Berenice

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"Archer Dreamland: Berenice" is the second episode of Season 8, and the eighty-seventh episode overall.

Synopsis

A mysterious woman hires Archer to fake her death, but he’s unable to rise to the occasion.

Plot

The episode picks up immediately where the previous left off with Charlotte Vandertunt clarifying that she wants to hire private investigator Sterling Archer to help her fake her death in exchange for $10,000 and sex. Archer is up for the latter, but things don't go quite as planned; Archer blames the pain in his ear at which point Charlotte and he head to a diner for pie... and codeine. Once there, she explains that she finds life with her family stifling and insufferable, but Archer is dubious about helping her and questions whether she's thought her whole plan 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.

Meanwhile, mobster Len Trexler is furious over the events at the docks while Dutch Dylan is distraught over having had his legs amputated. Trexler remedies the situation by getting Dylan in contact with a guy (Krieger) who will solve the problem. He then chews out Detective Figgis and Poovey, and demands Figgis find the missing Chinese women within the week. At the hotel, Archer and Charlotte sneak Berenice into Charlotte's room. 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. Figgis and Poovey are there for the same reason, but she is opaque. Archer gleans nothing from her, but he does see Lana Kane once again. Unfortunately, he once again strikes out with her; the situation is made all the more embarrassing when Charlotte, trying to help in her own special way, loudly proclaims that she and Archer just had sex. 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.

Cast

• Starring:
• Starring:
  • H. Jon Benjamin as Sterling Archer / Archer P.I. (Dream Persona )
  • Judy Greer as Cheryl Tunt / Charlotte Vandertunt (Dream Persona )
  • Amber Nash as Pam Poovey / Detective Sergeant Poovey (Dream Persona )
  • Chris Parnell as Cyril Figgis / Detective Lieutenant Figgis (Dream Persona )
  • Aisha Tyler as Lana Kane / Lana Kane (Dreamland) (Dream Persona )
  • Lucky Yates as Dr. Krieger / Krieger (Dream Persona )
  • Jessica Walter as Malory Archer / Mother (Dream Persona )

• Guest Starring:
  • Jeffrey Tambor as Len Trexler
• Co Starring:
  • Adam Reed as Ray Gillette
  • April Hong as English Speaking Chinese Woman
  • Dave Willis as Barry Dylan / "Dutch" Dylan

Cultural References

• Weekend At Bernie's (1989): Archer names the dead maid Berenice, in reference to the film's titular character Bernie Lomax.
• Spanish–American War: Charlotte Vandertunt says her father, the publishing magnate, started the 1898 conflict between the United States and Spain which in in the real world many believe was instigated by William Randolph Hearst, who used yellow journalism to call for the war.
• Chinatown: Poovey suggests that the Chinese women might be in Chinatown, a central Los Angeles neighborhood that has become the commercial center for Chinese businesses.
• Schnorrer: Len Trexler calls Detective Figgis a schnorrer, a Yiddish term to describe a freeloader who finds creative and escalating methods to gain undeserved money and favors from others, all the while feeling it's the minimum they are owed.

Running Gags

• Ba-Dum Tshh: When someone makes a joke in Dreamland off camera you hear a rimshot followed by Ray yelling "Stop it".
• Da Man: Detective Poovey continues to be portrayed exclusively as a man, appearing with her face covered with pieces of toilet paper, commonly used by men to stop the bleeding from shaving cuts.
• Smells Like Glue: Taking Codeine has become Charlotte's version of Cheryl's glue sniffing problem.

Continuity

• Reality (Non-Dream):
  • None
• Dream / Reality Crossover:
  • (Dream) Archer complains of his ear hurting presumably due to being hit on the side of the head by Zirk in "No Good Deed". / (Reality) Archer suffers from tinnitus since Movie Star (s2e7).
  • (Dream) Dutch Dylan had is lower legs amputated due to Archer running over them in "No Good Deed". / (Reality) Barry had his legs replaced when he was transformed into a cyborg in by the Russians in Double Trouble (s2e13)
  • (Dream) Len Trexler gives Dutch a number to call for someone who can fix is legs which turns out to be Krieger. / (Reality) Krieger has provided bionic limbs for several people including a hand for Conway Stern as seen in flash back in Three to Tango (s6e2), and legs for Ray in Legs (s4e3).
  • (Dream) Charlotte Vandertunt is the heiress to the vast Vandertunt publishing fortune. / (Reality) Cheryl is the heiress of the vast Tunt Railroad fortune as established in El Secuestro (s2e10).
• Dream (Non-Reality):
  • The start of episode takes up immediately where the previous episode left off.
  • Len Trexler is seen for the first time since A Going Concern (s2e2).
  • It is confirmed in this episode that Detective Figgis is a dirty cop and has taken at least one bribe from Len Trexler as was suspected by Archer in "No Good Deed".
  • Len Trexler task Figgis to find the missing Chinese women that Archer and Detective Poovey rescued in "No Good Deed", which now reside at Poovey's apartment.
  • Archer is aware of Det. Figgis being at Dreamland before entering because he sees the penis he scratched into the paint of his car the previous night in "No Good Deed".

Trivia

• Title Explained: The title refers to the made up name given to a dead maid of Charlotte Vandertunt.
• The woman filing Len Trexler's nails resembles Chi, the woman who was performing the same on Archer's in The Honeymooners (s4e9). Additionally the barber cutting Trexler's hair resembles Giuseppe, the barber in Double Indecency (s7e7).
• There’s a framed photo of a Northrop P-61 night fighter on the wall of the Woodhouse and Archer Detective Agency office.

Locations

• Los Angeles, California (Dream)

• • Office of the Woodhouse & Archer Detective Agency
  • Hospital
  • Krieger's Residence
  • Chesley Hotel
  • Unnamed barber shop
  • Detective Poovey's Apartment (flashback)
  • Dreamland
  • Pacific Coast Highway (PCH)

First Appearances

Characters (in order of appearance)

• Berenice (Dream)
• Len Trexler (Dream)

Quotes

Charlotte: "You misunderstand me Mr. Archer, I want you to help me fake my death for which I am prepared to offer you $10,000."

Archer: "Oh."

Charlotte: "And my body"

Archer: "The ten grand is plenty."

Charlotte: "I'm afraid this is non negotiable...Do your worst."

Archer: "I will."

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Charlotte: "Honestly, I don't know why you're so angry."

Archer: "Which I think is why I'm so angry."

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Trexler: "Because not only did I pay a lot of money for those magical disheartening whores, I also paid you a lot of money."

Figgis: "Well yes, but that was, I mean, that was more to look the other way, so"

Trexler: "Figuratively! Not literally, while those assholes were taking my load!"

Gallery of Images

There are 5 screenshots and images from "Berenice" on this Wiki, visit the category page for a complete gallery.

Archer, P.I.

• The following level of the mobile game Archer, P.I. is meant to be played along with this episode:
  • Level 2: "Take It To The Bank"

External links

• "Archer Dreamland: Berenice" on IMDB