In the seventh episode of the second season of Leverage, I didn’t realize how much I needed this very episode in my life. Intrigued? Then it’s time for Mark to watch Leverage.
Trigger Warning: For mention of Nazism and the Holocaust
Y’all, this show continues to be one of the very best things I’ve ever seen. How is it so good???
The Con
REMEMBER WHEN WE THOUGHT THIS EPISODE WAS ABOUT THE LEVERAGE TEAM RIGHT A PARTICULARLY HEINOUS WRONG? Again, there’s a terrible truth at the heart of this episode: the Nazis stole a lot of art. A LOT OF IT. That is, of course, a very simplistic way of talking about this aspect of history, because obviously there’s a lot more to this. Hell, even if we talk about stolen art alone, we could spend hours doing so. How much stolen art exists in the museums we go to? How much of the shit we enjoy in those places was ripped from indigenous cultures in the name of imperialism? (MOST OF IT, WHOMP WHOMP.) So there was something appealing to me about the set-up. I wanted the team to utterly embarrass the man who would willingly buy a painting that they knew had a history like that. (“Hygeia†by Gustav Klimt is a real painting, too, and it really was taken by the Nazis.)
I was so ready for an art heist with Sophie directing (since this was her speciality), and then
I
was
not
ready.
The Second Team???
I WAS SO CONFUSED. I WASN’T PREPARED FOR THE ENTIRE TEAM TO BE BESTED BY LITERALLY ANOTHER TEAM. It was such a shocking twist for this episode, and the writers brilliantly pull the rug out from under us by introducing this concept. Like, I already want another episode where there’s a second team because this was so much fun. There’s a brilliance in the references to other genres as each Leverage team member faces off against their counterpart. Eliot and Mikel prepare to spar while glimpses of their possible fight flash onscreen, all in the style of traditional martial arts movies. Hardison and Chaos battle one another as if they’re in a spaghetti western. (WITH A WIRELESS KEYBOARD AND A LAPTOP, THIS SHOW IS THE GREATEST.)
This works so well because the Leverage team is pretty much beaten within a few minutes, and it shows us that they’d gotten a bit smug in their work. Which is understandable! They’ve had a good run so far, and they never once considered that they’d have to contend with actual thieves. That’s a fascinating aspect of “The Two Live Crew Job†because we have to think about what sort of line the team has crossed here to help out the Mercers. Is it a moral thing for them to steal a painting in order to gain leverage against Marcus Starke and his team? (Personally, I’d argue that returning a piece of art stolen by Nazis to the rightful family makes this a moral act.) Are these other thieves and grifters and hackers any different than the Leverage team?
At heart… no. I don’t think so. Their end goals might be opposed to one another, but part of the fun of this episode is seeing how oddly in sync each person is with their counterpart. Their methods may vary slightly, but don’t they all know how to game the system? Don’t each of them know how to use people’s insecurities and weaknesses against them in order to get what they want? That’s why it’s both hilarious and satisfying to see them bond with and respect the other team. Parker is pleased with Apollo’s use of a bird to set off the motion detectors and offers her own suggestion; Mikel and Eliot trade battle wounds, and Eliot discovers that Mikel probably caused one of them.
And then there’s Chaos, whose name should have given me a clue. I liked that this wasn’t a perfect match, that there was one member of Starke’s team who had no interest in being the good guy or in being friends. Chaos despised Hardison and… well, literally everyone else in this episode, too. While I’m sure that Starke’s team had their own interests at stake in this heist, Chaos was the only one openly using the rest of the team for his own gain, so much so that he was willing to kill to keep it that way.
I wouldn’t mind seeing any of these characters again, y’all. What a goddamn treat.
The Death of Sophie Devereaux
Well, I fell for the misdirect, and even when I suspected we were watching a con at her funeral, I wasn’t ready to outright claim that this was the case. That bomb scene wasn’t okay at all, and then it cut to a funeral and I WAS SO FUCKING UPSET. And confused! HOW? HOW COULD THE SHOW DO THIS?
They had to. This episode gives us a great new story in Sophie, who is ready to let her identities die. Now, I don’t know that the show will ever give us her real name, nor do I think I need it in order to connect with this character. But that scene at the end of “The Two Live Crew Job†signifies more than just the romantic tension between her and Nate. It’s a metaphorical rebirth for Sophie Devereaux. I don’t know how she can bury her other personas. I don’t know what she can do. But it’s a clear sign of a change coming up for her, one that’s deeply important to her as well. She has to become her own person, away from all the masks she’s put on over the years.
I’M SO EXCITED.
The video for “The Two Live Crew Job†can be downloaded here for $0.99.
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