Hi folks! Welcome the to our weekly recap of Archer on the Multiversity Summer TV Binge 2019. This week’s episode is named “Skytanic” and it’s a masterclass on how to make dialogue for animated television, with a tense scene and the totally unprofessional reactions from the characters, let’s dive right in.
1. Helium
We begin this episode with a rare thing in this show, the cold open is an ad for the ship that establishes the plot, someone made a bomb threat to a blimp rigid airship and ISIS has to discover who is behind said treat.
Of course, every character have the expected reaction, Archer doesn’t want to go because of certain thing called the Hidenburg, even with the fact that they use helium instead of hydrogen, which allegedly is not flammable; Lana will go only if she doesn’t have to share a room with her ex; and Mallory acts like she is a micromanager only to enjoy a ride on the Excelsior.
2. All aboard! Literally
While the field agents are on the mission, of course it is expected that the bureaucrats of ISIS spend their day in the office, and happily for us they don’t. Cyril disguises as a waiter while Pam and Cheryl end up being stowaways.
We talked about this just last week, while the office shenanigans are fun, the characters are way funnier when they are where they shouldn’t be, in the field. So, while Lana and Archer should be busy saving the thay, instead they have to deal with the problems caused by Pam, Cheryl and Cyril; in this case, the insecure boyfriend with whom Lana have to clear things.
3. Sex and consent
Sex is heavily featured in this episode, Cyril and Cheryl have sex twice and Lana is about to have sex with the millionaire Sikh that Archer suspects, and there’s a theme that is explored here, or at least, the lack of it.
First, Cheryl forces Cyril to have sex with him or otherwise she will tell Lana about their affair, effectively raping him, even after they hump a second time with consent. Then, Archer practically uses Lana as a sex slave after he loses a game of baccarat.
Here, consent is played for laughs, which, especially in this year might feel a little dated, I mean, It’s a decade old show, but in the other hand, that´s how satire works, and Archer being a parody of the spy-genre, is poignant about the objectification of bodies, not only for women but even for men.
4. The bomb
Later in the episode, Malory reveals that she made the bomb treat, and that there’s not danger, only to be revealed that there is in fact a bomb. While Archer suspects of a Sikh millionaire, because “if he’s not a Muslim he just gets a pass” and that’s profiling, apparently; Lana suspects of a German guy with a scar and a patch, because that’s how stereotypes work.
The plot twist is that the real villain is the captain of the ship, which made the bomb as retaliation for his worthless investment on the enterprise, after all, who would spend money on a blimp if they can fly in an airplane?
5. Mancy
The last part of this episode is where the funniest things happen, after the captain bails, Archer and Lana call the headquarters, where Gillette is ready to help them solve their crisis, that scene is pure comedy through the dialogue, first with Archer failing to follow the standards of communication while on radio, and then, after the bomb speeds it countdown, Cyril and Lana “fix” their problems while pushing the bomb off the aircraft, hooray for metaphors!
The production team shows us what a cast with great chemistry can do with an hilarious script and fast-paced, quippy answers, there’s even one moment where Lana laughs, but you can tell that it really is Aisha Tyler laughing to the script.
Joke of the week: Malory: “But Lana, think of the innocent lives that you’ll be saving… and also the fact that this is a direct order”
And that’s it for this episode, this show was created with a lot of in-universe depth since episode one, but if you are thinking when they got really comfortable whit it’s comedy style, this was the one, and it shows. Overall, it was an excellent addition to the season. What did you think of this episode? Leave your comments below and join us next week for our take on episode 108, “The Rock”.
And remember! Season 10, Archer: 1999 is airing right now on FXX, the seventh one is airing today! Go watch it!
