Lana Kane

Last updated
Lana Kane
Archer character
LanaKane.png
Promotional image
First appearance"Mole Hunt" (2009) [1]
Last appearance Archer: Into the Cold (2023)
Created by Adam Reed
Voiced by Aisha Tyler
In-universe information
OccupationIntelligence agent
Head of the Agency
Drug dealer (formerly)
Unlicensed private investigator (formerly)
Family
  • Lemuel Kane (father)
  • Claudette Kane (mother)
  • Unnamed sister
SpouseRobert (ex-husband)
Significant others
  • Sterling Archer (ex-boyfriend)
  • Cyril Figgis (ex-boyfriend)
  • Joshua Gray (ex-boyfriend)
ChildrenAbbiejean "AJ" Kane-Archer (daughter)

Lana Anthony Kane is a fictional character of the American adult animated sitcom Archer . Created by Adam Reed, she is voiced by Aisha Tyler and debuted in the series' pilot episode, "Mole Hunt", on September 17, 2009.

Contents

Lana is the top female special agent of the International Secret Intelligence Service (ISIS), a fictional New York-based intelligence agency. She serves as the series' straight woman, particularly to her ex-boyfriend and co-worker, protagonist Sterling Archer, whom she typically provides a sensible albeit short-tempered foil to. Archer's subsequent years see her take on different occupations and personae as the show experiments with new ideas, character arcs and self-contained narratives.

Lana has aspirations for advancement as a master spy and has considered positions offered by ODIN (Organization of Democratic Intelligence Networks), both at their international headquarters and as Regional Director for the Americas, although her strong views often cause friction between her and her job.

Attributes

Background

Lana was pushed to succeed as a child by her parents, both college professors. But she was so scared about going to science fairs that she puked in the van. Lana got her job as an ISIS agent during a protest at a local furrier. She was about to throw red paint on Malory Archer's new fur when Malory pointed her gun at Lana's forehead. The rest of the protesters fled, including Joshua Gray, but Lana was not intimidated. Malory, inspired by Lana's bravery, gave her a job. Three weeks later, she was on her first mission in Tunisia,"killing a different man," referencing that she restructured her priorities from being a college protester (sticking it to "the man") to who she is now. [2] [3] [4]

Personality

Lana is strong-willed and tough, rarely if ever allowing herself to be pushed around or demeaned. She is, however, very short-tempered and sarcastic, and she does not hesitate to use violence to resolve conflictive situations, whether it is called for or not. [5]

Lana is a competent and deadly agent but is constantly frustrated that she is treated as the number two ISIS field agent because Archer's mother runs the agency. Like Archer, Lana is an expert in Krav Maga, in which all ISIS agents undergo training, and is usually seen carrying two Tec-9 submachine guns in shoulder holsters (her proficiency is disputed, as one example has her being able to write letters in cursive with her guns, while another episode has a former ISIS trainee mock her firing style as "spray and pray"). She drives a purple car that resembles a Living Daylights -era Aston Martin V8 Vantage.

Her liberal leanings do occasionally show, and she tends to be the most politically correct character, as well as the straight man to the antics of the rest of the staff. However, she is shown to be capable of questionable behavior, once charging every man in the ISIS office $600 to say they slept with her as a way to get revenge on her cheating ex-boyfriend Cyril, and on another occasion holding up a firefight on a space station until the other agents conceded her breasts are still perfect. She is also shown to be prone to mistakes, having once forgotten to get a receipt for a captured criminal, thus costing ISIS a massive bounty. Furthermore, in a moment of surprising insight, Cheryl accused Lana of being a hypocrite, as her history as a social activist is not enough to drive her away from ISIS, which is deep down her only true love. She is also prone to extreme acts of unnecessary violence, such as giving Cyril, whom she was dating at the time, a black eye for merely implying that she might have been jealous of a rival agent.

Characteristics

Lana is one of the most recognizable characters from Archer because of her appearance. [6] Although she has some insecurities, every character considers her to be incredibly attractive, with even Ray Gillette willing to have sex with her, claiming that "Nobody's that gay." Lana is often said to have large hands for a woman. Ridiculing her for this characteristic is one of many long-running jokes on the show, with such comments as "man hands", "shovels" or "truckasaurus".

In flashbacks, she is shown sporting an afro, a hairstyle that, according to Archer, made her look "like Angela Davis had a love child with Sweet Lou Dunbar." She eventually straightened her hair and grew it long enough to wear it in a tied-back flip hairstyle. In season seven, she began wearing a hair weave, which she does not like the others noticing.

Relationships

Relationship with Archer

Despite having a great disdain for Archer, Lana shares the closest connection with him of all the characters. They're frequently partnered together on missions, and despite all he has put her through, she still considers him a friend (Heart of Archness: Part III) and cares about him deeply.

During a firefight, both Archer and Lana reveal they are each other's beneficiaries should they die. Lana stated she was going to change that, but it's unknown if she did. Lana showed great concern for Archer when he was diagnosed with breast cancer (Stage Two) and spent the night with him out of pity. After Archer found out his cancer medication was fake, Lana begrudgingly accompanied him in his "rampage", serving as his cameraman and chauffeuse, and is also convinced into pity sex with Archer. [7]

Lana began contemplating having a baby in Season 4. During one episode, she becomes conflicted as to who is going to be her unknowing sperm donor, Archer or Cyril, seemingly changing her mind many times. During a mission to stop a radical environmentalist marine biologist from blowing up Sealab, Lana discloses that she is pregnant, angering Cyril because he isn't the father and prompting Archer to sacrifice his scuba gear and drown so that they could escape. [8]

In Season 6, Lana and Archer renew their relationship as Lana realizes how much more mature and caring Archer has become, even with some of his faults continuing, but she shows more trust in him, and especially enjoys the sexual connection they now have.

Relationship with Cyril

For the beginning of Season 1, Lana has a relationship with Cyril Figgis, though she seems to question the relationship at times, considering Cyril to be "clingy" (so much so, she once commented to Malory, "Saran Wrap could take a lesson."). Despite that, she stays with him, until it becomes obvious that Cyril is insecure about their relationship, egged on by Pam and Carol, who suggest Lana is still sexually attracted to Archer. This causes Cyril to constantly follow her on missions, finally frustrating Lana to where she declares them "on a break." Cyril tries to propose to Lana to prove his trust in her, but he's forced to sacrifice the engagement ring for a jury-rigged device to save her. Later, their relationship goes south again when Lana finds out that Cyril, out of his insecurity, slept with several women at ISIS, causing her to supposedly sleep with other men at ISIS (in reality, she just has each of them pay $600 to say they did), and officially ends their relationship.

In Season 4, Lana, bothered by her involuntary streak of almost 18 months without sex, gives in to Cyril's persistence and resumes a "carefully planned out" relationship with him. This continues until in one episode, she and Archer pose as newlyweds for a stake-out, and Cyril is yet again made insecure by Pam & Cheryl that Lana will fall for Archer again, and shadows them, and though he ends up saving them, Lana finally has enough of Cyril's lack of trust and ends their relationship again, as well as his status as a possible "donor" for her.

Others

In addition to her relationships with Archer and Cyril, Lana has also had an office tryst with Pam, partially out of pity, since Pam hadn't had sex in a long time. Lana only agreed to do so if Pam stays quiet during it, though not so Pam doesn't tell anyone, but so Lana can pretend Pam is Alex Karras.

Marriage

In Season 11 it is revealed that while Archer was eight months into his coma, Lana met and married Robert, a billionaire philanthropist and someone who Archer notes is balding and much older than her. They had met at a charity auction at the hospital where Archer was being nursed at. This seems to have devastated Archer, who was ready to propose to Lana, pointing out that every coma dream he had, Lana was his centerpoint. Pam has commented to Archer that Lana is genuinely happy in her marriage. However, it's noted that while she's committed to staying married, cracks are starting to show. Ironic considering how much she criticized both Archer and Malory's flaws, Robert seems to be a combination of both of them. It's later shown he has many traits in common with Malory and she was unaware how many times he was married. For that matter, he's not officially divorced from the last of his three ex-wives. Robert states he lost her while on a safari.

See also

List of Archer characters

Other characters

Related Research Articles

"The Client" is the seventh episode of the second season of the American comedy television series The Office and the show's thirteenth episode overall. Written by Paul Lieberstein, who also acts in the show as Toby Flenderson, and directed by Greg Daniels, the episode first aired in the United States on November 8, 2005, on NBC.

<i>Dirt</i> (TV series) American television series

Dirt is an American television series broadcast on the FX network. It premiered on January 2, 2007, and starred Courteney Cox as Lucy Spiller, the editor-in-chief of the first-of-its-kind "glossy tabloid" magazine DirtNow. A 13-episode second and final season was announced on May 8, 2007. However, only seven episodes were produced before the 2007 WGA strike shut down production. The shortened second season began airing on March 2, 2008.

"Michael's Birthday" is the nineteenth episode of the second season of the American comedy television series The Office and the show's twenty-fifth episode overall. Written by Gene Stupnitsky and Lee Eisenberg, and directed by Ken Whittingham, the episode first aired in the United States on March 30, 2006 on NBC. The episode guest stars Nancy Carell as Carol Stills.

"Casino Night" is the second season finale of the American comedy television series The Office and the twenty-eighth episode overall. Written by Steve Carell, who also acts in the show as Michael Scott, and directed by Ken Kwapis, the episode originally aired in the United States on May 11, 2006, on NBC. The episode guest stars Nancy Carell as Carol Stills and Melora Hardin as Jan Levinson.

Lana Lang (<i>Smallville</i>) Fictional character from Smallville

Lana Lang is a fictional character on the television series Smallville. She has been a series regular since the pilot episode, and has been played continuously by Kristin Kreuk, with two other actresses having portrayed Lana Lang as a child and as an elderly woman. The character of Lana Lang, first created for comic books by Bill Finger and John Sikela in the 1950s as a romantic interest for Superboy, was adapted to television in 2001 by Alfred Gough and Miles Millar. The character has also appeared in various literature based on the Smallville television series, none of which directly continues from or into the television episodes.

Archer is an American adult animated sitcom created by Adam Reed for FX that aired from September 17, 2009, to December 17, 2023. The show follows the exploits of bumbling secret agent Sterling Archer and his dysfunctional colleagues. The show is set in an anachronistic Cold War–esque universe and caricatures espionage, Western culture and society, and the human condition. Archer is distinguished by artistic reinvention in contemporary episodes, foregoing the standard setup of a workplace sitcom for self-contained anthologies. It returned to its spy parody roots after the tenth season.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Mole Hunt</span> 1st episode of the 1st season of Archer

"Mole Hunt" is the first episode of the animated comedy Archer. The episode premiered on September 17, 2009.

Training Day (<i>Archer</i>) 2nd episode of the 1st season of Archer

"Training Day" is the second episode of the animated comedy Archer. It was written by Archer creator and co-executive producer Adam Reed and directed by Mack Williams. In the episode, Archer's mother Malory assigns her son the task of training Cyril to be an agent. Meanwhile, secretary Cheryl and human resources representative Pam take advantage of Malory being temporarily blinded by an allergic reaction.

"The Man from Jupiter" is the fourth episode of the third season of the American animated television series Archer. It originally aired on January 19, 2012, in the United States on FX. Sterling Archer is introduced to Burt Reynolds, who is involved in a relationship with his mother Malory Archer. Sterling tries several attempts to end their relationship. Meanwhile, a group of Cuban hitmen set out to kill Sterling.

"Space Race" is the two-part season finale of the third season of the animated comedy series Archer. It consists of the twelfth and thirteenth episodes of the season, which were initially broadcast in the United States on FX on March 15 and March 22, 2012, respectively. In the installment, Commander Anthony Drake urges the field agents of ISIS to travel onto the spacecraft Horizon to aid in ceasing any attacks. After entering and defeating the resistant "mutineers", the field agents are eventually kidnapped by Drake and his aggregation, whose real objective is to colonize and populate the humans on Mars.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Sterling Archer</span> Fictional spy in the television series Archer

Sterling Malory Archer, almost exclusively referred to by his surname Archer, is a fictional character and the titular protagonist of the American adult animated sitcom Archer. Created by Adam Reed, he is voiced by H. Jon Benjamin and debuted in the series' pilot episode, "Mole Hunt", on September 17, 2009.

Cheryl Tunt is a fictional character of the American adult animated sitcom Archer. Created by Adam Reed as one of the show's original supporting characters, she is voiced by Judy Greer and debuted in the series' pilot episode, "Mole Hunt", on September 17, 2009.

"Spilt Milk" is the eleventh episode of the second season of the FX anthology television series American Horror Story. The episode, written by series co-creator Brad Falchuk and directed by Alfonso Gomez-Rejon, aired on January 9, 2013. This episode is rated TV-MA (LSV).

<i>Archer</i> season 7 Season of television series

The seventh season of the animated television series, Archer, created by Adam Reed, aired on FX from March 31 to June 2, 2016. It was originally planned to consist of 13 episodes; however, it was later changed to 10.

<i>Archer</i> season 8 Season of television series

Archer Dreamland is the eighth season of the animated television series Archer, created by Adam Reed. The first season to air on FXX since the series was moved from FX, consisting of eight episodes, and the first part of the "coma dream" trilogy, it aired from April 5 to May 5, 2017.

<i>Archer</i> season 9 Season of television series

Archer: Danger Island is the ninth season of the animated television series, Archer, created by Adam Reed. The second part of the "coma dream" trilogy, consisting of eight episodes, it aired from April 25 to June 13, 2018, on FXX.

<i>Archer</i> season 10 Season of television series

Archer 1999 is the tenth season of the animated television series, Archer, created by Adam Reed, and the final season for Reed as a full-time showrunner. The third and final part of the "coma dream" trilogy, consisting of nine episodes, it aired from May 29 to July 31, 2019, on FXX.

The eleventh season of the animated television series Archer, created by Adam Reed, aired on FXX from September 16 to October 28, 2020.

References

  1. ↑ Seidman, Robert (January 27, 2010). ""Archer " Returns for Season 2, Here's a Season 1 Ratings Recap". TV by the Numbers. Archived from the original on July 17, 2014. Retrieved January 27, 2010.
  2. ↑ Owen, Rob (2009-11-17). "Preview: 'Archer' crude but clever". Pittsburgh Post-Gazette . Retrieved 2017-03-21.
  3. ↑ Gilbert, Matthew (January 14, 2010). "'Archer' is a sly, witty spy cartoon for adults". Boston Globe . The New York Times Company. Archived from the original on January 18, 2013. Retrieved March 21, 2017.
  4. ↑ Tucker, Ken (March 9, 2012). "Archer (2012)". Entertainment Weekly . Time, Inc. Retrieved June 3, 2016.
  5. ↑ Reed, Adam (January 17, 2010). "Mole Hunt". Archer. Season 01. Episode 01. FX.
  6. ↑ Natalie Abrams (June 21, 2016). "Archer renewed for three more seasons on FX". Entertainment Weekly . Retrieved January 4, 2017.
  7. ↑ Lawrence, Derek (September 30, 2016). "Archer creator says the FX comedy will end after season 10". Entertainment Weekly. Retrieved October 2, 2016.
  8. ↑ "FX Official Site: About the Show". FX. Retrieved December 8, 2009.
This page is based on this Wikipedia article
Text is available under the CC BY-SA 4.0 license; additional terms may apply.
Images, videos and audio are available under their respective licenses.