Production Note: Friend of the program Casey Willis will be joining us at 1PM ET for one last Season 4 recap discussion. Please direct all your Lana registry questions @Casey.
This is normally the part of the recap where I pontificate on something that stood out to me in the episode. I’m pretty sure you guys just skip over that to get straight to pointing out the pop culture references I missed, so instead today I’d like to cover the many, many thanks I owe to making our Archer coverage the best on the internet.
I regularly make note of how set up to fail I am with these recaps due to the obscure nature of a lot that goes on, but set up to fail couldn’t be further from the truth. Floyd County could only provide us with more access if they let me sit in for voice recordings (S5?). All the thanks in the world to Matt, Adam, Casey, Neal, Leigh, and the rest of the gang for thinking we’re cool enough to deserve it.
The FX Media Relations team is the exception that proves the media relation’s rule. They help us out in so many unseen ways and are always delightful in doing so.
And finally, the biggest ticklefest of a thank you to Chet Manley for gracing us with his GIF wizardry on a weekly basis and allowing us to collectively re-live the best moments of the show in the digestible format the internet has to offer. FX has provided an Archer S3 DVD package and since we regularly take Chet for granted it will be going his way even though it’s just a small token of our appreciation.
Alright, now for the notes before we get to some killer season finale GIFs.
- Our friend Amber Nash live-tweeted the east coast finale last night and it was predictably splendid. Her commentary on the mustache swap cannot be topped.
- Like I mentioned last week, I suck and don’t know enough Sealab 2021 to properly comment on all the winks and nods and references. I think Chet’s rundown on the next page makes up for my inadequacies though.
- Am I the only one can’t hear “DSV” without thinking seaQuest? /pours some out for Jonathan Brandis
- “Gay for doomsday” is now the only way I refer to survivalists.
- Earl Butz making a late play for most obscure reference of the season. Please do yourself a favor and read this entire “Scandal and resignation” section. “What do you mean ‘too far’?” — Earl Butz, probably.
- Call it a hunch but I don’t think it will be worth trying out the “bitchy and period-y” PMS description IRL no matter how much I want to.
- Sojourner Kane vs. Randy Magnum: Who ya got?
- Was fairly bummed to realize that the Harry’s Bar reference was to the Venice establishment as opposed to the Roman one since I’ve grabbed a beer at the one in Rome before. /cool story bro
- Archer reflecting on his psychology when it comes to traps was this week’s switchblade flashback.
- Goz Cola is just a good Harry Goz tribute.
- Off brand vending machines! Spleen slippage! Old gypsy woman! EVERYTHING about the Jon Hamm/Captain Murphy death scene.
- Weakest swimmer. That is all.
- Ray loses the use of his legs. Again. I’m pretty sure Krieger is going to build him on of those Pacific Rim robot suits in S5.
- Pop Culture Reference Count: Sealab 2021, Oprah, seaQuest DSV?, Spam, Earl Butz, Harry’s Bar, Jail-breaking your phone, The Abyss.
Oh yeah, Lana is finally pregnant. I really thought we might be in store for a bad-Moroccan-decision-making-with-Sterling flashback. It all played out so sweetly though. As I have been most of the season by the Archer-Lana relationship, I found myself equal parts touched and conflicted by the whole thing. Very interested to see what S5 has in store there.
On a lighter note…
Matt did not oversell that moment, huh? Chet Manley GIFs on the next pages as to not crash too many browsers. Ask Casey what happened to Barry and Katya.
They don’t even require much effort any more.
Chet Manley has all your Sealab 2021 references covered.
This is just a great line, on the show and in real life.
This was entirely too touching.
And finally, I leave you on this note until next year…
I boop you all so hard. Thanks for all the participation, insight, and general enthusiasm.
