{"id":4446,"date":"2015-02-13T08:00:18","date_gmt":"2015-02-13T16:00:18","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/markwatches.net\/reviews\/?p=4446"},"modified":"2015-01-30T09:49:21","modified_gmt":"2015-01-30T17:49:21","slug":"mark-watches-leverage-s02e06-the-top-hat-job","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/markwatches.net\/reviews\/2015\/02\/mark-watches-leverage-s02e06-the-top-hat-job\/","title":{"rendered":"Mark Watches ‘Leverage’: S02E06 – The Top Hat Job"},"content":{"rendered":"

In the sixth episode of the second season of\u00c2\u00a0Leverage<\/i>, the team infiltrates a corrupt food company through magic \u00e2\u20ac\u201c er, ILLUSIONS. Intrigued? Then it\u00e2\u20ac\u2122s time for Mark to watch Leverage<\/i>.<\/p>\n

<\/p>\n

I just love this show so much, y\u00e2\u20ac\u2122all.<\/p>\n

It\u00e2\u20ac\u2122s clear from the final scene of \u00e2\u20ac\u0153The Top Hat Job\u00e2\u20ac\u009d that this specific con\u00c2\u00a0had<\/i> to be difficult. It wasn\u00e2\u20ac\u2122t just necessary to have them blow their cover in the first five minutes. (Though that was a nice narrative touch. Who expected that???) We had to see them narrowly come up with a way to con Erik Casten. Why? Because Nate needed to win. That isn\u00e2\u20ac\u2122t something I would have understood at the beginning of the episode. Of course they had to win! They always do! But Sophie\u00e2\u20ac\u2122s badgering of Nate to go on a date or see someone was part of a possible character development for him.<\/p>\n

Possible. DON\u00e2\u20ac\u2122T MAKE IT POSSIBLE, I DON\u00e2\u20ac\u2122T WANT TO SEE HIM BREAK.<\/p>\n

That\u00e2\u20ac\u2122s not to say that \u00e2\u20ac\u0153The Top Hat Job\u00e2\u20ac\u009d is Nate\u00e2\u20ac\u2122s story. I kind of feel like this is Hardison\u00e2\u20ac\u2122s, as if this were his time to shine. Given that this heist was so technical in nature, I\u00e2\u20ac\u2122d say that Hardison\u00e2\u20ac\u2122s skills were put to the test, and he managed to impress Eliot in the process. WHICH IS A HUGE DEAL, OKAY. If you can impress Eliot, I feel like you\u00e2\u20ac\u2122ve set the bar as high as you can go. Right??? I don\u00e2\u20ac\u2122t think the heist itself could have happened without Hardison.<\/p>\n

The con? Oh, well, we need to have a goddamn conversation about Nate and Parker, who proved to be the most entertaining aspect of this episode. It\u00e2\u20ac\u2122s been such a treat to see Parker adapt to a world like this one because she\u00e2\u20ac\u2122s being asked to be a grifter more and more with each case. And that\u00e2\u20ac\u2122s an important development for her character! This is someone who was mortified by most social interaction. Parker had no skills to improvise in public in the first season. Take \u00e2\u20ac\u0153The Stork Job\u00e2\u20ac\u009d for example. In that episode, she had to be coached for practically every line while she was undercover, and she ended up stabbing her mark with a fork. (Which I\u00e2\u20ac\u2122m still a big fan of, for the record.) How frequently does that sort of coaching take place within this episode? It\u00e2\u20ac\u2122s a rare thing! Instead, we get to see just how wonderful Parker and Nate are as magicians. Their chemistry is hilarious, and PARKER\u00e2\u20ac\u2122S FACE WHEN SHE GETS A TRICK RIGHT is so goddamn awesome y\u00e2\u20ac\u2122all.<\/p>\n

That\u00e2\u20ac\u2122s not to say that this goes without a hitch, because, again, this actually had to be practically disastrous in order to play a part in Nate\u00e2\u20ac\u2122s development this season. Christ, let\u00e2\u20ac\u2122s start with the cover being blown in the first scene at Lillian Foods. Right off the bat, we\u00e2\u20ac\u2122re shown that this heist is going to be one of the biggest challenges the team has faced. Normally, they don\u00e2\u20ac\u2122t have to deal with an ex-CIA security team, and it just makes matters a billion times worse. So the writers take this premise and they throw one absurd obstacle after another at Hardison and Eliot, which Hardison finds solutions to one after another. AND THEN NOPE, CASTEN ACTUALLY DELETED ALL THE FILES THEY WANTED ANYWAY.<\/p>\n

I feel like the resolution to this dilemma is the weakest one I\u00e2\u20ac\u2122ve seen out of these 19 episodes, especially since it rests on Casten caring about the possible consequences of him \u00e2\u20ac\u0153downloading\u00e2\u20ac\u009d all the patents to his phone. But if we\u00e2\u20ac\u2122re really setting Nate up to fail \u00e2\u20ac\u201c if Sophie\u00e2\u20ac\u2122s line to Eliot is foreshadowing for a moment when Nate\u00c2\u00a0doesn<\/i>\u00e2\u20ac\u2122t\u00c2\u00a0<\/i>win, then this needed to be a close call. I admit I\u00e2\u20ac\u2122m concerned for his character because I know that alcoholism can be triggered by trauma. JUST\u00e2\u20ac\u00a6 I AM NOT READY. I don\u00e2\u20ac\u2122t even want to think about how this could happen. I WILL STAY IN DENIAL BECAUSE IT\u00e2\u20ac\u2122S BETTER THAT WAY.<\/p>\n

(PS: I love this show so much.)<\/p>\n

The video for \u00e2\u20ac\u0153The Top Hat 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":"