#leverage ot3: the Nigerian job

[independent-fics]

The Leverage OT3 in Every Episode

Leverage: 01x01 The Nigerian Job

[vladimpale]

here we have a late submission for day 6 of zukki week 2024: heist au (click for better quality)

@zukki-week

more thoughts under the cut

i got back into leverage this week so of course i couldn't not draw zukki as the ot3. i think suki would work better as a grifter than a thief (maybe even a hitter) but yk. i also stayed up way too long thinking about who is the mastermind and who is the grifter/thief remaining and i got to the following conclusions:

song as the mastermind and jin as a grifter just butters up my heart like i missed these girls like crazy and i think it would fit them (also azula as jim sterling is way too funny)

but then we have azula as nate (which i think is equally funny) and ty lee as thief

also mai as nate but thats just because i ship mailee and i wanted them together

[theinfinitedivides]

'somebody kiss this man so i don't have to' ykw what we call that in this house. we call those some famous last f*cking words, Eliot Spencer sir

[leverage-ot3]

something something something parker hardison and eliot start and end the show as a unit. together, never apart. always

[faorism]

gonna cry. first episode parker saying i dont trust these guys about eliot and hardison vs final season parker we change together LIKE this is why im obsessed

[trivalentlinks]

List of all of my Leverage prompts (that I can remember):

(For some of these I've linked other people's (and my own) riffs on them as well, though many of them also have fun riffs in the notes that I didn't link)

(Updated Dec. 20, 2023)

Eliot (& or /) Quinn prompts:

Pre-canon E / or & Q AUs:

-- Quinn (who is from the US) is living in Europe and cannot find canned pumpkin anywhere for Thanksgiving; he tries to steal Eliot's (He is unsuccessful but makes a friend along the way)

-- the other Eliot and Quinn spending Thanksgiving in Europe prompt

-- At the height of Moreau's empire, a mysterious woman hires Quinn to remove Spencer from Moreau's side All does not go according to plan (aka the time loop one) (this is a bit longer and I actually posted it as a fic on AO3, but I do kind of still consider it a prompt in that I would love to see more here.)

-- Eliot on the run from Moreau accidentally mistakes Quinn (who is on vacation/recuperating and not on a job) for someone Moreau sent after him and beats him up

-- A riff on the above where Eliot mistakenly assumes Quinn is a sex worker and gets protective when he comes home from jobs injured/bruised (which happens a lot because Quinn is a hitter)

-- Further riffing on the above, Eliot, still upset at seeing Quinn come back looking roughed up, offers to teach him to fight

-- demon AU: Quinn is a demon Moreau summoned to try to exchange Eliot's soul for demonic powers (it doesn't work out for him)

-- AU where The Nigerian Job happens three years earlier, when Eliot still works for Moreau, so Dubenich hires Quinn instead, but the team ends up on Moreau's bad side and are getting hunted by his private army led by Eliot Spencer

.

Other E/Q AUs

-- darker twist on Quinn was the-Rundown-Job-sniper AU

(Riley didn't try to hire Eliot, so Eliot's not there and Quinn actually succeeds (When he find out what this job was really about, he calls in the favour to help stop the Spanish Flu, and he wrestles with the guilt of almost causing a pandemic))

-- Shifter AU where Eliot and Quinn make fun of each other's animal forms (comparing each other to hapless kittens and pitiful puppies)

(another shifter AU prompt here.)

-- Quinn is de-aged and kid!Quinn thinks Eliot is a mark

-- general request for cliche overdone AUs (coffeeshop au/flowershop au/arranged marriage au/ soulmate au)

(my own and other people's specific coffee-shop and flower-shop AU prompts in the notes here)

(a couple people also had specific ideas for soulmate aus that i adore and totally second (though i personally don't ship the ot3) here)

-- another coffeeshop AU: quinn is recovering from an injury, helping at his ex-hitter friend's coffee-shop while he does, Eliot's there on a job, things get violent (not in a bad way)

.

Non-AU E/Q prompts set post-Last-Dam-Job:

-- Quinn (having joined the team) kills someone on a team job and Nate freaks out, but Eliot supports Quinn's play

-- Eliot and Quinn can't do sparring-as-foreplay because the sparring is too fun and they're too competitive aka "five times they fully intended to have sex (and still had fun) and one time they actually got that far" (this prompt in collaboration with @wolves-in-the-world)

-- Eliot feels guilty about accidentally screwing up and getting Quinn captured on a job. Quinn cheers him up (Kind of. Mostly by being annoying af)

(a slightly softer take here.)

-- Eliot and Quinn playing hide and seek.

-- Quinn goes for a "smoke break" but actually goes outside to blow bubbles with a little bubble wand

-- Kitbull fusion

-- Quinn works with the team sometimes but distrusts all of them except Eliot until he has to work with them to rescue Eliot (because of sample bias and other reasons)

-- After a job goes un-salvageably wrong, Parker hires Quinn to kill a bad guy

-- emotional hurt/comfort where Eliot's the one doing the comforting (a specific idea/scenario for this here, but I'm more interested in the general concept of Eliot providing emotional comfort to Quinn)

-- Quinn doesn't like going to the dentist. Eliot helps. Kind of.

(someone else's more fun/lighthearted take on this here)

-- Eliot and Quinn spar at the MMA gym Eliot goes to, in front of Eliot's friends who have never seen Eliot full-contact sparring/hard rolling before

-- Five times Quinn came back and one time he didn't leave in the first place

Quinn prompts that are NOT Eliot (& or /) Quinn:

-- Quinn, having not gone to middle or high school, has some interesting knowledge gaps that Hardison trips over

-- Quinn/the cake-maker of Kyiv (OR Quinn is the cake-maker of Kyiv)

After all, as Hardison tells us, the cake-maker of Kyiv could whoop all our asses

-- Quinn thinks being in the mile high club means you've murdered someone mid-flight

-- "I drink coffee for your protection", but Quinn doesn't drink coffee

.

non-Quinn prompts:

-- Eliot takes Hardison wild berry picking

(Riffs on this here.)

-- angsty take on Hardison's soda and gummy worms

(softer take here and here)

-- The team learns Sophie's native language (this is AU if you count Leverage Redemption as canon, since that's where it's confirmed that she's actually from the UK)

-- Hardison's hands are too cold to type, so Parker (or Eliot) warms his hands in theirs

(Riffs bordering on a fill for this here)

.

[lemissingmask]

[ID: Sketches of moments from the season 1 episodes 1-5 of Leverage; Eliot and Hardison staring intently at each other while getting dressed in the elevator, Hardison and Parker stopping Eliot from running out from behind a shipping container, Eliot serving everyone food in a sleeveless top, Eliot carrying Parker away while she is dressed in patient scrubs and he is in doctor scrubs, and the crew (minus Hardison) on the plane just after they realise the mark's real plan. End ID]

-

Just wanted to do a 'scene per episode' series of sketches as warm ups lately, starting logically with season 1. Might become a 'scene per episode plus bonus between season unseen moments' (slightly swayed by headcanons of stuff between the hitter-hacker-thief trio between seasons as their bond grows). Anyway! Here are some sketches.

-

[pebblesrus]

idiots to family, insp.

[leverage-ot3]

some tag appreciation bc I'm glad we're all on the same page-

op: #that's GROWTH baby!#pilot: yeah you're on your own bye#finale: i will die a thousand deaths before i allow them to come anywhere near you#lone wolf to pack-bonded

@wewringmagicfromtheordinary: #and hardison and parker aren't even worried#they know eliot will protect them

@sleepingwithdragons: #god Eliot putting himself bodily between them and the threat#not even the center of the hallway#he moves DIRECTLY in front of Hardison and Parker#I love the way he loves

@the-tomorrow-road: #i LOVE this contrast#how he walks in front of the two of them to sheild them in the finale#pilot he does his job and then is like 'nope we're blown i'll just punch my way out soz bye' and yet#and YET#character growth#see?!??#see

@feuer-bluete: #the change kills me#eliot is not just turning around to face the bad guys#he is also moving so he stand between the bad guys and parker and hardison#if you want to get to them you have to go through him first#till my daying day#gosh i love them SO MUCH

@away-ward: #i love how hardison doesn't even look up in the second one#obviously eliots gonna do what eliot does and it'll be fine#because 'that's what i do'

@stuff-n-n0nsense: #that's growth baby!#pilot: yeah you're on your own bye#finale: i will die a thousand deaths before i allow them to come anywhere near you

Pilot:

Finale:

[kitsparrow]

Soooo.... In The Nigerian Job, when the crew first picks up Sophie, they all five pile into a sedan. Nate driving, Sophie in the front passenger seat.

Which means Parker, Hardison, and Eliot are crammed together into the backseat. Logistically, of course, it makes the most sense for Parker to be in the middle since she's the smallest...

But also...

PLEASE consider Eliot somehow getting stuck in between Parker and Hardison.

... someone tell me a fan artist has already had this thought and drawn it! 🤣

[independent-fics]

Leverage | The Beginning and The End Parallels

Leverage (2008-2012)

01x01 The Nigerian Job

05x15 The Long Good-bye Job

[botanicallyinclinednerd]

*muffled screaming* I just realized something. So you know how at the end of the first episode of Leverage Hardison gives everyone the checks for the pay out of the job and they all freak out over the amount of money? And you know how Eliot says "Somebody kiss this man so I don't have to"? Well I was just thinking about that and then I remembered The Rundown Job. When Eliot Hardison and Parker are on the subway, Eliot and Parker have a silent conversation and then she turns to Hardison and leans in for a kiss while saying "For luck," And they kiss. I- I'm not the only one seeing the connection here, right?

[theinfinitedivides]

(attempted) murder in the courtroom!!!!!!!!!

[leverage-ot3]

time for the obligatory post about what episodes I want to see in the upcoming leverage season(s)

(for reference, I made this similar post in 2020 after the reboot was announced. I'm pasting some from that post bc I still want them to happen lol)

new ideas:

I mentioned a date night episode in the last post (apollo really did bless me with foresight for the date night job on that one) but for considerment: ot3 date night. possibly their first date night after they all get together. breanna and sophie know it's happening (harry is, like, peripherally aware) and some crime hijinks are going down and the three of them are frantically trying to stop bad things from happening that are going to interfere with the date. I want to see them going through it behind the metaphorical curtain. I want to see breanna fighting for her life trying to out-hack the hacker that is going to ruin their ten-part itineraried date. harry has to get in a fistfight and eliot is so proud about it when he finds out after everything is over

tree law episode. harry has been frothing at the mouth about it since it was made. his life has been moving him towards this penultimate moment. breanna thinks it's HILARIOUS and cheers him on 100% of the way. she is VERY enthusiastic about this con

I'm not going to mention certain things because I've seen jrogers posting on bluesky social and I know he might be already writing some of those plots

con that the food trucks have plot-relevance. like, one of his food truck stations is being harassed /victimized by, like, a local gang or something that takes advantage of food truck/cart workers and the team steps in. the actual (veteran) food truck workers get involved in the con. leverage international might just have gained a few retainer members

quinn should come back for an episode. I know the actor is friends with ckane. they should make it happen because it would be iconic and I said so

on a similar note, ckane is friends with jensen ackles and. guys. wouldn't it- wouldn't it be extremely funny if a flame from eliot's past named sean sylvester who is a rugged drifter with a questionable past

episode where tara or maggie (or BOTH, can you imagine how powerful that would be???) come back and there is slight flirting with sophie possibly??? that or very obvious chemistry from a past tryst. sophie has slept with both of them, I know it in my heart of hearts. bonus points if tara and maggie fall in love (I think it would be funny. maggie's taste in men is canonically atrocious, I think she deserves someone like tara at this point)

I just want a lot of side characters to come back, okay? sue me I miss them

gonna put the rest under the cut since this post has become obscenely long

not episode-specific, but I want more mentions of the korean leverage team. and all the other teams too! we know that in canon there is the south korean one, the nigerian one, and one in london (I think that's it for mentions so far, but correct me if I'm wrong!)

episodes addressing issues with american imperialism and its effects on minorities and marginalized communities, specifically within this country (there aren't a lot of episodes where they are actively out of country)

dear fucking god take a more abolitionist stance on policing I'm begging. would it KILL you to not be weird about cops? pls just punch some more cops. take down white supremacist cops, I'm sure you can scrounge something up bffrrn

women's rights episodes. I know it's kind of recent, but episodes about accessibility of stuff like birth control, abortion access, etc. y'all are capable of making excellent episodes on that I know it

more climate crisis-related episodes. god knows you're feeling it in the deep south

taking down a corrupt megachurch pastor (although lbr, there is no ethical megachurch anything and you can fight me on this)

something to do with ace rights bc I think it would be really cool to see the team advocate for that stuff, especially since breanna is canon ace

helping a polycule that is being victimized by X organization/entity (maybe a housing association or medical or something???). breanna is bombastic side-eyeing the ot3 the entire time. it is making hardison sweat. sophie thinks it's hilarious

taking down 'writers' that use ai and self-publish AND/OR people that take original/fan works off of like ao3 and wattpad and publish them for personal profits without the author's consent. breanna would have a field day with this (god herself could try to convince me that girl does not read/write fanfic and I wouldn't believe it)

episode about underfunded public schools. we saw corrupt private schools in the fairy godparents job but I want an episode that would make abbot elementary writers proud

episode addressing native/indigenous. eliot is from oklahoma, I'm sure he is well aware of the health/job/economic/etc disparities on reservations. I will email jrogers about it myself if I have to- it anyone can get people going about native rights through a tv show it would be leverage.

I sent an ask to wil wheaton once asking if he was open to returning to leverage and I think he said he would be down for it. but chaos either has to be a reluctant ally to leverage international and is being handled by quinn as a hitter OR he is just. in jail. bc he sucks.

bpas and/or pfas episode. breanna has mentioned microplastics before but I want more

the team tears the shit out of conversion therapy camp owners and plants the seeds for legislation that will punish parents that try to send their kids to those hellscapes

while we're at it, I'd love to see an ep where they tackle the trans bathroom issue. god knows the news doesn't talk about it nearly enough

something to do with foster care. they end up starting some sort of foster care network that past clients/allies can take part in. maybe a mentorship program for kids that want to do what they do one day (they are very reluctant to encourage kids to participate in crime BUT if that is the avenue that they are going to inevitably go towards, they guide them in the right direction). nana makes an appearance (*insert 'everybody liked that' meme*)

prison industrial complex episode. I KNOW we had the jailhouse job BUT we really need this in our year of 2024

another episode on corrupt influencers. maybe influencer parents? dear god pls take them down a notch

ep where there is an underlying message that tells you how to avoid becoming victim to scams or something, or like is a tutorial for how to identify scams you might fall victim to (sorry, I just have to say this after two separate people tried to pig butcher me in less than two (2) weeks))

not to say I want them to do an ep calling out cop city, but it would feel really good to watch the leverage team rip that concept to SHREDS

the minimum wage job. need I say more? we deserve the catharsis

pls go after goodwill execs, esp the ones in the pnw that have their sector as for-profit and have become millionaires+ because of it while paying their staff (especially disabled staff) fucking pennies

while we're on the topic, pls call out salvation army (the corporation)

I can probably go on for like five hours so I'll stop here

ep that we get to see harry and his daughter bond :)

job where they get to lower the price of insulin (and other drugs)

actually, you know what? an episode where the crew annihilates big pharma and terrible insurance companies

I think that breanna should be able to go off about mass/over consumption as a treat. I 100% believe she has Thoughts about it. like, she will absolutely call out the corporations that are responsible for these trends, but also she should be allowed to mention our tendency for overconsumption as a society. obviously there are a few corporations that are doing most of the world's pollution/ecological damage, but we should be doing our part too and I KNOW it would be in-character for her to go off on it

I bet she has a LOT to say about influencers, tbh. obviously not all influencers are bad, but there are sooooo many problematic ones and problems within the influencer industry

sizing discrimination in the modeling/clothing industry. let eliot talk about how there are no perfect bodies. also while I'm on the subject, can we PLS have more body-diverse background actors on the show? I know this is nitpicky but I'd really love to see some more people that look like me, even if they are just in the background

a thinly veiled writers' rights episode (I'm looking at you media execs and the stupid amount of time it took for you to comply to the WGA demands)

something to do with media companies making entire movies/tv shows and then fucking cancelling them/not releasing them and using them as tax write-offs. every time it happens it baffles me. that is cartoonishly stupid villain shit. I can't imagine lovingly working on a project for a year plus and then the company just going, nah, we aren't going to release it because you suck and it's a good business move

ai art and ai in general. please. let it BURN

okay now I'm done

ideas from the previous post that I still want:

comicon job. I said it before and I will say it again- we deserve it!!! come on, it's the age of the geek after all!!! (in the last post I also said a ren faire ep, but I will let the card game job count for that)

summer camp ep? I saw a tumblr fic about it and I think it could be cute. it could kinda be like the fairy godparents job- eliot in charge of some type of sports (archery, fencing, etc), hardison would be in charge of arts and crafts (this boy might be a genius with tech and in general tbh, but the show did such a good job of showing that he’s also very talented with the arts- sculpting the statue for the miracle job, forging the old diary in the king george job, etc), parker would LOVE to be in charge of a high ropes course. breanna would totally be down for some sort of nerdy kid robotics or simple, traditional camp games (can't go wrong with the classics. everyone loves making bracelets!) I feel like it's too stereotypical to have sophie have kids put on a play but we all know that's exactly what she would do. idk for harry? I think he has the same traditional camp activities vibe as breanna. he's in it for the nostalgia. OR something to do with videogames

please, please, please, please, please make an episode where they take down a cult, im begging. that would be such a good episode. definitely a mindfuck episode like the experimental job (4x11). I’ve seen a few posts about a job dealing with a cult (here’s one) and I think it would be really interesting 

MORE STERLING being DONE with leverage shenanigans!!! give me feral!sterling like in the frame-up job (5x10)!!! give me sterling that protests every step of the way but conveniently looks away and “whoops, the team just disappeared, I have no idea how that happened!!! diddly dang darn it, they got away again!!! sorry guys!!!” bonus points if mcsweeten is there too and also participates in intervening hijinks

the team takes down a circus that is still using and abusing wild animals!!! because first I’d LOVE to see acrobat!parker swinging up in the air like a pro and being in her element, but also because those places are the fucking worst and need to Go Down. give me eliot having to pose as an animal trainer with deep sympathy for the animals being abused, quietly talking soothing words to them when he thinks no one is around (correction: hardison is, in fact, around, and filming his boyfriend’s softness to save for later). give me charismatic hardison playing the role of ringmaster, running and flaunting about and being passive-aggressive to the circus master. give me eliot freeing the animals from their chains when they are finally able to shut the place down and relocate the animals to sanctuaries (his hands shaking just a little as twists the key in the lock, because he too was once an abused, caged animal in his own right and he knows how liberating it is to finally be free). 

[ot3-watch]

Episode 1: The Nigerian Job Rewatch

Nate is so far beyond done at this point it’s hilarious. “I want to hire you” “FUCK OFF MAN I’M BUSY DRINKING MYSELF TO AN EARLY GRAVE”

“I need you to steal them back…” WTF DID YOU THINK WAS GOING TO HAPPEN VICTOR? WHAT, DID YOU THINK THE BEST INSURANCE INVESTIGATOR WASN’T GOING TO FIGURE OUT YOU WERE GOING TO DOUBLE CROSS HIM? He’s so stupid I can’t. 

“Parker is insane.” No. She just has a little trouble. Don’t DO THIS to her Nate.

“They work alone,” not for looong.

And… there it is! IYS. The most overused villains and this coming from a doctor who fan who sat through the daleks coming back EVERY SINGLE SEASON after being destroyed

Why do they all sound so weird? Like the dialogue does NOT sound normal

How tf did Eliot win in that scene tho? We see how long it takes him to fight later on like I just do not get it. ANd the tea isn’t even scathed? How? Everyone talks about The Big Bang Job’s shootout scene as being super unrealistic, but honestly, it barely registers compared to this one.

“You’re precisely why I work alone.” Yeah, because you’re at risk of falling in love otherwise Mr. Heart Eyes.

I’m remembering how much I did NOT like Parker in the beginning and I don’t like that. I love Parker but early Parker was eh.

PARKER YOU CAN’T JUST THROW THE GLASS. THAT’S EVIDENCE PARKER. YOU COULD KILL SOMEONE PARKER. SOMEONE’S GOING TO KNOW PARKER. 

You expect me to believe that Parker is a world class thief who wouldn’t think to count the haircuts? They keep making everyone else look dumber to make Nate look smarter which makes NO SENSE because honestly, it makes it hard to believe that the other three survived on their own without Nate to guide them. WHICH THEY DID! AND THEY WERE THE BEST IN THE WORLD AT WHAT THEY DID. WTF

“That’s what I do.” AKA THE MOMENT ALEC HARDISON BECOMES AN ELIOT STAN

JENNY 8675309????

 “I know you children don’t play well with others” He’s already a dad i can’t.

If they knew about this plan and had the materials to pull it off, why did no one think of it? 

ALSO HOW TF DO THEY GET THE MAKE UP ON SO QUICKLY IT DOESN'T MAKE SENSE

How did the burn scam even work? Like i get it, make him uncomfortable so he won’t ask questions but like… they thought no one was in the building? The elevators were shut down? Why did he not question it? How stupid????

The black king/white knight metaphor was honestly the worst part of the first episode like it bothers me so much and I cannot effectively come close to explaining why

Where does Nate live? Why is his place so fancy? HE’S UNEMPLOYED RIGHT NOW AND BANKRUPTED HIMSELF TRYING TO HELP SAM. “It’s a hotel,” my sister says. IN WHAT WORLD DOES THAT LOOK LIKE A HOTEL ROOM? ANd that doesn’t explain how he affords a hotel room that nice.

….Why didn’t Eliot just disarm Hardison? We know he can. I don’t get it.

If you knew the place was gonna blow, why didn’t you run Nate? WHY ARE YOU LIKE THIS NATE

Eliot’s already putting himself in danger to help Hardison up. YOUR HONOR THEY’RE IN LOVE. THEY’VE KNOWN EACH OTHER LESS THAN 24 HOURS AND THEY’RE IN LOVE.

“Do you trust me?” NO. NO NATE. NO I FUCKING DON’T.

I feel like passing that phone through the grate should not have worked.

YEAH HARDISON. MUG IT FOR THE CAMERA

Eliot’s accent I LOVE HIM “Can you hold, son?” FOREVER FOR YOU.

How are the state police so fucking stupid i can’t

They literally… they just dumb everyone down to make Nate look smarter and it SUCKS

Ah, the first Hardison safe house. 

“You won’t get within 100 yards” HE’S ELIOT FUCKING SPENCER I BET YOU ANYTHING HE CAN

“He didn’t pay us… I take that personally.” I-- Parker if you’re dead you can’t make more money. Parker? It’s important to me that you know this, Parker.

The websites they’re looking at are so obviously fake. 

Nate? Nate it’s just a picture. DUbenich can’t hear you, Nate.

“He used my son” I cannot explain how much overexposure has made me NOT CARE ABOUT FUCKING SAM

“What the hecks a Sophie” That, Eliot. That’s a Sophie. 

Honestly? My favorite character introduction in this episode. 

WHY DO THEY ALL TALK SO WEIRD IN THIS EPISODE? THEIR VOICES ARE SO OFF WHAT THE FUCK?

“I’m a citizen now. Honest.” YEAH FUCKING RIGHT IN WHAT WORLD

Eliot with the snacks, he’s always bringing food to his fam it’s amazing

“That’s an odd thing for you to know” “That’s an odd place for you to be” ...why am i reading a sexy sort of tension in there???

And Nate’s SMILING at it

Ok but how does Nate know about plane schematics? 

Sophie’s accent… none of them are that accurate but this one felt especially weird

Eliot playing the IT tech is everything

Also the reference to the IT Crowd by Parker is *chef’s kiss*

HE’S SO CUTE THOUGH

I’m just a simp for Eliot Spencer okay?

“I know you’re manipulating me, Anna.” Yeah but you’re still gonna fall for it, aren’t you? You stupid, stupid man.

Eliot’s so sweet though. He’s just trying to make friends. 

Like really though, he’s so standoffish and stoic, but the second he has the chance, he tries to bond and he’s so gregarious. Like, it makes so much sense that he has so many friends all over he place. 

“Eliot, we’re not friends,” STOP BEING AN ASSHOLE NATE. I HATE YOU NATE. HE’S JUST TRYING TO BE YOUR FRIEND NATE. 

Hardison gliding by in the wheelie chair… he’s such a goof and a mood and i love him.

...Hardison… Hardison you can hack anything… Hardison why didn’t you put them in the building directory? IT’S A DIGITAL DIRECTORY YOU COULD HAVE DONE IT THIS WAS SO UNNECESSARY

Nate, EVERYONE CAN SEE YOU!! hoW DOES HE NOT GET ARRESTED???

THERE”S A COP CAR RIGHT THERE HOW THE FUCK DID THAT WORK

...is there anyone Sophie doesn’t have sexual chemistry with in this episode? Like, seriously, i think it’s just Hardison. She and Nate are obvious, and she and Eliot have that moment, and then… did they not put them in the directory just to have Parker and Sophie make heart eyes at each other for a few seconds?

HOW DID ANYONE WATCH THIS SHOW AND EVER THINK SOPHIE AND PARKER WERE STRAIGHT THO

Dubenich sounds like Wallace Shawn and looks like Stephen Moffat and I HATE HIM. Wallace Shawn is great, and i love him but DUBENICH CAN DIE

This looks like such a boring party why would anyone want to be there. THERE’S DAY DRINKING FOR GOODNESS SAKE EWWW WHY (okay maybe i just hate alcohol. I hate it more in professional settings.)

“Sir, I can take your underpants.” OKAY HIGGINS. WEIRD FLEX BUT OKAY.

Parker and Hardison look so smug walking out of the building i love it. 

...why don’t you want the money Nate? YOU COULD GET A LOT MORE MONEY NATE. TAKE THE GODDAMNED MONEY NATE

And today on “I Will Never Understand the Way the Stock Market Works…” Like i get the basic idea but like… how do you make money if it’s gonna fall that much? HOw.. how does this work?

NO THAT IS NOT AN INVITATION TO EXPLAIN ECONOMICS TO ME I DO NOT CARE ABOUT THE STOCK MARKET

“Somebody kiss this man so I don’t have to” you will. One day, Eliot, you will. 

So, fun fact. Supposedly, their score was $32,761,349.05 each. Which doesn’t really seem like a lot of money to me? Like, at least definitely not enough for Nate to do with it what he does? Like, maybe I just have a really difficult time fathoming that much money? Like, don’t get me wrong, I’d love just a taste of that but like, also? It really seems like not so much? … And further on “This blogger does not understand budgeting.”

ELIOT JUST ADMIT YOU WANT PART OF A TEAM

WHY DOES SOPHIE SOUND SO WEIRD??? WHAT THE FUCK

Okay, also, i have a question. These people, at the end, this is their first client, right? So why does it look like they haven’t seen each other since they took down Dubenich in the homecoming job? WHAT?

The SUITS THO

OKAY FINAL THOUGHTS: 6/10. Not the best Leverage episode, and certainly not the best character episode. There were a LOT of kinks to work out. Things got sorted too well. And I REALLY HATE NATE THIS EARLY ON. I’ve also never loved the “this guy is an asshole but he’s smarter than everyone else and really good at what he does so it’s fine” trope that you see in so many shows like Leverage. And they really really dumb people down early on to make him seem smarter. But like… there’s a reason I kept watching, you know? Also... I remember why it took me a while to warm up to Parker and Sophie. LIke, they’re badass but I still took a while and I remember why. 

[haughtnoodles]

The teams first appearences in ‘The Nigerian Job’.