Archer Season 12 offers one last chance to appreciate the brilliance of Jessica Walter as Malory Archer

Salon.com

"In Malory Archer creator Adam Reed gives us a woman who doesn't subscribe to the cultural expectation that a mother must nurture and support the child who wants to follow in her footsteps," says Melanie McFarland as the FXX series returns for Season 12. "Her take on parenting takes on a jagged edge of competition. If Sterling is one of the best spies in the world, that's because Malory never let him have anything easily, not even her affection. Despite all he's accomplished, she always finds a way to imply that she's achieved more and done everything he has better than he did. Glimpses at her espionage missions dating back to World War II bolster that attitude. Walter distills all that knowing jadedness into her voice work. And yet, Walter's penchant for telling it like it is was part of her sweetheart persona that was unlike either of the terrifying mothers she played. There's a reason the New York Times article in which she revealed Jeffrey Tambor's verbal abusiveness on set effectively derailed his career: she made us love (Arrested Development's) Lucille (Bluth) and Malory because we trust our affection for her. Her mastery in delineating the nuanced difference between the two characters shows the enjoyment she took in creating each woman. To voice Malory, Walter adopted a slightly raspier timbre, training her tone to effortlessly glide between apoplectic rage fits peppered with aggressive snobbery and disintegrating, frequently offensive put-downs. Because she manifested Malory's affected classism, racism, xenophobia and casual homophobia with such delirious flair, adoring her is easy." ALSO: Archer creator Adam Reed recalls writing "Think Jessica Walter" in his Malory Archer description before he even thought of casting Walter