[7.4/10] A nice episode. I like how it started with three different stories and then came together in one roaring climax.
The best of the three is Archer having to improvise his way into a landing with Lucy. I don’t know what it is about every character that H. Jon Benjamin inhabits to where he has hilarious conversations with inanimate objects, but I like that both Archer and Bob’s Burgers regularly go to that well. His chat with his plane, speculation that he’s immortal, and usual drunken buffoonery is worth the price of admission.
I also really like Pam as the capable one, dealing with Lana and Cyril as the pair of inexperienced and/or useless sandbags in the middle of a dangerous jungle, with Parrot Kreiger there to crack wise about everything. It’s a good dynamic that let’s Pam be both funny and badass.
And as weird as it is to say, Mallory trying to turn Cheryl out is its own kind of funny. Her conversation about percentage splits, and Ray lamenting the loss of his chocolates is good for a laugh. The whole thing has a good ol’ fashioned “Mallory and Cheryl have a snide back and forth back at the office” vibe from the earlier days of the show.
All of the groups coming together when Pam and her wards are surrounded by giant (questionably shark-like) lizards, with Archer and Ray driving in to help, is a good look too. The show’s witty and profane repartee is still great, and the groupings all work.
Plus, it’s worth noting once again how good the art style and animation is here. Archer’s landing in the middle of the Island’s main drag is a damn good blockbuster set piece, with the chips being taken out of all the nearby building and slow disintegration of “Lucy” standing out. The same goes for the fight with the horde of lizards, between the firefight and the spear work and last minute car rescue. This show isn’t just a crude paper doll aesthetic anymore, and it shows.
Overall, a quite good episode that feels like a heightened version of the show’s usual rhythms, but in a good way.
Shout by Luigi RavagliaVIP 9BlockedParent2018-05-03T18:51:23Z
I really can't get into this and the noir season. I hope it's not the case, but it looks like Adam Reed is trying to hide the fact that he has run out of ideas for the show by putting the characters in different, outrageous settings. But it isn't working for me. It just isn't funny.