*contains spoilers*
It is saying something that a character like Archer can still get good development and backstory after 12 seasons. This episode is top form: the dialogue writing is back to some of its best without relying too heavily on past references, the action scenes are great but are also threaded full of hilarious quips, and the character development for Archer is pretty significant in this episode. We get to learn that two characters previously unknown to the audience are directly responsible for the Archer that we have known all along, in two different ways. The edits between past and present are done especially well in this episode, because they are appropriately used as transitions instead of disturbances like in some previous episodes. The ideas introduced in this episode are not off-putting, nor unlikely, which was definitely surprising to me, since after 12 seasons I figured we knew all there was to know about Archer (and maybe even some stuff we didn't want to know). The writing however is so neat that it's just enough information to convey what Archer was like for a time as an entry level agent, as well as still having a semblance of an A story going on in the present that ties into the past backstory. Neither the A story nor B story are too heavy, but also neither are either too fluffy. You can tell this episode was created with the idea that both are supporting each other intentionally the whole time and there is only half an hour. All of this, of course, plus the fact that I laughed out loud from what I can guess is at least every minute of this episode. If there is any indication that the Archer cast and crew are still able to hit high notes after all these years (and some low notes), it is this episode. The only thing that I think might require some consideration is rewatching past episodes to see if this episode's backstory still works out.
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