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Archer, as most likely already known, is a phenomenal show. It is very well written, the jokes are fantastic and the characters are original & engaging. You can come at this show in many ways, but for this writeup I will just be looking at the sexual hierarchy reflected in the show and Archer & Malory’s relationship.
Overview Of The Show
Archer is show about a spy agency, ISIS and their general quirkiness. The agency is headed by Archer’s mother, Malory. He is an international spy who works with his ex-girlfriend Lana Kane, who is usually more competent than he. The accountant for the agency is Cyril Figgis. There are more characters, but are not relevant here.
The show is fairly surreal in the sense there is mixing of time periods. The show looks like a 60’s spy cartoon, but the references in the show are to contemporary culture. The style of dress is based out of the 60’s and the history of the characters – such as Woodhouse serving in WWI – reinforces the show is really in the 60’s. However, they use modern technology like GPS, but also use outdated technology like reel-to-reel tape. Let’s talk about the relevant four characters.
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Sterling Malory Archer: Also known as “Duchess.” A classic, narcissistic alpha. He is an international spy who is handsome, jacked and always suited down. He is proficient at driving, martial arts and weaponry. However, his primary concern is drinking and playing the field. He has serious anti-social issues and narcissistic issues. His ex-girlfriend is fellow spy Lana Kane and she still is deeply enamored with him.
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Malory Archer: Sterling’s mother. A cruel, narcissistic woman - a particularly loathsome woman. She has the ability to turn on the charm and regularly seduces powerful men. She was a terrible mother who treated Archer like shit. You see where his complexes come from. However, as with any draining relationship, Malory & Archer need each other to bolster their self-identity. She is a clear alcoholic and hatches ridiculous plans that invariably blow up.
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Lana Kane: A tall, gorgeous dark-skinned woman. She is very competent and often bails Archer out. She is in love with Archer, but his instability prevents a relationship. She is often made because she plays second fiddle to Archer due to Archer being Malory’s son.
Cyril Figgis: Comptroller for ISIS. He is competent at his job, but is a hopeless beta. He is insecure and often tongue-tied. He is the victim of office politics because he doesn’t understand how to manipulate power. He dated Lana in Season 1, but, of course, that relationship did not last. Lana never said she loved him and often balked at public recognition of their relationship.
Sexual Hierarchy In The Show
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Consider my narcissistic sexual hierarchy thread. In the show, we see it embodied with Archer, Lana and Cyril.
Archer is an alpha, with his pick of the women. Every other female (sans his mother) wants Archer's dick - just the tip? Sorry, had to. Anyway, Archer - given his personality - exploits this with ruthless abandon. Cyril resents him, as Archer treats him as an inferior and often fucks with him - often times with hilarious results.
Lana is a typical woman trapped between an alpha & a beta. She, of course, burns with desire for Archer, but she can only lock Cyril down. My theory is she dated Cyril so she could treat him like Archer treated her. However, when women in are control they are never satisfied with the relationship. Her treatment of Cyril mirrors the indifferent, sometimes cruel, way Archer would treat Lana.
When she found out Cyril was cheating, it was the end of the relationship. Women will only stick around here only if they are in complete control of the man. With him cheating, it set her off because it showed she couldn't even completely control a weak beta.
Notice how narcissistic Archer is and how Lana, despite their fighting, will submit to his frame. She is a classic codependent with Archer, but becomes a compensatory narcissist with Cyril. Do note sometimes, like here, compensatory narcissist can be worse than a clinical narcissist as they want to act out so badly - when it does come out it is downright brutal and vindictive.
Archer & Malory: The Wages Of A Narcissistic Mother
This is the meat of this post. Archer & Malory have a sick relationship. She is a classic, cold narcissist. She left Archer in his most tender years to be raised by her butler, Woodhouse. She would show up intermittently, bearing gifts. Classic narcissistic move - gain approval, then dump on them.
The characters complain about Archer & Malory's relationship, sometimes intoning it is incestuous. It certainly isn't physical, but you could call it emotional incestuous. Lana & Malory clash often over Archer. Malory can't have any woman get too close to Archer. One of the psychological issues that causes playerhood is this sort of relationship - unable to bond significantly to any one woman, they just hop beds.
When women complain about men having mommy issues, if they just aren't running their mouth, they are commenting on a man who has a narcissistic mother who needs her son's worship. This is reflected in Archer, but let me bring in Hank Moody from Californication.
Hank Moody is the consummate smooth player. This cat is good looking, a supreme social manipulator and has a silver tongue, bar none. Men develop these sorts of characteristics in order to meet the approval of their mother. Sensing their mother's disapproval, they seek to be interesting to women, empathize with women, etc. I recall some criticism of Moody on this forum, but he isn't a white-knight. He is a man that needs female approval, but then will go cold after he secures that. His empathy with women was his way of trying to gain his mother's approval. When his mother was down, he would console her & all that stuff.
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Back to Archer, he has this relationship with his mother. Note he works directly for his mother - a continuation of their relationship in which they need each other. They both drain each other, but Malory has the upper hand. She is the more narcissistic of two, as Archer developed an anti-social complex in order to cope with his lack of motherly love.
Let's consider women who are whores. Malory is a true whore - she has slept with many, many men and balances many dalliances. Some people have this idea that women can't be players, but many are - never in the way men are! - however, they are often narcissists. Note that Archer became a player - Archer sensed, as a child, that he could get motherly approval if he learned game. He saw all the dudes she dallied with and had sex with. Malory plays men against each other - if you want to game Malory, you better be either a narcissist or player of the supreme order.
When women are narcissists, male children often become a reflection of the woman sees herself as. My mother considers herself an intellectual. Is it any surprise I doubled down on developing my mind? Sometimes I wish that if had to have a narcissistic mother, it would be one that values players like Malory.
Back on track, this highlights the importance of healthy motherhood. I recently talked about the importance of fatherhood. However, motherhood is critical too - most importantly to a boy's ability to relate to females.
Boys need positive female role models in order to have healthy relationships with females as an adult. The small minority develop player complexes, like Archer or Moody, most develop codependent qualities, like Cyril. Neither are desirable for society. Personally, men like Archer & Moody, do what they do to compensate for personal unhappiness. They don't seek out new women because that is truly what they want - they want superficial female approval, then dump them once they get that.
Men like Cyril go the other way - the way of the simp. They supplicate themselves before women in order to gain their approval. A common feminist complaint is that "nice guys" feel "entitled" to sex & relationships because they have their social approval. Of course, feminists engage in what causes the issue in men - superficial analysis & approval. They don't dig deep into the "nice guy" psyche. These men prostrate themselves before women because that is what their mother expected from them as a child.
Also, consider the school system, which a major contributor to simpy men. Honestly, I fully support single-sex schools for young boys and only allow men to teach the boys. What female teachers do to young boys is teach them to supplicate to women. Feminists get angry at these beta men because they haven't become their own person and need female approval to bolster their identity. However, what really enrages feminists is women's inability to groom boys into healthy men.
We see this in defiant single-mothers who are utterly convinced they don't need a man. The black community reflects this and discussions of fatherhood & masculinity are always loaded with black women. I got some vitriolic looks in the CRT class I took when I discussed the plight of the black male and the lack of true fathers figures for black boys. Women don't want to hear all that nonsense the boys need a father - they want to believe they can do it all themselves with no male input. The saddest of this self-absorbed situation is that boys pay the price for their mother's ignorance.
Bringing this full circle, when men are subject to terrible mothering, they develop serious complexes with respects to the females in their life. Sometimes, they become players like Archer. However, the most likely result is a thirsty-ass simp like Cyril whose primary way to relate to women is via supplication.
They ain't paying for me it, but you had better start watching the show now!
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