9x08 A Discovery

[7.7/10] It’s nice to have the whole gang (plus Noah!) playing off of one another for an episode. You could feel the show stretching for time before the big confrontation with Cyril, but the banter was good enough that I didn’t really mind. Bits like Archer ragging on poor petroglyph-reading Noah for no good reason, or the group going crazy for The Hobbit, or Cheryl’s general oblivious/weird politeness made things funny enough even when we were in “wander through an Indiana Jones-style temple for a while” mode. There’s a well-established group dynamic for this group that lets the banter carry the day.

This episode also continued the show’s great design work. Even before we get to the intriguing space-bound tease at the end, the design of the temple, the movement of Fuchs’s robo-suit, and the cliff-side lava were all striking images. And the show did a solid amount of different perspective shots that got fairly ambitious, which I appreciate as well.

I also like the big reveal that the idol is made of uranium, and the Third Reich wants it for destructive purposes, not just to turn it into funds. It’s a nice swerve, and I especially like how the show motivates Archer here. In a season where everyone wants the idol for selfish, or at least self-interested purposes, Archer intervenes not just to stop Cyril and prevent the Nazis from getting their hands on nuclear fuel, but to save Pam. Even if it’s all in his head, and even if it ends with him making reference to trying to sleep with Lana, it’s a nice bit heroism and genuine care from Archer. I’ll admit, I assumed the gang would be at one another’s throats once they found the idol, so Archer destroying it for the good of the world and to save his friend was a very pleasant swerve.

Otherwise, this one had a nice balance of the epic and the amusing. Cyril’s attack was well done, and bits like Archer threatening to play “dem bones” at him had me cracking up. Mallory’s lines about their being a bar in the Volcano, and Noah’s continual revelations about the meaning of the petroglyphs were also good laughs.

Overall, this was a fun season of the show, which felt overstretched at times, but transported our heroes to a new setting with aplomb, found the laughs amid the new backdrop and told a nice little tale in the process. On to space!