"Trendy" Wen Dee Reviews Archer Season 14, Episode 7 "Mission Out of Control Room"

Warning: Spoilers are kept to a minimum. I don't go into great detail, that way you can have that joy all to yourself. But yeah. This is a review. So, you've been warned.

FX's Archer is one of my favorite TV series in late night comedy history. It's a fun adult spy story that doesn't take itself too seriously. A trait I can both respect and appreciate.

The story: Archer is a spy. No. Scratch that. He's "the world's greatest spy," according to himself. With his smart mouthed crew by his side, he tackles missions in his signature turtleneck--the "tactalneck." And thwarts the baddies, as long as it doesn't get in the way of his personal time. He's smooth, conceited, and a real bad egg to his pals. But they follow him to the ends of the earth, just to make sure he doesn't blow it up.

Episode 7: Lana, now with a new state of the art control room, tries to guide three separate teams at the same time. Can she keep her teams (and her sanity) together?

Moving forward. This review comes in (3) winks and (3) blinks. Winks mean that the series deserves some extra love for that bit, while blinks mean, "What did I just watch?"

The (3) Winks

1. Lana's new command center. Lana's need to micromanage her crew causes her to lose sight over her long-term goal: mission success. This bit is true to Lana's habits. She longs for everything to go well, thinking they will as long as she's in everyone's ear lecturing them. (FYI. This is a running joke from Season 6, Episode 5 "Vision Quest.")
2. Zara and Krieger. To this new team up, Lana says, "Don't love that new friendship!" But I have to disagree with her. It's the best! These two, while on the mission, understand each other and watch each other's backs. Zara even asks Krieger if they should hang out more. And Krieger being Krieger, tells her that's good "only if you don't have relatives or next of kin who'd ask questions."
3. Pam and Ray. When Pam is made Team Leader of their two-person team, Ray feels offended by the slight. He's been an agent longer than Pam, and as he puts it, "has seniority." However, we now learn why Ray has been put on the sidelines and not put in lead positions. Pam spills the beans that everyone is still upset that Ray went behind their backs and worked for Fabian last season (even though it was a double cross and he was really working for the CIA). But the two patch things up and become better friends in the end as Co-Team Leaders.

The (3) Blinks

1. Cheryl/Carol's party sub. This is a bit that comes out of nowhere. Yes, Cheryl/Carol has been into some questionable things. But let's be real. She's not stupid. She's just eccentric. So, having her put an entire party sub under her desk for a week, without refrigeration, and giving it to the office workers sounds way off. Even for her. If she's trying to be mean, that's terrible on her part, but still within her character's motivation. But a lapse in questionable food handling? Sorry, I'm not buying it.
2. Krieger and the bats. Why? Oh, why did the animator and writers tease us with this? Zara is on screen, crying out that it's the best action sequence ever. And guess what? We miss it! I guess for laughs. Not sure. Just feeling the sucker punch. Someone finally pays Krieger attention, and notices his efforts, and we don't get to see how it plays out. That's just mean.
3. Cheryl/Carol's battle royale. Yes, she brings the party sub to keep everyone full of energy for an office battle to the death. However, we never see this come to fruition (or even how she could pull this off), as the party sub gives the workers food poisoning. So yeah. Another tease.

Overall rating: 4.0 out of 5.0.

In all honesty, this episode is multi levels of fun. I like the three-team idea. Everyone plays off each other really well. But since this is a one-off episode, I wonder what's coming for the big series finale.

And yes, about that series finale. If you have cable, you can watch the episode on FX. But if you have Hulu or Amazon Prime (like me), then you do have to wait. Hulu should have the episode today, Thursday, October 12, 2023. But if you watch this series on Amazon Prime (and pay for the season), the episode may not come out until Friday, October 13, 2023.

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Disclaimer: This is meant to be satire. My opinions are my own as a viewer. And no, I am not affiliated with any of these shows or their production companies. ?2023 Wen Dee.