At long last, Archer season 11 is set to answer its fans’ burning questions.
For two seasons, the show has genre-hopped, using Archer’s coma-induced dreams as an opportunity to explore noir, treasure island, and space-adventure plotlines. Meanwhile, the events following Archer’s shooting in season 7 have remained a mystery, with fans unsure that he was even alive for an entire season.
Thankfully, this is no longer the case. Archer regained consciousness in the final moments of season 10 and put its animated cast firmly back in their original timeline - albeit three years later, adding a fresh layer of questions to the ever-growing pile. Ahead of series 11’s launch this year, here are ten of the biggest.
Is ISIS really gone for good?
When we first fell in love with Archer, it was a show about a spy agency called ISIS that playfully skewered all the tropes associated with espionage movies.
But after ISIS was blacklisted in Season 5 for treason, the gang lurched from one catastrophic venture to the next. These included a drug-smuggling ring and a private detective firm before the show dived head-first into genre-hopping for seasons eight through ten. After so many changes, a return to the show’s original format - where it was arguably at its best - would be welcomed by many fans, though maybe a less controversial agency name would be advisable.
Has Lana moved on?
“What about Lana?” is one of the first questions that Archer asks when he wakes from his three-year coma at the end of season 10, and it’s notable how Malory quickly dodges the question. Is this because the truth will be too distressing for Archer to hear - that she has moved on?
When we first discover that Archer is in a coma at the start of season 8 - not dead as was previously implied - it’s clear Lana that will not share Malory’s commitment to visiting him. “I’ll try to bring AJ by tomorrow… or maybe Friday”, she says. So there’s every chance that she has found a new boyfriend, maybe even a new husband. We just hope it’s not Cyril. Again.
Will Lana and Archer get back together?
After six seasons of rooting for Lana and Archer to reconcile their relationship, the pair finally got together in the episode ‘Pocket Listing’. Despite the somewhat underhanded way that Lana got pregnant, the birth of AJ was a key moment in Archer’s development, signifying a newfound maturity for the character, which toned down but did not eliminate some of his most extreme - and entertaining - traits.
It was somewhat frustrating when these developments were seemingly discarded in season 7, after a series of petty arguments and with the arrival of beautiful femme fatale Veronica Deane. However, throughout Archer’s coma-dreams, the plot of seasons 8 - 10, Lana remains Archer’s primary love interest. This begs the question - will they reconcile once again in Season 11?
Is Lana in prison?
At the end of season 7, movie star Veronica Deane attempts to frame Lana for the murder of her ex-husband, of which Deane is clearly guilty. The police are bowled over by her fame and beauty, and it looks like little AJ is to be left without a mother, until Deane also shoots Archer, and is subsequently arrested for both killings.
Given Malory’s cagey response when Archer awakens from his coma and asks about Lana, something has likely happened to her that would distress him. Was Deane successful in framing her after all? Will Archer’s testimony clear her name in season 11?
Is Veronica Deane in prison?
This would be the logical assumption given that she is arrested for shooting Archer at the end of season 7. It will be interesting to find out what role, if any, the character will continue to have in the series, and whether Archer will seek reprisals for the three years that he has lost to a coma.
Since she did not appear in Archer’s fevered coma hallucinations, we’re led to wonder whether we’ve seen the last of Veronica Deane.
What about the Figgis agency?
In season 7, Cyril launches a private detective firm called the Figgis agency. Given that the showrunners have indulged in rampant plot and genre-hopping in recent years, it’s doubtful that they’ll want to be married to this concept, but it seems too easy to simply discard it completely.
Since Archer hates to see Cyril experience any good fortune, if the agency has become a success in his absence, it’s likely to irritate him to the extreme.
How will Mallory and Archer’s relationship change?
Archer’s many flaws - his impulsiveness, heavy drinking, and womanizing behavior - are often attributed to Malory’s neglectful approach to parenting, and Archer’s subsequent hopeless efforts to win her affection as a child. Nevertheless, the series is littered with hints that genuine love underpins their relationship, no matter how dysfunctional.
At the end of season 10, it’s revealed that throughout Archer’s three-year coma, Malory has virtually lived in his hospital room, never losing hope that he’ll one day awaken. Having learned of this, it will be hard for Archer to deny that his mother, despite her icy demeanor, does love him after all. Will this alter their dynamic - one of the most entertaining aspects of the show - or Archer’s outlook on life in general?
How will Archer react to Woodhouse’s death?
Woodhouse was Archer’s elderly servant, who raised him in his mother’s absence and waited on him faithfully despite years of abuse and harsh punishments. After the actor who voiced Woodhouse, George Coe, passed away in 2015, another actor stepped in to temporarily play the role. The character then mysteriously vanished, with Archer even distributing missing posters for him.
In the opening moments of season 8 - which is dedicated to the memory of Coe - it is revealed that Woodhouse has passed away, a fact that Archer seems to be dimly aware of in his coma dreams. But how will he react now that he is conscious, considering Woodhouse was the primary paternal figure of his childhood? Is another rampage on the cards?
Will Archer still be a badass?
Being in a hospital bed for three years is liable to take a toll on your muscle tone. The show is not committed to absolute realism - after all, it’s a mystery how Archer stays in peak physical condition despite his self-destructive lifestyle - so it remains to be seen whether writers will gloss over his recovery period, or whether season 11 will center around a much-diminished Sterling Archer.
Is Kreiger a clone?
There are a smattering of hints throughout Archer that Dr. Kreiger, once the Head of ISIS’s Applied Research Department, is a clone of Adolf Hitler. In season 5, he encounters a further three clones of himself (or of Hitler?) and despite developing an initial kinship with them, a fight ensues.
One Kreiger emerges from the struggle victorious, but whether he is the original or the clone is ambiguous, and the Doctor subsequently - and suspiciously - seems to forget his co-worker’s names. It would be consistent with the tone of the show if this mystery was never resolved.
Next: 5 Sitcoms We’re Looking Forward To In 2020 (& 5 We’re Not)
