{"id":4473,"date":"2015-02-25T08:00:46","date_gmt":"2015-02-25T16:00:46","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/markwatches.net\/reviews\/?p=4473"},"modified":"2015-02-04T10:48:01","modified_gmt":"2015-02-04T18:48:01","slug":"mark-watches-leverage-s02e14-the-three-strikes-job","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"http:\/\/markwatches.net\/reviews\/2015\/02\/mark-watches-leverage-s02e14-the-three-strikes-job\/","title":{"rendered":"Mark Watches ‘Leverage’: S02E14 – The Three Strikes Job"},"content":{"rendered":"

In the fourteenth and penultimate episode of the second season of\u00c2\u00a0Leverage<\/i>, the team tries to take down a corrupt mayor, but Nate\u00e2\u20ac\u2122s ongoing problems may complicate matters. Intrigued? Then it\u00e2\u20ac\u2122s time for Mark to watch\u00c2\u00a0Leverage<\/i>.\u00c2\u00a0<\/p>\n

Holy shit, this show.<\/p>\n

Eliot<\/b><\/p>\n

I have to start this review by talking about Eliot Spencer, the retrieval specialist who hates guns and is able to take down trained professional fighters in seconds, the man who spends most of \u00e2\u20ac\u0153The Three Strikes Job\u00e2\u20ac\u009d FALLING IN LOVE WITH BASEBALL AND ENJOYING THE EXPERIENCE OF BECOMING A SPORTS CELEBRITY. Look, I was already done once I saw the horribly-made energy drink commercial, but then, unsurprisingly, Eliot turns out to be really good at baseball. So good that he gets fans. So good that he discards his belief that baseball is a boring game. So good that\u00c2\u00a0I could not handle his excitement.<\/i><\/p>\n

Bless this episode for that and that alone.<\/p>\n

Hardison and Lucille<\/b><\/p>\n

Does this mean that each season is going to end with the Leverage team destroying something that Hardison has built and come to love? Last season, it was the office. (A place I\u00c2\u00a0do<\/i> miss.) Now? When the team is forced into a tough space (mostly because of Nate, which I\u00e2\u20ac\u2122ll get to), they realize that the best possible distraction they have is Lucille, Hardison\u00e2\u20ac\u2122s trusty van. I imagine that the ramifications of this will appear in the next episode because\u00e2\u20ac\u00a6 shit, y\u00e2\u20ac\u2122all, the van really was an important part of their operation. And for Hardison, it\u00e2\u20ac\u2122s particularly upsetting. (Nice use of yet another reference to\u00c2\u00a0The Wrath of Khan<\/i>, too. THEY SHALL ALWAYS AND FOREVER BE FRIENDS.)<\/p>\n

Citywide corruption<\/b><\/p>\n

One of the things that makes this episode feel so huge in scope is the decision to focus on a case that has huge implications for Leverage team \u00e2\u20ac\u201c Lt. Bonnano is an ally to them, or a pawn, depending on how you look at it \u00e2\u20ac\u201c and for the city at large. Brad Culpepper\u00e2\u20ac\u2122s corruption nets him a profit, and in the long run, the city of Boston loses. The hit we witness at the opening of the episode also clues us in to the\u00c2\u00a0other<\/i> ties that Culpepper has. In fact, that\u00e2\u20ac\u2122s one of the biggest things left unresolved here. Who were those other men? Were they part of some other case that Culpepper was acting informant on? And hell, that explains the twist ending: Culpepper\u00e2\u20ac\u2122s work was allowing weapons to be smuggled into the United States through the waterfront.<\/p>\n

THIS IS BAD, VERY BAD.<\/p>\n

Nate<\/b><\/p>\n

But holy shit, Nate messed up. Badly. His exuberance here might be well-meaning \u00e2\u20ac\u201c he clearly wants to do something good \u00e2\u20ac\u201c but it causes him to rush into this con when he doesn\u00e2\u20ac\u2122t have all the information he needs to make a good decision. It leaves the team open and vulnerable. But it\u00e2\u20ac\u2122s not just the decision to go ahead with the meeting with Culpepper once he wants to pay cash. His drinking is back, and it\u00e2\u20ac\u2122s distracting him. Actually, I don\u00e2\u20ac\u2122t even know if that\u00e2\u20ac\u2122s the correct way to read this. It\u00e2\u20ac\u2122s more than just distraction. He sees Lt. Bonnano\u00e2\u20ac\u2122s son in the ICU, and it triggers memories of the loss of his son. That, combined with the drinking, combined with his general emotional state, causes him to lash out at the team when they try to do their jobs. Look, these cons and heists work well\u00c2\u00a0because<\/i> these people question their assumptions. They question each other. They refuse to accept easy answers. So when Nate snaps at them for picking apart this potential case, it\u00e2\u20ac\u2122s disturbing.<\/p>\n

We see the same thing in that moment when the team doesn\u00e2\u20ac\u2122t want to go after Culpepper once he\u00e2\u20ac\u2122s converted to cash. It really\u00c2\u00a0was<\/i> a bad move, one that made the con a whole lot harder than it needed to be. Of course, it was easy for me to say that because the audience knew that there were other factors at play. Still, this is not what Nate is normally like. He runs this group because he\u00e2\u20ac\u2122s supposed to be able to see the big picture. He\u00e2\u20ac\u2122s the one who is supposed to be the least involved, the most detached, and the most in control. And\u00c2\u00a0none<\/i> of that is present here by the time this episode ends. It\u00e2\u20ac\u2122s just a mess, and a scary one. HAS THERE EVER BEEN A MOMENT MORE TERRIFYING (so far, oh god it\u00e2\u20ac\u2122s gonna get worse isn\u00e2\u20ac\u2122t it) THAN SEEING ALL THOSE LAW ENFORCEMENT DOTS ON HARDISON\u00e2\u20ac\u2122S MAP HEAD STRAIGHT FOR THAT WAREHOUSE? How the hell were they going to con possibly hundreds of federal and state and local agents?<\/p>\n

Of course, this is the Leverage team, and they come up with shit on the fly all the time. But it\u00e2\u20ac\u2122s about risk. These cons have to have an exit so that the team comes out unscathed. How? How do they do that now that Culpepper has not only seen Tara and Nate\u00e2\u20ac\u2122s faces, but he\u00e2\u20ac\u2122s actually an informant? Oh, right, AND STERLING IS INVOLVED. This is a disaster, and I\u00e2\u20ac\u2122m scared for the next episode.<\/p>\n

The video for \u00e2\u20ac\u0153The Three Strikes 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":"