Archer season 14 episode 7 review: The team takes down Dragon Run

The seventh and penultimate episode of Archer's Season 14, titled Mission Out of Control Room, premiered on October 4, 2023, leaving fans wondering what the final episode may have in store for us. Episode 7 showcases Lana trying her best to keep the mission away from any issues but as luck may have it, there seems to be something lurking in the shadows by the end of the episode, even though the teams successfully deactivate the mainframe of Dragon Run.

The episode establishes the presence of an international online black market known as Dragon Run, which requires to be shut down by hacking any of the mainframes. The team at the International Secret Intelligence Service (ISIS) are divided into three groups and tasked with a sub-mission to reach the larger goal - making Dragon Run delete itself.

Let us take a look at the events that take place in Archer season 14 episode 7 to be prepared for the final episode.

Disclaimer: Spoilers ahead.

---

Lana sends the team on a mission to power down the Dragon Run while Archer flirts with a teenager's mother

The penultimate episode of Archer has Lana pulling the reigns by installing a new comms system that allows her more control over the mission at hand and prevents it from going sideways like most of the other times. She announces the following at the beginning of the episode:

"Brand new computers, top-of-the-line hacking capability, high def monitors, simultaneous audiovisual communication, and tracking field agents from location to pulse rate."

Lana divides the group of six agents into teams of two - Pam Poovey and Ray Gillette, Dr. Algernop Krieger and Zara Khan, Cyril Figgis and of course, the titular character of Sterling Archer.

Besides the cross-talk over the communications system, all seems to be going fine till Archer slips back into the old habit of attending to personal business while on a mission. Lana briefs Cheryl, saying:

"All I want is an end to the insane collateral damage we cause that eats up our profits and makes us the butt of everyone's jokes. But all that changes now. This mission goes perfectly then it'll show everyone that we are one of the best agencies in the world. Six agents, three countries. One mission."

The mission that the teams are on is to shut down the international online black market by the name of Dragon Run. The only way to stop the system is if the mainframe is hacked, as Dragon Run is programmed to delete itself in that case.

The agents of ISIS are tasked to insert malware drives at the same time so that the criminal data from the mainframe is uploaded to the ISIS servers. Lana is aiming for the Interpol bounty here in return for all the effort she had to put in to set up the system to make work with her team offshore efficient.

Pam and Ray form a team, where Pam is made the leader for her proficiency in Japanese, leaving Ray unhappy. They take charge of infiltrating a Japanese warehouse. Zara and Dr. Krieger are in a Mexican cave filled with bats. Archer and Cyril find themselves in New Jersey breaking into an ordinary-looking household, which happens to be the third location for the mainframe.

The teams get the job done, but with two major events happening in the background - Archer and Cyril do break into a household with a nerdy teenager named Trevor, who happened to build the mainframe as a personal project. Archer ends up meeting the teen's mother, who is single. He takes off with the mother in the picture despite Trevor's requests.

The more important detail that seems to be leading us into the final episode is the lab seemingly self-destructing itself once Lana and Cheryl step away to celebrate the success of the mission.

Tune into the final episode, Breaking Fabian, of Archer Season 14 on October 11, 2023, to bid the team farewell and also to catch up with the rest of the story.