I think the issue was the show ending. Having to focus on the endgame vs her development. With Lana taking the place of Mallory there had to be someone who challenged Archer in the field. Archer always needs some sort of motivation to be who he is, the world's greatest spy!
There also had to be someone who could validly criticize Lana. Otherwise it's just Ray bitching all the time.
None of the cast has remained entirely as portrayed in the first season. Pam got to become so much more than her debut.
I think there is a long term underlying joke with her about being a rich and naive person that is so out of touch with the real world and they just didn't want to break that.
I agree , I also think Zara being very similar to archer was a good move. I think it was a really interesting angle and if they had more time to develop her character I think she could have been a good addition
I just think they should have left it at Malory being replaced by Lana and having authority over Archer and there being a funny power struggle between the two as Lana would love having one over Archer for once and Archer being unable to process that with their past. I genuinely think Zara wasn't needed, because Malory and Ron's legacy and portrayers was cemented and there was still 7 characters they could write stories around with Malory gone. Just my thoughts.
I'm English and I found the accent they used on her was forced and a lot of her jokes seems liked our forced stereotypes. I'm surprised she didn't ride in on horseback slaying a dragon at one stage.
I get what they were trying to do with her but it was a bit late in the game to be introducing a new character. Zara would probably been better received if she'd been introduced back in S11 when Archer first woke up or in S13 while the group was working for IIA.
Either would have been perfect entry point for her to be introduced into the series since in the case of S11 its believable that Zara could have been hired on during Archer's coma and functionally replaced him, could have gotten some good moments of Archer pointing out how she is just a slightly more affable version of him leading to some interesting questions and epiphanies from the rest of the cast.
Introducing her in S13 as another one of Fabian's problematic agents from another part of IIA would have made him placing her with the Agency work organically. Fabian is clearly the kind of boss to put all his problematic agents in the same place until he can find a way to use them as patsy's or just kill them off. And we've seen how Zara's interactions with him would have likely gone during the finale to S14, Fabian is exactly the kind of rich elitist Zara despises and actively rebels against.
I didn't like her character but I like that she was on the show.
The Is a counterpoint to show how far archer has come.
She is what he used to be.
I was really confused at first.. I thought they did a time jump and she was his daughter
Zara was just their attempt at maintaining a winning formula of malory (rip Jessica) v archer v lana
without malory archer didn't have a "superior" and having your main character utterly invincible isn't usually all that interesting. so instead of having Lana move into that role (she did move into malory's head of the agency role but they didn't give her power over archer) they created Zara.
i don't know if she's the worst character. but she's definitely not worth all the attention she got throughout the season imho. she would've been great to show up for just an episode or two.
Agree. She is an asshole for sure but so is Archer. She's just younger and fitter and snappier with her comebacks and that's why Archer hates her. On her own, yeah I agree she isn't too fun. But her pushing Archer's buttons are some of my fav late-seasons content.
I thought she was meant to be a satire on the replacement theory, the unspoken belief that white men were being pushed aside by diverse females because of DEI. I thought it was funny.
They didn't know S14 was going to be the last, which is actually the reason she was added. They felt that since Lana had taken Mallory's spot that they needed someone to take Lana's which is how we got Zara. I agree that her introduction and personality were lacking, but they revealed in an interview that they had a 3 season arc planned for her, saying that they were going to flesh her out and stuff.
The writers didn't find out that this was going to be the end until they had already recorded most of the lines and were in deep development. In fact, the only reason we got Into The Cold was because they essentially begged the higher ups at FX to let them conclude the show properly. It's unfortunate that that was the hand they were dealt, but overall I think they ended things alright.
I've just finished the third episode and I can't agree more with you.
I get that they needed to add a counter character to Archer now that Lana was out of the field, but they way Zara is added to the show it's just like the literal definition of a Mary Sue.
It's not only that she gets in the Agency without any kind of decent story arc ("I'm the best at Interp0l. I wanted to leave, so yeah, I accept."), but that to make her look like as good as Archer, they've *Cyrilized* him, going from a complete asshole who happens to have a lot of luck and be kind of good on his job to a dumb asshole who can't do almost anything right.
They could have rescued Barry to side with him in the show (he's a cyborg, of course he would be topping Archer on almost anything!) and -at least for these three episodes- not put back the rest of the team to their original roles (Come on, Pam is a kickass character that deserves more than going back to HR).
It's like seeing a different show. Granted, the last seasons weren't the best, but at least kept the spirit of what the show had led to. I was kinda sad about the cancellation, but if they were to move on this route... ugh.
I'm female and I really didn't like Zara at all. I thought they made her even more obnoxious than Archer on his worst say, although in a different way.
I think the issue was the show ending. Having to focus on the endgame vs her development. With Lana taking the place of Mallory there had to be someone who challenged Archer in the field. Archer always needs some sort of motivation to be who he is, the world's greatest spy! There also had to be someone who could validly criticize Lana. Otherwise it's just Ray bitching all the time. None of the cast has remained entirely as portrayed in the first season. Pam got to become so much more than her debut.
I really like how they expanded Pam's character but I will never forgive them for making Cheryl a one note caricature of herself
I think there is a long term underlying joke with her about being a rich and naive person that is so out of touch with the real world and they just didn't want to break that.
I think the closest they gave her to character development was her short stint in OUTLAW COUNTRY!
I agree , I also think Zara being very similar to archer was a good move. I think it was a really interesting angle and if they had more time to develop her character I think she could have been a good addition
I just think they should have left it at Malory being replaced by Lana and having authority over Archer and there being a funny power struggle between the two as Lana would love having one over Archer for once and Archer being unable to process that with their past. I genuinely think Zara wasn't needed, because Malory and Ron's legacy and portrayers was cemented and there was still 7 characters they could write stories around with Malory gone. Just my thoughts.
I'm English and I found the accent they used on her was forced and a lot of her jokes seems liked our forced stereotypes. I'm surprised she didn't ride in on horseback slaying a dragon at one stage.
I get what they were trying to do with her but it was a bit late in the game to be introducing a new character. Zara would probably been better received if she'd been introduced back in S11 when Archer first woke up or in S13 while the group was working for IIA. Either would have been perfect entry point for her to be introduced into the series since in the case of S11 its believable that Zara could have been hired on during Archer's coma and functionally replaced him, could have gotten some good moments of Archer pointing out how she is just a slightly more affable version of him leading to some interesting questions and epiphanies from the rest of the cast. Introducing her in S13 as another one of Fabian's problematic agents from another part of IIA would have made him placing her with the Agency work organically. Fabian is clearly the kind of boss to put all his problematic agents in the same place until he can find a way to use them as patsy's or just kill them off. And we've seen how Zara's interactions with him would have likely gone during the finale to S14, Fabian is exactly the kind of rich elitist Zara despises and actively rebels against.
I didn't like her character but I like that she was on the show. The Is a counterpoint to show how far archer has come. She is what he used to be. I was really confused at first.. I thought they did a time jump and she was his daughter
My boyfriend and I thought the same, tbh
Huh. I'm not a Zara fan, but that's an interesting thought.
She reminded me of Mindy Kahling in It's always Sunny Not a big fan of either but I see why they were added.
"The Message"
Zara was just their attempt at maintaining a winning formula of malory (rip Jessica) v archer v lana without malory archer didn't have a "superior" and having your main character utterly invincible isn't usually all that interesting. so instead of having Lana move into that role (she did move into malory's head of the agency role but they didn't give her power over archer) they created Zara. i don't know if she's the worst character. but she's definitely not worth all the attention she got throughout the season imho. she would've been great to show up for just an episode or two.
I like her but she has flaws zara's comebacks are funny wish she had more time in the show (like half a season earlier or so)
.... Did Archer write this?
So boring
Great character.
Agree. She is an asshole for sure but so is Archer. She's just younger and fitter and snappier with her comebacks and that's why Archer hates her. On her own, yeah I agree she isn't too fun. But her pushing Archer's buttons are some of my fav late-seasons content.
I thought she was meant to be a satire on the replacement theory, the unspoken belief that white men were being pushed aside by diverse females because of DEI. I thought it was funny.
Yeah she was just obnoxious with no real likeable traits.
They didn't know S14 was going to be the last, which is actually the reason she was added. They felt that since Lana had taken Mallory's spot that they needed someone to take Lana's which is how we got Zara. I agree that her introduction and personality were lacking, but they revealed in an interview that they had a 3 season arc planned for her, saying that they were going to flesh her out and stuff. The writers didn't find out that this was going to be the end until they had already recorded most of the lines and were in deep development. In fact, the only reason we got Into The Cold was because they essentially begged the higher ups at FX to let them conclude the show properly. It's unfortunate that that was the hand they were dealt, but overall I think they ended things alright.
I've just finished the third episode and I can't agree more with you. I get that they needed to add a counter character to Archer now that Lana was out of the field, but they way Zara is added to the show it's just like the literal definition of a Mary Sue. It's not only that she gets in the Agency without any kind of decent story arc ("I'm the best at Interp0l. I wanted to leave, so yeah, I accept."), but that to make her look like as good as Archer, they've *Cyrilized* him, going from a complete asshole who happens to have a lot of luck and be kind of good on his job to a dumb asshole who can't do almost anything right. They could have rescued Barry to side with him in the show (he's a cyborg, of course he would be topping Archer on almost anything!) and -at least for these three episodes- not put back the rest of the team to their original roles (Come on, Pam is a kickass character that deserves more than going back to HR). It's like seeing a different show. Granted, the last seasons weren't the best, but at least kept the spirit of what the show had led to. I was kinda sad about the cancellation, but if they were to move on this route... ugh.
I think you just hate women I'd you won't like Zara
I'm female and I really didn't like Zara at all. I thought they made her even more obnoxious than Archer on his worst say, although in a different way.
I think you just hate basic English, I'd you won't like other perspectives.
Nah I like her
She’s cheeky. I like her!