My blog post about Archer might be a little crazy this week. Yet a crazily structured, haphazardly written, and poorly pontificated post (3 in a row! Yay alliteration!) may be the best way to represent a show as hectic as Archer. So without any more explanation I want to jump right into anything that crosses my mind about Archer that I want to write about! EMBRACE THE CHAOS!

An Ode to a fallen Hero

Anytime a show goes through a drastic reboot, change is inevitable. And in a show as violence-oriented as Archer, sometimes that means characters die (a few examples: Sterling’s best friend Lucas Troy, Sterling’s potential father Nikolai Jakoff, Bilbo, or any of the ‘loose cannon’ agents Sterling accidentally killed). So it was safe to say that fans of the show could have predicted the dramatic change in direction of the fifth season would be attached to death in some shape or form. The surprise (at least for myself personally) was what character the writers of the show decided to kill off. Brett Bunsen was never a lead character but he always had a presence in the show during all of the previous four seasons, mostly with his amazing ability of getting shot repeatedly. I mean seriously, check this guy out in action, he gets shot SEVEN times over the course of the first 4 seasons. Averaging about two gunshot wounds per season is actually pretty amazing, and I’m hard pressed to think of any other character in any other show with such a propensity for being hit with gunfire:

I know 5 minutes is pretty intimidating runtime for a youtube clip but you should make an effort to watch it. It had me cracking up just from the sheer ridiculousness of how this guy kept finding himself on the receiving end of hot lead. Poor Brett, RIP. “He died doing what he loved,” has probably never been used more hilariously than in reference to Brett the bullet sponge. Bullet number eight was just too much for the office’s favorite target.

Then again, maybe I shouldn’t have been too surprised a character nicknamed ‘Mr. Bloodmobile” died. You be the judge.

Why doesn’t Lana carry any ammunition?

This is a rather broad topic but I think it might boil down to two simple choices. Lana Kane is the strong female agent of ISIS. She’s everything Malory Archer used to be back in her heyday: sexy, dangerous, and capable of tackling any mission. Well – as long as that mission doesn’t involve much reloading. It’s referenced several times throughout the show’s existence that Lana only carries one extra clip of ammo each for her signature twin Tec-9 firearms with her at all times.

So what gives? Why would one of the best secret agents in the world bank on only needing around 80 bullets (rounds which she loves firing off in full auto bursts – sometimes just to prove a point) to complete her missions? If you ask me, its a subtle way of showing Lana’s damaged self-esteem. There’s no two ways about it, Lana is an emotionally damaged character. Its what drives her to be the best, and what can make her seem vulnerable and more complex as a main character. This insecurity defines her personality, and is represented by her inability to carry heavy personal loads, even in the physical manifestation of bullets. That or I’m looking too far into it and the real reason she carries practically no ammunition is because Lana’s super sexy spy sweaters (4 this time! Holy alliteration batman!) are too skimpy and tight to carrying tactical equipment.

Where will the Archer Universe take Sterling next? 

Over its run, Archer has taken its lead character to some pretty amazing and exotic environments. The show’s characters have explored New York, and gone into space and underwater, as well as journeyed to the continents of Russia, South America, Africa, and Texas (disclaimer: I am aware two of those locations are not continents). This begs the question, where to next? You could probably place safe money on an episode in Australia – possibly in conjunction with tech support master Bilbo being reincarnated cyberneticly by Krieger (the Lord of the Rings jokes almost write themselves). Japan and the vast majority of Asia seem to offer lots of exciting possibilities as well due to Pam’s connections to the Yakuza. Wherever Malory sends her son, the one guarantee we have from the show is that Archer has already booked a one way ticket to fatherhood! It will be interesting to see what kind of parent Sterling Archer will be. Hopefully he hasn’t (Ah only 3 this time) been taking any lessons from his own mother.

Well ladies and gentlemen I think that will about do it for this blog post. It’s been a blast, but I really don’t think I have much to write about until the next season of Archer starts! (should be sometime in January!) So until then readers, hope you all have a kickass last month of the year, and remember to stay frosty.

-Adam