For 14 seasons, FX’s animated spy series “Archer” left one of its biggest questions unanswered: Who is the father of Sterling Archer (H. Jon Benjamin)? While the show frequently jokes about its main character’s unknown parentage, it never provides a concrete resolution. However, the series finale, “Archer: Into the Cold,” offers Sterling a chance to solve this mystery.
Slater (fittingly voiced by Christian Slater), a crooked CIA agent and recurring antagonist, is left pleading for his life at the hands of Archer. While in peril, Slater reveals that he knows who Archer’s actual father is, having put his adversary’s DNA through the CIA system. Yet, Archer doesn’t take the bait; instead, he lets Slater fall to his death in a dam.
Archer’s creative team decided to leave the show’s biggest mystery unanswered
In an interview with Den of Geek, “Archer” executive producer Matt Thompson said the identity of Archer’s father was something they had to address, even if it’s still left ambiguous. “I hope everyone likes how we handled that question on the way out the animated door,” he stated.
The mystery of Archer’s father begins all the way back in the Season 1 finale, “Dial M for Mother,” where Nikolai Jakov (Peter Newman), head of the KGB, calls Archer “son.” This leads to Malory (Jessica Walter) revealing that she lied to Sterling about his father being a pilot known as Blackjack Archer. In fact, his father could be one of several men.
The closest “Archer” comes to a true reveal is in the Season 4 episode, “Once Bitten.” In the episode, Archer is bit by a venomous snake. While dying, he has a memory of a man who says he’s his father and gives him a stuffed alligator toy for his birthday. However, after the anti-venom wakes him up, Archer forgets this memory.
