{"id":4458,"date":"2015-02-16T08:00:12","date_gmt":"2015-02-16T16:00:12","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/markwatches.net\/reviews\/?p=4458"},"modified":"2015-01-31T09:14:53","modified_gmt":"2015-01-31T17:14:53","slug":"mark-watches-leverage-s02e07-the-two-live-crew-job","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"http:\/\/markwatches.net\/reviews\/2015\/02\/mark-watches-leverage-s02e07-the-two-live-crew-job\/","title":{"rendered":"Mark Watches ‘Leverage’: S02E07 – The Two Live Crew Job"},"content":{"rendered":"

In the seventh episode of the second season of\u00c2\u00a0Leverage<\/i>, I didn\u00e2\u20ac\u2122t realize how much I needed this very episode in my life. Intrigued? Then it\u00e2\u20ac\u2122s time for Mark to watch\u00c2\u00a0Leverage<\/i>.<\/p>\n

<\/p>\n

Trigger Warning: For mention of Nazism and the Holocaust<\/b><\/p>\n

Y\u00e2\u20ac\u2122all, this show continues to be one of the very best things I\u00e2\u20ac\u2122ve ever seen. How is it so good???<\/p>\n

The Con<\/b><\/p>\n

REMEMBER WHEN WE THOUGHT THIS EPISODE WAS ABOUT THE LEVERAGE TEAM RIGHT A PARTICULARLY HEINOUS WRONG? Again, there\u00e2\u20ac\u2122s 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\u00e2\u20ac\u2122s 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,\u00c2\u00a0WHOMP WHOMP<\/i>.) 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. (\u00e2\u20ac\u0153Hygeia\u00e2\u20ac\u009d by Gustav Klimt is a real painting, too, and it really was taken by the Nazis.)<\/p>\n

I was so ready for an art heist with Sophie directing (since this was her speciality), and then<\/p>\n

I<\/p>\n

was<\/p>\n

not<\/p>\n

ready.<\/p>\n

The Second Team???<\/b><\/p>\n

I WAS SO CONFUSED. I WASN\u00e2\u20ac\u2122T PREPARED FOR THE ENTIRE TEAM TO BE BESTED BY\u00c2\u00a0LITERALLY ANOTHER TEAM<\/b>. 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\u00e2\u20ac\u2122s a second team because this was so much fun. There\u00e2\u20ac\u2122s 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\u00e2\u20ac\u2122re in a spaghetti western. (WITH A WIRELESS KEYBOARD AND A LAPTOP, THIS SHOW IS THE GREATEST.)<\/p>\n

This works so well because the Leverage team is pretty much beaten within a few minutes, and it shows us that they\u00e2\u20ac\u2122d gotten a bit smug in their work. Which is understandable! They\u00e2\u20ac\u2122ve had a good run so far, and they never once considered that they\u00e2\u20ac\u2122d have to contend with\u00c2\u00a0actual<\/i> thieves. That\u00e2\u20ac\u2122s a fascinating aspect of \u00e2\u20ac\u0153The Two Live Crew Job\u00e2\u20ac\u009d 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\u00e2\u20ac\u2122d 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?<\/p>\n

At heart\u00e2\u20ac\u00a6 no. I don\u00e2\u20ac\u2122t 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\u00e2\u20ac\u2122t they all know how to game the system? Don\u00e2\u20ac\u2122t each of them know how to use people\u00e2\u20ac\u2122s insecurities and weaknesses against them in order to get what they want? That\u00e2\u20ac\u2122s why it\u00e2\u20ac\u2122s both hilarious\u00c2\u00a0and<\/i> satisfying to see them bond with and respect the other team. Parker is pleased with Apollo\u00e2\u20ac\u2122s 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\u00c2\u00a0caused<\/i> one of them.<\/p>\n

And then there\u00e2\u20ac\u2122s Chaos, whose name should have given me a clue. I liked that this wasn\u00e2\u20ac\u2122t a perfect match, that there was one member of Starke\u00e2\u20ac\u2122s team who had no interest in being the good guy or in being friends. Chaos despised Hardison and\u00e2\u20ac\u00a6 well, literally everyone else in this episode, too. While I\u00e2\u20ac\u2122m sure that Starke\u00e2\u20ac\u2122s 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.<\/p>\n

I wouldn\u00e2\u20ac\u2122t mind seeing any of these characters again, y\u00e2\u20ac\u2122all. What a goddamn treat.<\/p>\n

The Death of Sophie Devereaux<\/b><\/p>\n

Well, I fell for the misdirect, and even when I suspected we were watching a con at her funeral, I wasn\u00e2\u20ac\u2122t ready to outright claim that this was the case. That bomb scene wasn\u00e2\u20ac\u2122t 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?<\/p>\n

They had to. This episode gives us a great new story in Sophie, who is ready to let her identities die. Now, I don\u00e2\u20ac\u2122t know that the show will ever give us her\u00c2\u00a0real<\/i> name, nor do I think I\u00c2\u00a0need<\/i> it in order to connect with this character. But that scene at the end of \u00e2\u20ac\u0153The Two Live Crew Job\u00e2\u20ac\u009d signifies more than just the romantic tension between her and Nate. It\u00e2\u20ac\u2122s a metaphorical rebirth for Sophie Devereaux. I don\u00e2\u20ac\u2122t know how she can bury her other personas. I don\u00e2\u20ac\u2122t know what she can do. But it\u00e2\u20ac\u2122s a clear sign of a change coming up for her, one that\u00e2\u20ac\u2122s deeply important to her as well. She has to become her own person, away from all the masks she\u00e2\u20ac\u2122s put on over the years.<\/p>\n

I\u00e2\u20ac\u2122M SO EXCITED.<\/p>\n

The video for \u00e2\u20ac\u0153The Two Live Crew 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":"