.  That's just like Carol to see the darkest part of someone's soul.  She's so damn twisted.

This was a pretty good episode.  I really like seeing into Archer's past, even though it wasn't anything pleasant.  I don't ever expect to see anything good concerning how he became the Archer he is today, anyway.  There's no way he could have had a great childhood with the way his mother is and how he turned out to be.  I just wonder if he'll try to figure out who his father is again, knowing that he had that memory in his head.  I don't know how important that still is to Archer.  As far as Lana is concerned, I wonder if she'll try to find something beyond her job to fill her life.  It'd be really sad if she ended up in such a depressing fate as Carol had predicted.

Getting Katya Back Back-Fires

Archer, S04E05

Archer ran at the chance to hook up with Katya, who begged him to help her find Barry.  Archer pretended to want to rescue him and asked Krieger, Pam, and Cheryl to help him.  Although, Archer's plan was to fool Katya into thinking Barry was cheating on her to win her back, Katya was playing him for her own purpose.

I didn't like too much seeing Lana back with Cyrill, even if it was just for sex, but I liked that Archer seemed to be the only one around the office who didn't have a date.  He made a pathetic attempt to get Lana back, but forgot about her in a second when Katya called him.  It's like he was from low to lower.  He really has no shame.  I guess, though, it's not completely pathetic that he ran to Katya because he does generally love her.  Not enough to bring back Barry just for her sake.  Luckily, with all of his scheming and creating that fake tape of Barry's confession to cheating, Katya was just using him to get Barry back from the beginning.  That was pretty smart because I don't know how Barry would have made it back the way he kept killing the scientist who were trying to help him.  I just wonder if Katya is going to help out Archer and keep Barry from murdering him the second he lands on Earth.

It was kind of disturbing the way everyone was reading these like octopus/sea-life porn throughout the episode.  Not only that, but Ray and Cyrill woke up from being knocked up and found themselves naked and with an octopus.  Since Pam was also in that bathroom with a camera, I can only assume she violated them somehow with that thing while they were out and filmed it.  Man, they are into some gross stuff at ISIS.  I wouldn't dare go into a bathroom around there.

I liked this episode, mainly because Archer was acting so desperate at the slim chance of getting back with Katya.   Also, I liked that Barry managed to get off the space station and is heading for Archer's location.  It ups the excitement in this show because it's well-known that Barry is crazy as hell and murderously hates Archer.  I don't know how Archer will manage to stay alive.  His only hope might be that Katya seems to have taken Barry's place as the head of the KGB.  I'm eager to see what she'll do while in power and what Barry's reaction will be to her taking his place.

Ron And Archer Bond

Archer, S04E04

Archer was stuck in Canada without a passport and Ron volunteered himself to help get Archer back into the country.  However, it turned out that he needed Archer's help so that he could successfully bring back the money he was illegally transporting to pay back his buddies who went to jail for crimes they had all committed.  Archer eventually helped him get back home in time for an opera show that Mallory expected Ron to attend that same night.

I think what I liked best about this story was that we got to learn more about Ron beyond his charming self and car dealership.  He seemed to be in a world way too different than Mallory's, but it turns out that he's no stranger to dangerous situations and doing things that are outside of the law.  It wasn't a particularly funny story, but I enjoyed watching Archer and Ron sort of bond with each other.  In the end, even though Archer wasn't thrilled with helping his stepfather, he seemed to have accepted Ron a little better as someone who's part of his life now.  It's just amazing to me with as annoying as Archer is that Ron didn't hate Archer by the end (he did make him lose most of his money), but I guess that's all good as long as Archer got Ron to meet Mallory as scheduled.  That's about as good as it gets with being friendly with Archer, after all.

It's nothing new, but I felt bad for Woodhouse in this episode.  I don't even remember why Archer was pissed at him enough to make him eat a bowl of spiderwebs, but he has the worst job ever.  He remarked that he should just quit his job, but cried because he doubted anyone would take him in.  Wow.  Even for a cartoon that's kinda of depressing.  But it just amplifies how much terrible of a person Archer is, and that's all it's really about.

This was an interesting episode.  I liked learning about Ron's past and seeing he wasn't as squeaky clean as we were led to believe.  It was nice to see Ron and Archer spend time and bond with each other because we all know that Archer has some serious daddy issues and a father figure in his life might help him get over that.  Who knows?  Maybe his friendship with Ron can slightly make him a less of a jerk.  I doubt it, though.  Archer never changes his personality for the good long enough to make it a permanent thing.  He's just an asshole through and through.

Rodney Rules The Armory

Archer, S04E03

Krieger offered to fix Ray's legs with bionics and when Archer learned of this, he took drastic measures to put a stop to it.  Lana and Cyrill, in turn tried to stop Archer before he ended up killing Ray out of fear of robots.  Mallory was annoyed at Ron for giving her unwated advice on how to run ISIS.

I felt pretty bad for Ray who has it tough for an injury that Archer caused.  On top of the struggles of daily life, he has little sympathy for his handicap from his coworkers and boss.  Not that any of them would give anyone special treatment because of a disability, but it still sucks because it's obvious that Ray wanted desperately to get back to being more useful.  However, I would have probably never taken Krieger's help, knowing how he rolls.

All the gore aside of the operation, it was really gross to think of Pam assisting in that surgery when she was drinking beers and eating tacos.  I't's a miracle that Pam didn't help Ray to die in the end, as talented as Krieger is.  I have to admit that while Krieger is shady as hell, it's undeniable that he's a bit of a genius.  He doesn't even know the name of bones, nor where they are supposed to be placed without the help of a picture from his phone.  Krieger has the resume of some kind of ghetto, psuedo doctor, yet performs unbelievable medical feats.  I like Ray, so I couldn't help but be worried that he was going to be dead in the end.  Thank goodness he was fine and could walk again (although Mallory certainly didn't give a damn).

I'm now noticing that a lot of stories involve Archer doing whatever the hell he pleases and Lana and someone else going to clean up his mess (or stop him from making a mess).  It's pretty dumb I haven't mentioned that before.  Anyway, the best part of Archer going after Ray was him being held back by Rodney in the armory.  Now that Mallory has put someone in charge of the weapons, there's a lot more opportunities for Rodney to give Archer and the others a hard time.  It's no wonder that Archer was still a jerk to him even when he finally got the gun or whatever he had wanted to shoot down Krieger's door:

[Archer] Thank you--uh, sorry, what was your name again?

[Rodney] Rodney.

[Archer] Thank you...asshole.

I know Rodney is just doing his job, but I still liked that Archer got a second to rub his victory in Rodney's face.  In the end, I still think Rodney got the best of him because he locked Archer in the armory and Archer couldn't blast his way out.  I mean, Archer did escape through the vent, but that ended up just being a hot prisoner for him over the weekend.

I'm surprised that after spending a weekend in an air vent with no food, clothes, or cool air that Archer would be able to parody The Terminator for even a second.  He should have been too delirious to even remember that movie.  Then again, maybe that was him being delirious.  Even in an exhausted state, Archer can still manage to take a jab at someone.

It's nice to see that Ron actually does get on Mallory's nerves sometimes.  I couldn't believe that she would have a marriage where it was all rainbows and smiles.  That would be hard to swallow, knowing Mallory's personality.  I see, though, how they make a good match for each other.  They both are so prone to say racist things that they're not even really aware of (or maybe care about).  At least the two of them can laugh about those sort of horrible things together.

This episode was all right.  It was a little gross with the surgery thing, but Ray being able to walk again made that worthwhile.  I'm starting to like the new situation with the armory.  There are a lot of opportunities for Rodney to make the agents of ISIS unhappy with his strict policies.  Just hope that Archer or someone else doesn't manage to get past the glass and doors protecting him.  Wouldn't want Rodney to get killed before he can stir up some more amusing trouble.

Tina's Poop Scoop

Bob's Burgers, S03E12

Tina started reporting about a serial pooper at school in her own newscast when the school news channel pushed her to the background as just a juice server.  Gene also started dressing and acting like Bob when he saw that Bob once looked like Gene at his age.

I was reminded in this episode how much I hate Tammy. Not only is she dressing a little too flashy for her age, but she's the type of girl who doesn't want anyone to shine except herself.  I don't know if the teacher would have given Tina the position of anchor if Tammy hadn't sabotaged her (since Tina isn't naturally filled with energy and celebrity appeal), but she might have been taken seriously instead of being looked upon as a burden.

I admired that Tina went after a real story, even though no one wanted to listen to her at first.  She was genuinely interested in journalism and informing the student body about important events happening in their school. It's just lucky that it turned out to be something so disgusting and grabbing like someone going around the school dropping dukes wherever they felt like.  I was really happy that Tina's reporting was making her popular enough that the news crew who had shunned her was jealous enough to try to frame her.

I don't know if Zeke has always had a thing for Tina or if he's just a nice enough kid to poop in public for her sake.  Either way, it was sweet that someone else was on her side.  Of course, Louise was one of her biggest supporters and even tried to get a little payback on Tammy at the end.  That was one of my favorite parts when Louise pushed Tammy toward the poop.  That would have been a really awesome ending, but unfortunately Louise hadn't pushed her quite enough.  Damn.  Still, I loved that Louise tried.

It was also sort of sad and cute that Tina had such a repertoire with the school janitor.  Like, she is by no means overflowing with friends, so it's not that surprising that she would befriend a staff member.  Still, I wish that she had someone around her age that would laugh at one of her jokes even if that person didn't understand it.  Tina has a lot to offer as a friend, and it would be nice if more people noticed that.

As far as Gene was concerned, he was being his typical pain-in-the-butt self.  I felt like I could feel Bob's anger with Gene imitating him in a way that wasn't cute at all.  Of course, the rest of the family indulged him and made the whole thing much worse than it had to be.  All Gene was doing, really, was insulting his father 24-7, and he looked sort of like an asshole doing that.  At one point Gene said that the family was terrible, but he still loved them in what he assumed was a Bob-like fashion.  Although Bob was mad he said that, I gotta agree that the family is terrible, but Bob does still love them all the same.  I mean, he'd be terrible himself if he didn't love his own family (since it's not like they are murderers or spitting in his face), but I often think that Bob would be so better off if he ran off one day (not unlike Archer in that episode--the real Bob himself could use a spa day).  Bob's just lucky that Gene doesn't stick to one annoying thing forever and can be distracted enough by poop to stop playing his father like a fool.  And I'm lucky, too, because I couldn't stand to watch it much longer.

This episode wasn't bad.  It made me like Tina a lot more and remind me of the many characters on this show who I wish would fall into a hole in the center of the Earth.  Really, the writers are geniuses at creating characters who are so irritating.  However, even though I generally like the shenanigans that the kids get into, I have to say that they can be pretty irritating themselves.  This is particularly true of Gene, who takes his jokes on further than is necessary or funny.  I'd love to see an episode once where him constantly making fun of his father brings him more unpleasant consequences.  Sometimes someone needs to slap some sense into that boy.

Archer's Best Friend

Archer, S04E02

Archer heard about the death of his best friend, Lucas, and refused to accept that he was dead and a traitor.  When Archer went off to find him, Lana and Cyril followed him to stop Archer from wasting his time and putting his life in danger.

I guess I've never really noticed that Archer doesn't have any friends.  He shouldn't, logically, because he's not friendly or capable of thinking of others.  So it was kind of cute that he had this bromance with Lucas.  I hoped that he would be right and find his friend alive, especially after they showed Archer as a kid sitting alone on some bleachers.  It's no wonder that he would take off like he did to find his only friend in the world.

I liked that Lucas betrayed his comrades all so he could be with Archer in a bed and breakfast in Vermont.  Wow, it's already a lot to process that he killed his teammates in cold blood and stole money, but then he was also delusion enough to think that he would just start this new life with Archer there.  If he really wanted a life with him, he should have at least tried to think of a life that would have been attractive to Archer.  I mean, maybe Archer could have looked past his crimes and the fact that he's into men, but I couldn't see Archer living there and checking couples into rooms.  So not his style.

I sort of felt bad that Lucas got killed because like his friend, Archer too was crushed.  However, the best thing about Lucas (besides him telling Archer that he was only gay for him) was him making a confession at his death bed.  He pretty much revealed that he had violated Archer once when he was passed out from drinking.  I liked that Archer begged him that if he loved him to not tell him what he had already suspected.  What a thing to tell someone right before you die.  It's terrible and sad in a way that it worked really well for an ending.  It's like was it better for Archer to have had a friend at all or always been friendless?

I liked this episode.  It was interesting to see someone who loved Archer beside his mother.  Most times it just looks like everyone at ISIS could take or leave Archer, with good reasons.  I enjoyed the short-lived bromance between Lucas and Archer.  Don't think we'll be seeing anyone vibing with Archer like that anytime soon.

Archer Does Bob's Burgers

Archer, S04E01

The team at ISIS found Archer, but due to his memory loss, they tried to gradually remind himself of his spy life by staging a fake attack on his life.  When the fake attack turned into a real attack by the KBG agents after Archer, Lana and Archer had to work together to hold them off.

It feels like it's been forever since the season finale.  I didn't remember at all where we had left off, so I didn't know what to expect.  However, I was absolutely thrilled when I saw it started at Bob's Burger shop.  Freaking awesome!  I mean, I don't like that show so much, but to see that Archer was going to parody it when Archer is voiced by the same guy as Bob (H. Jon Benjamin is such a good actor), was amazing!  Archer had this mustache that oddly suited him as he flipped burgers in Bob's outfit and was talking to Louise, Gene, and Tina drawn in this show's style.  It got even better when Linda popped up and she was the same voice as from Bob's Burgers.  The kids didn't talk at all, but I sort of liked that (because you know those kids have never been quiet for that long in their whole lives).  I absolutely loved the way the were drawn too--the art style on Archer is really pleasing to the eye, so it was interesting to see Linda actually attractive.  Like, in this universe, I could see how Archer might marry her even with three kids attached.  Haha.  Another thing that was funny was that he was talking about the kids and he couldn't remember Tina's name.  That was on point.

I think I forgot how violent this show is.  It has to have been a while.  Watching Archer as Bob murder four guys with a spatula and coffee pot was great.  It made me think if they did this on Bob's Burgers, I might like it tons more than I do right now.  I just wonder since Archer did marry Linda is he just going to leave her forever or is he going to stay with her (at least on paper?).  Probably not, now that I think about Archer.  He's not the type to do the decent thing.  Unless he was just thinking about their safety in general because Archer is a magnet for death and destruction.  Oh, and it was funny how after Archer had killed all those guys you saw a slight smile on Louise's face.  Now that is really like her character--the real Louise would have been praising Archer up and down and asking him to teach her those moves.

I was so impressed by the beginning that I didn't really care too much what happened in the rest of the episode.  I sort of hoped that Archer wouldn't remember because he's an asshole.  Not that he wasn't a bit of a jerk as Bob, but he wasn't as bad.  But I couldn't imagine how the show would work with him continuing to think he needed to go shopping for cheese and stuff.

The only thing I liked was that Barry was shown.  I forgot how much I like him.  He's freaking crazy and apparently still stalking Archer from outer space.  Damn, when he gets down finally, Archer's going to get his ass kicked again.  Hopefully, they'll realize that Barry is monitoring their movements before it's too late.

Um, got to say I loved this episode because of the parody.  I watched it for a second time and I was still laughing and enjoying the cross-over.  I think this was really necessary to get me invested in the show again because I'm still having trouble remember what happened last season.  But right now if they keep doing cool surprises like they did in this premiere, I think I can still go along with this show no matter if I'm not quite up to speed yet.

Archer Thinks Of Others! ...Just Kidding

Archer, S03E10

Yesterday we got to see the season finale of Archer.  Since they don't have that many episodes to begin with, it seems to have gone by really quickly.  I think that it ended pretty well with ISIS managing to take down the traitor faction, get a little revenge on Barry, and return home alive (I emphasize "alive" and not "unharmed").  For a moment, I thought that Archer had seen the light, if not only for an appropriate time (the time being until they were back to Earth in one piece), but Archer remains Archer in the end.

Despite that Archer resisted against their captors (his best being when he attacked Wu while shouting "Woo!"), it was pretty clear that if Drake had offered Archer an alcoholic drink, he might have easily joined their side.  When they didn't seem to be offering him anything tempting, he first suggested that since they only wanted Lana (apparently they looked up all her information and thought she would make the best babies for Mars), he asked for the men to be let go and then just himself (of course).  I hadn't thought that they specifically wanted Lana to be "The Mother of Mars," but thought that they just happened to hire ISIS and figured that a spy female was the best they were going to get for their re-population schemes.  As creepy as their plan was, Lana had to be a little flattered that they thought her DNA was the best stuff around.

I didn't appreciate that Lana had to be nearly naked for most of the episode, but I liked that she was so vain about her boobs.  When Archer suggested that they were getting saggy, she just couldn't let it go, even in the midst of a fight.  The ISIS crew managed to get away from their captors to only be captured once again.  They were pretty unimpressive in their escape attempt.

I think the badass medal for this episode should go to Pam who was not only smart enough to prepare to attack if Drake and his men tried to get on the ship, but also managed to sneak up on Drake and get him at gunpoint while Carol was busy being a "whordiot," letting the enemies into the ship.  That stupid little bitch.  Pam should have been made an operative instead of freaking Cyrill.  At least she increased the chance that they would return to Earth, while Cyrill, shooting off madly after Drake blasted off his own head, killed Kellogg, the only other person who was unquestionably qualified to fly them back home.  After Cyrill screwed up right after Pam had saved the day, I didn't easily see how they would make it back home.

When Barry started approaching them on a space ship, I was really thinking that he might be the one to "save" them, even though there was no doubt he came to space to kill Archer again.  I'm not sure why he needed to do so when he already stole his fiancee, but I guess when Archer is concerned, he can't suffer enough (at least while he is alive).  Barry was pretty funny in the way he kept taunting Archer to come play with him, but Archer held back his pride and refused to open the doors.  It was really amazing for him.  I also wondered that if somehow Barry's revenge had turned into a necessity for him, in the sense that he would never kill Archer for real because then he would have no one to chase after anymore.  I mean, he followed him off the planet--is it really that serious?

Archer's seemingly change of heart paid off when he cheered Cyrill on to land them safely home; Cyrill turned the ship around so that the fire from the engine would destroy Barry's ship.  Ooo...  How is he going to get home?  I don't worry too much about him because he's sneaky, a cyborg, and there are many, many people around on Horizon that they will probably find a way for him to return to Earth.  After all, if Barry's not around, who is going to be Archer's annoyingly persistent arch-enemy? (Archer-enemy, if you will allow a bad pun)

I felt a bit of relief when Archer stopped acting so unselfishly and nearly killed them all when Cyrill was just about to land the ship safely to Earth.  I'm not sure how Archer managed to get off without a scratch on him!  Lana was using crutches, someone had an eye patch, and Ray was back in his wheelchair (for real this time, I'm sure).  I liked that the episode ended with him acting like an ass because that's what this show is all about.  I wouldn't have minded a little cliffhanger to make us anticipate the next season (I hope there will be one, FX!), but this ending is just as well.

The sky is really the limit for next season, and I can't wait to see what ISIS is up to next time.  I wonder if Lana and Archer would ever get back together.  They seem to hate each other, but I feel like deep down, they still protect each other in non-obvious ways.  I'd like to see less of Mallory's attempts to get laid, and less of Pam's naked body.  The thing I'd most like to see is the return of Barry and a more equal fight between he and Archer.  They have to make a really epic (although Archer hates that word) battle between them soon.  Guess I just have to be patient and see if that happens next year.

Archer In Space? I'd Stab Myself First

Archer, S03E12

The ISA commissions the ISIS team to help them take out a traitor faction on the space station Horizon.  This was the first part of the season finale, which we can expect to see in a couple of days.  As there have been a lot of episodes where the action was an afterthought, I was a little happy to see them rush off to space, as much as I thought it was ridiculous that they would be able to go after only three days of preparation.

Seriously, I would cut off my right leg before I went into space with the ISIS crew.  Archer is their best operative, and he is more likely to leave you for dead than help you if you were in trouble.  I can't imagine trusting him in space where caution is key (mess up there and you'll be stuck in space til you die).  I thought it couldn't get any more outrageous that they were going into space with Mallory (she can handle a gun, sure, but how is it that she can tolerate a space ride so well?) until Pam and Carol showed up!  Are you kidding me??  How could they survive that ride stuck in a tiny box (I say tiny because Pam is so big)?  And more than that, what the hell kind of business would they have there?  No way they are that stupid that they just have to tag along every damn where that the operatives go.

This question was quickly cleared up after Ray expertly guesses that Pam is screwing Archer.  Archer really needs to get his dick under control.  Do you really need a lay when you're that far from the earth??  Then again, the likelihood that he would be killed up there was high (especially with him shooting off the space gun at random as if a broken window wouldn't murder them all), so perhaps he was thinking of getting one more "taste of heaven" before he faced such a deadly mission.  Either way, it is so messed up.  I sort of feel bad for Pam, but she doesn't seem to mind that much being treated like a piece of meat since she did have sex with him before he came to save the day.

When Pam and Carol did show up, I was worried about what the commander was thinking of doing with the women because he wouldn't let Pam join the attack party.  I thought it was my imagination until they reached the people they were trying to save who turned out to be the traitor faction all along (not that surprising with how suspicious the commander was acting).  They intend to populate Mars with the women from ISIS (I hope that Mallory is excluded because she is beyond menopausal)??  Gross!  Also, won't that take forever?  There's also a great chance of inner-breeding with so few females around...  I can imagine why they would want to do that before they have made Mars liveable for people.  Also, a pregnancy in space?  Man, that sounds like it would be a horror story. 

I'm interested to see what the commander and the others are thinking.  I'm not really sure how the ISIS crew will be able to escape when none of them are qualified to operate a space shuttle to get back home without the help of one of their captors.  And what will they do with the men?  Just hope that Archer and the others will join them?  Can't see Archer doing that unless they offered him something really good.  Last week's episode promises a good finale this Thursday.

Katya And Karma Are A Bitch

Archer, S03E08

After losing his maybe daddy in the last episode, Archer gains his only true love we've seen so far, Katya in return.  Krieger, through a convenient yet believable plot hole, took her body to his home lab and has been working on her ever since to make her a cyborg.  Great news for Archer, for the most part.

Archer doesn't deserve someone who can look past all of his flaws and simply love him, but somehow I want to see him happy with Katya anyway.  He has a lot of issues, but maybe if someone cared about him in the right way (not like his mother who is smothering at best), he might be a fraction less of an asshole.  I mean, someone as selfish as Archer could eventually look past the disgusting fact that his beloved could detach her vagina and put it in the sink and ask her to marry him.  I would have really liked to see him married and have Katya stay on as a regular character.  My favorite line of their short reunion is when Archer asks her to close her eyes because it felt like he was "banging taillights on a country road."

The almost wedding is interrupted when Barry crashes in to effortlessly beat the crap out of Archer with a bottle.  I hoped for a fight that Archer could actually have a chance, but with Barry made of metal, it didn't look like he could do anything.  However, Katya came to her man's rescue, and the two cyborgs started to have a pretty cool fight (cool for this show that hasn't seen much action).  We didn't get to see much of the fight because they turned off the lights so that the cyborgs would lose most of their power, and Archer could beat Barry in a more even playing field.  As he is looking for Barry, he has another dirty joke that I would have missed if not for the "phrasing" gag.

[Archer] Oh, Barry, I am coming for you.

[Guy on floor] Phrasing.

I'm really enjoying that joke now.  More than I would have thought.  I might have to use that on someone, but I doubt they will get it (if they are anything like me at first).  

Sadly, when Archer does find Barry, he is banging Katya over a desk.  I did not see that coming, but I should have.  Barry really got his revenge good, without having to necessarily kill anyone again.  Not the titillating conclusion I was hoping for, but all right, I guess.  I couldn't help but feel bad for Archer, especially because even someone like him couldn't refuse to accept Katya's happiness (she assumes she'll have it with her own kind).  As much as I liked Barry in the previous episode and he made me laugh, I didn't care for him much in this one.

At the very end, after Mallory was lording over being right and ignoring Archer's heartbreak, we see that the cyborgs hopped happily on a bus together.  But they stopped smiling and then looked awkward and possibly regretful?  Not sure how I feel about it not being the love connection that the two claimed it would be.  Even if Katya realized that she had made a mistake, I wouldn't want her to come back to Archer.  Possibly a fight between them would be cool, but no more romance.  Barry's always welcome to come back, and I'm sure he will as he is the new head of the KGB.

In the end Barry won his revenge, and Archer ended up back where he started--alone and right where Mallory predicted.  At least balance has been restored, and we can expect the same ol' Archer that love to hate.

Prelude To A Revenge Episode? Let's Hope

Archer, S03E07

This time Archer does something unexpected.  It's not that he got a hangover or seemed to have spent a night with a random stripper.  I anticipated that when he opened the bathroom door to reveal the rumored stripper that she might be dead.  That would have been an extremely unoriginal event and thankfully I was wrong.  Unfortunately, it turned out that he had slept with Pam.  Um, gross!!  I might have pretended to overlook their hookup if Pam's first scene wasn't her crapping out the contents of her stomach.  Ugh.  She's is so disgusting!  I'm done talking about this weird development.

What I did like was the return of Barry, who is voiced by Dave Willis.  I'm a huge fan of his ever since I got hooked into Aqua Teen Hunger Force.  Now anytime I hear his voice, I can't help but laugh.  He's a genius at sounding like a jerk.  Also, I like that Barry is sort of an archenemy of Archer's.  I'm sure that Archer doesn't quite consider Barry's existence for the most part, but perhaps after this episode he will.  After all, while Archer was getting his last Pam fix, his possible father was murdered.

I'm not all that convinced that Nikolai is Archer's father, though.  It's possible, but I think it's more likely it's someone else who resembles Archer more.  It was nice to see Archer and Nikolai semi-bonding for a few minutes before Archer abandoned him.  I rather like that Barry had a fork frozen in a block of ice and popped it in the microwave so that the sparks would set off a gas explosion.  It was so odd that it was interesting.  Also, I like that Barry was simply doing a "goof" and didn't take killing Nikolai too seriously; it seemed it wasn't intended to be the ultimate payback for Archer.

Barry's planning something else, but we just don't know what yet.  I'm looking forward to it.  I hate to root for Archer, but of course, if he died, there would be no show.  That's an inescapable truth.  However, I don't have to hope for Barry to be destroyed.  He may very well be my favorite character (although I'm biased with my love of Dave Willis), but he surely shakes things up.  And this show has needed a little kick for a while.

Besides the battle between Archer and Barry, I wonder if we will ever see Seamus again?  He's Cyril's kid, but Archer seems to love him.  That story wouldn't be relevant for next week's episode, but I just wanted to throw it out there.  If anything, I'd love to get a little more closure upon the mystery of Archer father.  Even if they just want to pretend it was Nikolai out of respect for the dead, I'd be satisfied.

Ray Takes A Wife And I Take A Nap

Archer, S03E06

I was happy this week to see that Ray was no longer confined to his wheelchair, and it was going to be an episode centered around him.  I was disappointed that I did not enjoy the story as much as I thought I would.  Not only was the story set in Ray's hometown in Virgina, but his brother Randy was voiced by 30 Rock's Jack McBrayer.  Somehow the focus became Randy and his wife wanting to sleep around with Carol (Ray's fake wife) and Archer, respectively, and less about the sheriff of the town out to get Ray's drug "farming" brother.  I was hoping for more about Ray's background or him getting harassed further by the sheriff.  However, the sheriff had a small role, and Ray and Randy's squabble didn't get that intense.  Dang.  What was the point of showing his brother in the first place?

When things start to pick up action-wise after everyone is so distracted trying to have sex, the shoot-off with the sheriff is cut short after Randy admits that he lied about the reasons why the sheriff was after him.  Dunno how I feel about that "twist."  The only thing that I really liked about this scene was that Archer pointed out a potentially dirty joke that I wouldn't have noticed without him:

[Ray] Easy, don't shoot!  I'm coming out!

[Archer] Haha.  Phrasing.

 That must have been the only time I laughed, except I might have when Ray admitted to having a Miss Piggy diary that would have revealed his homosexuality.  His brother had been spared reading it, thanks to their father burning it.

Archer and Carol were free from police persecution by pretending to be hostages, but it was unclear to me at first why Ray, who had clearly been shooting at them, wasn't handcuffed like his brother.  When the sheriff comes on to Ray in a not so subtle, but surprising manner, it was no longer a question.  That twist might have been funnier if the sheriff had more screen time.  All we had to go upon, really, was Ray's word that he had been an asshole as a kid.  Meh.

I'm not sure what is going this season that I'm not enjoying it as much as I have previous ones.  I think perhaps it's because they don't have any significant adventures.  I'm not sure.  But if things keep going in this direction, I don't think that I need to keep this show in my primary section for much longer.

Spaghetti and Murder Ball

 Archer, S03E05

This week's Archer was a murder mystery.  There was little spy action this time, but it was still a good story.  Mallory has a dead Italian prime minister in her apartment and calls Archer and Lana to help.

Although the circumstances of the dead body in the room are bizarre and freaky (in a sexual way), I think it's interesting that Archer can't concentrate on anything but the sexual oddity of it all.  He can't seem to get the idea of the guy having a dildo up his ass out of his mind.  Frankly, if he didn't talk about it so much, they all might have forgotten about it (us too, since we couldn't see that).  Archer has some real psychological problem concerning his mother and sex.  Not that anyone really wants to think about their parents having sex, but they all have or obviously we wouldn't be here.  You'd think after all the endless trysts that Mallory has been involved in over the years that Archer would be a little numb to it.  At least he didn't throw up this time.

Things take an unexpected turn when Archer has the hankering for spaghetti and meatballs (his racism never ceases to amaze me).  They all go into the kitchen and start cooking up some, very casual about the dead man in the "zentai" (must be Japanese from "zen" meaning "entire" and "tai" for "the body").  Mallory also shows us that Archer's racism is probably genetic with her dislike of the Irish.  Last Christmas she refused to give the super a bonus and slammed the door in his face.  I liked this because it was such a Christmas Carol moment.  This was reinforced by the super's son hobbling next to him on crutches and saying,

[Son] Will I get the operation now, Da?
[Super] No, Son.  You're gonna die.

Damn.  She is cold-hearted.  She continues to express her prejudice against the Irish when Archer asks her if she has a potato and she remarks that it isn't Christmas (which is what she gave the Super).  The detective who shows up later of Irish-decent receives her instant repulsion.  What exactly did the Irish ever do to her??

Archer and Lana don't buy her story, but she asks them to cut up and dispose of the body.  They both refuse.  It's good that they have some kind of standards, despite that they do some crazy stuff sometime.  Instead, after Mallory sobs (who cares, but I guess they do), they get Krieger to come.  Not only does he seem to have a handle on the problem, he is actually excited about doing it (in a way that Archer suggests is slightly sexual in nature--eww).  The others at ISIS show up after Kreiger tricks them into thinking they will be attending a surprise party.  Uh...how dumb are these people? 

The best is when the cops show up, and everyone jumps into character as her dinner guests, enjoying spaghetti and dressed in Mallory's clothes.  I find it offensive that Lana has to be the maid, and it's the whore-iest maid outfit ever!  We have no idea why Mallory has that; there's no way that it looks as good on Lana as it does on her.  Eww...  Concerning the ISIS crew playing the part as dinner guests, they barely get by as not suspicious.  Carol, however, risks them being discovered with her horrible, over-the-top acting.  You'd think a bitch from a rich family would know how to imitate them a little more naturally.  Before this scene is over, Cyril complains about being dragged into yet another unsavory situation:

[Cyril] I hate you all so much.
[Ray] No one cares, Figgis.  You're only invited to round out the numbers.

I liked Ray with his accent and cigarette holder.  He should keep those while he remains in his wheelchair.  However, I'm about ready for him to be out of it.  Cyril is such a whiney, little bitch.  At least with Ray he's got attitude, but can actually perform like a decent spy.

Krieger successfully divides up the body and prepares it for all the others to transport out of the house before the detective can find out what happened.  However, Lana smartly realizes that it makes sense that Mallory intentionally had everyone come over and called the cops so that she would have a cover for the murder.  We're not entirely sure, but it looks like Mallory killed the prime minister to get revenge for someone who might have been Archer's father!  Huh.  I wonder if this will ever come up again.  The mystery of Archer's father is something I'm pretty interested in.  I wonder if he was an asshole like his son or if Archer is just a product of a fatherless life and a screwed-up mother.

If I could have asked for anything else in this episode, it might have been for that fake dinner party to have a little more screen time.  However, that is not much of a complaint to me.  It was good that in the end Mallory seemed to be a bigger mastermind than any of them gave her credit for.  She may be kind of a whore, but she's a smart whore.

Tanjoubi Omedetou, Archer!

This week's Archer was about the car he got for his birthday.  Well, it wasn't a bounty-hunting story, so I was happy enough.

I was surprised anyone even bothered to celebrate his day.  He's the king of assholes, but maybe he'd be so pissy and whiney about it that they figured it was easier to acknowledge his birth, rather than ignore it.  I almost thought Archer was going to be nice to Woodhouse for a change when he made him a special birthday breakfast.  Unfortunately, Archer went right back to being ungrateful after Woodhouse dropped confetti on top of the meal.  Oops...

So Mallory gets Archer an incredible car for his birthday.  Now wait a minute--isn't ISIS broke right now?  Where did that money come from?  No one brought it up in the episode, so I guess it was plausible that she could afford it.  Mallory warns him not to let it get stolen, but of course, it gets stolen as soon as Archer parks it.  He goes to Lana for help, and Pam and Cyril get involved too.  They plan to get information about his car by going to the Yakuza-run car races that Pam frequents.  Well, it's not that easy.  Not just because Archer thinks he can just go in there guns-a-blazing and get answers, but also because they don't steal cars like Archer's.  Oops again.

They get out alive, thanks to Pam's driving and some luck.  But Mallory shows up and lets Archer know that she was the one who stole his car to teach him a lesson.  This is the same lesson she taught him when Archer was a child and thought he had lost his bike she had given him.  Upon learning the truth, Archer seems to check out mentally and walks away from the group, singing to himself.  Wow.  We can hate Archer all we want, but Mallory does have a pretty big hand in creating that narcissistic, drunk bastard.  I felt bad for him, actually.  Mallory seemed like she beat him when he was younger for losing a bike she stole!  And she never returned it!  Geez, lady...  Good thing Archer is an only child (as far as we know).

Oh, and gotta love George Takei.  That gave that episode a little extra kick.  I generally like anything that has to do with Japanese people or culture.  I especially liked that Pam's racing nickname was "Shiro Kabucha," or the "White Pumpkin."  She thought it meant the "White Shadow."  With stuff like Google Translate at our fingertips, there's no need to be so ignorant of such things.  Come on.  But it was good for a laugh.

I'd enjoy George Takei's character coming back to get Pam one day.  That'd be cool.  Mallory shot at him, but we didn't actually see him die, so it's possible.  This is the 3rd Adam Reed show I've watched, so with him, you never know how the overall storyline will go.  Just going to have to see what happens next week.

Archer and the Ocelot

In S03E6 of Archer, the ISIS crew gets on a train to turn in a Canadian terrorist.  I really hope that they will get enough money to stop being bounty hunters, as they have been since the last episode (which was a good one).  Cyril is still lacking as a field agent and unsurprisingly lets their criminal get away.  I'm not sure what was going on with the whole George thing and all the implications that Archer and Malory are racists (I'm not debating that), but I didn't see it (or I wasn't paying attention enough).  For the episode being on a train, I thought it might be a little more interesting.  It wasn't. 

The only thing that saved the episode for me was that Carol had some private cars attached to the train, and there was an ocelot in one of them.  I vaguely remember this animal, but I can't recall where and why it was part of the story.  I loved that Archer completely ignores the mission and heads to hang out with it, later happily announcing to Lana that the creature remembered him.  I don't care much for animals, but for someone as selfish as Archer to care about something else is entertaining to me.  It reminds me of his relationship with his "son" Seamus (which is adorable).  I loved him walking around the cars with a steak for the little guy.

The Mounties' Mexican stand-off was pretty lame.  As usual, Archer's seemingly wild guess was right; the terrorist backup crew posed as Mounties so they could board the train without being detected.  But in the end Archer just gets them out of the situation using a grenade (the ocelot helps out a bit to distract the two Mountie groups).  And things eventually progress that Archer and the terrorist face off on the top of the moving train.

I liked that this episode showed some of the realities of fighting on top of a train, like dust hitting you in the eye and the extreme wind you would have to endure.  It wasn't much of a fight and somehow the ocelot got up there again (luckily wasn't harmed).  It all ended when Lana pulled the emergency brake or something.

So I would have said this was a pretty boring episode, but when they showed Archer sitting in a Mountie car after being arrested for bringing in an exotic animal, I had my only laughs. The ocelot was in there too, and they were talking to each other.  Archer kept yelling at the poor little guy.  I loved it.  I mean, it is funny when Archer just does whatever the hell he wants and ends up on top somehow, but I also enjoy seeing his softer side because it so rarely comes out.  I could watch a whole episode about him and his ocelot pal. 

So, the episode wasn't a complete waste, but it could have been better.  I really, really hope that they will not be chasing after some other criminal for money in the next episode and have a more spy-like mission.