‘Archer’ Episodes That’ll Help You Deal With Your Co-Workers


Sure, they might be testy, deranged, and even dangerously incompetent, but you can’t have an episode of Archer without the ragtag group of coworkers that keep things going day-in and day-out. From their spy days as employees of ISIS to the narcotics smuggling days of Archer Vice and all the way through the Figgis Detective Agency, Sterling Archer’s (H. Jon Benjamin) co-workers are what make things tick. In the spirit of office camaraderie, here’s a look at five episodes of Archer that’ll show you the best way to handle your co-workers.

The Rock

The episode that really gave us a window into the lives of Archer’s co-workers. Specifically, the massive amount of grievances that they all have and the way ISIS was being managed from the top down. They’re so upset about it, in fact, they actually manage to organize a strike that not only proves their importance to the company, but it actually forces Malory’s (Jessica Walter) hand into providing them with better wages… with one condition, of course.

While Archer didn’t really have a direct hand in dealing with this situation, it proved how important they were to his literal survival when out in the field, and was willing to concede his bonus to get them a cost-of-living increase (and, also, to not die). Point being, even while temporarily blind, Archer finally saw that he was part of a team.

It’s that kind of attitude you need to keep in mind in dealing with those you work with. Whatever your work environment, you’re all in it together, so there’s no sense in trying to fight it.

Un Chien Tangerine

It’s been clear for a while now that Archer’s relationship with most of his co-workers is already pretty testy. But when Archer and Lana have to suddenly contend with extracting a field agent, who also happens to be an enormous St. Bernard, the tension between the two really starts to escalate. Back at the office, everyone is either too distracted or too busy outright ignoring their calls for help, so Archer just tries to make the best of it. Of course, it helps that he’s clearly a dog person.

No one really likes getting any kind of special assignment from work, and while some people will just revel in their misery about it (looking at you, Lana), there’s no sense in making a bad situation even worse with your attitude. And Archer knows that better than anybody.

A Going Concern

You can really tell a lot about somebody when there’s a crisis afoot, and as rumors of Malory Archer’s plan to sell ISIS to their rival company start to spread, so does the panic. So, Archer enacts a brilliant plan to ask everyone else what their plan is, which turns out to be a pretty effective technique as far as crowdsourcing solutions at the last minute goes. Sure, the plan they came up with did involve some forced brainwashing, but that’s to be expected, considering that Dr. Krieger (Lucky Yates) was involved.

Whenever you and your 9-to-5 cohorts are thrown a major curve ball like this, the best thing is to rally the troops and come up with a plan — crowdsourced or otherwise. No matter what you think of each other most of the time, you’ll be amazed at how quickly everyone comes together when the prospect of their daily routine is threatened by change.

Live and Let Dine

Okay, so you’re probably not going to find yourself in a situation where you, and everyone you work with, have to go undercover as a restaurant staff, and there’s even less chance that all this will be a part of some kind of reality TV show. That being said, you have to commend the way Archer manages to handle himself here. Once he’s put in a chef’s whites and given the title of Sous Chef, he really does seem to know how to run a kitchen and mug for the camera.

No matter how much your circumstances might change, you can’t let it distract you from the simple task of getting the job done. Though hopefully the closest you’ll come to this scenario will be some kind of team-building exercise out in the woods somewhere.

El Secuersto

When a group of men in ski masks attempt to kidnap Cheryl (Judy Greer) for her family fortune, she manages to mislead them into abducting Pam (Amber Nash) instead. After a lot of bluffs and posturing on both sides, particularly from Malory (surprise), it becomes evident that she doesn’t seem to have any concern at all for Pam’s well-being. Of course, Pam ends up pulling through, and while she’s beaten and bloodied (not to mention missing a few teeth), the only thing that really seems to be hurt are her feelings when she realizes that none of her office-mates had any real intention of rescuing here.

So, the big takeaway here is to always make sure you’re looking out for one another. I mean, if you don’t, who will, right? Not to mention that you never quite know what your co-workers are really capable of, so it’s best just to have their back now instead of regretting it later.

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