Archer Vice: House Call.

I knew not to doubt Adam Reed. After a few weeks of passable, if unremarkable episodes, "House Call" is a magnificent resurgence of the fast-paced, joke-dense, completely insane Archer of old. It's an episode that has everything I love about this show: unbelievably immoral characters, absurdly esoteric references, and the most complicated puns ever conceived.

"House Call" begins with the ISIS crew planning something of an intervention for Pam, except that none of them seem to have a firm grasp of the concept. Mallory seems to think that murdering Pam by feeding her a cake made with five pounds of cocaine is close enough, while Krieger suggests injecting the second generation of his mind control chip into her brain. Of course, his plan goes off the rails immediately. Pam hulks out and kidnaps Cheryl, Mallory is shot with a tranquilizer dart, and Special Agent Holly shows up to investigate last week's Yakuza incident. That's only eight minutes in. Hold onto your Minatel terminals. Archer is back.

Pam & Cheryl

After being tied up, Pam goes all Queen Kong and makes Cheryl her Esmerelda. I know Cheryl's mixes some metaphors this episode, but she's turned on by this (as usual). Pam and Cheryl are probably the two funniest characters and this episode uses them really well. There's no real emotional arc for these two, the way there is for Archer and Lana, but who cares. When the episode ends, Krieger's chip has transformed Cheryl into Cherlene, complete with country music clothes, mannerisms, and an acoustic guitar that she's just sort of dragging around.

Archer & Lana

A- Archer and Lana have the quietest storyline this week. Basically, all they do is guard the cocaine. Lana contemplates fleeing and Archer reveals that he's more concerned about her safety and that of her child than he normally lets on. Archer rattles off quite the list of possible pregnancy complications, including Gerd, which sounds far too scary to Google, even if only to learn how it's spelled.

Even though we know she won't run, Archer's offer to help her is quietly nice, almost selfless. Of course, it's tempered by his soliciting blow and/or rimjobs as a thank you, but you can't have it all. In spite of how that last sentence ended, Archer has become a much better person as the show has gone on, to the point that he rarely provides the comedic backbone of an episode anymore. Instead, he's become the show's emotional center, a man trying to metaphorically suck some of the poison out of his most messed up relationships.

Krieger & Cyril

A While Krieger and Cyril can become annoying when overused, "House Call" hits the sweet spot on their screen time. Sending them on a wild-Pam hunt is a great way to give them just the right number of quick zingers. The best is unquestionably when Cyril discovers that it would take Krieger about thirty seconds to get Ray walking again and Krieger responds that his time in the wheelchair will make him so much happier when his mobility is returned. Also, Krieger is able to confirm that yes, Cyril did smell a skeleton.

Agent Holly

A- Agent Holly is definitely one of my favorite antagonists that ISIS has ever had to face. It looks like he's going to be playing Barry role this year. Like Barry, he's an extremely strange guy who will try to stop Archer at every turn, but Holly throws out everything I didn't like about Barry (cyborg stuff, Other-Barry) and replaces it with something more important. Unlike Barry, Agent Holly is already a fully drawn, intriguing individual. Even though there's a lot of bluster and silliness, Holly has a sadness at his core. He injures his rotator cuff trying to break down a door, delivers the most awkward exit line ever, and seriously asks himself if a door is made of mithril (a callback to the episode in which ISIS goes to space to help Bryan Cranston). Holly is a nerd who isn't able to match up with the image of a tough FBI agent he has in his head. Of course, this deep, realistic sadness helps him fit right into the extremely damaged Archer crew far better than Barry ever did. I'm quite excited to see where this season takes Agent Holly.