In the twelfth episode of the third season of\u00c2\u00a0Leverage<\/i>, Sophie takes charge of a con involving a smuggling ring and refugee children. Intrigued? Then it\u00e2\u20ac\u2122s time for Mark to watch\u00c2\u00a0Leverage<\/i>.<\/p>\n
<\/p>\n
Goddamn, yet another fantastic episode, I\u00e2\u20ac\u2122M A BROKEN RECORD. I\u00e2\u20ac\u2122d actually forgotten about the Damien Moreau arc that was introduced in this season\u00e2\u20ac\u2122s premiere until it was mentioned here. I don\u00e2\u20ac\u2122t really have a problem with that; the past ten episodes between \u00e2\u20ac\u0153The Jailhouse Job\u00e2\u20ac\u009d and this one have been a joy to watch. Plus, it\u00e2\u20ac\u2122s not like there\u00e2\u20ac\u2122s\u00c2\u00a0<\/span>no<\/i> serialization here. \u00e2\u20ac\u0153The Rashomon Job\u00e2\u20ac\u009d relies on having seen a great deal of the show so that you understand how much the characters have changed.\u00c2\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n I do admit that I prefer highly serialized shows over those that are not. I feel like there\u00e2\u20ac\u2122s a higher chance for more engaging storytelling. That\u00e2\u20ac\u2122s one of the reasons I\u00e2\u20ac\u2122m so impressed by\u00c2\u00a0Leverage<\/i>, though. I didn\u00e2\u20ac\u2122t think I\u00e2\u20ac\u2122d like an episodic show as much as have, given that I don\u00e2\u20ac\u2122t watch too many of them. But\u00c2\u00a0Leverage<\/i> is just so satisfying!!! Every episode, I\u00e2\u20ac\u2122m taken on a thrill ride and I\u00e2\u20ac\u2122m laughing and then A WAVE OF FEELINGS hits me and I\u00e2\u20ac\u2122m ruined. This episode? I feel like it had\u00c2\u00a0everything<\/i> in it. EVERYTHING.<\/p>\n This also works incredibly well after \u00e2\u20ac\u0153The Rashomon Job\u00e2\u20ac\u009d because it\u00e2\u20ac\u2122s about morality and history. When little A\u00e2\u20ac\u2122Yan is carted away by customs agents, unknowingly part of John Keller\u00e2\u20ac\u2122s smuggling ring, it hits Eliot hard. It hits Sophie even\u00c2\u00a0harder<\/i>. What I appreciated about the placement of this episode is that Sophie forces herself to confront an uncomfortable truth about her own past. We laughed at the glimpse of the past in the last episode, but here? Nope. Sophie isn\u00e2\u20ac\u2122t certain that she didn\u00e2\u20ac\u2122t take part in the same sort of brutality that Keller enables. What if she did? She can\u00e2\u20ac\u2122t claim that she didn\u00e2\u20ac\u2122t hurt\u00c2\u00a0anyone<\/i> while stealing from the rich, and I\u00e2\u20ac\u2122m glad that the show makes that distinction. So her behavior in \u00e2\u20ac\u0153The King George Job\u00e2\u20ac\u009d is a reaction to that. If she\u00e2\u20ac\u2122s going to participate in all of this, she\u00e2\u20ac\u2122s going to do so in a way that\u00c2\u00a0doesn<\/i>\u00e2\u20ac\u2122t<\/i> harm other parties. She doesn\u00e2\u20ac\u2122t want collateral damage.<\/p>\n I was also stoked that once Nate tried to be concerned about her emotional attachment to all of this, she quickly dismissed him, pointed out that\u00c2\u00a0he<\/i> is also emotionally attached to the Damien Moreau case, and then EXPERTLY EXECUTED THIS CON ALL THE WAY TO THE END. She doesn\u00e2\u20ac\u2122t fail; she deals with every twist and turn along the way, motivated by her desire to help A\u00e2\u20ac\u2122Yan and stick it to Keller. THAT\u00e2\u20ac\u2122S SO AWESOME. I\u00e2\u20ac\u2122m glad that the show doesn\u00e2\u20ac\u2122t sideline or diminish her passion because it\u00e2\u20ac\u2122s \u00e2\u20ac\u0153emotional.\u00e2\u20ac\u009d EXCELLENT JOB.<\/p>\n Now, as far as all the stuff about British royalty, I can\u00e2\u20ac\u2122t say I necessarily understood it all, nor can I verify that any of it is true. But that didn\u00e2\u20ac\u2122t leave me feeling lost; I understood what Keller was after, and I understood what it was that Sophie was offering. Watching her disappear into this role as the Duchess Charlotte Prentiss was what\u00c2\u00a0really<\/i> sold me on all of this, though. While the others certainly had significant roles in this (particularly Hardison, who HACKED HISTORY), this was Sophie\u00e2\u20ac\u2122s show. Up until the end, she had Keller\u00e2\u20ac\u2122s attention and his interest, and it was stunning to watch her manipulate him so expertly.<\/p>\n So it was thrilling to see how the writers chose to mix things up a bit. In the first scene with Keller, Nate nearly blows his cover, which I wasn\u00e2\u20ac\u2122t expecting. And then, THE COUNTESS OF KENSINGTON. I think it\u00e2\u20ac\u2122s one of the biggest shockers this show has ever given us, because THE COUNTESS ACTUALLY KNEW SOPHIE. At first, I thought that perhaps they were\u00c2\u00a0both<\/i> grifters before, and Aunty knew to just assume a persona. NOPE. Is Sophie an actual princess??? Who is William??? WHY ARE YOU DOING THIS TO ME,\u00c2\u00a0LEVERAGE<\/i>? That scene\u00e2\u20ac\u00a6 fuck, Gina Bellman handles it so beautifully. You see her panic. You see her sadness when she talks of William. You see her guilt. And all of it is just a mere glimpse of a life we may never, ever get to see.<\/p>\n It must mean that this persona isn\u00e2\u20ac\u2122t so much of a character as it is\u00c2\u00a0her actual past<\/i>. Part of me wants to know more; I don\u00e2\u20ac\u2122t think that\u00e2\u20ac\u2122s unreasonable to desire. I want to know what set Sophie on this path. I want to know why she gave up her life in Britain in order to rush about the world, stealing from the rich and powerful. At the same time, the mystery makes her such an intriguing character, and I like the idea that we\u00e2\u20ac\u2122ll only ever get small details. We\u00e2\u20ac\u2122ll never get a fuller portrait like we have for Parker or for Nate.\u00c2\u00a0That works for me because I like that Sophie\u00e2\u20ac\u2122s story is about her making a\u00c2\u00a0new<\/i> story for her life instead of relying on the old one. She wants to grow. She went away in season two to spend time with herself and figure out what she wants. What we\u00e2\u20ac\u2122re seeing in this season is a reflection of that, you know?<\/p>\n It\u00e2\u20ac\u2122s a delicate balance, I admit, but I like it. I like the mystery, and I also like the context. I was pleased with how this episode ended, given how terrifying and tense it was in the second half, because it\u00e2\u20ac\u2122s another sign of how far these people are willing to go in order to help someone who desperately needs it. (Again, shout out to Hardison for what he pulled off. HACKING. HISTORY.) And that little girl needed their help\u00c2\u00a0badly<\/i>. Does this mean we\u00e2\u20ac\u2122re moving more definitively into the Moreau storyline??? Are they going after his next lieutenant???<\/p>\n The video for \u00e2\u20ac\u0153The King George Job\u00e2\u20ac\u009d can be downloaded here for $0.99<\/a>.<\/p>\n Mark Links Stuff<\/b><\/p>\n – 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.<\/a> In the twelfth episode of the third season of\u00c2\u00a0Leverage, Sophie takes charge of a con involving a smuggling ring and refugee children. Intrigued? Then it\u00e2\u20ac\u2122s time for Mark to watch\u00c2\u00a0Leverage.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[625],"tags":[626],"class_list":["post-4541","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","hentry","category-leverage","tag-mark-watches-leverage"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"http:\/\/markwatches.net\/reviews\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/4541","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"http:\/\/markwatches.net\/reviews\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"http:\/\/markwatches.net\/reviews\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"http:\/\/markwatches.net\/reviews\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/1"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"http:\/\/markwatches.net\/reviews\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=4541"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"http:\/\/markwatches.net\/reviews\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/4541\/revisions"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"http:\/\/markwatches.net\/reviews\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=4541"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"http:\/\/markwatches.net\/reviews\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=4541"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"http:\/\/markwatches.net\/reviews\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=4541"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}
\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 for Mark Watches will be the remainder of\u00c2\u00a0The Legend of Korra<\/i>, series 8 of\u00c2\u00a0Doctor Who<\/i>, and Kings<\/i>. On Mark Reads, Diane Duane’s Young Wizards<\/i> series will replace the Emelan books.
\n<\/b>-\u00c2\u00a0Mark Does Stuff is on Facebook!<\/a>\u00c2\u00a0I’ve got a community page up that I’m running. Guaranteed shenanigans!
\n– If you would like to support this website and keep Mark Does Stuff running,\u00c2\u00a0I’ve put up a detailed post explaining how you can!
\n<\/a>– Please check out the\u00c2\u00a0MarkDoesStuff.com<\/a>. All Mark Watches videos for past shows\/season are now archived there!<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"