- "Does she hate what I am?"
"What you are, meaning the one woman who can free her son from the psychological prison she spent a lifetime erecting?"- —Katya Kazanova and Sterling Archer[src]
Katya Kazanova is a former KGB agent who fell in love with Sterling Archer and defected to ISIS. However, she sacrificed herself to save Sterling from Barry Dylan. After being rebuilt as a cyborg, she enters a relationship with Barry, only to later dump him, become the head of the KGB, and begin a relationship with Boris. Her voice is provided by Ona Grauer.
Biography
Before the Series
- "This man, Sterling Archer, is Russia's most dangerous enemy."
"And he is the man I will marry."- —Nikolai Jakov and Katya Kazanova[src]
Katya Kazanova joined the KGB about ten years after Sterling Archer joined ISIS. While KGB head Nikolai Jakov was warning the trainees about Archer, whom he claimed was the world's most dangerous spy, Katya fell in love with him from afar, saying that he is the man she will marry.[2]
Before her defection, she apparently witnessed a "lemon party" (a gay orgy among elderly people) involving the party chairman (who in theory, would have also been the premier of the USSR).[2]
Season 2
"White Nights"
Years later, as Sterling Archer was about to be executed by the KGB, Katya kills all of the KGB agents present. Archer removed his blindfold to see the beautiful girl that saved his life.
"Double Trouble"
It is later revealed that she saved his life on one condition—that he bring her home to America with him. Archer agreed and brought her to meet his mother, Malory. The two are about to have sex in Malory's office, only for her to walk in on them. Once the rest of the ISIS staff have been introduced to Katya, she immediately stirs their suspicion (mostly from Malory and Lana). These suspicions only become more intense when she pays special attention to Dr. Algernop Krieger's "special project".
Archer and Katya end up falling madly in love, which becomes so strong that she seemingly gets him to quit drinking; however, unbeknownst to her, Archer still drinks occasionally, since he's afraid that if he quits drinking for good then the cumulative hangover will literally kill him.
To quell the suspicions against Katya, Archer has Bilbo look at her KGB file. However, the KGB file shows Katya to be a double agent in the process of destroying ISIS from within. Archer and Katya escape to Archer's apartment, and Malory declares Archer a double agent.
Upon arriving at Archer's apartment, Archer and Katya plan to flee to Canada together. Archer, during a conversation with his servant Woodhouse, was given his grandmother Bub's ring to propose to Katya with.
However, at that moment, the ISIS crew arrives to kill Archer and Katya. A gunfight ensues; however, it ends with everyone running out of ammo and no one getting hit. Archer takes the moment to propose to Katya, which she accepts. The rest of the gang wonder how they can have a wedding on such short notice, before Krieger reveals that his "secret project" was a dream wedding between Archer and Katya.
On the balcony of Archer's penthouse, Archer and Katya hold their wedding. Cheryl Tunt has her hair redone to look like Katya's, and Ray Gillette reveals that he's still a licensed minister and can perform marriages (the irony of which is not lost on him). However, before the two can get married, the party is crashed by Barry Dylan who, after a previous incident with Archer, was converted into a cyborg.
As Barry strangles Archer to death, Malory reveals that she was not quite out of ammo and shoots at Barry - to no effect on Barry's cyborg body. Katya grabs the lace from her wedding dress, garrotes Barry with it, then selflessly leaps off of Archer's balcony, slamming herself & Barry onto the roof of Krieger's van. Unfortunately, saving Archer cost Katya her life - and to add insult to mortal injury, Barry was unaffected by the fall.
Season 3
"Skin Game"
After Katya's death, Krieger absconded with her corpse and rebuilt her as a cyborg (while occasionally fondling her breasts).[3] Krieger proudly presented the cyborg Katya to Archer, and the two immediately embraced. That night, Archer and Katya have sex, and the next day Katya tries to get a job at ISIS. Though Katya's changes soon cause rifts in their relationship, eventually Archer is able to overlook their differences and proposes to her again, to which she again agrees.
To save on hardware costs, Krieger bought some of Katya's upgrades from the KGB. Because of this, Barry Dylan crashes their wedding again, to kill Archer - but this time, Katya is more than a match for Barry, and a fight between the two ensues. To depower them both, the lights are turned off. Utilizing infrared goggles, Archer eventually finds Barry & Katya - in flagrante delicto. Initially stunned, then angry, Archer eventually (if begrudgingly) concedes for Katya's happiness. Katya then leaves with an exceedingly smug Barry. However, after Lana mentions how happy Katya looked, we see Katya on the bus with Barry showing clearly that she is not so happy, and is having doubts or regrets about her decision.
"Space Race: Part I"
Katya's affection for Sterling ensured that Barry gave up his vendetta against him—at least, for a few months. As Barry flew into space to fight Archer on the ISS Horizon, Katya attempted to berate him, but Barry told her that he was in London for "work" and then abruptly hung up on her.
Season 4
"Viscous Coupling"
Several months after Barry Dylan ended up trapped on the ISS Horizon, Katya manipulated ISIS and Sterling into facilitating Barry's return from outer space. She fools Archer into thinking that she has no knowledge of Barry's visit to the space station. Archer then attempts to sabotage her relationship by forging a tape that suggests that Barry is cheating on Katya. Though she sees through the ruse, Katya is disgusted upon realizing that Barry's trip into outer space was solely for the purpose of going after Archer. When she confronts Barry as he is en route home, he chides her by reminding her that he is in charge as the head of the KGB. It is then revealed (to the audience, at least) that Katya has in fact taken over the agency herself. Boris, her assistant, tells her that he is willing to be her bottom.
"Live and Let Dine"
- "Remind me never to piss you off."
"Remind yourself."
"...yes, dear."- —Barry Dylan and Katya Kazanova[src]
Several weeks later, Katya and Barry are revealed (to the audience) to be behind a disastrous diplomatic dinner at celebrity chef Lance Casteau's restaurant which completely destroyed US-Albanian relations and further tarnished ISIS's reputation. Katya pitches Lance out of their helicopter when he outlives his usefulness, then silences Barry with a glare.
Season 6
"Edie's Wedding"
For the better part of a year Katya and Barry are not seen bothering Archer or his associates, most likely due to ISIS being shut down.[4] It's revealed that during that time Katya finally dumped Barry and began a relationship with Boris (who Barry considered the "dumbest man in all of Russia"). Boris, unfortunately seems to prove Barry's point, as during breakfast in bed, he made a plate of syrup and butter, but forgot to make waffles. Katya was not pleased.
"Reignition Sequence"
After Archer and Lana begin dating again, the rest of the ISIS group, having grown disgusted and jealous with their saccharine happiness, hire Katya to seduce Archer in order to sabotage his relationship with Lana. Agreeing to do so, Katya lies to Boris, and shows up in Archer's apartment. She does all she can to seduce him, and while Archer is clearly tempted, he shockingly refuses, due to how much his relationship with Lana means to him, especially now that they share a child. At first shocked and angered, Katya accepts the news, and she and Archer part amicably, with only a final good-bye kiss. However, despite failing to seduce Archer, she still manages to damage his relationship with Lana, by accidentally leaving her robo-gina in the sink for Lana to find. To repair their relationship, Archer drugged Lana and took her to Wales.[5]
Personality
Katya likes sharpshooting, advanced survival training, and snowmobile racing. She dislikes aristocrats, bourgeoisie, and capitalism. Her behavioral ticks include licking her lips, curling her hair, and fluttering her eyes.[1]
Katya was partially designed to be the opposite of Lana Kane: She wears white thigh high boots, is loyal, committed and soft spoken, and succeeds at getting Archer interested in marriage. Other aspects of the character are based on Anya Amasova from The Spy Who Loved Me and Tatiana Romanova from From Russia With Love.
Katya's personality has shifted considerably since leaving Archer at the altar. Before, she was kind, dedicated, and emotional. However, after Barry chases Archer into space and Katya takes over the KGB, her personality has become colder, more aggressive, and calculating.
Trivia
- Katya is a nickname for Yekaterina, the Russian form of the English name Catherine.
- Her surname (especially the way it's usually pronounced in the series) seems to be a nod to Giacomo Casanova.
- The rest of her name may be a reference to Katya Kabanova, the main character in The Storm (an 1859 play by Russian author Aleksandr Ostrovsky) and Katya Kabanova (an operatic adaptation of the play by Leoš Janáček).
- The final scene of "Skin Game", with Katya and Barry on the bus, is an homage to the ending scene of The Graduate.
- Katya is ten years younger than Archer, and was a KGB trainee when first learning of (and falling in love with) Archer, who was already an active agent.
- Katya is the second character in the series to become a cyborg. The first was Barry Dylan.
- Katya's (and Barry's) CPUs are powered by photovoltaics.
Appearances
| Appearances for Katya Kazanova |
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In chronological order:
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References
- ↑ 1.0 1.1 1.2 1.3 Katya Kazanova's KGB file
- ↑ 2.0 2.1 Archer S02E13: "Double Trouble"
- ↑ Archer S04E03: "Legs"
- ↑ Archer S05E01: "White Elephant"
- ↑ Archer S06E11: "Achub Y Morfilod"