We just passed the decade mark for FX’s hilarious animated series Archer. The show has been a consistently funny network staple for a litany of reasons. The animation is beautiful, the writing is witty, the voice acting is outstanding, and Archer manages to reinvent itself every few seasons.
The gang has kind of done it all during the show’s long run. They’ve had adventures in space, on a blimp, and on a submarine. They battled pirates, drug dealers, and cyborgs. But what did fans like the most? The users at IMDb have spoken and these are the 10 episodes to receive the best ratings.
White Elephant (8.6)
Get ready to see 8.6 as a score because several episodes are tied with it. To sort those, we ranked them based total reviews. “White Elephant” was the Season 5 premiere and it marked the start of a huge change for the show. It began with the team headquarters getting raided by the FBI.
The issue was that the United States government never sanctioned their missions. Mallory got them all off the hook on the condition that they stop working as spies. However, they still had a ton of cocaine and got the idea to start a drug cartel. That set “Archer Vice” in motion.
Lo Scandalo (8.6)
“Lo Scandalo” was the eighth episode of Season 3. It worked like a bottle episode in that all of the action took place within the confines of Mallory’s home. Archer and Lana were called over, only to discover a dead body and some bullet holes in the wall.
According to Mallory, she was being framed for murdering her lover who was also the Italian Prime Minister. The rest of the gang arrived to help either prove her innocence or cover things up. The story took plenty of twists and still gave us no true explanation about what happened in that apartment.
El Secuestro (8.6)
Sometimes Archer was at its best when it delved into the depths of the characters. This was the tenth episode of Season 2 and it revealed that Cheryl/Carol was actually insanely rich. An attempt was made to kidnap her but the criminals got Pam instead. Hilarity ensued.
On one side, you had Archer and Ray trying to rescue Pam. Another side saw everyone discussing what Cheryl/Carol being rich meant for everyone else. And then there was Pam showcasing her toughness as she stood up to the kidnappers and talked trash to them.
Stage Two (8.6)
A couple of episodes before the previous entry came “Stage Two.” It started by tackling an important topic. Malory had a breast cancer scare and it put everyone on edge. That included Archer. Malory turned out to just be the victim of a false positive but a closer look at her son revealed that he was sick.
This gave us our introduction to the storyline where Archer had cancer. It managed to expertly balance the seriousness of the situation with the comedy we’re used to seeing from the show. The episode ended with the emotional back-and-forth of whether or not Archer’s surgery had cured him.
Skytanic (8.6)
It’s the earliest episode on this list. “Skytanic” was the seventh installment of the series and felt like the first to truly shine. It showcased the great character dynamics, unique style of the show, and more. This plot focused on a bomb threat being called on the luxury airship, the Excelsior.
Eventually, it was revealed that Malory called in the bomb threat as a way to get free tickets onto the ship. As Lana contacted Archer with the news, he uncovered a real bomb on board. It was the kind of plot twist Archer does so well. This also had Cheryl blackmailing Cyril, and Archer’s inability to understand the difference between helium and hydrogen. Classic.
Arrival/Departure (8.7)
As noted, Season 5’s “Archer Vice” theme was one that fans seemed to thoroughly enjoy. And according to IMDb, the season finale “Arrival/Departure” was their favorite episode. The series needed to wrap up the drug cartel storyline and set things in motion for the Season 6 theme.
This episode brought together various storylines. Krieger fought off a gang of his clones, Lana went into labor, Cyril became the leader of a drug cartel, and the team had to stop a deadly rocket. All this led to the revelation that Malory secretly worked with the CIA to set up the entire drug storyline.
Vision Quest (8.7)
Locking all of the main characters on Archer in one crowded elevator proved to be an outstanding idea. The elevator broke down as they all arrived for a morning meeting in the fifth episode of Season 6. Within the small confines, the personalities of each character began to grate on the others.
This episode hammered home how strange everyone is. The tiniest of quirks got under the skin of everyone. The discussion covered Krieger being a clone, Cyril’s chronic masturbation, and a whole lot more. The final image Malory saw when the elevator opened was telling. This is classic Archer.
Deadly Velvet: Part 2 (8.9)
Once again, Archer nailed a season finale. “Deadly Velvet: Part 2” was the ending of Season 7 and it blew minds. Things began with plenty of plot twists involving insurance fraud and a plan to frame Lana. But the thing that made this episode special was the presence of the android doppelgänger.
Archer used his doppelgänger to confront the villainous Veronica and it was shot multiple times before falling into the water. Archer emerged to propose to Lana, only to malfunction and reveal that it was the android. It was the real Archer who was seemingly dead in the water. What a cliffhanger. Several seasons later and we still don’t know if Archer is alive.
The Kanes (8.9)
The eighth episode of Season 6 was called “The Kanes” for good reason. It put the focus on the relationship between Archer and Lana as she introduced him to her parents. And they had no clue that she was a spy. But in the most classic Sterling Archer sense possible, he misread a situation and tried having a threesome with Lana’s parents.
Of course, the episode didn’t end there. Lana’s secret life as a spy was uncovered because some of her father’s work became a target of some bad people. It led to an exciting high-speed chase that was one of the best in series history. A side story involving Krieger’s van was fun, and the inclusion of Slater added to the surprises.
Placebo Effect (9.0)
The only episode of Archer to score a 9.0 is “Placebo Effect.” The ninth episode of Season 2, this put us right in the heart of Archer having cancer. When he noticed a lack of side effects from taking his medication, he found out that they were counterfeit. The only way to resolve that? RAMPAGE!
Archer headed out to get his revenge on the Irish Mob for the fake drugs. But it became more difficult as he went through real chemotherapy during it. The rampage was filmed as Archer made his very own movie. The whole thing we were watching was footage from the movie and Archer had since seen his cancer go in remission.
