Season 8 reinvents Archer again - but this time on a more fundamental level as it takes place in Archer's coma dream, featuring a new setting as well as all characters in new roles. The 1940s noir setting fits very well and it is refreshing to see the characters in new roles. All character reinventions are great, though for me Krieger stood out as his role has an interesting twist.
The new season is much darker, with both Archer and Krieger getting WWII flashbacks and Woodhouse's murder running throughout the whole season - even if Archer keeps getting distracted. This also makes for a surprisingly emotional season. Still, season 8 keeps the typical Archer elements we all know and love, like Krieger's crazy experiments - I'm not sure if it was just me but I found the robot cat just hilarious - Cheryl being insane, Archer's alcohol and drug abuse, rampant violence and so on. The darker tone fits Archer really well and the serialized form worked perfectly, making this season the best in years.
As a German I also have to pay my compliments to Lucky Yates. For someone who doesn't speak German at all he did really, really well with his German lines - which were a lot this season. I know native English speakers who have learned German for years and have a much stronger accent.