In the thirteenth and final episode of the first season of Leverage, Nate reunites the team by announcing to Blackpoole that he’s going to steal the two Davids anyway. Intrigued? Then it’s time for Mark to watch Leverage.
I’m so happy that I’m watching this show, y’all.
I spend so much time talking about a lot of very personal and upsetting issues through this blog and that other little one I run. I enjoy doing it, and I don’t experience regret when I think about how much I’ve shared about my life. One of the big things I’ve wanted to do with the Mark Does Stuff world is to validate the personal connections we have to fictional worlds because I feel like that’s something that’s demonized or ignored when we talk about critical analysis. It can be so terribly analytical and cold and academic most of the time, and there is a value in how personal experience informs the way we consume media. So that means I feel compelled to talk about a lot of things that may seem shockingly personal. I want to explain why something delights me or infuriates me without solely relying on theory!
And that also means that with the nature of what y’all get me to watch, I often talk about things that are… upsetting? Distressing? Uncomfortable? That’s an understatement, of course,  particularly about some of the more triggering things I’ve discussed. But I still enjoy it! I never want to feel like I can’t talk to y’all or go in-depth about shit like this.
And yet, there is a joy to watching and writing about Leverage. I know this point may seem strange given that I’ve started to write more about my experience with alcoholism, but I love that this show is so happy. I love that it’s so fun. I love that there’s a deliberate optimism in these stories. And goddamn it, y’all, I am so thrilled that a great deal of the tension here is literally about this ragtag band of thieves BECOMING FRIENDS. THAT IS LITERALLY THE POINT OF THIS ENTIRE EPISODE BECAUSE THEY’RE ALL REALIZING THEY ENJOY ONE ANOTHER’S COMPANY AND THEY DON’T KNOW HOW THEY CAN LIVE WITHOUT THE OTHERS AND THIS IS A DREAM COMING TRUE RIGHT BEFORE MY EYES.
It means a lot to me.
So! I did want to address some of the fascinating ways the writing staff keeps this show feeling so fresh and exciting. While the show normally follows a case-of-the-week format, there’s actually a lot of serialization that happens from episode-to-episode. Would this episode pack such a punch if we didn’t have multiple episodes about Sterling? If we didn’t know about what IYS did to Nate? If Sophie hadn’t challenged everyone’s loyalty and trust issues? If we hadn’t seen the Leverage team scatter before, only to return again? These things matter, and if you’ve been reading my shit for a long time, you know that I love it when writers care about the stories they tell. There’s so much respect mixed in with the humor. It’s funny watching Sophie stumble through her terrible apology, but it’s also a huge scene because all of those people want the group to stay together. They want this to work because they need it, even if they’re not saying it in those words. I don’t think I’m imagining this! Look how conflicted they all are at the end of “The Second David Job.†They aren’t so sure they can spend three months away from one another. That doesn’t negate their pasts as thieves or as complicated people with their own desires. But it shows us that over the course of this season, there is some affinity between the people of Leverage. (And holy shit, Parker’s line to Hardison about looking hard for her… LET’S UNPACK THAT and then pack it up again and board this ship because I HAVE NEVER WANTED SOMETHING TO BE CANON QUITE LIKE THIS. It actually hurts??? What has this show turned me into???)
And lord, this particular con is so great. I love that they include Maggie as part of it, and like “The Two-Horse Job,†she’s not Nate’s “prize†by the end of the episode. She may respect him more for what he’s done, but that doesn’t mean she’s suddenly swooning over him, ready to declare her love all over again. Maggie’s presence is an emotional aspect of “The Second David Job,†but she’s also here to build tension. Sterling knows she’s up to something, so we spend a great deal of this episode wondering when he’s going to put all the pieces together. Hell, I thought I had this all figured out, too. I was so certain that someone was hiding in the sarcophagus! But the brilliance of this heist is that there never was a heist to begin with. Technically, nothing was ever “stolen.†It was simply moved downstairs to give the appearance of theft. It fits with Nate’s ultimate goal because he never wanted money from Blackpoole or IYS; he just wanted to ruin the man who ruined his life. Plus, I found it very clever that Nate turned Sterling against Blackpoole instead of taking down Sterling as well. It felt like a subtle confirmation on Nate’s part that he knew they couldn’t beat Sterling at his own game, at least not in this con. It was much better to turn him into an ally – temporarily, of course.
Gods, that was such a satisfying season of television. There was not one episode I disliked; the characters grew as people; the villains were all believable enough that they fit into both this fictional world and our own. That’s one of the more rewarding things about this show. It makes me want to believe that someone could do this in real life. I suppose that’s kind of sad, to think that we need a force like this in our society to right the wrongs done to people who are otherwise swept under the rug. That makes this show a fantasy in some respects, but it’s one that’s a hell of a lot of fun to experience.
I cannot wait to watch more.
The video for “The Second David Job†can be downloaded here for $0.99.
Mark Links Stuff
– Mark Does Stuff is now on Facebook! Feel free to Like the page, which I’m running myself, for updates and SILLINESS.
– If you would like to support this website and keep Mark Does Stuff running, I’ve put up a detailed post explaining how you can!
– Please check out the MarkDoesStuff.com. All Mark Watches videos for past shows/season are now archived there!
– My Master Schedule is updated for the near and distant future for most projects, so please check it often. My next Double Features will be The Legend of Korra, seasons 2 – 4, series 8 of Doctor Who, and Kings.
– The 2015 Mark Does Stuff tour is being announced!!! Check my Tour Dates / Appearances page often to see if I’m coming to your city!
