The Agency embarks on a team-building exercise that doesn't quite get off the ground.
Tropes:
- Anachronism Stew: As the main page points out, this is common for a series that is said to be set "vaguely in the 70's"; in this case, it's the Goldhawk itself, which is very clearly an Airbus A380, the prototype of which didn't show up until the 90's, and didn't even get off paper until the early 2000's.
- Bait-and-Switch:
- The plane for the team building trip was thought to be a rundown one. Robert purposefully tricked them and revealed that the actual plane is a high-class model called the Goldhawk.
- The trip to Paris becomes a hostage situation before the plane even leaves the ground.
- Bittersweet Ending: Archer and the gang foil a hostage crisis, and Robert and Lana come to some sort of reconciliation after a long argument. Unfortunately, because Robert abides to the hijacker's demands beforehand and sent a few million dollars, he plans on making some changes to the Agency to make up for it. On the plus side, he believes his donation to a random charity and not the hijackers will gain some attention for the Agency.Robert: Unless you suddenly find a new source of funds, you're going to be buying your own drinks, mister... indefinitely.
Archer: (nervous) ...what? - Butt-Monkey: Archer convinces the hijackers that Cyril is a masochist and loves being abused as a hostage.
- Call-Back: Robert mentions CloudBeam, which he hired to promote the Agency, now named Spies with Soul.
- Didn't Think This Through: Archer lampshades this for the hijackers, such as not waiting until after the plane had taken off to take it over and thus be surrounded by SWAT teams because they didn't know how to breach the cockpit. There is also the fact that they are using guns made of 3D-printed recyclable plastic, which aren't exactly durable.
- The Dog Bites Back: After a long period of being abused as a hostage, once an opening to stop the hijackers appeared, Cyril outright slugs the female eco-terrorist who primarily beat him up.
- Dumbass Has a Point: While Archer admits he wants to enjoy the luxury flight Robert arranges, he also makes some good points in supporting the man. The Agency is doing bottom of the barrel work, they've gotten no acclaim at all for saving the world and they are in a financial sinkhole. So, maybe it is time to try something different if it means returning to his high-class lifestyle.
- Freudian Excuse: One of the SWAT agents handling the hostage crisis outside is unhinged and willing to go through the hostages themselves to get to the hijackers. The reason? He is facing a divorce, and his ex-wife is taking custody of his prized sword collection. Luckily, Archer and the gang get everyone out before this happens, and only the ringleader suffers.
- Global Warming: When Archer says that climate change will be a problem in "1000 years" one of the hijackers points out that Siberia had multiple days at over 100 degrees this year.Archer: Siberia? Like, Siberia Siberia? Shit, someone should do something about that.
- Hypocrite: Pam and Krieger criticize Archer for sleeping with the flight attendant. Considering that it only took Archer a few minutes to sleep with her, whereas they have done nothing to help since the hijacking started, they are one to talk.
- Ink-Suit Actor: One of the hijackers is a dead ringer for his voice actor Tony Calvero.
- Meaningful Rename: Robert calls on CloudBeam Marketing to help finalize a new name for the Agency: Spies with Soul. He wants the group to represent a "force for good, humane causes" and, despite their differences, actually work as a team when it matters the most.
- Not-So-Well-Intentioned Extremist: The hijackers are ecoterrorists who want to be wired $10,000,000 for their cause. However, they aren’t happy when Robert wires the amount to an environmentalist charity instead of them directly. In fact, one of them gets more violent. If this is anything to go by then they weren’t as noble as they claimed to be.
- Seen It All: Archer immediately sees that the hijackers are amateurs.
- Shout-Out: Archer references Scarface.
- Skewed Priorities: The rest of the Agency wastes time screwing around in the upper floor of the plane rather than try to help.
- Starship Luxurious: The Goldhawk is a luxurious two-floor aircraft, with special amenities equal to that of a cruise ship. While it has its usual cabin, it also has a spa, casino, grill, aquarium, and even a pet daycare. There was also a "pan-gender brothel", but it was shut down for "legal reasons".
- Tempting Fate: Pam believes that things will escalate enough that the hijackers will kill them and the hostages, or the feds will Shoot Everything That Moves. Otherwise, everything will turn out just fine. The hijackers shoot one person causing him to nearly bleed to death, and one of the feds is willing to kill the hijackers and the hostages. Thankfully, he only gets to beat the hell out of the leader while everyone else is saved.
- The Reveal: Robert's rich background allows him to be the Agency's benefactor, much to Lana's dismay.
- Troll: Archer says that Cyril is a masochist and as a result, he keeps getting beaten up by the hijackers.
- Womanchild: Near the end, Pam is greatly amused by Ray's pants falling down. Ray lampshades the trope by asking how old she is, and Pam responds by saying that she's old enough to pee herself when laughing.
- Would Hit a Girl: Cyril knocks out the female hijacker who spent most of the hostage situation beating him senseless.
