#inde rambles about leverage

[independent-fics]

Rewatching “The 12-Step Job” and actually processing that Hardison and Eliot in the end are arguing who has to sit in the middle/next to happy pills Parker.

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Ooo this! There just doesn’t seem like enough episodes left for a lot more plot? Unless the very end of the next episode sets something up but I’m thinking the finale episode sounds like a stand alone finale.

I definitely think we’ll be coming back to what Hardison said in the beginning of the season but he was saying he loves what he does with the international teams but it sounded like he wanted to try to come back to them. Not be gone all the time. Leave a legacy with the international teams and then come back to heisting with his family. Back to their roots. So I’m wondering if this final episode is Parker going off on her own to process these major changes to having Hardison back in her orbit regularly. Or not if he decides he’s not ready to come back yet after all?

But I definitely think it’s a big Parker plot episode because she has been slowly getting back into the main mastermind role this season and calling more shots so I definitely think this will be an episode where she might take that too far and go off on her own. She is more level headed than Nate was but doesn’t mean she can’t fall victim to thinking she had to be responsible for something on her own (like my beloved inside job).

you said your asks were open to discuss the end of season, so here’s my ridiculously long rant lol:

i’m thinking it might not be such a tight two-part finale considering how short the season is, like it might be two related episodes but probably not to the extent of, say, big bang/san lorenzo, which flow into each other like one long episode. also the episode descriptions make it seem like they can’t be super closely related, the main marks definitely seem to be different people.

the description and title of e10, "the side job", suggests parker is, well, doing a side job, and the team won’t know exactly what she’s up to. my theory (based on the trailer) at the start of the season was that we’d get some episode where the team thought parker might have done something really bad - like killed someone - although most of the related stuff ended up being in the grand complication job, where sophie was worried her and astrid would kill each other, and it was parker who got the death fake-out. the finale might still be something along those lines though, the team thinking parker’s done/going to do something drastic, and deciding whether to trust her or stop her or what. it seems a little reminiscent of the inside job, which 1) nearly has the same title lol and 2) involved the team being cut off from parker and confused about what she was up to, having to catch up to her and eventually help out. of course, parker is a mastermind now, so perhaps this is all part of her plan.

one big question is why parker wouldn’t tell them all the details of what she’s doing. is she actually considering hurting someone? is this a personal favor to someone (if so, who)? does the job involve something from her past that she’d rather not bring up? is the team being genuinely in the dark somehow part of the plan?

hardison seems to be back for the finale and i definitely think we’ll have to get some answers about what he wants to do moving forward and what part parker’s gonna play in that. she’s made it pretty clear that she’s never gonna stop stealing/doing heists, but everything else is up in the air a bit. it makes me nervous cause i know how much she loves what she does! also because it reminds me of how nate & sophie left at the end of og leverage… like, what if this is hardison and parker stepping down?? i’m guessing it’s gonna have to be a bit open ended though, since it’s currently unclear if there will be another season or not. leverage is a little evil with some of the season enders that were almost series ends, like the end of og leverage s1 (they decide to split up! what if that had been it?!) or s2 (nate goes to JAIL???? imagine that being the last thing we saw).

Ooh, I like your predictions. Yeah, Leverage is really good with those season enders that technically tie everything up but also leave you screaming for more.

Agree that this season is emphasizing Parker's leadership, her capacity for violence, and how her thinking is just so far ahead of everyone's? Hell, they even brought back Tara to remind us that Parker will go nuclear if you come for her people. Veeery interesting. Thinking of The Last Dam Job and how it played around with Nate's limits there. Parker's cooler-headed than Nate ever was (hell, even Nate knew that), but who knows what could happen?

We've seen Parker withhold information when it's for the good of someone on the team (like Hurley). But that's all I got there. The only thing I am thinking of is that when Sophie left for six months way back then, we didn't know back then that it was going to be six months, but she came back when the team needed her in a big way.

I do expect that we'll hear again about Breanna and college?

Oh and ep title The Side Job makes me think of The Inside Job, which was a really big Parker episode! And The Grand Complication Job had some similarities to The Inside Job.

Okay that's all I have. Hopefully we can build on that?

[independent-fics]

I’m posting this here now in case I’m right because the more I analyze the Leverage: Redemption season finale trailer the more I’m wondering how noir this noir looking episode is? Because the black and white scenes also make me think of during “The Hustler Job” when Eliot was telling the hostage computer hackers that Parker has a “very black and white” way of viewing things. We’ve seen this theme repeatedly with Parker this season even in “the grand complication job” with her single minded focus on the con and the few other episodes where she has taken back the mastermind role. I’m thinking the scenes may not be flashbacks but Parker’s POV of the situation and then we have that statement at the end of the trailer where she mentions “redemption” which shows her continued growth in that there always being more than just bad and good. We’ve had cons before where the bad guy isn’t as always as bad as they appear or can be redeemed. I’m wondering if this noir look is less of a period piece episode and more of a look into Parker’s way of viewing cons. (edit from the tags: or another white rabbit. More on that later)

[independent-fics]

Eliot’s little head tilt though when Moreau says “but I know you.”

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Not my brain going “how to train your dragon but with the leverage ot3 and Eliot is the ornery dragon”

[independent-fics]

YES ALL OF THIS

I can see in the beginning they all just accumulate their own things but in small amounts. But they’ve all obviously moved into the same building but Nate’s apartment is the meeting center and it’s right by a kitchen so why wouldn’t they add to it. But then I feel like Hardison would mother hen a bit so he would order stuff that everyone likes. But it’s just they’re new to living together and their habits so he’s only ordering what he knows they like (ie. coffee for Nate, orange soda for himself, tea for Sophie, cereal for Parker, knives??? For Eliot ). So no one especially Parker questions it at first because magical cereal and if she needs anything else they just steal.

And yes of course Eliot would get upset and want real food to cook with and wanted everyone to contribute so “dammit everyone get in the van rn” and he would want to take them to a farmers market because of course he would but that would be way too much. Sophie would create different personas for every stall, Hardison would not even want to leave the van, and Parker would disappear so he has to contain the situation so regular grocery it is.

Yes Parker would love the positives friends coming and convenient cart to fill with more cereal food but she would so get sidetracked stealing random items. It makes me think of her go kit for maggie in “the Zanzibar marketplace job” because some of it felt so random so I feel like Parker trying to be normal in a grocery store would be her not trying to steal the typical items she needed to survive but instead trying to look normal stealing items that she could use in unique ways to steal other items (while Eliot’s annoyed in the background just trying to get her opinion on produce because yes OP he would need the perfect produce to make sure these people ate something).

I also just love the idea of Parker not wanting to give up a single bill or something at checkout and gripping it so tight until the person has to yank it from them because Eliot made her pay as a learning experience or something. But I absoloutly love Sophie simply going okay yeah let’s con some free samples out of them for Parker and her and Sophie going back regularly for Parker to practice her grifting to just get free food.

And once again yes Nate wishing he was anywhere else but content enough being the getaway driver whatever the situation may be when the team finally exits the store.

list of things parker has to slowly get used to in leverage season 1:

being around people a lot more

owning a plant

eliot’s home cooked meals at dinner time (nice, but goes against her instinctive grazing method and cereal-heavy diet)

questions. everyone’s all "how are you, parker?" and "what do you mean, parker?" and "why are you in my house at 3AM watching me sleep, parker?"

Emotions (derogatory)

Talking About Emotions (even worse)

having her own office (she’s found that this is useful for things like Plant Placement, Weapons Storage and Naps)

the team’s "safety concerns" like not wanting to get decapitated by elevators or whatever

rules about starting fires in the offices (luckily no such rules exist for hardison’s van)

going grocery shopping for office snacks with the team, which is like stealing supplies, but legal and boring

being part of a team

being part of a more-than-a-team team

[independent-fics]

Eliot visibly confused at Archie’s statement of Parker being his daughter because he thought it was mutually understood at this point that Parker just appeared into existence as is.

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Once again reminded how Parker absolutely has no judgement for anything anyone does and I love that. Her little smile when Eliot admits to being in Pakistan and she just thinks he’s neat.

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Watching Hardison wanting to help the government protestor + hacker in “The Reunion Job” and seeing how far he’s come in Redemption.

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Me thinking that I’ll just watch the new Leverage: Redemption episode when it comes out because I haven’t been sleeping anyways. Then remembering that it’s a slasher themed con and that I am a big chicken who should not be watching that in the middle of the night.

[independent-fics]

Okay so imagine we do get Sterling back in Leverage: Redemption season 3.

After “The Long Goodbye Job,” which Sterling helped them out with because he still had a loyalty to Nate (I have a separate head cannon about them reconciling and having drinks together in Nate’s retirement). But after they retire all bets are off. He’s back to doing his Interpol duty and hunting down Parker, Hardison and Eliot. Maybe he doesn’t work as hard all the time to catch them because he knows what they do is right sometimes but other times his beef with Eliot comes up and he continues to hunt them down.

Now we’re at season 3. Astrid is now a part of his team and they end up in a situation where Sterling knows they may need a little more than the law with this one. Everyone reunites and although the og team is not happy to have him there, they help because Astrid asks (and Sterling is forever sour about how she’s Interpol and they like her).

Eliot is already on him when they arrive, bitter about the last time they worked together (could be queens gambit job, long goodbye, or even one after that). Sterling reminds him he already took one of his teeth out so let’s just work together and get along. And Astrid is like oh he tied me up once. Eliot suddenly defensive is like it was for the con.

And that’s when Sterling realizes. Out of respect for Sophie Eliot is a little afraid of Astrid. Cares about her opinion because she’s Sophie’s family and they’re Sophie’s family too. Sterling can work with this.

So every time they have to be near each other on a con Sterling puts Astrid between Eliot and himself. Eliot can’t get to Sterling and has to play nice because Astrid is there and she’s the priority. Eliot could care less about Sterling. And it works! Sterling makes it through the whole con without incident with Eliot. Thinking he’s in the clear he turns to leave their HQ after Astrid and there behind him is Eliot.

He doesn’t touch him.

Only smiles.

And says, “see you around Sterling.”

Sterling changes all his locks that night. Like that will help.

[independent-fics]

Thinking today about Parker in “The Inside Job” and her hearing Hardison and saying she messed up and his already here and guiding her to Eliot who’s waiting for her and just how happy she was to hear and see them.

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Thinking about this post I made the other day and like, Parker doesn’t hug anyone else in “The 12-Step Job.” Like no moves were made towards Nate and Sophie at all. I just.. them ya know?

[independent-fics]

What I wanna know is why the Leverage Season 3 cover photo (at least for freevee Amazon and other streaming I’ve noticed) has Eliot carrying a bag when this man later states he doesn’t travel with luggage.

[independent-fics]

Also thinking a lot today about Sophie’s “he’s his father’s son” about Hardison in redemption because now I’m wondering about all the traits in the ot3 kids that are all a little bit Nate.

Like Hardison has the drive to be a good man. He desired to do more always. They all did in their own ways it’s how they got into this but Hardison always was doing more than just being a criminal even when he was a self proclaimed criminal. That drive definitely was influenced by Nate and his catholic guilt in a way. His desire to be a good man yet he also then later claimed he was a thief. That duality exists so much in Hardison too. The ability to be both and it not be bad.

Parker obviously became the mastermind. The planner. The one always one step ahead of everything else. That was honed by Nate as well as the drive to be good but with her own Parker twist. As Nate said when Archie said ruined her in “The Inside Job” he said he didn’t do anything to her. He never tried to change her. Influenced her sure. But Nate never tried to make her anything she wasn’t. Parker always had that in her to be good as she learned to be part of a team but the masterminding was from Nate. And with that was less a desire to do good but a willingness to do what is needed. To be ten steps ahead similar to her conversation with Eliot in “The Long Way Down Job” to be a mastermind and do what others won’t.

Eliot also has a little but of that but always had that trait. The influence he got from Nate was the self sacrificing. Eliot always had that in a way but usually for money and his reputation of getting the job done. But as he was with a team and that team became family he definitely was more and more willing to do what was needed if he had to. Like Nate sacrificing himself to sterling at the end of season 2 Eliot would do the same if he felt it was necessary. He went from “every man for himself” to declaring he would die for them in the end. And that was Nate’s influence as well as just being part of a team.

[independent-fics]

Someone tell me why I had a leverage dream and all I could really remember is that we were betrayed on a farm. Like what were they helping me with, trying to bring down the price of eggs??