joel wosk cries a river…
The ongoing adventures of superspy/ladies man/mommy’s boy Sterling Archer continue in this week’s episode of Archer. The episode begins with a briefing in Malory Archer’s office during which we learn that a mission, undertaken by rival spy agency ODIN, has gone terribly wrong. During the mission, the team was double crossed and eliminated. To make things even worse, a case filled with ten million dollars in bearer bonds and enough uranium to create a dirty bomb have gone missing. Now, to make things personal, Malory believes that former ISIS agent and now current employee of ODIN, Lucas Troy, to be the one responsible. Lucas Troy also happens to be Sterling “the perpetual sociopath” Archer’s best and only friend.
This week’s guest voice talent is Timothy Olyphant (Justified), assuming the role of rouge agent, Lucas Troy. We learn that Lucas Troy had previously run afoul of Malory Archer by completing ISIS agent training only to immediately take a job at ODIN. Archer cannot believe what he is hearing and is insulted that his mother would even think that Lucas could be the one responsible. Malory then tells Archer that Lucas is dead, after crashing his getaway plane. Archer still does not believe what he’s hearing. He comes up with a weak story about having to chase down his pet lemur, Reggie, who has apparently escaped via a terrace door left open by Archer’s long suffering butler, Woodhouse. This is a lie, of course, and he immediately drives up to Vermont to meet up with (the very much alive) Lucas Troy.
And here’s when things get a little complicated and very uncomfortable for Archer. After their reunion, Lucas takes Archer back to a dilapidated house in the woods and begins to reveal some long pent-up feelings that he has towards Archer. He confesses to betraying his team and stealing both the uranium and the money in addition to faking his own death. He also confesses his desire to use this new freedom and monetary gain to finance he and Archer’s new life together. He wants to turn the dilapidated house into a bed and breakfast, and he wants Archer have very intimate part in all of it. It’s at this point that Archer’s head begins to spin, due in part to shock, but more so because Lucas Troy has drugged Archer’s drink.
Meanwhile, after tracking Archer’s whereabouts from his cell phone signal, ISIS employees Lana and Cyril follow Archer up to Vermont to rescue him from the latest idiotic situation he’s gotten himself into. The climax of the episode finds Lucas Troy hunting Lana and Cyril in the frozen wilderness. Archer regains consciousness just in time to see Lucas get caught in a trap, which leaves him crushed under a tree trunk. In his last moments, Lucas reveals a secret to Archer involving a wild night in the Dominican Republic and a bottle of suntan oil used for purposes that didn’t involve the beach. This all makes for a very awkward drive home later.
The season’s second episode was a return to form after last week’s Bob’s Burgers crossover/amnesia episode. We also, get to see Dr. Krieger’s new Rush themed van, which is a tribute to the Canadian power trio’s 1975 album Fly By Night. This is becoming one of my favorite recurring jokes throughout the series as every Rush van that Krieger has gets destroyed, forcing him to buy yet another. This was a very funny episode that successfully mixes offbeat references with completely base humor. I believe that this is element of the show that has attracted such a dedicated following. I look forward to seeing what kind of trouble Archer gets into next week.
Check out Archer on FX, Thursdays at 10PM.
