#source: leverage redemption

[batkidsaremadkids]

Dick: I'm not saying work with him. I'm saying work around him.

Jason: It's cleaner and smarter to make him disappear.

Duke: Bonk him on the head, have O wipe his ID and credit rating, and dump him in Venezuela?

Jason: I'm so proud of you right know.

*fistbump*

[teenwolfpackincorrectcaptions]

Eli: And don't worry. I haven't stabbed anyone in a really long time. Like, a whole month. Derek: Well, Parker, that's not very long. Eli: It is when you're the one not doing the stabbing.

[incorrect-web-novels]

Wei Wuxian: It's okay to grow up, realize you're not the person you used to be.

Jin Ling: You never grew up.

Wei Wuxian: Yeah. I achieved perfection pretty early, huh?

[pathetic-dreamy]

Louis: And don't worry. I haven't pranked anyone in a really long time. Like, two weeks.

Harry: Well, Louis, that's not very long.

Louis: It is when you're the one not pulling the pranks.

[incorrect-ember-knight]

Najin: and don't worry. I haven't stabbed anyone in a really long time. like, a whole month.

Nagyunn: well, that's not very long.

Najin: it is when you're the one not doing the stabbing.

[smthfunnyhappenedonthewaytor3]

in an alternate verse, with Lelouch just turned 13 Marianne: You were spying on us? Lelouch: I mean... I tailed you. Just like C.C. taught me when we trained together. Marianne: [glares at C.C.] C.C.: I teach every kid I meet how to do crime. Crime is fun.

[incorrectquotesideas-deactivated]

Person A: And don't worry. I haven't stabbed anyone in a really long time. Like, a whole month.

Person B: Well, Person A, that's not very long.

Person A: It is when you're the one not doing the stabbing.

[leverage-ot3]

Is leverage redemption worth watching? I love Leverage but idk if i could enjoy the show if hardison isn't in most episodes or if the reboot sells out in some way.

okay so I showed up to this ask like four months late with a smoothie so I'm sorry about that BUT

does redemption have it's flaws? yes, I will be the first to admit that!

however, as someone who deeply loves leverage, the characters and what the show stands for, I still can find myself enjoying redemption.

there's one post that's in my drafts talking about the differences between the og and redemption and the so-called universe physics (how logic works in both shows and how they are the same/differ) and there are definitely some differences. there are some really good posts comparing them in the tags and I'll try to tag them as watch redemption when they come up!

I'm going to be really honest right now and say that (no shade) I feel like redemption s1-2 were lacking because john rogers was not a main writer for them. devlin and the others are great and know their stuff, but redemption was missing some of the grit (balanced with everything else) that the original run had. redemption is more fun and lighthearted (where the og was still fun and had comedic elements but also had a more jaded perspective). I think part of that change is the absence of nate as a character and what he brought to the table, but the other part of that is very much the way the show is written overall

I have seen some criticism about parker being a caricature of what she was in the original run (ex: how she goes to a child's psychologist and uses puppets sometimes, is overtly weird, more loud about stuff, etc) BUT I will say that I think there's some nuance to that

I don't think the child psychiatrist thing is infantalizing- some methods of therapy work for people more than others and that is me speaking as someone who works in mental health. if play therapy and stuff like that work for you as an adult, good for you! whatever works for you is more than enough the overtly and loudly being weird thing I really do think can be taken either way. in the original run part of parker's character progression was that she was learning how to interact with people normally (or at least more efficiently), but her being more out about that now can be taken as she is more comfortable in her skin and acting like she wants because she is surrounded by people who love and support her. maybe she doesn't want to (or have to!) mask all the time and I don't see a problem with that

HOWEVER! there are certain criticisms that are related to her characterizations and overlaps with her autism and I don't want to speak over the autism community about those aspects and how they have manifested in her character in redemption so I'm leaving it there

as for the hardison being absent aspect- I was REALLY afraid of that at first BUT the loss isn't so deeply impactful when you have characters like breanna and harry added to the mix. I went in ambivalent about harry and excited to have breanna (a canon queer) joining the team, but I have come to love and cherish both of them dearly and wouldn't want to replace them or lose them as characters in this found family ensemble. I think the writers handled aldis' packed schedule really well and even though he isn't there in most episodes, his presence is still very much around. parker and eliot talk about him and reference him when he's gone. so do sophie and breanna, even harry. he isn't on the screen but the relationships he's formed with the other characters and the impact he's had on them is very evident.

there are some takes from users about whether or not the ot3 was queerbait, un-canoned, etc in redemption. I have a lot of thoughts about it and a lot of them are incomprehensible but what I can say is that I have renewed hopes for the progression and canon development of their relationship now that john rogers is back as the main writer for s3

[agent-mcsweetheart]

I once saw someone saying that in Redemption, the team basically have superpowers, and that feels true to me. Every con in the og could be pulled off by anyone with the right skill, maybe an insane amount of skill, but still.

Also it feels like they took Parker from realistic (if possibly accidental) autistic person, to doing weird things for the sake of it. Like stabbing watermelons for no reason and going to a child therapist? They took away a lot of her maturity.

Here is the thing about Parker. In Leverage, she does some wild stuff. She is written in such a way that she is absolutely not neurotypical. Which means, she isn’t great at social situations (Juror Number 6 Job). She copes in a certain way (There are so many options for this actually). She doesn’t like when her routine is disrupted (Mile High Job, Ice Man job). But all of those things that make her ✨quirky✨ and a little bit insane are a mask. We actually know that she is incredibly observant. She does have emotions and we see them play out in a lot of fascinating ways. She is mature, BUT she chooses to act a certain way as a protective measure for herself. We KNOW that she can handle actual situations. So when she doesn’t have to be entirely serious, she will be a little bit weird so that she can still protect herself.

Redemption is not that. Redemption has her just being a little insane for the sake of being a little insane. Redemption doesn’t know what to do with the incredibly complex characters it picked up. They fundamentally misunderstand them and it just comes off as Parker being insane little gremlin.

[thedetectivessay]

K: Stay out of trouble.

Sehun:

Sehun: No, sir.

[teenwolfpackincorrectcaptions]

Talia: So what do we do for the rest of our big date night? Deucalion: We could go axe throwing? Talia: No. They asked us not to come back

[incorrect-web-novels]

Wei Wuxian: I have an idea.

Jiang Cheng: That's a terrifying thought.

[smthfunnyhappenedonthewaytor3]

Rolo: And I haven't stabbed anybody in a long time, like at least a month! Lelouch: Rolo, a month's not a very long time. Rolo: It is when you're not the one doing the stabbing.

[thisisnotthenerd]

the thing that stuck out to me about this finale is the theme of new starts and redemptions

because it is a release for the gods in many ways. it is a release for the protagonists of the story we're following.

but in many ways it has turned into the reversal and softening of consequences/stakes that have dogged this campaign consistently.

a list of pulled punches/backtracks in the finale (in no particular order):

divine magic functioning exactly the same post-catatheosis. i think this contributes to bell's hells' reaction; if the magic is still there and the gods are gone, that still means it's okay, right? meanwhile people are grieving the loss of the beings that have defined their lives, especially in vasselheim. i guess this implies that the gods' energies have been tied to the world of exandria; those who attune to and hold faith in the particular creed of the deities can pull on their power as it was released into the world. or they pull purely from faith in other mortals, or smaller gods/beings. but they barely had any sympathy for those losing the object of their lives' purpose.

ashton sacrificing themself and not dying or losing any semblance of their powers. i get the sacrifice. i get the mirroring of fcg's sacrifice. i get wanting to go out with a bang. i also get bell's hells wanting him back. but what i want to know, is why exactly they had to be recreated with dunamis. why not be resurrected and have to grapple with the loss of that source of power and yet be in less pain because of it?

imogen (& the other ruidusborn) not losing power after predathos' release. yes i know why in the doylist sense. but it takes away the power of that decision if the source of the aberration in 'aberrant mind' goes away and nothing changes.

laudna being re-alived in a marriage ceremony/divine intervention. it feels like a little bit of a cop-out when her previous conversation with the matron implied work through time, but maybe that's just my interpretation. perhaps it's due to the reworking of magic and the expression of divine intervention.

bell’s hells threatening their way through vasselheim and getting zero flack for it even after they lost the leverage of predathos. i get the ‘heroes of the realm’ thing. i get it. did they have to intimidate their way through as much of it as possible.

orym's pact. i get why it would have constituted a break; the way it was played off felt a little flippant. it would be one thing for it to be acknowledged as him escaping a real pact that he did get powers from. instead it's more of a comedic moment.

liliana not facing public scrutiny. maybe she did, but it really seems like she recovered and just walked away. i'm aware of what she went through as an audience member; i wish we had gotten to see what imogen vouching for her on trial would have looked like. for that matter, we don't really see a resolution of the ruby vanguard at all.

opal being partially released from the circlet. this one actually makes sense to me. not protesting this one. the spider queen can't live in the circlet all the time if she's in mortal manifestation. also, opal is fully still stuck with the crown.

vax and morrighan as champions of the matron. i do think the matron's actions fit. in this scenario, she's weighing the possibilities of her champions having to run her realm against her own experience and trying to spare them both the loneliness she herself felt. it fits. i take issue with her saying she kept him greedily, rather than what it was, which was a pact fairly made that he faithfully served, which she is adjusting in a moment of mercy at the end of the world as they know it.

the gods are back on exandria. it's been treated as a bit, with reminders of evil babies and what you could do to them. recall the last time they were there the time period was called the calamity. and also, can you imagine what the followers of either betrayer gods or prime deities would do knowing that the god who ostensibly opposed theirs was out there somewhere as a vulnerable mortal? they've started an ages-long arms race of who can find the reincarnated gods first. braius stepped away from asmodeus and was promised a lifetime of being followed for his betrayal, and yet ashton was literally followed more by the kryn dynasty.

it comes across as a lot of wish fulfillment without the legwork to get there. it's not that bell's hells haven't been through the worst and come back from it; it's that the closer we've come to a conclusion, the less it seems like bell's hells have had a stake in all of it.

even their conclusions: the primary goals have been freedom and adventuring.

vox machina's original epilogues came with grief, but also a level of responsibility to their communities (whitestone, zephrah, the faith of the everlight). they had fame from their exploits because they happened on a very grand scale.

the mighty nein's epilogues came with a resurrection, and the desire to live their lives to the fullest. as the 'heroes no one knows about', they were able to step down and live quieter lives. they pursued specific purposes, whether it's beau with the cobalt soul & caleb at the academy pursuing the assembly, fjord captaining his fleet and jester pursuing her art and faith, veth and her family and camp, kingsley as the plank king, caduceus stewarding the blooming grove, yasha tending her home, and etc.

the epilogues for bell's hells focus on them achieving individual goals of freedom to travel and adventure. sometimes they have a place where they settle, but it's generally undefined. it feels as though they're not done yet, because the finality is taken out with the stakes.

everyone lives happily ever after, and the world keeps spinning. it’s like a fluffy fix-it fic, except this is fully the canon of the world.

i’ll discuss my thoughts on the greater implications for exandria another day.

[krakenartificer]

The Grand Complications Job

Spoilers for Leverage Redemption S3E5

Loved the episode, absolute delight, but I don’t think they thought about the implications of putting it right after the deepfake nana-haters episode or they would have made some reference to it

It is nearly impossible to overstate how historically accurate that party was. Those costumes are 100% exactly what the court of Louis and Marie would have worn if they had access to modern materials and modern social norms. I would like to mention, for anyone who doesn’t already know this, that the blue and pink wigs are actually (not just spiritually) historically accurate. (Also that that is actually the source of the term “bigwig”)

The dude mansplaining how it’s wrong to mansplain

Love the watch cakes. Disappointed that we didn’t pan up to find them being made by the fucking chocolate guy,

The contrast between Tara’s “Aw 😘 I’d kill you too” and Astrid’s “I would never actually kill you”. Two completely opposite ways of showing respect

From most people, “I can’t steal a mother’s love” would be a trite Hallmark card kind of statement. From Parker, who spent years in the foster system desperately trying to get some kind of connection and support, in any way she could think of? It’s a simple, heartbreaking statement of fact. I can’t steal a mother’s love. I’ve tried.

[swiiivet-screamathon]

Idk if I'm projecting here since idk if we've seen enough of Smilk to know if he would or wouldn't do the thing I would lol-- so if anyone wants to source something that refutes the idea then go ahead /g

But I've been starting to think of him as someone who just can't fess up if he wants something that's simple and comparatively insignificant

Because to put yourself in that position is to make yourself vulnerable, and the entire reason he even is a beast is due to the behaviors of others-- so it doesn't feel like a huge stretch that he doesn't like seeing people going against his desires and/or disappointing people

(if you haven't seen the mega post I made-- other people turned him away as they preferred the sweetness of lies over the harshness of truth and that drove him to following that herd, it was not him deciding on his own to give up on the truth, and there's a couple sentences that makes me believe he still believes in the truth deep down and never gave up on it in the first place and that the deceit is a mask)

So if he wants something with social value like control and power he'll use that as a leverage to counterbalance the internet vulnerability of ranting something, people can't judge your soul loudly if you're holding their strings tightly after all

But if you want something silly and insignificant? People can totally look down on you for that, and he's been rejected enough in his life already there's no point in inviting them to do it again

Which leads to me continuously thinkin of Smilk being very quiet in the 'actually taking action to intentionally becoming a better person' phase, after everything they've done together and generally not being rejected he's started really trusting PV so he wants to be more grounded and honest with him-- but that doesn't exactly like, yk, remove the trauma that got him here in the first place, he still has that baggage that has to be sorted through at some point if he ever wants to complete his redemption arc-- lying to someone you might be able to call a friend kinda sucks, lying to someone you trust sucks, lying to someone who trusts you an infinite amount is pretty bad too, but telling the truth would suck even harder than all of that combined

So for those simple stupid things he can't make a huge event out of it, it's not important enough to act like it'll end the world, but he still yk, wants it-- so he'll grab PV by the arm and lead him to what he wants him to see, cause he can't bring himself to say the words out loud, to have it be documented and recorded to be true, to admit a weakness like that-- but walking is easy, dragging someone around is easy, letting them do all the heavy lifting you can't do is easy; especially when you can then take the opportunity to try to make it sound like they wanted it all along, yeah sure you dragged them here and brought it to their attention, but they said the words, they were the ones that were vulnerable, not you

So now the two of them are having ice cream together, and it was totally completely and fully Pv's fault, Smilk never said a word, he never asked for it and he never ordered it, so clearly this was independently cooked up by PV and no one else-- but he did seem quite gleeful when PV handed him his cone