In the sixth episode of the fourth season of Leverage, I am utterly overwhelmed by how good this season is. Intrigued? Then it’s time for Mark to watch Leverage.
Trigger Warning: For talk of kidnapping, grief/death.
This particular stretch of episodes this week are so good, but SO IS THIS WHOLE SEASON. It’s like the show found some magical formula to just knock everything out of the park. Actually, now that I think about it, a lot of the episodes this season have been willing to twist our expectations of the characters and the stories themselves. “The Carnival Job†is so shocking and thrilling because of how our perception of the mark changes. It’s so electrifying to watch because Eliot develops a connection to Molly that’s reminiscent of what we saw in “The Order 23 Job,†only… well, so much more intense.
SO INTENSE.
Parker 2000
Oh my god, I am having a hard time thinking of a better slow-burn romance that I’ve seen on television, y’all. I wouldn’t say that this is similar to Donna/Josh on The West Wing because Parker/Hardison is progressing at a quicker pace than on that show. They’re not just flirting for a million seasons and never getting anywhere. At the same time, they’re patient, taking things slowly and respectfully. So the argument at the center of “The Carnival Job†between these two characters is rooted in something a lot of people have to deal with. There’s jealousy and fear here, since Parker truly worries that Hardison is replacing her.
Now, that may seem absurd to some people. Why would Parker seriously believe that she was going to be replaced by a robot? Because Parker is new to all of this. Because Parker’s anxiety would easily lead her to this conclusion. Because Parker has to deal with abandonment issues. It takes Hardison spelling it out – that Parker 2000 was made for her, not to replace her – for Parker to appreciate what Hardison has done. He clearly adores her, and he wants her to be the best thief possible. Parker 2000 – ahem, Hardy is a sign of that. It’s a sign of his love.
John Connell
Like plenty of Leverage antagonists, John Connell is extremely easy to hate. His treatment of Geoffrey is deplorable and underhanded, and as we spend more time with him in the first half of “The Carnival Job,†it’s even easier to despise him. He ignores his daughter, he’s bossy, and he’s clearly channeling his grief into a debt-building renovation that’s helping absolutely no one. What makes Connell so different from other marks is that he’s one of the rare few who, upon finding out that he’s part of a revenge con, begins to express remorse. Of course, the kidnapping of his daughter plays a huge part of that, so I don’t want to come across as if I missed out on that. When his actions threaten the well-being of someone he loves, then he starts to question his own culpability of events.
It shouldn’t have to take that much for him to realize what a piece of shit person he is, so even though the mark becomes a sympathetic character, Leverage doesn’t excuse him for what he’s done. I loved that line at the end of “The Carnival Job†where Sophie countered Geoffrey’s statement that Connell had “turned a new leaf.†He didn’t just suddenly become a perfect person; he still has to grow into that. But this traumatic event was a learning opportunity for him, and hopefully, he’ll re-examine himself because of it.
Molly / Eliot
WHO KNEW? WHO KNEW THIS WOULD BE THE EPISODE WHERE ELIOT WOULD RUIN OUR LIVES? Watching him bond with Molly was a lot of fun because she could not just annoy Eliot, she could keep up with him. She wasn’t quick to accept bullshit; in fact, I think Eliot respected her need for honesty and realness. With a life as traumatic as hers had been up to that point, I think she latched onto Eliot because he treated her like she was her own person. She wasn’t a burden to him, and his interest in her was genuine, even if it came across as cheesy at times. (OH MY GOD, THE RUDY LINE WAS SO AMAZING.)
Most importantly, though, she trusted Eliot. So when she’s kidnapped, Eliot’s goal becomes singular: he has to save her. He knows that she was entrusted into his care, and he let his attention shift momentarily, which was enough time for the kidnappers to nab her. And look, we all know how Eliot gets when he’s determined, y’all. BUT THIS IS SO MUCH MORE UPSETTING. First of all, have we ever seen him clean knocked out like he is here? No, he always manages to get the upper hand in his fights. Part of me has a headcanon that he was way too distracted by the chaos of this con, and it put him on edge. I think that this only got worse as he knew how much danger Molly was in.
AND THEN THE HOUSE OF MIRRORS SEQUENCE. Sweet mother of all that is holy, that is one of the most intense scenes in the whole show. Eliot loses, at least for the first few rounds with the man guarding Molly. It’s so upsetting to watch because we’ve never seen Eliot so totally off his game, and I got really worried. I don’t even know what that zen shit is that he did, but who cares? It’s such an incredible spectacle to watch the tides turn on the men holding Molly, and I’ll admit it filled me with EMOTIONS to see Eliot fight so furiously for that little girl. She needed that, particularly after Connell had stopped fighting for her after her mother had died.
Bless Eliot’s heart, y’all.
The video for “The Carnival Job†can be downloaded here for $0.99.
Mark Links Stuff
– The Mark Does Stuff Tour 2015 is now live and includes dates across the U.S., Canada, Europe, the U.K., and Ireland. Check the full list of events on my Tour Dates / Appearances page.
– My Master Schedule is updated for the near and distant future for most projects, so please check it often. My next Double Features for Mark Watches will be the remainder of The Legend of Korra, series 8 of Doctor Who, and Kings. On Mark Reads, Diane Duane’s Young Wizards series will replace the Emelan books.
- Mark Does Stuff is on Facebook! I’ve got a community page up that I’m running. Guaranteed shenanigans!
– 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!
