'Archer' Season 11 Episode 4 Review: Archer and Barry form an intriguing team dynamic in his post-coma adventures
Spoilers for 'Archer' Season 11 Episode 4 'Helping Hands'
Sterling Archer (H Jon Benjamin) has had a lot of adjusting to do since waking up from his coma and this episode introduces one of the biggest changes of all. Archer's sworn nemesis, Barry Dillon (Dave Willis) has apparently had quite the change of heart after their last meeting and has not only come to work for Archer's spy agency but has somehow become Archer's biggest supporter. Archer's looking for a double-cross, especially when their first mission together sees them head to a factory filled with Barry bots. With a team consisting of Archer, Barry, Lana (Aisha Tyler) and Cyril (Chris Parnell), we get to see an all-new group dynamic, changing things up a little.
The new, Captain America-esque nice Barry is a great addition to the team, providing a foil for Archer while somehow becoming a safe space for Archer to feel appreciated. While everyone's life has seemingly gotten better since Archer fell into a coma, Barry seems to be the only one who actually wants Archer around. While it's surreal at first, the comedy of 'Archer' is always fast-paced enough to be able to adjust quickly to the new situation.
As Archer works to undermine Cyril's confidence (to horrifically effective results) and needling Lana, it's interesting to see how hard he's working to turn things back to the status quo he's familiar with - one where he's the center of attention, a world where he doesn't have to fight to be heard. That's ultimately all that Archer seems to be aiming for this season - whether it's in the search for a new valet and confidante or whether it's every episode's attempt to have an honest conversation with a Lana who would sooner never hear from him again. Lana and Archer obviously have a lot of issues to work out, but so far, Barry's the only one listening.
Finding someone to listen to Archer is a full-time job. In the B-plot, Pam Poovey (Amber Nash), Mallory Archer (Jessica Walter) and the effortlessly outrageous Cheryl Tunt (Judy Greer) audition valets for Archer, though Pam is the only one who seems to have Archer's interests at heart. The man they finally pick seems perfect - perhaps too perfect - and the episode sets up an interesting storyline between him and Archer in future episodes.
Setup seems to be the name of the game this episode, in fact, as some of the jokes that seem to be setting up a hilarious late-episode situation involving the hundreds of Barry bots and an inevitable double-cross are ones that are left for future episodes to tackle. Barry's hold on goodness is a lot more tentative than it would seem and it looks like it's only a matter of time before he snaps. When he does, Archer is going to lose his new best friend and he's going to be too heartbroken to even be able to enjoy saying "I told you so!"
The next episode of 'Archer' airs October 7, at 10 pm ET on FXX.