Archer’s Ending & Slater’s Fate Reflected On By Christian Slater

Christian Slater opens up about his character’s fate at the end of Archer and shares his thoughts on the finale. Although the long-running spy comedy was expected to conclude with its fourteenth and final season, it was announced shortly after that Archer: Into the Cold would serve as the show’s official farewell. The three-part saga premiered in December 2023, providing closure to the titular Sterling Archer, Lana Kane, and even the returning Agent Slater.

In an interview with Screen Rant ahead of the release of his new Roku show, The Spiderwick Chronicles, Slater looked back on the legacy of Archer and discussed the process that led him to join the animated comedy. In the quote below, Slater mentions being a fan of Archer and reaching out to ask if there was any way that he could be involved with the project. He also reacts to reprising his role as Slater, sharing his views on the finale:

I was watching that show religiously, first, second, third, fourth season, I just loved it, I just identified with it. To be honest with you, I reached out to them. I said, “Look, if there’s ever anything I can do on that show, let me know.” Well, you know, you don’t know, they could hang up the phone, they can completely ignore me. But they took me up on it, and it was the best.

I got to know H. Jon Benjamin very well, that whole team is great. You go in and do a voiceover, you’re in a booth, you’re by yourself and you’re just reading funny lines and having a great time with those guys. So, yeah, it’s a bummer, of course, that they ended it after 14 seasons. But, I think they did a great job. I think the finale was great, and I loved playing Slater. I thought that was really fun. [Chuckles]

The cool thing when they were sending me the images of what the character was going to be, it was great to be able to pick my hair color. Originally, they wanted blonde and I was like, “Come on, I’m not blonde, let’s go. Let’s really make it look like me, I want to be preserved.” That’s the other thing with animation is you never get any older. Of course, on that show, they pulled a fast one and put that white streak in my hair, and I was like, “Hey, the hell’s going on?!” [Chuckles]

So, even in animation, they have to age you…That was the thing when we were shooting, when we were recording the last scene, I didn’t want to die like Chef in South Park, because you knew he was dead. There’s no way he’s coming back. [Laughs] Everything they could possibly do. So, I was very curious if they were going to kill me off completely, or what was going to happen. I think they handled it well. But there’s always a possibility, so we’ll see.

Christian Slater’s Archer Character, Explained

What Happened to His Character At The End?

Essentially, the actor Christian Slater played a fictionalized version of himself. This character, Slater, is introduced as a CIA agent who poses as an arms dealer. He eventually becomes the CIA’s liaison to the show’s pivotal International Secret Intelligence Service. Before his return for the three-part Archer finale, Slater last appeared in season 13, helping the team in their efforts to take down Fabian Kingsworth.

Slater voiced the heavily fictionalized version of himself in 13 episodes of the series overall, first appearing in the season 5 episode “Archer Vice: On the Carpet.” He would then appear most frequently in season 6, making a one-off appearance in season 7, prior to returning in the final two seasons. As alluded to in Slater’s remarks, the character falls to his death in the series finale after a scuffle with Archer.

Slater’s death does serve a purpose in the narrative, with Archer declaring that he doesn’t need to know who his father is and rejecting the offer that Slater trotted out at the last minute. Still, Slater does seem to playfully suggest in the interview that his animated counterpart could have survived. In the wild world of Archer, far stranger things have happened.