Charlotte Vandertunt

Charlotte Vandertunt is the dream persona of Cheryl Tunt in Season 8: Dreamland. She is the heiress to the "vast Vandertunt publishing fortune".

Appearance[]

Charlotte begins by looking incredibly svelte, stylish and sophisticated: upon arrival at Archer's office, she emanates high status and wealth in her mannerisms. Her crimson attire is accessorized with leather gloves, a cigarette holder, a large brimmed hat and a fox scarf (with the head still attached).

Her demeanor and appearance deteriorate, along with her poise, after she is dressed in an L.A.P.D. prisoner's outfit - her hair disheveled - for the remainder of the story.

Character Traits[]

Charlotte emanates an air of grace, sophistication and detachment from reality as she is quickly revealed a member of a crazy upper-class family, with scarcely a trace of sanity (or humanity) about her. She has a penchant for codeine and Dexedrine ('downers' and 'uppers' respectively) which she shares freely with Archer, with whom she also has a brief affair. She takes things literally and invariably misses the point of what is being said to her. Archer finds this infuriating and it is arguably what makes her character seem incredibly annoying.

In what could easily be a deliberately placed irony, while she does plan to use 'Berenice' as a double for herself so that she can fake her own death, she nonetheless expresses concern for the poor woman's dignity. She embodies the tropes of eccentricity, debauchery and utter madness often attributed to the super-rich. (see The Aristocrats). Charlotte shares many similar characteristics with her real-world counterpart Cheryl including her appearance, status as a wealthy heiress from a strange family which she distrusts, shortsightedness, naiveté, excitability, elitist tendencies, derangement and fondness for violence and drugs.

Plot Involvements[]

Summary[]

Charlotte approaches Archer to fake her death; she has a dead maid in the back of her car (who Archer calls "Berenice") that she wishes to use as a double for her body; she is caught in the act and imprisoned, along with Archer, by Figgis and Poovey who intends to kidnap her and collect a ransom; Archer and the Dreamland House Band rescue her from the prison, taking her to see Mother who also kidnaps her for the ransom; in order to prove that either party actually does have Charlotte, her brother demands a finger as proof; she is held by Mother and Zirk (who falls for her) in Dreamland; Mother plans on having Zirk kill her if "the wheels fall off" the procurement of the ransom; the ransom money is a ringer so nobody gets rich, and the story ends with Charlotte in one piece.

Detail[]

The episode Archer Dreamland: No Good Deed concludes with Charlotte Vandertunt arriving at Archer's office asking Archer to murder her and Archer drawing a gun. Archer Dreamland: Berenice, picks up immediately where the previous left off with Charlotte clarifying that she wants to hire Archer to help her fake her death in exchange for $10,000 and sex. She explains that she finds life with her family stifling and insufferable, but Archer is dubious about helping her and questions whether she's though it out, at which point Charlotte giddily produces Berenice, the corpse of a woman who was accidentally killed at the hands of a drunken abortionist after Charlotte's brother impregnated her. The two head to The Chesley, Charlotte's hotel, in order to dress Berenice in her clothes. They start to argue over her makeup until tensions escalate and they have sex. Charlotte questions why Archer's office was ransacked and raises the point that the robber knew Archer wouldn't be at the location. The next day, the duo stop by Dreamland so Archer can question Mother. They head out for the coast to drive the car over a cliff and fake Charlotte's death but are interrupted when Archer is struck by a car. In his dazed state, he flashes back to his time in WWII and sees Charlotte as a French nun tending to his wounds before shooting at the enemy. Archer recovers, but they are again interrupted when Detective Figgis and Poovey find them in a compromising state.

Charlotte and Archer try to explain what they're doing to Figgis and Poovey in the next episode Archer Dreamland: Jane Doe, but the crooked cop sees Charlotte as an easy way out of his debt to mobster Len Trexler and has Poovey take them both back to jail and book Charlotte as a "Jane Doe." Archer and the Dreamland band members (Ray, Cliff, Floyd, and Verl) bust her out of the solitary cells, but not before convincing her that there are indeed black cops. Their escape is interrupted by Poovey and a brutal fight ensues much to Charlotte's delight. They do make it out and head back to Dreamland, but when Mother realizes who Charlotte is, she simply repeats Trexler's plan and contacts the Vandertunt family for a ransom. (to be expanded)

Continuity[]

Wealthy and eccentric heiress
Strange family which she mistrusts
Naïve, excitable, deranged, elitist
Low IQ / common sense
Little to no empathy
Drug abuser / addict

Cultural References[]

Vanderbilt Family - Charlotte's family is a parody of this family, which was once the richest in America.
- Hearst / Patty Hearst - the 'vast publishing fortune' is a reference to William Randolph Hearst, the magnate who built the world's largest newspaper chain. The Tunt family were loosely based on the Hearst family. Patty Hearst was a kidnap victim, so there is a possible reference to her in this storyline.

The Aristocrats (2005): this film about the famous dirty joke refers to the kind of debauched and depraved behavior which the Vandertunt family are suggested as being involved in, and from which Charlotte is attempting to break free.
The Big Lebowski (1998): Charlotte's kidnapping is reminiscent of this nineties classic: her kidnappers use someone else's finger (in Lebowski it is a toe), and the ransom money is a 'ringer' (fake) and also a macguffin.

Quotes[]

Archer: "Putting aside for now why you'd want to fake your own death--"

Charlotte: "...because I have to get away from my family: they're a seething cauldron of neurotic, alcoholic, narcissistic, quasi-incestuous, megalomaniacs!"

Archer: "How quasi?"

Charlotte: [sighs] "I don't know, about a four."

Archer: "Out of what?!"

Charlotte: "Are you going to help me or not?"

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Archer: "So, we'll fake the crash tonight, but first we're gonna plant a few seeds."

Charlotte: "Ugh. First of all, if I wanted your seeds..."

Archer: "Seeds of deception"

Charlotte: "Oh sorry. I thought you meant-"

Archer: "I know what you meant..."

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Archer: "...she can't be dressed like a maid, so we need to put her in your clothes."

Charlotte: "Right! Then we should go to my hotel."

Archer: "Which is,,,?"

Charlotte: "Nice"

Archer: [slams head into steering wheel] "Where."

Charlotte: "Ohhh"

Archer: "...Is. Your Hotel?"

Charlotte: "The Chesley. On Sunset"

Archer: "That wasn't so hard. Was it?"

Charlotte: [snorts] "That's what I said! Huh, huh, huh."

Archer: [sigh]

Trivia[]

Charlotte seems to be a fan of Marvel Comics, as she expresses she has a sexual fantasy about being kidnapped and raped by Johann Shmidt, a Nazi officer who was the first to assume the role of "The Red Skull" (one of Captain America's most notorious and ruthless enemies).