The final season of Archer is here and it's already off to a bad start. After viewing the first three episodes we have a serious problem in the form of the new character, Zara Kahn. It appears Mark Ganek and the rest of the team that took over writing the show's material from Adam Reed haven't been paying attention to the negative reception for the past eight years. For those of us who have struggled to watch characters such as Rey Palpatine from the "Star Wars Sequel trilogy," or Helena Shaw from "Indiana Jones and the Dial of Destiny" would know that a character like Zara Kahn is unacceptable.
For those who have not watched the final season so far here is some background information. Archer, Lana, and the team are tasked with working with Kahn, who turns out to be a former Interpol agent who has gone rogue and joins their agency at the end of episode 2.
Now that we've established the story why is Zara Kahn such a problem, you ask? If you want people to get engaged with a new character or season, the first impression is important. When we're introduced to Kahn, she is already presented as this "perfect, highly skilled, flawless" fighter (Rey Palpatine). This would be fine, except Kahn immediately exhibits a series of very unlikable qualities. She has an arrogant, abrasive, and disrespectful attitude, specifically towards Archer who is THE reason we're watching the show. Not only do the writers have Kahn besting Archer in every category, but she manages to disrespect his age and years of experience (Helena Shaw). It's as if they tried to create a female version of Archer but forgot to give her his charm and humor.
Another problem is that the other characters seem just fine with her behavior, except for Archer of course. As an avid viewer of the show, characters such as Lana, Cyril, Cheryl, Pam, Ray, and Krieger would NOT just open their arms to someone like Zara Kahn. These are well rounded, deeply flawed characters who all share a long history together. Zara Kahn is just a guest on their show and should be treated as one.
What the writers have done is what anyone would call terrible writing. Not only is Zara Kahn a character that is not only unlikable, but she also has serious flaws in her character that need to be addressed on the show. Hopefully, in the future episodes the writers will fix this problem. Do not hold your breath though.