When it was announced that Archer’s eighth season would move transplant all of the beloved characters into a different time, fan theories were rife with the belief that the eighth season would be Sterling’s coma-induced dreams. Of course, the season’s title, “Dreamland” also made it a very compelling theory.
The creators didn’t waste anytime confirming what many people thought, offering a brief fakeout as we see the gang at a funeral for Woodhouse. Woodhouse’s voice actor passed away in 2015 and the character was understandably absent from the show afterwards. This episode finally resolves the issue of Woodhouse’s disappearance in a way that pays respect to George Coe. In this case, I am glad the character gets to pass along with his voice actor.
Once the funeral is wrapped up, we see Archer, and his five o’clock shadow resting in a hospital dead. Three months after getting shot by Veronica Deane. I was originally upset that Archer’s life could potentially end at the hands of a starlet, especially after all the other threats he’s faced. However, I realized that such a fate would actually fit Archer’s personality and history. Archer has always let his guard down, thinking with the head below his waist instead of in his brain, whenever a beautiful woman comes along.
While I loved seasons 1-3 as a whole, 4- 7 have been weaker entries in the series. There have been some good episodes throughout the show’s run, but seasons 1-3 offer the most consistently entertaining episodes. Season 7 was an improvement over 5 and 6 in my opinion, and season 8 looks like it is also getting closer to the standard of the first few seasons.
The noir setting offers a fresh take that is stunningly appropriate for Archer, and has also been used to offer brilliant alterations of the supporting cast. All of the main characters have been re-introduced in one way or another, while also maintaining parallels to their original selves. Cyril is still a dick to Archer and vice-versa, Lana is still a love interest who knows how to Archer in his place, Krieger still deals in illegal goods, Pam is still badass, Mallory is still a domineering boss, Cheryl is still crazy, Barry is still an arch-nemesis etc.
In terms of humour, this episode holds promises for a season that could potentially usurp number four as my fourth favourite, and maybe even go higher.