[Editor's note: The following contains spoilers through the Season 12 finale of Archer, "Mission: Difficult."]
Saying goodbye to a beloved character for reasons beyond a show's control is never easy. And it's even more difficult when the character in question was voiced by the beloved Jessica Walter, whose passing in March 2021 was a sad moment for everyone, especially the producers of FXX's Archer — who still found a way, in this last episode, to create a lovely farewell to both the character and the actor.
When I spoke with executive producer Casey Willis at the beginning of Season 12, he said that when it came to how much of the season they were able to complete with Walter's voice, "for the most part we got through everything." But, he added, "I don't want to spoil you... after Jessica passed, we wanted to celebrate her in a way. So there are things that we're going to do at the end of the season that I hope everybody will feel is an apt tribute to Jessica."
What ended up happening at the end of Season 12 might have been a bit brief but packed an emotional punch. The finale, "Mission: Difficult," begins with yet another instance of Archer (H. Jon Benjamin) getting captured, this time by IIA's Fabian (Kayvan Novak). But unexpectedly, Malory catsuits up and leaps into the fray to confront Fabian with a gun and some smoke bombs: "Guess the old gal's still got it," she declares, in this last display of supreme badassery.
Malory vanishes after that, and then, at the end of the episode, it's revealed why. "With all the chaos and confusion of late," she writes in a farewell letter to her son, "I thought it would be wise to make my own exit. In my own time, on my own terms, and in a way that I can never be found by my enemies, or all my lovesick paramours, who are literally countless."
As the letter continues: "I know my decision may seem abrupt, but we don't always get to choose the perfect moment."
The episode then reveals Malory's current location: an unknown tropical beach, where she's threatening the waitstaff and enjoying a cocktail with Ron Cadillac, her husband and Archer's step-father. The two of them, content and happy, hold hands as they watch the sunset together, and the show fades to black.
It's an extremely touching choice and a lovely tribute to the character. Especially because — if you didn't know — Ron Cadillac was originally voiced by Ron Leibman, an Emmy-winning actor and Walter's real-life husband. Leibman passed away in 2019 — the dialogue for both characters in that final scene was built using lines recorded for prior episodes.
Willis said that Walter's passing "felt like losing a member of the family," as the cast and crew had become extremely close over the years. And going forward, Malory won't be forgotten. When I spoke with Willis, the show had yet to be greenlit for Season 13, but he said then that:
If we're lucky enough to get a Season 13, we have ideas of how we want to proceed with [Malory's absense]. We're talking about how the characters are going to react and how we even want to portray it. So I don't want to talk too much about it, because I don't want to jinx getting Season 13...I think we've come up with some good ideas on how to handle it.
Archer has since been renewed for another season on FXX, so we'll eventually be able to see what he means by that. In the meantime, Seasons 1-12 are streaming now on FX on Hulu.