the canon OT3 we’re not being coy like in the Rundown Job job
the one-off not quite canon within the story supernatural/fantasy elements job
the fake a cryptid (either bigfoot or el chupacabra) job
the circus job (I really want to see Parker the acrobat)
the explain how their clients even find them job. Like seriously do they advertise??? How does this work???
Hardison’s Nana comes to them because some fake debt-collection agency is hounding her for bills she already paid (or rather, that Hardison paid, via the Bank of Iceland). She is played by Nichelle Nichols. There is at least one Star Trek reference.
YES I need this like breathing. Nichelle Nichols is Nana now. Nobody can convince me otherwise.
And the circus job! No one can tell me that the entire crew wouldn’t get in on the circus job and be really into it.
Parker as an acrobat trying to get used to the idea that people are supposed to see her when she’s performing, and then getting into it and loving the applause when she does something extra fancy and death-defying with her ropes.
Eliot randomly is an expert at fire-juggling, because of course he is. He performs shirtless. The crowd goes wild. Never has there been so much thirst in a single room.
Sophie as the fortune teller. Sophie as the fortune teller who’s way too good at her job and has to tone it down a little bit because she’s freaking people out. She also does the knife-throwing act with Eliot, posing beautifully while he throws knives around her. She knows he’ll never miss.
Nate, of course, is the barker. “Step right up, step right up. See the beautiful, the death-defying…”
Meanwhile Hardison is behind the scenes bringing the technology into the 21st century. The light show to go along with the choreography has never been more beautiful, the sound system has never been so good, and the rigging has never been more safe. Also there are bugs everywhere so he can listen in and catch the bad guy, but that’s almost secondary.
In the end Eliot gets to fight the circus strong man, Sophi out-cons the bad guy, and the plan comes together like puzzle pieces falling into place right at the end so you can hardly believe it worked. Just like a good performance should.
They give the circus back to its tearfully grateful original owner and drive off into the sunset–ready to con another day.
Molly: Following a
kidnapping as a young teen, she wanted to protect herself the way
someone once protected her. What started with a simple self-defence
course turned into a life-long affinity for violence and a successful
run as an MMA fighter. Went off the grid and turned mercenary after
her father’s death at the hands of a disgruntled employee left her destitute and unable to pay for college.
Trevor: Never forgot that
time when the computer guy made him part of the team. Developed
hacking and technology skills to rival his idol, along with a healthy
problem with authority to match. It’s still the age of the geek,
baby.
Widmark: After his
step-father went to prison, life was a series of increasing challenges, but he never forgot his ability to make people believe in
him. When the only job in show business he could get was as a singing
waiter, he started to use his powers of persuasion and ability to reinvent himself for more
self-serving purposes. And so, a con-artist was born.
Josie: Turns out
landscaping is kind of boring when all you want to do is kick ass.
Returning to a life of crime and becoming one of the world’s greatest
thieves was much more her style.
Olivia: When fingered to take the fall for a crime she didn’t commit, CIA Agent Olivia Sterling leaves behind her career in espionage and cryptography – at least, as far as the agency is concerned – and disappears. She uses her contacts to assemble a motley crew of hustlers, felons, and thugs to track down and take out the corrupt organisation that set her up. But what started as revenge, a one-time gig, becomes so much more…
Bonus:
Amy: Art appraisal expert. Also Olivia’s ex. They met while consulting with Interpol as a favor to Director Sterling. Years and a somewhat-amicable break up later, Amy gets pulled into the crew’s schemes which, after years of friendship with a certain legendary thief, is practically old hat. She shows up every now and then to help out with jobs and to flirt with Josie, which drives Olivia mad. (Whether she is more jealous of Amy or Josie is anyone’s guess).
Leverage gave us a middle-aged couple who impetuously fell into bed and had hot passionate sex, then cleaned up their acts emotionally before committing to each other in marriage.
Leverage gave us a young black man gently, wisely courting a non-neurotypical blonde white woman.
Leverage gave us a young black man whose two white male best friends both describe him as the smartest man they’ve ever known.
Leverage gave us a guitar-playing country boy, an ex-hitman and army vet, who puts his life in the hands of a geeky black man and his blonde girlfriend (till death do them part).
Leverage gave us Parker, Sophie, Maggie, and Tara; it also gave us female villains with as much cunning, ruthlessness, and agency as any man’s.
Leverage gave us villains who were rich, powerful, greedy white people who had to have just a little bit more, and a clever, cunning, usually compassionate, occasionally terrifying white guy who beat them at their own game and robbed the rich to help the poor.
The episode is pretty clearly meant to show how well the team has meshed and how skillful they are not only in contrast to their marks, but also as compared to other cons. And they do a good job at setting up foils for the crew – compelling and expert, people who could realistically give our heroes a run for their money – and also an excellent job at showing why the Leverage team is just that good. But I think my favorite part of all of that is the contrast between Hardison and Chaos.
In the way that Eliot is who you expect of a hitter and Michal (I refuse to use the terrible spelling assigned to her) is not, Chaos is basically who you would expect when you hear that someone’s the hacker of the team: a shlubby white nerd with an ego problem, someone who thinks they’re too smart, who doesn’t connect well with other people, and is cold and self-interested as a result. The trappings that they attach to him – a similar soda addiction, a van from which to keep track of the goings on – only serve to emphasize how different Hardison’s personality is from all of that.
Chaos is who you would expect Hardison to be, and it only helps bring home how delightful
Hardison is
(and how unexpected!): a personable, funny, loyal, smart black guy is the hacker for this team. Two seasons in, it serves as a wonderful reminder of how awesome a character he is.
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