In the third episode of the third season of Leverage, the team’s heist ends up being one of their own. Intrigued? Then it’s time for Mark to watch Leverage.Â
Well, that was extremely messed up.
This is not an easy thing to pull off in a show like this, but Leverage still manages to thrill me. It still manages to scare me at times. And then, when I’m least expecting it, I’m flattened by the U.S.S. Feelings because PARKER. HELP.
But how? How is Leverage so consistently good, y’all? Sometimes, I worry that I’m being repetitive in analyzing this show because the pieces of the stories that I’m enjoying so much appear regularly in these episode. I mean, I have no problem admitting that Leverage seems perfectly tailored to my tastes in television and fiction. (Shout out to my unbelievably prophetic comment during Farscape about a ragtag band of thieves committing heists, or whatever it was. IT’S BEEN GRANTED TO ME.) I like serialization when it involves emotional characterization. I like shows that address the evils of our own world, either directly or through analogous creations. I enjoy writing that makes me care about fictional people. All these things are here, and I’ve certainly commented on them before.
So what is it about “The Inside Job†that made this particular episode feel so immense and meaningful? There’s growth of Parker’s character; there’s serialization within her relationship to the team; there’s a gnarly heist that felt impossibly difficult; there’s even a hidden moral core to the heist itself. All of these contribute to the frantic pacing of this episode, but the heart of this was always Parker. I don’t think any of them are surprised by her antics, necessarily. But this specific heist is not an example of Parker’s wackiness; no, it’s a sign that she cares deeply for a very few people in this world, and she’ll do anything for them.
I suppose that Parker’s continued characterization is a huge part of my emotional response to “The Inside Job.†True, I’ll instantly relate to characters who were adopted or were in foster care, and that’s never been a secret. So I found myself drawn to her because it’s a chance for a character like her – one that often never gets the spotlight in fiction – to be the hero. To be the one given development that’s layered and respectful. To be desired. The people in Parker’s life care about her so deeply, y’all. When Hardison hears that Parker is trapped, he doesn’t even hesitate to try to save her, even though he knows it’ll be one of the worst heists he’s ever worked on. When Nate learns of Parker’s connection to the heist, he doesn’t question her involvement in it. He knows that family matters, at least to someone like Parker who hasn’t had a traditional family in her life. And Archie Leach, the man who taught Parker to be the kind of thief she is, wants nothing more than for Parker to be safe.
That conflict is a part of this episode’s suspense, especially once we find out why Archie was hired in the first place. Both men are convinced, at one point, that the other was responsible for “breaking†Parker. Nate believes that Archie’s lack of tenderness and his ruthless mentorship left Parker ill-prepared. However, Archie is certain that Nate made her value other things over her own life, which has confused her. While I think that’s an important conversation to have in some respects, I’m pleased that this story doesn’t make this about either man. It’s Parker’s decision that matters. When she’s face-to-face with Eliot, just feet from a perfect escape, she realizes that she can’t leave. In this, the show demonstrates that Parker has changed from who she used to be when the show started. This is the same woman who once hated that they didn’t get to keep an entire shipping container full of missing cash.
This sort of growth makes Leverage so rewarding to wash. Parker still cares about her craft – and I’m sure she’d marry a pile of money if she could – but she is also starting to care about the world around her. Her team has influenced her moral sensibilities! Well, calling them her “team†isn’t quite appropriate because this is her family. It’s not that she’s replaced Archie; she’s simply found the right group of people to trust and love. And that group of people is really good at conning people and ripping them off.
TRUE LOVE, y’all.
The video for “The Inside Job†can be downloaded here for $0.99.
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