Can an animated show have a bottle episode?
Sure, why not.
Vision Quest is a great one at that.
The beauty ofArchers Vision Quest is that it uses the elevator trope to teach its characters absolutely nothing.
Archer and his co-workers begin the episode bickering with one another and end the episode physically attacking one another.
If anything, they devolve, which is keeping with the wonderfully nihilistic humor of the show.
and then almost completely ignoring them in favor of rapid-face dialogue like the worlds most foul-mouthed radio play.
Vision Quest uses this model better than any season 6 episode before it.
The elevator is a merely deliberate cliche and weak set up for a symphony of hateful dialogue.
Mallory has summoned the entire office for an unspeakably early 7 a.m. team-building exercise.
The elevator makes it up to the top floor before stalling out.
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Thats it.
And from there Vision Quest utilizes its one environment to delve deeper into its characters psyches.
Well, thats not quite accurate, as it implies a search for depth.
Vision Quest is more of a celebration of these peoples various insanities and vices.
Shes absolutely right, and its fun instead of limiting that these characters have such limited motivations and quirks.
When combined into one sweaty, Pam-pee-soaked elevator mass they somehow work.
Their personalities are apparent even in the food they bring to work.
Krieger brought god knows what.
Archer proposes being the watcher of the food, which is an awful idea.
Its cashmere, there are rules.
After those failures they resign themselves to their fate.
The office crew assumes that this was the elaborate team-building exercise Mallory had set up for them.
Mallory just wanted to watch Vision Quest.
Stray Thoughts
Reminder: Ray is also a cyborg.
But cannot R2-D2 with the elevator.
Oh, Rays colorblind too!
I think we need to have a serious talk about getting phrases back in the mix.
Rating:
4.5 out of 5
