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"The Figgis Agency" is the season premiere of Season 7, and the seventy-sixth episode overall.

Plot[]

Synopsis[]

Archer breaks into a mansion to restore the honor of a Hollywood starlet.

Summary[]

In the backyard of a Hollywood mansion in the middle of the night, two detectives are investigating a dead body floating in the pool. They discuss the possibility of the owner of the mansion, Veronica Deane, as a suspect in the apparent homicide. After discussing how the murder happened (and gay porn names), they go to question the servants in the mansion, leaving behind the floating corpse...

...of Sterling Archer.

Six months before all that, a still-living Archer, along with Lana, Cyril, Pam, Cheryl, Ray (who is wheelchair-bound once again), and Malory are enduring another slow day at the office of the Figgis Agency; a name that Archer is not too keen on. Cyril, on the other hand, is all too happy to inform Archer that he was the only person with the education and experience to qualify as the owner of the aforementioned private investigation agency. Malory, meanwhile, bemoans the fact that they haven't received work in the three months since they've opened. As Archer argues with his mother, a woman comes in the office to request their services. She introduces herself as Veronica Deane, a famous actress. Cyril takes her to his office to discuss further details (and to escape Ray gushing all over her).

Veronica informs them that she was robbed recently, and among the items stolen from her was a disc that contained "sensitive" information, which she is determined to get back. Cyril and Archer then have an argument about fee structure, which is cut short when Veronica offers $100,000 for the disc's return.

A short time later, Archer begins to brief everyone on their new assignment. However, Cyril takes exception to Archer calling the shots in his own agency. Archer backs off and lets Cyril have the floor. Cyril then defers to Archer.

One brief emasculation from Malory later, Archer assigns roles for the group; save for Pam, who volunteers her services as "the muscle". Cheryl is tasked with acquiring schematics on the house where the disc is being kept, along with intel on the owner, Alan Shapiro. Lana is to assist Archer on infiltration duties, and Ray, with his safe-cracking skills, is in charge of asset acquisition. Upon realizing he's on the clock, Ray gets up from his wheelchair.

Archer, Lana, Cyril, and Ray then head to the boiler room, which also doubles as Dr. Krieger's new laboratory. Krieger then hands out the tools he deems necessary for their assignment, including drug-laced dog treats (which he affectionately refers to as "Hush Puppies"), his newest "invention," a rocket-powered grappling hook (patent nonexistent), and a thermal lance.

As the crew gets ready to leave, Archer is preoccupied with cleaning a handprint off of his new Ferrari 308 GTS. Unfortunately, due to a faulty fuel pump, the car is unusable.

At the mansion, the break-in starts okay, as the trio of Archer, Lana and ray use grappling hooks to infiltrate the house. However, due to Cheryl forgetting to tell them there are guard dogs, Archer is soon attacked and tumbled off a cliff before the treats knock the dogs out. As Lana and ray try to crack the safe, Archer comes back, and after a brief argument about Deane's age and looks, they are discovered by a blood trail left from a dog bite on Archer's arm. After being attacked with grenades by the guards at the top of the cliff, Archer gives Lana the disk and has Ray run her back to the van, while he falls avoiding more grenades.

The next day, Cyril gives Deane the disk while she hands over the $100,000 before leaving. As the team are discussing, another woman comes in, and it is quickly figured you that she is the REAL Veronica Deane.

Cast[]

Cultural References[]

  • 77 Sunset Strip (1958-1964): The season pays homage to the series in which two L.A.-based former government agents open a private detective agency.
  • Sunset Boulevard (1950): The episode opens with the body of Sterling Archer floating face down in the swimming pool of a Hollywood mansion with the following season narrative being told completely in flashbacks.
  • Charlie's Angels (1976): Commercial bumpers depict various silhouettes of Archer and company in action poses scrolling across the screen accompanied by brief musical notes reminiscent of the television series Charlie's Angels.
  • Magnum, P.I. (1980): Ray sarcastically replies to Archer, "I was hoping T.C. was gonna come pick us up in the chopper." The character of Theodore "T.C." Calvin was a combat trained pilot of a Hughes 500D helicopter who often aided Magnum in his investigations. Archer has also recently purchased a Ferrari 308 GTB/GTS identical to the one driven by Magnum.
  • Nancy Drew: During the mission briefing, Malory calls Archer "Mancy Drew" in reference to the fictional teenage female amateur detective. This is also a reference to Archer mistakenly referring to "Mancy" as a part of the NATO phonetic alphabet in "Skytanic".
  • Tennessee Tuxedo and his Tales (1963): One of the detectives in the opening scene refers to Archer's tuxedo-clad body floating in the pool as "Tennessee Tuxedo", referencing the titular penguin from the 1963 cartoon Tennessee Tuxedo and his Tales.
  • Los Angeles River: Archer tells Pam he'll "sew [her] into a canvas bag full of rats and throw that bag into the river", to which Malory replies "What river? it's a concrete slab." This is a reference to the concrete-laden Los Angeles River, which often has very little water in it.
  • Chinatown (1974): The realization that they were duped by a Veronica Deane impostor is straight out of the 1974 movie Chinatown. In the movie private detective J.J. Gittes is initially hired by a woman claiming to be Evelyn Mulwray only to find out after completing the job that she was an impostor.
  • Predator (1987): Archer remarks that using the infrared goggles is "just like Predator".
  • House of Romanov: Lana says Archer’s “bleeding like a Russian princess," referencing both the Romanov family’s long history with hemophilia and to the grisly assassination of the Royal Family, most notably Princess Anastasia.
  • The A-Team (1983-1987): When Archer assigns Pam her role for the mission, she expresses her desire to be the "driver, mechanic and maybe occasional muscle, like a folksy B. A. Baracus" to which Archer approves. B. A. Baracus is a member of the A-Team.
  • Sherlock Holmes: Flyers for The Figgis Agency feature a Basset Hound wearing a Deerstalker cap while holding a magnifying glass in its mouth. Pam has nicknamed the dog 'Furlock Bones', a play on the name Sherlock Holmes.
  • Mad Men (2007-15): The antelope triptych that hangs on the wall of the Figgis Agency (throughout the season) is a parody of a similar giraffe triptych that hangs in the Campbells’ home.

Running Gags[]

  • That's Even Better: Krieger gives the Figgis Agency drug-laced dog treats to deal with any guard dogs they might encounter. Archer supposedly has the perfect name for them, but Krieger cuts him off with his own name for them: "Hush Puppies." Archer concedes that Krieger's was the better name.
  • Wheelchair-Bound: This episode marks the third season premiere that features Ray confined to a wheelchair, as well as the third instance where he merely feigns being handicapped. Though he was genuinely paralyzed in the previous episode, it can be assumed that Krieger successfully repaired his bionics.
  • Earballs!: Cheryl responds to the Veronica Deane impostor yelling.
  • Smells Like Glue: Cheryl is once again seen with an open bottle of glue.
  • Kink: Cheryl once again reacts positively to being choked by Lana.
  • Phrasing: Upon a sentence by Krieger with possible sexual innuendo, everyone looks at Archer expecting him to say "Phrasing", but he hurtfully says everyone took it for granted. This is a callback to Seasons 5 and 6.
  • Eat a Dick: Archer exclaims "Eat a dick, gravity!" upon falling down the hill.
  • Eternal Life: Archer, once again, experiences extreme and strenuous body damage, but doesn't die.
  • Diving and Screaming: Archer dives off the balcony while screaming "WOOHOO! Painkillers!"
  • Pezzo di Merda: Archer says he needs to invoice $1,200 for a pompa di benzina, which is Italian for fuel pump, presumably for his new Ferrari.

Trivia[]

  • This is the first episode to feature commercial bumpers.
  • Archer can be seen driving his newly purchased Ferrari 308 GTB/GTS in the Season 7 trailer.
  • Italian cars are sometimes deemed famous for not working properly and being temperamental. This might be reflected by Archer's Ferrari not starting.
  • Archer isn't able to read the warranty of his Ferrari because it's "in Italian", a language he has failed to learn since "The Papal Chase".
  • The manner in which Krieger says "Lame" is a callback to the way Cherlene said the word in "Archer Vice: On the Carpet".
  • The death of the Italian Prime Minister in "Lo Scandalo" is retold in this episode. It is said that the body was scattered among four different boroughs, but Krieger's plan only involved three. As Archer called back, he disposed of his body piece in the same place Lana disposed hers, causing an incongruence with the plan. Archer also justifies this with "I'm not schlepping to Staten Island in the middle of the goddamn night!", implying that Malory expected them to dispose of the body in all five boroughs.
  • The lawyer Alan Shapiro may be a reference to Robert Shapiro, a notable L.A. lawyer who has represented many celebrities, including O. J. Simpson.
  • This is the first episode to show Ray using his bionic legs to run at an enhanced speed.
  • Archer telling Pam he'll "sew [her] into a canvas bag full of rats and throw that bag into the river" may be a callback to "Pocket Listing" when Queen Yasmin Fawaz said "I would have him sewn into a burlap sack filled with rats, and the sack thrown into the river."
  • Malory says the best thing about L.A. is that liquor is sold in supermarkets. In New York, supermarkets are legally prohibited from selling wine or liquor.
  • Ona Grauer, the voice actress for the Veronica Deane impersonator, has previously voiced Katya Kazanova in several episodes.
  • Mallory sassing Ray with "Ooh, Joan Crawford is gonna be so jealous" is probably a reference to the historic feud between actresses Joan Crawford and Bette Davis as, in the context, Ray was vying for the autograph of the seemingly in-verse historic actress Veronica Deane.

Awards[]

First Appearances[]

Characters (in order of appearance)[]

Locations[]

Quotes[]

Detective Harris: "Well, what do you think?"
Detective Diedrich: "I think that in my next life, I'm gonna come back as a movie star."
Detective Harris: "Yeah, look out, gay porn."

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Krieger: "And since the front of the house by the road is guarded 24/7, you're gonna have to go in... from the rear."
(Everyone expectedly looks at Archer.)
Archer: "No, you all took it for granted."

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Ray: Don't count your chickens before they're hatched!

Archer: Okay, A, I'm pretty sure chickens give live birth, like sharks. And B.....

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(Malory opens a bottle of champagne.)
Cyril: "Don't you think it's a little premature to be celebrating?"
Malory: "Who's celebrating? We're out of liquor."

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Gallery of Images[]

There are 11 screenshots and images from "The Figgis Agency" on this Wiki, visit the category page for a complete gallery.

External links[]

References[]

Navigation[]

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