After being injected into Dr. Kovac's foot by mistake, the team has to figure out how to complete their mission and escape in time.
This episode provides examples of:
- Bittersweet Ending: ISIS's lives as spies are, for the foreseeable future, over now that the CIA has blacklisted them, but everyone, save Malory and Ray (who is dying of sepsis) are more relieved than anything since the CIA, namely Holly and Slater were almost as incompetent as they were and were just using them as fall guys for their ill-gotten schemes. Meanwhile, Archer has some ideas on what they can do next…
- Both Sides Have a Point: Holly isn't wrong when he says ISIS is so incompetent that the CIA is ready to (and indeed does by the end of the episode) blacklist them for their constant failures. Lana and Archer, however, say they refuse to work with the CIA anymore anyways because they're all huge assholes who send them on dangerous risky missions just to see them fail, and work as their underdogs, and is pretty much implied to be using ISIS's failings to cover up their own. Plus, they have a child to raise, and it would make them worry about their life everyday.
- Malory pointed out the only reason she wanted to work for the CIA again because they are broke and jobless now and need some money.
- Cruel and Unusual Death: Dr. Kovac. To clarify, the Nereus is not removed from his body in time and subsequently grows to normal size. An enormous submarine grows from microscopic to full size in seconds from inside the body of a human man. There is nothing left of Dr. Kovac but a mess of blood and bits of flesh. And then of course, there's every other scientist unfortunate enough to be in the operating room when this happens...
- Did Not Think This Through: When Ray realized that he may have made racist remarks to Lana about his hand, he gets out of his seat to try and apologize. Unfortunately, it was right when the Nereus enters the bloodstream it travels so fast that it throws him to the back and leaves him crippled yet again.
- Hope Spot: Just as the Nereus is about to escape, it grows back up and instantly kills Kovak in a bloody mess.
- Insufferable Genius: Dr. Sklodowska constantly reminds people that she's the smartest person in the room.
- Jossed: In-universe. Krieger points out he's not a clone of Hitler due to the fact, well, he looks nothing like Hitler. Malory appears genuinely surprised by this revelation.
- Laser-Guided Karma: A minor example, but after spending most if not the entire season belittling ISIS and using them as their fall-guys, Holly's chances of salvaging anything from the disastrous operation are ruined when Krieger smashes the computer containing Kovac's research data.
- Nice Job Breaking It, Hero: Surprisingly, not so much from the gang, who actually did do their job halfway competently (they even got the blood clot out after all), but from the CIA staff. Despite all the setbacks, the crew did make to the clot with at least 30 minutes to spare. The main reason the operation failed is because Sklodwska didn't inform Archer and Pam of the airlock wait time before they had gotten back inside the ship, which ultimately burned out the time they needed to be out of Kovac before the ship re-enlarged. Heck, Michael Gray even endangered the mission by coming along on his own as well which endangered their oxygen supply. Sadly, however, the group are still blamed for the failure in the end (Krieger did smash the computer with Kovac's data after all).
- Really Gets Around: Dr. Sklodowska announces she's been the lover of every man she introduces. She also tries to sleep with Archer and Slater while inside her lover's body. Slater tells her she's messed up.
- Running Gag: Ray once again ends up crippled at the end of another season.
- Roaring Rampage of Revenge: Krieger goes on one of these (again), trashing the lab.
- Rousing Speech: Archer gives one to the dejected gang at the end, now that they are no longer bound by the CIA.
- Spanner in the Works: Michael Gray infiltrates the Nereus just to woo Dr. Sklodowska, taking up the oxygen meant for 8 people. Strangely averted by being forgotten when everyone doesn't run out of oxygen before the shrinking is reversed, though.
- Straw Feminist: Dr. Sklodowska announces her sexuality constantly, expecting people to be impressed with her.
- Wham Episode: The episode ends with Archer and company blacklisted by the CIA and unable to practice espionage.
- You Have Outlived Your Usefulness: Despite the mission failure being as much the CIA's fault as it was Archer's team, Holly makes good on his promise to blacklist them from anything espionage-related.
