9x06 Some Remarks on Cannibalism

[7.5/10] Oh man, the show has the Archer/Pam banter down pat at this point. The way the two of them discuss what it’d be like to eat someone/be eaten, which one of them is the sidekick, and how they’re not likely to make it of this one is great. Little recurring bits like Archer calling Pam “Lenny” from Of Mice and Men, or the usual “I mean...” are well-deployed. And I particularly like the return of David Cross as Noah, who brings a sort of wide-eyed obliviousness to his anthropologist character.

Granted, there’s some not great stuff in here. The whole “cannibal natives” routine is pretty stereotypical. And the material about Archer having an erection and having at least seen one from his priest is sophomoric and in poor taste. But then again, this is Archer, so I don’t know I can expect but to say “Jesus Christ” and just move on.

I like the rest of the gang meeting up in search of the idol though. Pam getting the riot act from her dad (Keone Young!) about stupidly selling out the idol to the Germans is a fun scene. This is probably the best Cheryl episode of the season, with her managing to use the footprints in the path to figure out what happened and her obsession with finding oysters. And Mallory was in rare form too, needing gin and generally being rude to everyone in her general vicinity.

But for the most part, this episode comes down to Archer, Pam, and Noah, and the three of them having an excellent dynamic. The whole bit with Archer killing one of the Germans before he can kill some of the natives, with the locals then welcoming Archer into their crew, is a little much. That said, I’m willing to see where it goes and where the whole Indiana Jones-esque idol hunt ends up.

Overall, a solid episode bolstered by more great Archer/Pam interactions.