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‘Archer’ Transformed Its Characters AGAIN & This Guide Will Help You Keep Them Straight
Spoilers for the Archer Season 9 premiere. Your favorite animated spy Archer is sadly still in a coma, but that doesn't mean his adventures don't go on. For Season 9, the FXX series reinvents itself again for Archer: Danger Island. Like they did for Season 8's Dreamland, the cast's personas change for this new adventure. The April 25 premiere introduces fans to the Archer: Danger Island characters. And while it's no trouble figuring out who is who, this guide breaks down who exactly fans will be following throughout this new mission.
Season 8 started with Archer in a coma for three months with the rest of the events of Dreamland taking place only in Archer's mind. The same premise goes for Danger Island, although the premiere episode only subtly references Archer's coma. It's tricky, since the episode starts with a sleeping Archer, but there's no update on him in the real world in the first episode of Season 9. Instead, Danger Island jumps right into another one of Archer's coma-induced dreams. This time, Archer is living in his mother's resort on the South Pacific island of Mitimotu in 1939.
The time and place for Season 9 are different, but the people who create Archer said in a First Look video that the biggest alteration is the characters. "The thing that's changed the most out of the last nine seasons is the characters themselves," executive producer Matt Thompson said.
Archer, Pam, Lana, Cyril, Cheryl, Krieger, Ray, and Malory are all present in the premiere episode of Danger Island — "Strange Pilot." But while their core personalities remain intact, there are some major updates to their identities.
Sterling Archer As Sterling Archer
It's Archer's dream world and everyone else is just living in it. So Archer is still the same hard-drinking, womanizing daredevil he always is in Danger Island. The only differences are that he's now a one-eyed pilot — which means he wears an eye patch. His flying skills are already tested in the first episode when his plane malfunctions after Lana's character charters it.
Pam Poovey As Pam Poovey
In Dreamland, Pam became a man for her Detective Poovey role. Now she's back to being female, but her body has changed yet again. For Danger Island, the creators said in the First Look video that she's "nearly six-foot-five and muscular." Her bigger body will surely come in handy when she lands in the jungle that has quicksand, ferocious baboons, poisonous snakes and frogs, and a native tribe that practices cannibalism.
Malory Archer As Malory Archer
Even though she was known as simply "Mother" in Dreamland, she wasn't actually Archer's mom that season. But this time around, the Archers are back to being mother and son and instead of a spy agency, she runs their hotel. To Archer's discomfort, the resort's employee (voiced by Eugene Cordero of Crazy Ex-Girlfriend) calls Melanie "mama."
Cheryl Tunt As Charlotte Vandertunt
Cheryl's Charlotte Vandertunt persona is familiar since she was in Dreamland. This time, she's married to Jon Daly's Whitney Stratton — and he should be familiar as well since his name is a play on Archer's private school friends Richard "Ivy" Stratton IV (also voiced by Daly) and Trent Whitney. Judy Greer's character is as unhinged as ever and she's set off when she cheats on Whitney with Archer during their honeymoon. Considering Ivy and Trent were Archer's frenemies in real life, this scenario really is a dream for him.
Lana Kane As Princess Lanaluakalani
Lana's lounge singer/undercover agent died at the end of Dreamland, but she's back as royalty for Danger Island. She's Princess Lanaluakalani of Mitimotu and she's trying to work out a deal with Cyril's character. But, of course, the princess has caught Archer's eye.
Cyril Figgis As Siegbert Fuchs
Cyril is the unfortunately-named Siegbert Fuchs, who says he has come to the French Polynesian territory to create a breadfruit plantation. Confirming the hints dropped by the premiere, the Archer website makes it clear that he's really a bumbling German spy.
Ray Gillette As Capitaine Reynaud
Another character with an accent is Ray, who is the corrupt French police captain on the island. He illegally gambles at Malory's resort and makes a habit of speaking in French — with no subtitles.
Dr. Algernop Krieger As Crackers
The biggest transformation this season belongs to none other than Dr. Krieger, who is the parrot Crackers in Danger Island. Or — more accurately — he's a macaw, which is a type of parrot. However you refer to him, he gets to swoop in with his snarky commentary and makes a great companion for the pilot version of Archer.
Whether they go back to the "real" Archer world or not in Season 10, next season will inevitably lead to another change in the characters. So enjoy their Danger Island personas while they last.
