Hi folks! Welcome the to our weekly recap of Archer on the Multiversity Summer TV Binge 2020. This week’s episode is named “Pipeline Fever” and in my opinion, this is one of the first “classic” Archer episodes, ironically, the plot is very straightforward, but this is a great episode for a new fan because it shows exactly how the main character and Lana are, and the little scenes from the office encapsulate very finely who each character is. Let’s dive right in.
1. A vacation in NOLA
In this episode, Archer and Lana are traveling to New Orleans, as usual, Archer sees it as a tourist trip more than a job trip, to him this is the perfect opportunity to do Burt Reynolds stuff, you, know, catching bad guys, using airboats…
On the other side, we have the more serious Lana, who is reading the briefing on this episode’s bad guy, Joshua Gray, despite already knowing him, you know, being professional. Of course, Archer blows their cover on the airplane, where Gray was also sitting, which makes him cancel his plan to blow the pipeline, so, Archer saves the day without even having to make an effort.
2. Archer’s three fears
As I usually say, our protagonist is an asshole, who cares very little about other people, but there’s always something about him that reveals to us that he is a human, with flaws and strengths. Here, he reveals that he has three big fears, the first one, Alligators, he even knows times where people were attacked by them, he can list places, names, ages and lengths of the gators without any effort.
Then, his second fear is Crocodiles, you know, another animal in the Crocodilia Order, which is ironic in many levels, first of all, why is he not scared of both animals as a whole instead of fearing one and the other? What about caimans and gharials? It also is very funny to me that (I googled it) crocodiles are way more dangerous than alligators! Why are you most scared about the “calmer” animal?
So far, reasonable phobias, so, which is Archer’s third biggest fear? Another beast? Well it’s not, instead, he fears Brain Aneurysms. Shit, that got heavy fast! It’s true what he says, you can have one anytime anywhere, so why are we not constantly frozen by the thought that we could die by the most minute “glitch” in our system, a blood clot could kill us in minutes! It almost makes you understand why he is like that, an asshole, living every day like it is the last.
Also, if you are up to date, you know that [SPOILER] Archer woke from his coma at the end of season ten, so, season eleven will be about him in a world that went on without him for three years! Maybe worse than dying is falling into a coma and waking up knowing nothing about the world, so, in a way, he was right about his third fear! [END OF SPOILER]
3. Meanwhile at the office
Malory decides to take advantage of a “hippie-democratic-socialist” green tax credit, and the office has to change lightbulbs, toilets and other stuff. I don’t know if Malory would have voted for Trump in real life, but she definitely is the definition of a conservative, whining about democrats “wasting money on social programs” but taking advantage of those exact programs; this is a ten-year old joke and it’s still a very poignant satire.
Of course, at the end no one has the commitment to keep the office green and they failed, Krieger lost his weird clones, and what’s worse, Pam discovers that there’s a bathroom for women and apparently she destroyed it because of the low-flow toilets.
4. Lana’s eco-activist past
Have you ever wondered, what does a spy used to do before becoming a spy? Well, in Lana’s case she was an activist, then she was discovered by Malory at gunpoint and Lana proved being very brave, so, she was hired on the spot.
At the end of the episode Gray asks her where she went after that time, a little disappointed about her leaving her ideals behind, and he realizes that no matter what he does, he won’t be able to change minds, just like Lana and the gang at the office, when that commitment is challenged for an easier life. Off, that’s harsh, anyway if you want to be involved in green activism, I believe that the idea from the guys of The Dollop podcast is a good one.
Continued below5. *Burt Reynolds’ laugh*
I’m gonna be honest with you, I didn’t like Burt Reynolds, I don’t know, he seemed to me like a representation of machismo that a) I could never be and b) I would never want to be, but Archer loves him, he pays tribute to (at least) three of Reynolds’ films, Deliverance, White Lighting and Gator.
So, I decided to investigate a little bit more, and I found the most important thing about him, not his sex symbol looks, or his acting feats, but his laugh! What a wonderful laugh he had! Maybe I should give myself the opportunity to see him act, and I will start with The Longest Yard, Adam Sandler’s remake, of course.
Joke of the week:
Pam: What is it?
Krieger: Shattered dreams
Cheryl: Smells like rotten meat
Krieger: Also yes
And that’s it for this episode, as always, I’m amazed at the way a premise so simple like “guarding a pipeline” can get us so much critique, this time about our unwillingness to take care of the planet. What did you think of this episode? Leave your comments below and join us next week for our take on episode 205, “The Double Deuce”.
Also! They announced Archer’s panel at this year’s Comic-Con@Home, on Friday, July 24th 5 PM PT, maybe they will give us the new date for season eleven!
