Archer: Danger Island: A Warrior in Costume

May 18, 2018 4:44 PM - Season 9, Episode 4

Archer keeps an eye out for a past nemesis.

Archer Danger Island Recap: Ziegler’s Follies

There’s no hiding from Barry. Kill him, and he returns with bionic limbs. Destroy his bionic limbs, and he comes back as a full-blown robot. Sink into a coma, and he’ll appear to you as a serum-dosing hit man nicknamed Dutch. Recede from that coma into a different coma, and still, Archer cannot escape.

The fifth — sixth? seventh? — coming of Barry is Ziegler, a preening German fighter pilot and the bane of Archer’s existence. Having bested him in aerial dogfights on five occasions, all of which are recounted with respectable visual panache in “A Warrior in Costume,” Ziegler’s unlikely arrival on the island drives Archer to Tony Soprano–esque panic attacks. Moreover, a throwaway exchange with Nazi Cyril about intentions to “bomb the wild cannibals” means that Ziegler’s appearance has also added a new wrinkle to the gradually percolating scheme with Lana’s tribe. This is Archer functioning properly, developing character dynamics and advancing a long-game plot, all while introducing a self-contained element that drives Archer to the point of madness. While this week’s half-hour lacks the structural elegance of, say, “The Limited” or “Lo Scandalo,” the show’s starting to act like its old self again.

posted by filthy light thief (13 comments total)

But...Ziegler isn't Barry. Barry is voiced by Dave Willis. Ziegler is voiced by Flula Borg. And, while they're both blond, they don't even look identical.
posted by Chrysostom at 5:31 PM on May 18, 2018 [5 favorites]

I have to say this season as a whole has not really grabbed me. All of the characters are there, acting for the most part like they usually do, but it feels a bit like everyone is just going through the motions. YMMV.
posted by wittgenstein at 5:48 PM on May 18, 2018

Now see, I've found it this season a lot more fun than Dreamland was (which felt like an interesting failure).
posted by Chrysostom at 5:50 PM on May 18, 2018 [4 favorites]

I didn't love Dreamland....but this is the first Danger Island episode I've really enjoyed, and now I have hope for the rest of the season. I'm very relieved Cheryl has asserted some control over her, uh, career (even if it has come via Nazi invaders).
posted by grandiloquiet at 8:26 PM on May 18, 2018 [2 favorites]

FLULA BORG!! Finally a German character that doesn't mangle the language.... I'm looking at you Fuchs and Krieger!!
posted by Pendragon at 2:12 AM on May 19, 2018 [1 favorite]

What was this, Spain in the 30s ?


And, while they're both blond, they don't even look identical.
Well, he crashed on shark-infested waters. Odds are he's going to appear washed on the shore. Half of him.
posted by lmfsilva at 5:29 AM on May 19, 2018 [3 favorites]

Kringle!
posted by Kyol at 8:44 AM on May 19, 2018

What was this, Spain in the 30s ?

That was the Spanish Civil War, yes.
posted by Pendragon at 8:58 AM on May 19, 2018 [3 favorites]

Yeah, relieved over the Cheryl/ Malory reversal.

I'm ok with Archer taking credit for Pam's quick thinking, because Archer gonna Arch.
posted by porpoise at 11:22 AM on May 19, 2018

I wish they hadn't even gone down Sex Slavery Lane if they weren't really going to go there, and then back away after a couple of episodes. Malory should have just hired Charlotte as a singer (c'mon, Judy Greer has an awesome voice) or hostess or waitress or something. It would have been demeaning without being uncomfortable, and obviously the writers were just as uncomfortable with it as the audience or they wouldn't have written the coconut butter gag. I've enjoyed Danger Island so far, but that one fly has been stuck in my ointment.

My only problem with Dreamland was that there wasn't enough time to satisfactorily develop everything they set up. A couple more episodes would have helped immensely.
posted by The Underpants Monster at 5:10 PM on May 19, 2018 [1 favorite]

I've enjoyed Danger Island so far, but that one fly has been stuck in my ointment.

That's where I'm at: I'm having fun seeing the whole gang doing something new, but the slavery angle was really disquieting, and I hope it's as dropped as it looks.
posted by mordax at 6:16 PM on May 19, 2018 [2 favorites]

Yeah this changed my mind about this season for the better: just the aircraft used (an early me109 with the Spanish Fascist markings, vs a Paulikarpov biplane, and then not one but two Stukas with floats - outstanding!) and the dogfight sequences were enough to encourage me.
posted by not_that_epiphanius at 11:29 AM on May 20, 2018 [3 favorites]

not_that_epiphanius, this is for you: Archer: Danger Island: How That Epic Dogfight Came Together (EXCLUSIVE) -- Archer: Danger Island producers Matt Thompson and Casey Willis walk us through the plane battle in Archer Season 9 Episode 4 (Daniel Kurland for Den of Geek)

We researched various aerial combat maneuvers and settled on Ziegler using our homemade variation of a maneuver called Pugachev’s Cobra to get behind Archer and take him down. Unfortunately for him, he didn’t count on Archer bringing Pam along as a tail gunner, sealing his fate. Realistically, the Stuka aircraft they were flying may not have been able to do that maneuver, but we took a little creative license for action’s sake. And also, because Ziegler was an expert flyer. And also still, because it’s a cartoon.

posted by filthy light thief at 11:00 AM on June 7, 2018 [1 favorite]