Recap: 'Archer' - Live and Let Dine

Archer, Cyril, Ray and Lana go undercover (sort of) as a kitchen staff at Lance Casteau’s fancy restaurant. Their mission is to work security for Albanian diplomats against a credible threat in hopes of ensuring relationships between Albania and the US. However, Archer is more focused on being a chef as he admires the fame-obsessed Lance who happens to have his own reality TV show. Back at the office, Pam and Cheryl discover that Malory’s true intentions for setting up this mission was to land a reservation at the restaurant. When she is refused, she demands that Pam and Cheryl find the secret phone number for reservations or she’ll murder Pam’s fighting fish.

This was classic Archer all the way through. It’s a perfect scenario for plenty of great bits and they’re all grade-A hysterical. The whole reality show parody mixed with Archer’s love for rude chefs made for some for some great lines. It was also a fresh change of pace to finally see the B-story intersect with the A-story, especially given how fantastic the B-story was. The back and forth between Pam and Cheryl had some of the best laughs in the whole episode. The scene in which they attempt to obtain the phone number through sexual persuasion was pitch-perfect.

There are only a few tiny bits of continuity sprinkled throughout, but it’s hardly an issue given how unbelievably laugh-out-loud funny this whole episode was. None of the gags felt flat, every character had a moment to shine and the reality cooking show satire was spot-on. So far, this is one of the best episodes of the season. Heck, it may be my favorite episode of the entire series. Things are looking pretty good for Archer in its fourth season and this was a nice reminder that the magic is still there.