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"El Secuestro" is the tenth episode of the second season and the twentieth episode overall of Archer. It originally aired on March 31, 2011.

Plot[]

Synopsis[]

When Pam is kidnapped, mistaken for Cheryl/Carol, ISIS discovers that Cheryl/Carol is really an heir to a billion-dollar empire and is being hunted by masked gunmen. Malory offers Cheryl/Carol ISIS as her personal bodyguard service, in exchange for financial compensation. Meanwhile, Archer and Ray attempt to rescue Pam while everyone else weighs the dollar-value of her life.

Summary[]

S02E10-Kidnapping

You fight them off, Cheryl!

Cheryl Tunt was targeted for a kidnapping, but she misleads the kidnappers into thinking Pam Poovey is her. The kidnappers subdue Pam using a stun gun. When Cheryl gets to ISIS, she explains her tardiness by revealing that she was the target of a kidnapping. When Malory asks why anyone would want to kidnap her, Cheryl reveals that she is a member of a wealthy railroad family called the Tunts (her last name is not Gimple as it says on her W-4) and the descendant of railroad tycoon Cornelius Tunt.

TuntMansion

I'm literally wet with jealousy.

As they don't believe her, Cheryl proves this by taking the ISIS crew to her mansion home. Archer is thrilled to meet her pet ocelot, Babou. Indicating her parents died in a car accident (and she's missing the funeral), she then reveals she's worth about $500 Million, after splitting a $1 billion inheritance with her "gross" brother Cecil Tunt. Malory decides ISIS needs to protect Cheryl, for a fee of course. 

Brett4thShooting

God damn it, Cyril!

The kidnappers beat Pam, but she's tough enough to withstand it and insult the kidnappers. Cheryl is put in the ISIS vault and the building is locked down. The staff arm themselves resulting in Cyril accidentally shooting Brett. When they realize they have the wrong woman, they call ISIS using a voice changer. As Archer and Lana try to convince the kidnappers to let Pam go, Malory gets on the phone and tries to make a deal with the kidnappers.

S02E10-Pam beaten

How are you still even conscious?

They can't agree to switch Pam with Cheryl, and Malory states she thinks Pam is only worth $5,000. Before Pam is killed, she agrees to help the kidnappers get Cheryl, and they go off to sneak into ISIS. Cyril, realizing Cheryl is not willing to return the $3,700 amount he lent her from his 401k, kidnaps her for a ransom and handcuffs her to a pipe away from all the others.

S02E10-Ray-Archer in garage

Because Ray is being a total bitch!

Unaware of this, Malory and Lana believe the kidnappers got to Cheryl via the garage where Archer and Ray supposedly left to go rescue Pam. Both muse if either agent is short-sighted enough to leave the door wide open for the kidnappers to enter. In the garage, Archer fitfully demands Ray, who delightedly taunts him, to take off his own tactical turtleneck, believing he is the only one who should wear one. When his mother calls to find out if they left the door open, Archer says they haven't left and childishly whines to her about Ray's turtleneck. Malory berates her son for apparently allowing the kidnappers to abscond with Cheryl simply because he and Ray "were arguing over whose prettiest". Archer confirms the kidnappers did not arrive and deduces she is still in the building, closing the garage door so that he and Ray could go look for her. However, the garage door fails to fully close due to the kidnappers arriving in their van with Pam in tow.

S02E10-Pam rage

Then you a-holes shoot a stupid gillion a-hole bullets at me!

Archer finds Cheryl, who he believes 'kidnapped herself.' Once they are with the others, Pam and the kidnappers arrive. A shootout commences, with most of the kidnappers being killed. The lone survivor admits surrender. Lana tells him to put his hands up and asks Pam if she's okay. Pam asks "Do you people even give a shit?!" as she snaps the surviving kidnapper's neck, killing him instantly. Her co-workers are shocked and Pam bemoans her day by saying "Cheryl's dumbass gets me kidnapped and gets the shit kicked out of me all day, and no one tries to rescue me!"

S02E10-Pam-Malory end

Anybody want a piece of this?

Ray blames Archer who tells him to shut up but Pam says "YOU SHUT UP, MR. PAM'S NOT WORTH IT!" scaring Archer. Pam is extremely upset that the team failed to help her and shot at the kidnappers with no regard for her safety. However, she is most upset with Malory, for putting a low price on her life. The others stay back as Pam approaches Malory, ready to beat her up, saying "Well, let's see how much you wiggle when I'm whipping 5000 bucks worth of your ass!"

S02E10-Stunned gang

Nope!

Malory asks if anyone is going to help her, but no one will. Archer says "Let her have this one" which shocks his mother. Pam challenges anyone to help, saying "Anybody want a piece of this?" as she removes her tank top, revealing her terrifying tattoo and her muscles. Echoing the sentiment of the rest who are silenced with fear, Lana states, "Nope."

Cast[]

Cultural References[]

  • Vanderbilt Family: The Tunt family has many references to this famous American known for their railroad and shipping empires as well as their extreme wealth. Cornelius Tunt shares the first name with their patriarch Cornelius Vanderbilt and George Washington Tunt with George Washington Vanderbilt.
  • Cornelius Vanderbilt II House: Cheryl's home, Tunt Manor is likely a reference to, among others, this gilded age mansion located on the famous Millionaire Row in New York City.
  • Abraham Lincoln: Cheryl says she had to listen to her grandmother complain about the 16th President of the United States due to her apparent fondness for slavery.
  • Roosevelt family: Cheryl says the Roosevelts are weird when Lana notices that next door to Tunt Manor is the Roosevelt Mansion.
  • Ocelot: Cheryl keeps one of these medium-sized spotted wild cats as a pet in her NYC mansion. The ocelot is similar to the bobcat in physical proportions and is normally found in South America, Central America, Mexico as well as a small population in southern Texas. Ocelots are also crepuscular animals which Cheryl states in response to Archer asking how she thinks Babou feels. This means they are active primarily during twilight hours.
  • Salvador Dalí: The name of Cheryl's ocelot is Babou. This is a reference to this famous artist's pet ocelot Babou, which he frequently traveled within the 1960s.
  • Auschwitz: Archer blends the word meow and the name of this WWII Nazi concentration camp to form "Meowchwitz" when describing Babou's room.
  • The Andy Griffith Show (1960-1968): Lana calls Cyril "Barn" and "Barney" when he accidentally discharges his weapon. This is in reference to a running gag on this classic American situation comedy in which deputy sheriff Barney Fife (played by Don Knotts) often discharges his weapon unintentionally and in one instance accidentally shoots himself in the foot.
  • M1 helmet: Cheryl is seen wearing these combat helmets used by the U.S. military from WWII until 1985. Her helmet is shown with a peace symbol on it which was a very common thing for soldiers to have on their helmets during the Vietnam War.
  • Isaac Asimov: Archer refers several times to the "first law of robotics" during one of the negotiation scenes when he mistakes the voice modulator for a cyborg. This is one of the three laws devised by science fiction writer Isaac Asimov in the short story, Runaround (1942), which regard to the proper conduct of robots. The first law states, "A robot may not injure a human being or, through inaction, allow a human being to come to harm."
  • Phone sex operator: Cyril says he is talking to one of these adult chat lines in order to cover up that he was actually calling ISIS posing as Cheryl's kidnapper.
  • The Boy Who Cried Wolf: Ray calls Cheryl "little miss cry wolf" implying that she kidnapped herself.
  • The Destruction of Sennacherib (1815): Pam has the third stanza of this song/poem written by Lord Byron which is based on an event from the campaign by Assyrian king Sennacherib to capture Jerusalem, as described in the Bible (2 Kings 18–19).

Running Gags / Callbacks[]

  • Smells Like Glue: Cheryl once again is shown eating rubber cement, which she calls "gluing up".
  • Premature Shot: Cyril is shown three times that if handed a gun he will accidentally discharge it.
  • Bullet Magnet Brett: Brett continues his streak of being shot with no one showing any concern for him.
  • Mulatto Butts: Archer's cell phone again is shown to play Mulatto Butts as the ringtone.
  • Tactical Turtleneck: Pam's rescue mission is delayed due to Archer taking great offense to Ray also wearing a black turtleneck.
  • Try not to drown it: Malory demanding a refill.

Continuity[]

  • Cyril accidentally shooting Brett marks the fourth time he has been shot. The three previous occasions of Brett being shot were in Mole Hunt (s1e1), Diversity Hire (s1e3) and "Movie Star".
  • Popeye was last seen in "A Going Concern".
  • This is the first time the exterior of Popeye's Suds and Duds is shown since Popeye bought the laundry business on the ISIS buildings ground floor in "A Going Concern".
  • In "Mole Hunt", Pam was shown to be much less resilient and capable than depicted in this episode. She had previously "tapped out," peed herself and required "three stitches" when Archer hit her with her dolphin puppet.

Trivia[]

  • Title Explained : "El Secuestro" is Spanish for "The Kidnapping".
  • The ISIS computer's voice identification software clearly shows Brett's full name as Brett Buckley. However in the Season 5 premier White Elephant (s5e1) the FBI identifies him as Brett Bunsen.
  • Cheryl wears a US Army M69 flak vest, issued to soldiers in Vietnam. Made of layers of ballistic nylon, it was designed to protect the wearer from grenade, mortar and shell fragments, and was not, as Archer tells Cheryl, bulletproof.
  • A majority of Pam's back is covered by a text tattoo quoting the third stanza of the song/poem, The Destruction of Sennacherib written by Lord Byron and reads :
FOR THE ANGEL OF DEATH
SPREAD HIS WINGS ON THE BLAST,
AND BREATHED IN THE FACE
OF THE FOE AS HE PASSED;
AND THE EYES OF THE SLEEPERS
WAXED DEADLY AND CHILL,
AND THEIR HEARTS BUT
ONCE HEAVED
AND FOR EVER GREW STILL!
  • There are several faces shown on a ISIS computer screen as a voice identification program runs through the ISIS database looking for a voice match. These faces belong to the main group of ISIS employees as well as several other known characters including:
  • Fictional Product Placement :
    • Mostly Musk Men's Cologne : An advertising poster can be seen above the entrance to the subway as Pam and Cheryl exit.
    • Red Beer : Pam is drinking a Red Beer from a can wrapped in a paper bag as she walks with Cheryl.
    • Rancho Cigarettes : A pack is seen strapped to the M1 helmet she wears while being protected by ISIS.
  • Dr. Krieger does not appear.

Goofs[]

  • After the shootout, Pam screams "you shut up, Mr. Pam's-not-worth-it!" after Archer attempts to subdue her anger. Archer put the kidnappers on hold when he told Lana and Ray that saving Pam was not worth negotiating with cyborgs for, so there would be no way for her to hear him.
  • Theoretically, the chances of the kidnappers misidentifying Cheryl would be very slim; her being targeted was prompted by the fact that her parents' death increased her net worth from $50 million to $500 million, which would have required specific knowledge about the Tunt family. Furthermore, the kidnappers were able to determine the timing and route of her morning commute, yet were somehow unable to discern her from Pam.
  • Before Pam takes off her singlet, portions of her tattoos - at least parts of the thirteen hashmarks - should be visible above the singlet's rear neckline, since the tattoos come up to just below the nape of her neck. This is of course an animation cheat to preserve the reveal of her back tattoos, but could have been achieved with a singlet with a higher rear neckline.

Locations[]

First Appearances[]

Characters[]

Locations[]

Quotes[]

Cheryl : "I didn't kidnap myself, he did."
Cyril : "Who me? No, no I've been up here the whole time, having some phone sex. Just jackin it, on the telephone."
Archer : "Um, does internet porn know you're cheating on it?"

─────────────────────────

Lana : "Pam are you OK?"
Pam : "Do you people even give a shit?"
(Pam breaks a kidnapper's neck)
Cyril : "Good God woman!"
Pam : "Cheryl's dumb ass gets me kidnapped and the shit kicked out of me all day and nobody even tries to rescue me!"
Ray : "Archer's fault."
Archer : "Shut up."
Pam : "You shut up, mister 'Pam's not worth it!'"
Archer : "Um..."
Pam : "Then you stupid a-holes shoot a jillion stupid a-holes bullets at me!"
Mallory : "Not me, I wasn't shooting."
Pam : "And you! The worst of the bunch!"
Mallory : "Me? Why me?
Pam : "Five thousand measly dollars."
Mallory : "You know maybe I lowballed him at first but I had some wiggle room."
Pam : "Ya?"
Mallory : "I...
Pam : "Well lets see how much you wiggle when I'm whipping five thousand bucks worth of your ass."
Mallory : "WHAT!?!?"
Lana : "Hey! Whoa, Pam."
Archer : "Lana, let her have this one."
Mallory : "Sterling, somebody, anybody?"
Pam : "Ya, anybody, want a piece of this?"
(After long silent pause)
Lana : "Nooope."

─────────────────────────

Transcript[]

El Secuestro/Transcript

Gallery of Images[]

There are 25 screenshots and images from "El Secuestro" on this Wiki, visit the category page for a complete gallery.


External Links[]

Reference List[]

  1. Archer Season 2 Episode 10 Ratings on tvbythenumbers.com

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