A former adversary lends a hand as Archer and the gang band together to try and stop a fleet of killer drones. Meanwhile, Lana and Cyril have a special meeting with the United Nations that seems to be good news.
Episode Tropes:
- An Arm and a Leg: Archer is forced to maim Fabian's cuffed left hand to use his last ID security pass to turn off the drones for good.
- Badass Boast: Cyril takes over for Lana and Cheryl during a UN hearing. Unfortunately, drones interrupt his boast.
- Bad Boss: Fabian honestly believed he was a fair boss to his employees until he hears from his #2, Carlotta, that everyone hated his culturally ambiguous guts.
- Borrowed Biometric Bypass: Archer threatened to take Fabian's eyeballs, fingers, and vocal cords to shut down the IIA drone system, but Pam insists on bringing his whole person to save time. At the very least, he severs Fabian's hand in the end when there are no other options, much to his delight.
- The Bus Came Back: First appearance of Fabian since last season. This may also count as Back for the Finale since this is the final episode of the show.
- Can't Kill You, Still Need You: Fabian is the only one who can shut down the IIA drone system in Lichtenstein, via retina scan, fingerprint scan, and voice recognition. Archer had a dozen "better choices" but has to put up with him until they shut them down.
- Chained Heat: Archer decides to handcuff himself with Fabian, so he doesn't escape. He then decides it is a good idea to handcuff Pam as well.
- Cliffhanger: The Agency manages to shut down the drone protocol, saving themselves and Fabian, as well as any remaining IIA agents. Unfortunately, despite saving the UN from getting killed, the delegates decide to criminalize all independent spy agencies. This being the Series Finale, it leaves the Agency's fate grim and uncertain. However, the upcoming special Into the Cold is set to bring this story to its truest conclusion.
- Digging Yourself Deeper: Before entering a special counsel to decide whether to keep the Agency running, Lana's microphone catches her calling the leaders idiots, which they overhear before she enters the chamber.
- Enemy Mine: Fabian convinces the group to take him along to deactivate the killer drones.
- Entertainingly Wrong: Fabian insists that there is a group of IIA loyalists planning to rescue him, but Archer and Ray insist that they are gunning for him instead. Carlotta of the group reveals soon that they are indeed trying to kill him for a myriad of reasons, mainly for, as Ray summarizes, being a Bad Boss.
- Heel–Face Turn: After learning how much of a shitty Bad Boss he was to his employees, Fabian is touched by Archer's (sarcastic) support and becomes his (one-sided) friend, much to Archer's chagrin. However, Fabian decides to end his friendship after Archer sliced his left hand off (and flipped him off with the same hand).
- Off with His Head!: Archer and Fabian try a clothesline on ex-IIA bikers twice, both attempts beheading them.Archer: What is happening with necks in this country?!
- The Scapegoat: Fabian liked to diverge all complaints caused by his sociopathic leadership to a non-existent board (in all "fairness," the board did exist...for about a week until he killed them all).
- Series Finale: This is billed as such for the episodic series. However, the special ''Into the Cold'' is announced to be the true finale to provide closure.
- Shown Their Work: Switzerland prisons do prefer to operate as correctional facilities to rehabilitate inmates into rejoining society rather than regular prisons without such services.
- Spanner in the Works: While Ray was working for the IIA, Fabian tasked him with a budget to make effective drones for their "No-Fault Severance". Half of the drones in this episode can scan targets through everything except for mud, all because he pulled an Archer and splurged most of it on his own personal stuff.
- You Have Outlived Your Usefulness: Before the IIA fallout, Fabian initiated a "No-Fault Severance" which ties up loose ends involving 'troublesome' employees (i.e. anyone) in the company. The episode starts with dozens of drones killing anyone in the database, including Archer and the rest of the Agency as they were part of the IIA umbrella last season.
