{"id":4418,"date":"2015-01-28T08:00:04","date_gmt":"2015-01-28T16:00:04","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/markwatches.net\/reviews\/?p=4418"},"modified":"2015-01-28T23:11:37","modified_gmt":"2015-01-29T07:11:37","slug":"mark-watches-leverage-s01e08-the-bank-shot-job","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"http:\/\/markwatches.net\/reviews\/2015\/01\/mark-watches-leverage-s01e08-the-bank-shot-job\/","title":{"rendered":"Mark Watches ‘Leverage’: S01E08 – The Bank Shot Job"},"content":{"rendered":"

In the eighth episode of the first season of\u00c2\u00a0Leverage<\/i>, the team\u00e2\u20ac\u2122s confidence is tested when their heist is interrupted by another heist. Intrigued? Then it\u00e2\u20ac\u2122s time for Mark to watch\u00c2\u00a0Leverage<\/i>.<\/p>\n

<\/p>\n

Well, that was brilliant, and that\u00e2\u20ac\u2122s as succinct of an opinion as I can come up with. I\u00e2\u20ac\u2122m glad I\u00e2\u20ac\u2122ve watched this in the production\/DVD order because the placement of \u00e2\u20ac\u0153The Bank Shot Job\u00e2\u20ac\u009d \u00e2\u20ac\u201c like \u00e2\u20ac\u0153The Miracle Job\u00e2\u20ac\u009d \u00e2\u20ac\u201c matters to the story that this show is trying to tell. I needed to see these five characters struggle to work together in order to appreciate how close they\u00e2\u20ac\u2122ve grown\u00c2\u00a0in just eight episodes. That\u00e2\u20ac\u2122s accomplished through chaos, and this episode is just one disaster after another in terms of drama.<\/p>\n

I picked up on the fact that it was very odd that the con that opened \u00e2\u20ac\u0153The Bank Shot Job\u00e2\u20ac\u009d seemed to be in its final stages. As I said in the opening, it\u00e2\u20ac\u2122s important that we got to experience a number of cons already, because NOTHING ABOUT THIS ONE IS NORMAL. What\u00e2\u20ac\u2122s so fun and thrilling about what happens here is that the team has to invent a con and a heist on the spot, which is further complicated by the fact that Judge Roy, their current mark, is LITERALLY feet away from them at any time. They\u00e2\u20ac\u2122ve got to stay undercover\u00c2\u00a0while<\/i> assessing the robbery AND communicating with each other. To say it\u00e2\u20ac\u2122s a disaster is selling this shit short, because it\u00e2\u20ac\u2122s a lot more like a nightmare. It doesn\u00e2\u20ac\u2122t help that Judge Roy, played wonderfully by Michael O\u00e2\u20ac\u2122Neill, is the kind of arrogant asshole who believes that his power makes him the perfect hero. (Of course, that\u00e2\u20ac\u2122s why it\u00e2\u20ac\u2122s so satisfying seeing him taken down!)<\/p>\n

So why does \u00e2\u20ac\u0153The Bank Shot Job\u00e2\u20ac\u009d work so well? The plot is great, sure, but I\u00e2\u20ac\u2122m always looking for some other reason to explain why I\u00e2\u20ac\u2122m entertained by the things that I watch. A good story is certainly a fine bit of reasoning, but\u00c2\u00a0why<\/i>? For me,\u00c2\u00a0Leverage<\/i> often pulls me in because the writers care so much for their characters, and that includes those introduced for a single episode. The ongoing character development for the team was fantastic, but so was the emotional depth given to the Clark family. We had to believe that a father would collude with his son to rob a bank and that neither of them would be ANY good at it. (Seriously, they\u00e2\u20ac\u2122re so bad at it.) Personally, there\u00e2\u20ac\u2122s worldbuilding here that\u00e2\u20ac\u2122s so distinctly Californian that I didn\u00e2\u20ac\u2122t even remotely challenge the set-up here. I lived pretty damn close to the desert in Southern California, and the prevalence of drugs and violence\u00c2\u00a0surrounding<\/i> drugs was just a part of my life. A lot of the desert towns have been consumed by meth, too, though I don\u00e2\u20ac\u2122t recall it being as popular when I was in high school as other drugs. It\u00e2\u20ac\u2122s something that\u00e2\u20ac\u2122s part of the landscape of living anywhere near California\u00e2\u20ac\u2122s deserts that I just believed the premise.<\/p>\n

But truly, it\u00e2\u20ac\u2122s watching this team interact with one another that makes \u00e2\u20ac\u0153The Bank Shot Job\u00e2\u20ac\u009d a success for me. By the time Judge Roy destroys the hidden earpieces, we\u00e2\u20ac\u2122ve got two separate groups doing their best to control a deeply chaotic situation. Sophie and Nate were genius to split up the Clarks and try to get them to trust them, which is a hard thing to do given the circumstances. However, I found Eliot\u00e2\u20ac\u2122s, Parker\u00e2\u20ac\u2122s, and Hardison\u00e2\u20ac\u2122s contributions to be the most entertaining. Now, it\u00e2\u20ac\u2122s no secret that I started shipping Parker and Hardison rather quickly, so it shouldn\u00e2\u20ac\u2122t be surprising that I adored their scenes working together.\u00c2\u00a0There is so much tension, y<\/i>\u00e2\u20ac\u2122all<\/i>. I can\u00e2\u20ac\u2122t be the only one who saw that! But even if we put that aside, I think it\u00e2\u20ac\u2122s easy to see how these two are growing to trust and respect one another. For the entire episode, they\u00e2\u20ac\u2122re stuck together and responsible for holding off the FBI, inventing the pizza demands, robbing a bank during a bank robbery (INCEPTION), and double-crossing Judge Roy. That\u00e2\u20ac\u2122s not to say that Eliot\u00e2\u20ac\u2122s rescue of Mrs. Clark is not as important because it\u00e2\u20ac\u2122s a huge part of this. But with Nate shot and Sophie without a way to contact anyone, Parker and Hardison had to manage most of this situation, and they did it so well. Also, they\u00e2\u20ac\u2122re cute together, but that\u00e2\u20ac\u2122s another issue altogether. THE POINT IS, I wanted to see this team challenged in new ways, and \u00e2\u20ac\u0153The Bank Shot Job\u00e2\u20ac\u009d did exactly that.<\/p>\n

It also gave me one of the best lines I\u00e2\u20ac\u2122ve heard so far:<\/p>\n

\u00e2\u20ac\u0153Sometimes bad guys are the only good guys you get.\u00e2\u20ac\u009d<\/p>\n

Parker\u00e2\u20ac\u2122s line is indicative of the fluid morality at work in\u00c2\u00a0Leverage<\/i>, but I also believe it\u00e2\u20ac\u2122s a way for the show to deliberately blur who we view as the good guy. It\u00e2\u20ac\u2122s easy in our society to cast people into a dichotomy of good and bad, and often, we don\u00e2\u20ac\u2122t even give certain people a chance. With\u00c2\u00a0Leverage<\/i>, the writers can reimagine who is traditionally viewed as good. A socially awkward thief and a black hacker are allowed to be the good guys here. People who steal and cheat others can be the heroes because they\u00e2\u20ac\u2122re doing it for the right reasons. And at the end of this episode, the same people who robbed this bank are reunited with someone they love, and they get off scot free. It\u00e2\u20ac\u2122s Judge Roy who is the loser. Judicial corruption is a very real and terrifying part of our system here in America, and I adore this show for saying that these kind of people \u00e2\u20ac\u201c those obsessed with obtaining money at the expense of others \u00e2\u20ac\u201c are the true villains in our society.<\/p>\n

The video for \u00e2\u20ac\u0153The Bank Shot Job\u00e2\u20ac\u009d can be downloaded here for $0.99<\/a>.<\/p>\n

Mark Links Stuff<\/b><\/p>\n

– Mark Does Stuff is now on Facebook<\/a>! Feel free to Like the page, which I’m running myself, for updates and SILLINESS.
\n– 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!<\/a>
\n– Please check out the MarkDoesStuff.com<\/a>. All Mark Watches videos for past shows\/season are now archived there!
\n– My Master Schedule<\/a> is updated for the near and distant future for most projects, so please check it often.\u00c2\u00a0My next Double Features will be\u00c2\u00a0The Legend of Korra<\/i>, seasons 2 – 4, series 8 of\u00c2\u00a0Doctor Who<\/i>, and Kings<\/i>.<\/b>
\n– The 2015 Mark Does Stuff tour is being announced!!! Check my Tour Dates \/ Appearances page<\/a> often to see if I’m coming to your city!<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"