Archer 7x10 'Deadly Velvet Part II': Not Quite Sunset Boulevard

Archer 7x10 leaves all options on the table with a Game of Thrones-level shocker that solidifies the greatness of this comedy.

Reviewed while listening a remix of Submotion Orchestra.

… Huh.

What else is there to say? This is one of the most absurd, endlessly witty televisions shows there is, parodying a dark and morbid subject matter (espionage and killing) to the point that the loss of life in value is measured merely by the gag it produces. The past few seasons, arching plot (PUN!) and character development have seeped their way into the absurd, no true stakes comedy, leaving us with actual stakes and the potential to surprise. But it was still Archer. The titular spy arrested in development (less so these past few seasons) was still flying around killing bad guys while making long-winded voicemail pranks and shouting ‘WOOOOO!’ How high could the stakes be?

That’s why there’s so much to unravel in the last moments of ‘Deadly Velvet Part II’ that the only response that seems to do justice to the absurd comedy providing an actual emotionally shocking twist is… huh.

The fact is, Archer is certainly in its winter years. We’re not even sure we’re getting an 8th season. At all. Seems promising, but ratings have certainly been down, and networks are breeding grounds for short-term attention spans. So, conversely, the writers can really do whatever they want. They can take risks. They can stretch the limits. They can kill Codename Duchess. Sterling. Archer. Not his cyborg counterpart, who also by the way to a bullet to the head after short circuiting. But the man himself, who has driven us through all these years. If the show is cancelled, it is a strangely fitting end for a show that’s nothing but parodies and making obscure but sometimes obvious references with another parody, almost a shot for shot redo, of Sunset Boulevard. Oh, and Archer faking out a proposal to Lana (albeit unwittingly since he’s like… dead). It’s also a fitting end because, while certain episodes these recent years have sacrificed a few of the laughs for said plot and character development, ‘Deadly Velvet’ is a very funny episode. Lines will be extrapolated and thrown into every day conversations. At least by me. And all the mainstays got a chance in the limelight. Even Cyborg Archer got in on making Cyril’s life miserable for one fleeting moment. If this is it for Archer, and Duchess, then so be it. I said it before in the review of the first episode, when we opened with the shot we now bookend. Archer may very well need to end with Archer’s death. Maybe this is the way to put all the absurdity into context.

And if this isn’t the end? Well, it’s absurd. It’s a flat out, no stopgap spy comedy that kills dozens of people just for a few lines of jokes. There’s no risk here of a Glenn or Jon Snow backlash if Archer miraculously returns to life, whereas in a drama he must certainly would and should remain dead. It can tilt either way here, whichever FX decides on the show. So it works. It well and truly works. We got all the best of what made Archer great over the years. Archer and Lana fighting, Archer making Lana’s life miserable (by letting her be suspected of murder and, as she points out, letting her as a black woman get arrested and put in an LAPD prowler with a white cop. Shrewd statements, Archer writers. Shrewd). Archer pranking Cyril, via cyborg. Witty one liners following witty one-liners. KRIEGERBOTS!!! And the natural zeitgeist references. ‘Deadly Velvet’ can be a fitting end, or it can be a waypoint. If the show does return, how does everyone react to looking at Archer after believing him dead? Will they act differently to his crass and selfish attitude?

Will Archer find out who his father is? Because Malory decides it was time to tell the truth after fearing he was dead? So many questions. So many layers. ‘It’s like peeling an onion,’ Lana once said in the season four episode ‘Live and Let Dine.’ It’s a bold move, but it’s already panned out. Now we get to wait and see if there’s more to come.

‘Deadly Velvet Part II’ was an excellent jolt for the show, whether to bring into future ‘final’ seasons or whether to cap off a final season in itself. Considering how the very first scene was Archer being jolted by a ‘golf-kart’ battery, it comes full circle. Good homage.

As the dusk settles (see what I did there?), Archer has left us a very memorable, and truly shocking, moment. One completely out of line yet perfectly placed with the established order of the show. Things shaken, but not yet stirred. So many references could be used for this. And no matter what, whether this is the end or if we get another season, Archer’s legacy will be built by it adept handling of references, it’s great awareness for its genre and the genres it was parodying, and it’s strange ability to remaining comically stagnate while also being fresh and experimental.

Archer the show is all of these things. Archer the man… well. Let’s see.

Grade: A

After the Review (since everyone has post-show shows now)

-Lana on being arrested: 'From where I’m sitting, which by the way is in a black woman’s skin in the back of a prowler with no door handles driven by a white cop, it sounds like the LAPD is going to frame me for murder!’ So Archer is also tapping into the zeitgeist of police violence. Hilariously.

-Krieger is great at nicknaming his bizarre creations. Even if they're unoriginal. Like Copley.

-Pam's farm tip of the week: ‘You never rent a mule. You lease that surly bastard.’

-Cyborg Archer and human Archer acted exactly as we would expect of them. Archer's best friend is indeed himself.

#TV #Review #Archer