"Archer Vice: Palace Intrigue: Part II" is the eleventh episode of Season 5 and the sixtieth episode overall. It first aired on April 7, 2014.
Plot[]
Synopsis[]
Archer tries to keep his fling with the dictator's wife a secret while Dr. Krieger bonds with his clone-brothers.
Summary[]
Shelling from the rebels largely stops, but when Calderon’s man lets slip that the dictator was the one to buy all copies of Cherlene’s album, she screams. Meanwhile, Archer emerges from a butler's pantry with Juliana, but before she can reveal her actions to her husband, Archer shoots Cyril in the chest as a diversion. Cyril revives moments later, having worn Kevlar under his shirt. Despite Archer firing his gun a second time in an attempt to keep Lana from telling Malory about his affairs, his mother hears the truth and punishes him by striking him in the groin with his own gun. She reluctantly agrees with Lana about how they should leave San Marcos for their own safety.
Elsewhere in the palace, Krieger spends time with his three clones, though none of them seem to have a clear idea of their origins. Meanwhile, Cyril looks through Calderon’s cache of vehicles for a getaway car Malory won’t give him trouble for, settling on something off screen. Calderon attempts to convince Cherlene that he isn’t a dictator, and only bought her music to spread to the citizens of his poor country to improve their morale.
Still waiting for their getaway vehicle, Lana aids Archer in stealing an expensive painting from Calderon’s palace, pointing out how Archer invariably makes every situation about himself. Meanwhile in the main foyer, Pam loads Malory’s bags as Calderon continually asserts his love for Cherlene, offering to divorce Juliana for her, something the woman overhears. Juliana pulls a gun and reveals that she slept with Archer, for which Calderon pulls his own gun and takes aim at Archer, though Pam jumps in the path of the bullet.
Cherlene repeatedly hits Calderon with her guitar, next turning on Juliana, as Pam reveals that she’d put on Cyril’s Kevlar vest before taking the hit. Calderon breaks up the fight between Cherlene and Juliana, declaring Cherlene his official wife as he exercises his power to divorce Juliana. The Kriegers watch over security footage as they assemble a biological weapon, before Calderon’s men enter and reveals that rebels have breached the compound.
The men surrender to the presence of a T-72 tank, until Cyril reveals himself as the driver and assumes command of the rescue. Archer goes to mock him, though Pam ends up stealing the moment with her own joke, and Archer chases her out of the room.
Cast[]
- Starring :
- H. Jon Benjamin as Sterling Archer
- Judy Greer as Cheryl Tunt / Charlene
- Amber Nash as Pam Poovey
- Chris Parnell as Cyril Figgis
- Aisha Tyler as Lana Kane
- Lucky Yates as Dr. Krieger
- Jessica Walter as Malory Archer
- Guest Starring :
- Fred Armisen as Gustavo Calderon
- Lauren Cohan as Juliana Calderon
- Co Starring :
- Adam Reed as Ray Gillette
- Gabriel Romero as Soldier
Cultural References[]
- The Boys From Brazil (1978): In a callback to Malory's suggestion that Krieger is a Hitler clone in Placebo Effect (s2e9), the possibility of this scenario being true continues to be explored, with Krieger joining forces with his 3 identical clones in the palace, after hearing his ISIS team members say they don't care about him.
- Citizen Kane (1941): Krieger mentions the plot of Citizen Kane as a fake childhood memory when trying to find out about his origins with his 3 clone-brothers.
- After shooting Cyril, Archer tells Pam, who is kneeling next to Cyril, "let's hear some Bee Gees". This is a reference not only to the title of the song "Stayin' Alive", but also to the song's widespread use in CPR training because the beat is the right speed in which you should do chest compressions.
- After President Calderon gives Cheryl a long explanation about the approval of the 22nd Amendment to the US Constitution regarding Presidential term limits, Cheryl asks him, "Who are you, Dave Frishberg?" This is a reference to the fact that Frishberg wrote the music and lyrics for "I'm Just a Bill", the song about the forlorn legislative writ in the ABC Schoolhouse Rock! series.
Running Gags / Callbacks[]
- Also yes: Archer, on what he was doing deeply (“breathing?”)
- Shut up...
- Krieger clones
- Inapprops
- Archer saying that his gun "went off for, like, no reason" is a callback to "Training Day" in reference to the "Chekhov's gun".
- Archer shooting Cyril in the chest while he was wearing Kevlar is a callback to "Coyote Lovely". Cyril references that previous incident when he complains that Archer shoots him every time they go to Latin America.
- William Howard Taft: The only man to be both President of the United States and Chief Justice of the United States, but not at the same time (he was President from 1909 to 1913, and then Chief Justice from 1921 to 1930). You probably didn't need to watch Schoolhouse Rock, as Archer suggests, to know that, though.
- Pam calling Cyril "Mike Du-Cockless" while he is in the tank is a reference to Michael Dukakis , the 1988 Democratic nominee for President, who critics say looked about as stupid driving a tank in a much-maligned campaign appearance.
- Archer saying "Sorry, that's on me," after Calderon reveals he is out of bullets is a reference to the recurring joke that he has autism, and can count the number bullets fired in a fight.
- At 12:12 in the episode, Cyril is standing in front of a car with a license plate which reads "PREZ 009," a reference to James Bond's alias; 007.
Continuity[]
- This episode takes place right where the previous episode, Archer Vice: Palace Intrigue: Part I (s5e10) left off.
- This is the second time in this season, where the episode ends with Archer lunging at Pam. The first time was in Archer Vice: Southbound and Down (s5e5).
- Continuity Error: At 6:14 Cyril's foot appears to be under the Chair's leg
Trivia[]
- Malory refers to a soldier as "Colonel Panic," which is a pun on kernel panic.
- When Lana mentions The Thomas Crown Affair, Archer says he is not a big Steve McQueen fan, however, in the original version of the movie in which McQueen plays Crown, the heist involved robbing banks. A painting was stolen in the 1999 remake of the movie starring Pierce Brosnan.
- The tank which Cyril rides in is a Soviet T-72, specifically the Iraqi-produced variant, dubbed the Lion of Babylon.
- Krieger has always worn regular long neck ties throughout the entire series. This is the first time we actually see Krieger wearing a bowtie with his labcoat. This is presumably given to him by his clone brothers to wear, since he was only in his underwear when they kidnapped him. When he's talking with his clone brothers at the beginning of the episode he is still in his underwear, but later in the episode he is wearing his normal lab clothes, except with a bowtie.
Locations[]
- Republic of San Marcos
- The San Marcos Presidential Palace
Quotes[]
- Archer: "Cyril, you wear Kevlar every time we go to Latin America."
- Cyril: "Because every time you shoot me!"
- Archer: "Whoa, whoa, whoa, whoa, not every time. Mm, like three out of four tops."
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- Cyril: "We're dead! You've killed us!"
- Archer: "Me? I didn't have a follow up... to that."
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- Calderon: "And so I wanted to distribute your records among-- and I hate to say this, but our filthy peasants, so as to brighten their lives with your music."
- Cherlene: "Oh, well now I just feel like a... Wait. Do they even have record players?"
- Calderon: "Well no obviously not, but..."
- Cherlene: "So how would they even use records?!"
- Calderon: "As plates?"
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- Archer: "'Adequacy' as in 'mind-blowingness'? Or 'adequacy' as in 'Hey stupid, you just destroyed $40 million dollars'?!"
- Lana: "As in neither, you dummy. This is how you steal a painting. Did you never see The Thomas Crown Affair?"
- Archer: "Uh, no, not a huge Steve McQueen fan."
- Lana: "Ha, Ha! Oh, my God, are you...? Archer, you used to moan about him in your sleep!"
- Archer: "I-I... No, I didn't."
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- Cherlene: "I'm gonna go Jerry Lee on your ass!"
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- Cyril: "Will you two come on!"
- Pam: "On what?!"
Gallery of Images[]
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