#being unredeemable does not necessarily mean they can't be BETTER

[antianakin]

Okay so I'm stepping out of my fandom lane a tad here because I just watched the season 2 finale of Leverage: Redemption and had some thoughts and feelings about Eliot Spencer as concerning the concept of "redemption" and whether you CAN be "redeemed" for certain things or not and how you can live your life if you can't.

Eliot in this latest episode says point blank that he cannot and will never be redeemed for some of the things he's done in his past. We as the audience have never really been told all of what he's done, we've been given bits and pieces every so often, just enough to perhaps lead us to our own conclusions of what he might have done, but it's never been spelled out. Which is fine, it actually increases the impact of what it is he may have done in his past if it's left in the shadows, just ambiguous enough for the audience to insert their own worst nightmares to fill in the blanks.

But what he also says is that he's made his peace with the fact that he'll never truly be redeemed for what he's done, he's okay with that. Because while he's alive, he can make himself useful to genuinely good people. He can help these other people who have also chosen to be better and have perhaps FOUND whatever redemption they may have needed at doing good for innocent victims in the world. He can take the skills he once only used to hurt people and instead use them to help people, to bring them peace and comfort and joy. He can DO GOOD THINGS, he can even do them for the rest of his life, but there's never going to be a count of people he's helped, lives he's saved, that will undo the hurt he's done or the lives he's TAKEN. Nothing will give those people back their lives, nothing will give their loved ones back that person they lost, he can't give back the time he stole from them.

Eliot can be loved, both by people who knew him before and people who know him after. Eliot can be a wonderful person that the audience roots for and adores. Eliot is not toxic or unreasonable or selfish in any of his relationships. But he can't be redeemed for what he's done, and THAT'S OKAY. Nothing about Eliot being a good person requires his redemption and I think that sometimes redemption gets confused with that. The person Eliot is saying all of this to in this particular episode tries to reassure him that of COURSE he's also been redeemed, but he's not saying he's not currently a good person who is doing good things. He's not saying that he isn't a better person than he was before or that the good choices he's making now don't matter. He's just recognizing that he's done enough evil in his life, enough objectively horrific things for objectively horrific and selfish people, that cannot be undone.

Most of the other characters in this show have been selfish, yes, have hurt people and done bad things, but as far as I remember none of them have KILLED anyone. And this show, via Eliot, places that as an ultimate evil beyond redemption. The other characters can find redemption by using their criminal skills to help the disenfranchised who are being abused and taken advantage of by the system. They could potentially even try to help some of the people they've hurt in the past, undo some of the damage they've done. Eliot can't. Which means there's no redemption to be found when there's not even any amends he can make for his choices in the past, there's no one left to make amends to.

And I LOVE Eliot, Eliot is brave and smart and funny and kind and great with kids and sensitive and loving. He's a brilliant cook who uses food to show people he loves them, he's an unparalleled fighter who refuses to use guns because of how lethal they are, he's an insanely observant person with a ridiculously good memory, he's stubborn and protective and understanding. Eliot is a wonderful person and a wonderful character.

And he CANNOT BE REDEEMED. There is NO redemption for Eliot Spencer because there are things he's done that cannot be undone, and THAT'S OKAY.