Since Cyril ended last week in a tank as Calderon’s men surrendered, I suppose that gives him full right to take over San Marcos, placing Archer, Calderon and Juliana (temporarily) behind bars. Cyril eventually sends Lana down to let Juliana out, as he plans to propose to her. Back upstairs at the palace, Malory goes on about the comfortable position in which they’ve found themselves in San Marcos.
Soon after, Cherlene, who replaced Juliana as a captive, helps Calderon and Archer out of their cells as the three of them escape. Of course, they pass a zoo and Archer has to make a brief stop to see the tiger. Calderon ends up tiger chow after Cherlene lets it out of its cage, putting an end to one of this season’s great guest characters. Archer and Cherlene quickly get back on the road.
Meanwhile, Krieger and his clones prepare some sort of rocket filled with nerve gas, presumably aimed at the Upper East Side. We previously saw glimpses of Krieger wanting to reconnect with his friends and disagree with the darker side of his clones, so he was bound to turn on them. I didn’t expect it to go down in that way, and despite him now seeming like he’s back, I can’t help but question if that’s really Krieger or one of his clones who survived the fall. We still don’t know the full story behind the clones, or Krieger, but I’m sure we’ll find out more.
Either way, once Krieger rids himself of the clones and notifies his “friends”—“So nobody noticed that I’ve been missing for three weeks?!”—Ray tries to override the launch sequence, but instead speeds up the countdown. Once again, the group fails in a big situation this season. Desperate, Lana calls for “Archer time,” which Cyril wants nothing to do with. Lana, of course, drives off after Archer.
As we near the end of Archer’s fifth season, it becomes clearer how much the writers have played the long game here. More and more recurring plot elements surface as of late, while others are about to burst. After being caught in the streets and being taken into custody, Archer and Cherlene are put in front of Agent Holly and Slater. Except, they’re not really Holly and Slater. They’re actually both in the CIA. Right as the reveal happens, this season’s longest building plot thread reaches a climax to end the episode.
That’s right, Lana’s baby is about to be born. Lana saying she’s pregnant is the last thing we see at the end of “Filibuster,” so her new baby could very well be the first thing we see in next week’s season finale. What sort of effect will it have on the overall current story? In other words, what does it mean to Malory and the rest?
Considering how things end in “Filibuster,” it’s difficult to even speculate on next week’s finale. The Agent Holly/Slater CIA reveal was a shock and worked well to keep us all guessing going into next week. With only twenty minutes to (hopefully) wrap up what’s been started in this somewhat experimental season, the finale looks set to be a memorable episode and satisfying conclusion to an extended story.
Carlo Sobral is a Winnipeg-based freelance writer and regular contributor to Paste.