by Jason Mack, Contributing Writer
The loss of actress Jessica Walter and her character Malory Archer loom large over Season 13 of FXX animated spy comedy, Archer. While Walter is irreplaceable, especially as a comedic juggernaut, the showrunners do an excellent job incorporating her absence into the story.
Season 12 of Archer perfectly handles the unexpected loss of Walter with an epilogue explaining the departure of Malory. With the spy comedy purchased by a rival and everyone moving out of the office, Sterling Archer finds a note from her. It reads, “My dearest Sterling, do you remember what I told you on your very first day of training? You probably don’t, but it was ‘Always know where the exits are.’ And with all the chaos and confusion of late, I thought it would be wise to make my own exit, in my own time, on my own terms, and in a way I can never be found by my enemies or all my lovesick paramours, who are literally countless. And so I’ve decided that it’s time to pass the torch. Try not to burn yourselves with it. And I know my decision may seem abrupt, but we don’t always get to choose the perfect moment. Take care of yourselves, and especially you, my Sterling, because from wherever I am, I’ll be watching over you.”
Even better than the note is the ending shot as it shows Malory observing the sunset from a beach with husband Ron Cadillac. His character was voiced by Walter’s real-life husband, Ron Leibman, who died in 2019. It is a heartwarming and poetic tribute to a comedy legend.
Walter had an illustrious career, and her most notable roles were as a mother. I only today discovered this includes voicing Fran Sinclair on Dinosaurs. Her two most iconic roles were on Archer and as Lucille Bluth on Arrested Development, and these roles will forever be intertwined.
Malory was clearly heavily inspired by Lucile, as both characters are scheming, manipulative, promiscuous, offensive, overbearing, and alcohol-abusing mothers who are simultaneously neglectful and willing to do anything for their children. As the head of a spy agency, for Malory, this sometimes meant literally being willing to kill for her child. But to be fair, Lucille did make one of her children’s algebra teachers disappear at one point, so maybe they even have that in common.
The connection to Arrested Development is especially fitting since Archer exists in a permanent state of arrested development caused largely by the unique parenting from Malory. Seeing the dysfunction he grew up in informs the awful behavior of his character and makes his terrible actions easier to laugh at. That, and the fact it is a cartoon, tends to help.
With the agency acquired by the International Intelligence Agency, Archer and the rest of the crew have lost their autonomy and renegade ways, and instead they are part of a corporate machine. This adds a unique identity crisis, which compounds the one Archer is already facing, as he is out from under his mother’s thumb and watchful eye for the first time in his life. Everyone despising their new boss Fabian doesn’t help matters.
The power vacuum created by Malory’s absence also adds intrigue. Everyone has a case to make for becoming the new leader. Archer is even at odds between stepping up and protecting his mother’s legacy or stepping aside and continuing his debaucherous ways. He initially opts for the latter and leans even heavier into indulging his eccentricities, but an unwillingness to take orders from others often transitions him into a leader by default.
Outside of trying to break free from a frustrating new boss and the power struggle over who will lead the team, the story lines are fairly thin. Lana Kane (Aisha Tyler) is stressing over the custody battle for her daughter, and Pam Poovey (Amber Nash) has a romantic interest. There isn’t much else, but there doesn’t need to be. They keep it to a tight eight episodes, and it works great.
Archer touches on the larger themes, while mostly maintaining the witty, irreverent humor on which it made its name. It remains one of the most rewatchable comedies because of the rapid pace of both subtle and extravagant jokes, and the steady stream of callbacks.
Archer shows moments of character growth while mostly remaining the same carefree, wisecracking, alcoholic, womanizing spy he’s always been. He showcases this perfectly when he tells Pam, “From the bottom of my heart, that does sound dumb, but I’m happy for you.” Cyril Figgis (Chris Parnell) remains the sad sack who exists mostly for Archer to mock, Krieger (Lucky Yates) remains the hedonistic mad scientist who is always there for the team in his weird ways, and Cheryl Tunt (Judy Greer) continues to steal the show as the wildcard billionaire heiress who always finds a way to unleash the unexpected on everyone in the best ways.
It is wildly improbable these crazy characters could come together to be successful spies, but it certainly makes for great TV. The humor is as good as the show has seen in years, and the decision to have a tight, focused eight-episode season paid off.
Score: 8/10
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