Home / TV / Archer Season 5, Episode 1 Review: “White Elephant”
Archer Season 5, Episode 1 Review: “White Elephant”
How could this happen? How is it possible that after four seasons (two of which are all-timers, two of which are great) a show could suddenly nuke itself and erase everything but its characters? Do notice that I’m only asking how this is all possible, and not why. The why is pretty clear (and so is the how, but I needed an opening) – Adam Reed got tired of doing a show about spies, and realized he has total creative over said show, so he restarted everything. New setting, new genre, but the same hilarious characters. And thank god he did, because “White Elephant” is an exuberant rebirth for Archer.
When you get down to it, this episode was a glorified table-setter. Everything that happened in “White Elephant” served one purpose: blow it up and clear it out so next week can be something new. It feels weird to even consider this part of season five since the other twelve episodes will clearly be radically different. But this was a necessary episode, and thankfully the table-setting didn’t get in the way of the constant barrage of jokes Archer is known for. With the exception of a misplaced “coming soon in season five…” clip reel, the construction work was never a hindrance. Instead, it was exhilarating to see a show gleefully take a sledgehammer to itself.
archer2 Archer Season 5, Episode 1 Review: White Elephant
Part of the reconstruction in “White Elephant” involved a few unexpected moments and reveals, the main one being the discovery that ISIS was a complete sham. It’s a reveal that was both completely obvious and yet still surprising due to how it’s (successfully) treated as a shoulder shrug. Yes, they had no jurisdiction, but who cares, that was last season! Now they’ll knowingly be working against the law. Equally obvious but less surprising was the death of Brett, which I predicted as soon as I read that someone would die in this episode. It’s a horrible moment made even worse by how little attention or grief is paid to it, but that’s also what makes it so funny. At least he died doing what he loved – being shot.
I’m giving “White Elephant” a high grade, but this is less of a great episode and more of a great setup. I have no doubt what comes next in season five will eclipse this (as evidenced by the clip reel), but what Archer did in this episode was unprecedented, so it should already be given props. It should be a fun season, folks, and I’m looking forward to reviewing the craziness that comes next. Bring on Archer Vice!
Loose Ends:Hi, everyone. I’m Jeremy Sollie, and I’ll be reviewing this season of Archer. Just so you know where I stand on the show, I think Archer is a tremendous comedy, and I rank the seasons thusly: 3, 2, 1, and 4.
“Getting zapped with 50,000 volts is like, it’s like . . .” “It’s like sploosh. And then it’s wave after wave crashing over you, and into you!”
“Oh my god . . . Beaker’s boss, Bunsen freaking Honeydew. That was figuratively killing me.”
“Like 50 times I asked you!” “And like 50 times I lied. So sue me.”
“On second thought I’d very much like to be taken alive. Let me just clear the ole browser history. No no no no…!”
“Oh, I guess, just put it on my crime tab, or whatever.”
Lucky Yates has been added to the opening credits, which means we’ll be seeing a lot of Krieger this season. I’m both excited and horrified.
http://www.geekbinge.com/2014/01/13/archer-season-5-episode-1-review-white-elephant/