Sterling vs. Fabian

It’s not often that Archer has had a villain. Sure, there have been bad guys, even James BondThe world's most famous secret agent, James Bond has starred not only in dozens of books but also one of the most famous, and certainly the longest running, film franchises of all time.-level threats, but those were antagonists to be dealt with in an episode or two. An actual villain for the Archer team to contend with, to go up against as the thrust on an entire season arc, that’s something else altogether. Heck, it’s rare that the series even delved into the idea of season-long arcs, instead mostly focusing on thematic arcs (like Archer: Vice) where the characters continued having weird, episodic adventures. The show had built up its continuity, and was often willing to trot that continuity out, but rarely for serialized, long-form arcs.

That makes season thirteen of the show something different. The Agency, having been purchased by IIA and its head, Fabian Kingsworth, suddenly had a villain to hate. He was a nominal bad guy in season twelve, the head of a rival agency that seemed nefarious and couldn’t be trusted, but with IIA owning the Agency, it took that whole relationship up to a new level. Could the crew trust him when every action he took was duplicitous, seemingly only setting them up for further failure?

Of course not, but then trust really doesn’t come easy on Archer. This is a cast of characters defined primarily by how much they don’t trust each other. Lana and Archer are the two best agents in the Agency, but they rarely get along and often get on each others’ nerves. Lana is headstrong and (while often right) refuses to back down, and Archer is, well, Archer. Cheryl is crazy, Cyril is constantly berated and put down, and Kreiger would literally tear them all apart if he could use their bodies for a new science experiment. Trust isn’t exactly something any of these people are naturally inclined to with their group.

Season thirteen used Fabian as a way to focus that distrust, but IIA is also needed because the controlling hand of the Agency, Malory Archer, is (of course) gone. With the death of voice actress Jessica Walter, the show made the decision not to recast her so a new agency head was needed. Make no mistake, this was the right call; Walter had a singular voice and an impeccable delivery for her lines. Recasting her would have been a travesty so the producers made the right decision to write Malory off the show. The show wouldn’t be the same without the actress, so Archer had to lean into it.

Fabian is, frankly, the perfect foil for Archer. He’s, effectively, the world’s greatest secret agent, having built up his spy agency to be the biggest and best in the world. He’s who Sterling Archer could have been if our protagonist (my mind rebelled at calling him “our hero”) had gone through slightly different circumstances. Less drinking, less whoring, and more focus on the job and how he could get ahead. Could Archer have been as despicable, as evil as Fabian in the right circumstances? Maybe not… but maybe so all the same. Fabian gets to hold the mirror up, saying, “here’s what true success looks like. Here’s what it means to truly be the greatest secret agent in the world.” Archer has to face that.

Archer, honestly, had to face a lot this season. With his mother leaving, his agency falling into a rival’s hands, and his drinking going to further excesses, it was clear that Archer was stumbling towards a cliff. Even without trust existing between the co-workers, they do spend an episode confronting his trauma and establishing that, hey, the character could maybe use some therapy. And that’s when the show brings out that Archer was already going to therapy, seeing where he was heading and realizing it was a path of self-destruction. It’s a moment of character growth for Archer, one that shows that after 13 seasons (and many more years) the guy really could grow and change… if only a little.

This is an interesting contrast with where Lana has been over the last two seasons. When her husband, Richard, bought part of the Agency to handle it with Malory, it put their relationship on rocky footing. She didn’t want to both be married to him and work with him, enjoying the division of her work/life balance. Her relationship eventually fell apart and the aftermath of this season sees Lana trying to balance being an agent who does her job and goes home each night, not engaging in the shenanigans of the office, while also trying to fight for her daughter and raise her girl. Lana’s life becomes a mess as Archer works to build himself up, but in a way the two of them use each other, relying on each other even as, half the time, they simply can’t trust each other.

Of course, what the show also illustrates is that when Archer has his head in the game, and he and Lana work together, their missions go off without a hitch. They’re a good team, the perfect work partners for those brief moments when both of them are focused and ready to go. It’s just that so rarely can Archer get himself focused, and more often than not Lana still feels like putting him down instead of working with him. It’s the dynamic of the show that’s worked for thirteen years and I’m not knocking it here. This relationship leads to solid comedy this season as well. And then, when they have to work to bring down Fabian (because of course they do) you can understand how they pull it off because these two are great together… once in a while.

Fabian is our villain, and he’s a solid foil for the show in his appearances. At the same time, though, I don’t know that he gets used as well as possible. The joy of Malory was that she was in the office, actively biting at people and throwing out her barbs. As the head of the Agency, though, Fabian is rarely around. He’s there to give missions, and occasionally send a snide comment, but he doesn’t have the presence of Malory. He doesn’t insert himself into their business the way you would like. Standing at a reserve, he feels like someone on the outside, just waiting for the moment to screw the Agency over, as opposed to someone actively invested in its running.

And yes, that is the point: he is truly the villain and, as such, isn’t invested in the operation of the Agency. But I feel like his role would have worked better if he had acted like he was deeply invested. If he had put forth the effort to seem engaged then, when he inevitably took a heel turn, it would have seemed, well, maybe not shocking but at least like more of a twist. Instead, because he’s at a reserve towards the Agency his role never really fits. He remains a foil, and antagonist, instead of someone that could gain their trust (not that they give it easy, of course). A true twist needs that trust to work.

Season thirteen of the show is very funny, showing that ever since the show had Archer come out of his coma it’s been firing on all cylinders at least on the humor front. The show remains silly and irreverent and very wrong at times, and that’s the kind of humor that works here. It’s what the audience wants and expects. But the story this season, even with its big swing at serialized storytelling, doesn’t quite land. It’s fun, it’s funny, and it’s a joy to hang out with these characters, but Fabian as a villain isn’t as interesting as Malory in charge of the Agency. She will be missed and the show’s stab at filling that void this time around didn’t quite work.

But with one more season to go I’m sure there’s a way the show can stick the landing when it needs to most.