#redemption 1x12

[leveragecentral]

in which hurley discovers the secret to eliot and hardison's professional relationship

Leverage Redemption, The Golf Job (1.12)

[tam--lin]

Books For People Who Liked Leverage and White Collar

I've always been a big non-fiction reader, and I'm particularly fond of frauds, scams, and white collar crime. Ever since I finished White Collar last year, I've been meaning to pull together a collection of related books. As you'll quickly learn if you dive into this list, the truth is often wilder than fiction. (A lot more FBI agents yelling FUCK YOU!! at each other across board room tables, for one thing.)

IMPORTANT! Please don't pirate! It hurts authors. Most of these books are available through your local library, including as e-books. You can help local bookstores by purchasing through bookshop dot org, or as audiobooks through libro dot fm.

Category #1: Stand Outs and All-Time Favorites

Bad Blood reads like a thriller, and I genuinely mean that. It's gripping, it's incredible reporting, it's just a jaw-dropping story. Theranos was one of the biggest corporate frauds in history, and Carreyrou masterfully details its rise and fall. Not to spoil what could be considered the book's big twist, but there's no one better to write it, either.

Empire of Pain is also masterful reporting by a well-regarded journalist, but it leans more family drama than thriller. This details the personal machinations that helped create the opioid crisis in America. [Leverage: Redemption 1x1, which IIRC was actually written before the Met removed the Sackler name from their exhibits. Also goes well paired with The Fall Of The House Of Usher.]

Rogues: True Stories of Grifters, Killers, Rebels and Crooks is a collection of Radden Keefe's writing for The New Yorker. It explores wine crime (Leverage 5x13 and White Collar 1x12 directly draw from this), a passionate defense attorney, whistle blowers, hit men, and international organized crime. While I recommend the book, much of this content is available for free at newyorker dot com / contributors / patrick-radden-keefe (you can use paywallreader dot com to legally get around the paywall).

Number Go Up moves quickly and is full of fascinating characters and unexpected celebrity cameos. You've got your cringe rappers, your coke-on-a-yacht billionaires, your Harry Potter rationalist poly cult. Seriously, I wish I could read this again for the first time.

Category #2: Odd, "Cozy", Strange

The Feather Thief covers a unique crime by a 20-year-old obsessed with fly fishing.

The Art Thief tells the story of Stéphane Bréitwieser, the most prolific art thief of all time. He stole during the day, from museums full of people, again and again - over 200 times, in fact. He kept his treasures in his bedroom. A fascinating portrait of a strange criminal.

Category #3: Grab Bag

Including stuff that's more adjacent to the topic but still of interest, books I got part way through, and books that are still on my TBR.

Chickenshit Club I'm part way through and enjoying, Never Split the Difference is GREAT and includes lots of true hostage negotiating stories, Fancy Bear Goes Phishing I couldn't get into but that could be because I don't need two pages of text explaining what a string is. (I'm planning on giving it another go.)

Anansi's Gold and The Corporation are both on my TBR; Con Queen of Hollywood is a riveting con story for the first half but gets a little bogged down in biography in the second half.

The Confidence Game is on my TBR and is a classic of the genre, Molly's Game is one of my partner's favorite books, and The Gospel Of Wellness does a great job at exposing how scammy the entire wellness industry is.

Genuinely there are SO many more books I could have included, and I might do another post at some point. Some books were left off intentionally, because I didn't care for them or because another book did it better. Some books were left off simply because my white collar/fraud/cons TBR is extensive and I can't include everything! And some were left off simply because I don't know about them. I'm always looking for quality non-fiction - please do share any related recommendations in the notes.

[aceofwhump]

Question do you have any like drugged scenes( withdrawal, addiction, it's for your own good,) one of my favorites but hard the come by thank you!

Many nonny! Many!

I highly recommend watching Graceland season 3 for an addiction story with Mike Warren and 3x08 is my FAVORITE withdrawal scene EVER! It's amazing. Watched it on repeat the first time. Just search my blog for Mike Warren. I have TONS of content for my favorite blorbo going through it during season 3

Other good addiction/withdrawal whumps:

Luke Crain in The Haunting of Hill House 1x04

Will Gorski in Sense8 season 2

Klaus Hargreeves in The Umbrella Academy season 1

John Constantine in Legends of Tomorrow 6x13

TK Strand in 9-1-1 Lone Star 1x01

Limitless 1x01

Less Than Zero

Other good drugged scenes:

Sleepy Hollow 1x01

Leverage Redemption 1x09

NCIS 1x20

White Collar 1x10

Murdoch Mysteries 9x18

Burn Notice 7x11

White Collar 5x04

Sense8 1x12

Stargate SG-1 3x04

Hope you find something you like!

[lindseymcdonaldseyelashes]

lindseymcdonaldseyelashes' Leverage Index

Thought it could be helpful to get all of my Leverage tags in one place for simplified browsing. Much more for Season 4 and Season 5 coming soon (and Redemption will probably get its own index page as well).

All Leverage

Leverage Season 1

1x1 - "The Nigerian Job"

1x2 - "The Homecoming Job"

1x3 - "The Wedding Job"

1x4 - "The Snow Job"

1x5 - "The Mile High Job"

1x6- "The Miracle Job"

1x7 - "The Two-Horse Job"

1x8 - "The Bank Shot Job"

1x9 - "The Stork Job"

1x10 - "The Juror #6 Job"

1x11 - "The 12-Step Job"

1x12 - "The First David Job"

1x13 - "The Second David Job"

Leverage Season 2

2x1 - "The Beantown Bailot Job"

2x2 - "The Tap-Out Job"

2x3 - "The Order 23 Job"

2x4 - "The Fairy Godparents Job"

2x5 - "The Three Days of the Hunter Job"

2x6 - "The Top Hat Job"

2x7 - "The Two Live Crew Job"

2x8 - "The Ice Man Job"

2x9 - "The Lost Heir Job"

2x10 - "The Runway Job"

2x11 - "The Bottle Job"

2x12 - "The Zanzibar Marketplace Job"

2x13 - "The Future Job"

2x14 - "The Three Strikes Job"

2x15 - "The Maltese Falcon Job"

Leverage Season 3

3x1 - "The Jailhouse Job"

3x2 - "The Reunion Job"

3x3 - "The Inside Job"

3x4 - "The Scheherazade Job"

3x5 - "The Double-Blind Job"

3x6 - "The Studio Job"

3x7 - "The Gone Fishin' Job"

3x8 - "The Boost Job"

3x9 - "The Three-Card Monte Job"

3x10 - "The Underground Job"

3x11 - "The Rashomon Job"

3x12 - "The King George Job"

3x13 - "The Morning After Job"

3x14 - "The Ho Ho Ho Job"

3x15 - "The Big Bang Job"

3x16 - "The San Lorenzo Job"

Leverage Season 4

4x1 - "The Long Way Down Job"

4x2 - "The 10 Li'l Grifters Job"

4x3 - "The 15 Minutes Job"

4x4 - "The Van Gogh Job"

4x5 - "The Hot Potato Job"

4x6 - "The Carnival Job"

4x7 - "The Grave Danger Job"

4x8 - "The Boiler Room Job"

4x9 - "The Cross My Heart Job"

4x10 - "The Queen's Gambit Job"

4x11 - "The Experimental Job"

4x12 - "The Office Job"

4x13 - "The Girls' Night Out Job"

4x14 - "The Boys' Night Out Job"

4x15 - "The Lonely Hearts Job"

4x16 - "The Gold Job"

4x17 - "The Radio Job"

4x18 - "The Last Dam Job"

Leverage Season 5

5x1 - "The (Very) Big Bird Job"

5x2 - "The Blue Line Job"

5x3 - "The First Contact Job"

5x4 - "The French Connection Job"

5x5 - "The Gimme a K Street Job"

5x6 - "The D.B. Cooper Job"

5x7 - "The Real Fake Car Job"

5x8 - "The Broken Wing Job"

5x9 - "The Rundown Job"

5x10 - "The Frame-Up Job"

5x11 - "The Low Low Price Job"

5x12 - "The White Rabbit Job"

5x13 - "The Corkscrew Job"

5x14 - "The Toy Job"

5x15 - "The Long Goodbye Job"

[sunnydaleherald]

The Sunnydale Herald Newsletter, Sunday, May 28

Willow: Hmm! Wha'cha got in the boxes? Drugs? It's not drugs, is it, Xander?! Xander: Not drugs.

~~The I in Team~~

The Sunnydale Herald is looking for at least one new editor. Contributing to the Herald is a great way to get your Buffy on! Find out more here.

[Drabbles & Short Fiction]

The Difficulties of Feeding (Xander, Angel, T) by AlexMcpherson79

Threads of Redemption (Giles/Reader, T) by Loki_Dokie_Okie

Passage (Buffy/Giles, M) by WWitch1997

The Dance of Shadows (Spike/reader, G) by Loki_Dokie_Okie

Thanks For Saying It (Buffy/Spike, R) by Electric Heart

Abs of Tin (Buffy/Spike, R) by ClowniestLivEver

[Chaptered Fiction]

Just Married, Chapter 1 (Xander/Anya, T) by AJ Fields

Barbie Buffy, Chapter 2 (Crossover with Sabrina the Teenage Witch, E) by MangaVampire666

Stab in the back, Chapter 2 (Buffy/Spike, AO) by MelG_2005

Deeper than Blood, Chapter 25 (Buffy/Spike, NC-17) by Blackmysteria

Bound, Chapter 43 (Buffy/Spike, NC-17) by RavenLove12

Those 2 again, Chapter 23 (Buffy/Spike, G) by Julikobold

Anything We Want, Part 2, Chapter 4 (Buffy/Spike, NC-17) by scratchmeout

Back Through The Woods, Chapter 15 (Buffy/Spike, R) by Desicat

When the World Went Cold, You Were Brighter than Gold, Chapter 3 (Buffy/Spike, R) by Harlow Turner

Dusk Rising, Chapter 10 (Buffy/Spike, NC-17) by HappyWhenItRains

Best Wishes, Chapter 29 (Buffy/Spike, PG-13) by Kanita

Unforseeable Paths, Chapter 11 (Buffy/Spike, NC-17) by Axell

Sparks, Chapter 4 (Buffy/Spike/Angel, NC-17) by Dusty

Awakening Of The Slayer, Chapter 8 (Buffy/Spike, R) by PaganRose

Presumably Dead Arm, Chapter 3 (Buffy/Spike, NC-17) by tragic

Buffy 2.0, Chapter 14 (Non-crossover, FR18) by BlueZeroZeroOne

Echoes of Beljoxa, Chapter 60 (Buffy/Spike, 18+) by myrabeth

Dust, Chapter 2 (Buffy/Spike, PG-13) by flootzavut

Boulevard of Broken Dreams, Chapter 10 (Buffy/Spike, R) by VeroNyxK84

Dawn the Vampire Slayer, Chapter 13 (Buffy/Spike, R) by LJ94

Float, Chapter 3 (Buffy/Spike, NC-17) by Grief Counseling

Baby Love, Chapter 34 (Buffy/Spike, NC-17) by Niamh

[Images, Audio & Video]

SCULPTURE: ATS 209. The Trial by tmcarlee

ARTWORK: Lego Buffy - The Becoming Run by tmcarlee

MOBILE WALLPAPER: buffy wallpaper by Comfortable-One3228

[Reviews & Recaps]

*THIS WAS A MISTAKE?!* Buffy the Vampire Slayer S4 Ep 21 "Primeval" Reaction: FIRST TIME WATCHING by Thor Reacts

ROUGH FIRST DAY FOR BUFFY - Buffy the Vampire Slayer Reaction - 7x4 - Help by TheLexiCrowd

My First Buffy Finale! (1x12) | BTVS REACTION by cass reacts

BUFFY THE VAMPIRE SLAYER 3X10 REACTION I First Time Watching by EvilQK

Buffy the Vampire Slayer S01E02 First Time Watching || "The Harvest" by JabberwockyReacts

1x2 Buffy the Vampire Slayer First Time Reaction - The Harvest! by Veggie Gamer

Buffy The Vampire Slayer 4x20 - "The Yoko Factor" REACTION! by Big Time Knights Reacts

PODCAST: 7.18 - "Dirty Girls" by If the Apocalypse Comes, Beep Me

[Fandom Discussions]

Banner Battle: Cordelia Chase by RachM

If Spike had been killed off would you have kept watching ? [cont.] by multiple authors

Rewatch of I've Got You Under My Skin by multiple authors

If Spike's tough guy routine is an act, where do you think his love for violence comes from? by multiple authors

Buffy the demon slayer? by multiple authors

Disussion: Halloween (ep 6, s2) - next disussion will be the 4th of June. Watch ep 7, s2: Lie To Me by multiple authors

Buffy the Vampire Slayer "movie" by multiple authors

Favorite female character (other than Buffy) by multiple authors

Season 6 Alternate Plot Thought (plot spoilers inside) by multiple authors

[Articles, Interviews, and Other News]

PUBLICATION: The Best Buffy the Vampire Slayer Episodes, Ranked via Movieweb

PUBLICATION: Sarah Michelle Gellar’s Unexpected New Haircut Is Giving Fans All the Buffy Vibes via Yahoo News

Submit a link to be included in the newsletter!

Join the editor team :)

[eg515]

Jack Hurley is back!! and he's part of the international Leverage team!! 😭😭💖

[firelordizumi]

i just . i don’t get it

[idabbleincrazy]

Leverage: Redemption 1x12: The Golf Job

The con is on.

[ladyknightskye]

Seventeen Years Late and Two Dollars Short - 1x10-1x15

Time to catch up on my opinions about a show that was filmed eighteen years ago.

1X10 "Asylum"

Damn Sam’s angry.

RECAP

Sam and Dean end up investigating an insane asylum that is haunted by the ghosts of the inmates and the psycho psychiatrist who experimented on them. The psychiatrist ghost ramps up people’s anger to the point that they’re homicidal. 

THOUGHTS

Figures that this would be the closest the Winchesters get to therapy. 

Also, not surprised that Sam is the one whose anger is used against him. He’s been pretty pissy the entire time honestly. 

Oof, Dean. Good going on the bait and switch, but knowing that Sam is angry with him enough to kill even if under the influence of a ghost . . . Damn. My poor sweet blorbo. 

1x11 "Scarecrow"

That text is comically huge.

RECAP

After a call from their dad, Sam decides to go off on his own. Dean ends up investigating a Norse fertility god alone, and botching it pretty spectacularly. 

THOUGHTS

Ah, now we’re dragging Norse myths into it. I guess I should say that at least we’re equal opportunity appropriative around here.  HUMAN SACRIFICES DON’T WORK THAT WAY.

I liked that the brothers ended up getting a breather from one another, especially after the whole Asylum thing where Sam is more or less forced to face his issues with Dean. Because as much as I love him, Dean does end up being pretty controlling and dismissive of Sam, and Sam is well within his right to point out the bullshit. 

And Sam continues to grow on me. I admit, my issues with Sam were hella personal at first, but I really am starting to warm up to him in this episode. 

1x12 "Faith"

Don’t fear the reaper, just the Christian fundamentalist wife. 

RECAP

After his heart is damaged on a hunt, Dean is given only a few weeks to live. Sam takes him to a faith healer, who actually manages to heal Dean completely. Suspicious, Dean figures out that the faith healer is not doing this all by himself. Turns out that the preacher’s wife is using a Reaper to steal the lives of people she deems immoral and using that to heal the faithful. 

THOUGHTS

That is not how electricity works?

So, this interpretation of Reapers is a playing around with folklore thing that I can actually get behind. It’s not appropriative because the underlying idea is general enough and as far as I know there aren’t any faiths that were being fucked around with.  And admittedly, I do like the plot for the monster of the week. I mean, let’s be real the idea of an extreme Christian fundamentalist killing the “immoral” to heal the “faithful” . . . . Yeah that tracks. 

1x13 "Route 666"

Oof.

RECAP

Oof.

THOUGHTS

Racist truck. Like, really. 

Look, the story behind it is actually not terrible, but everything else about it comes off as disingenuous and the Winchesters saving the day ends up feeling like the White Savior trope. I did like the character of Cassie, and would not have been angry to see her return. 

1x14 "Nightmare"

Yikes.

RECAP

Sam has a premonition that a man is about to commit suicide. Turns out, the culprit is his abused son who ends up having psychic powers like Sam. 

THOUGHTS

SAM. SWEET BABY DON’T BLAME YOURSELF. 

DEAN. Mr. Big Brother instinct. Lord love you.

Although, I’m not sure how I feel about Max the new Special Child committing suicide in the end. I am not a huge fan of Death Equals Redemption or “Too Broken to Live” tropes. Granted, I know that the writers didn’t want to spend any time developing Max beyond this episode, but it would have been nice and somewhat hopeful to see him basically getting the help he needs at the end. 

1x15 "The Benders"

Okay, SCAB, but sexy Winchester boys as cops!

RECAP

The boys head to Minnesota to investigate a strange disappearance, until Sam ends up disappearing too. Turns out, the monster this time is a human family of crazy psychos who like to hunt the most dangerous game. 

THOUGHTS

Look there’s Dean being good with kids.

So, I’m always down for a good “humans are the real monsters” storyline, but the “inbred hicks” cliches made me sigh. Hard. 

[fraks]

LEVERAGE REDEMPTION 1x12 THE GOLF JOB

- after that last scene in jackal job, i was prepared to feel a little let down. NOT THE CASE. within thirty seconds of our little family being on screen, we get them praising each other and being adorable dorks. AND THEN SOPHIE SEES THAT HARRY'S NOT ENJOYING HIMSELF, SO SHE TRIES TO CHEER HIM UP. :')

- "the real mvp: miss sophie devereaux. not one, but two characters in the space of a hallway." - "stop, i'm blushing." I LOVE EVERYONE IN THIS BAR SFM.

- harry is so in awe of sophie and her abilities. 🥰 not that i blame him, i feel the same way.

- i SCREAMED when hurley showed up. i knew this was gonna be his episode, but maaaaan. his entrance is perfect. @cminerva and i tried to speculate on how in the loop hurley would be—would he even know nate is dead?—and how he'd feel about harry, whether he'd see him as trying to replace nate. but we didn't know that hurley has been working with leverage international, so he's not only in the loop, he also loves harry without ever having met him. harry's about to be swept up in hurricane hurley and he has no idea. :'DDDDD "harry wilson, disgraced lawyer! jack hurley, disgraced broker! hello fellow pilgrim!" FHAKFBSKDBEJSJFBWIFHJWBDJE

- breanna is off with hardison. parker and sophie are headed off to colombia. IS THIS BOYS' NIGHT OUT PT 2??? oooh probably to make up for girls' night out pt 2 paranormal hacktivity job!

- aaaaaaaah sophie sees how lonely and left out harry feels and gets eliot and hurley to include him. AND HE THANKS HER BECAUSE HE KNOWS EXACTLY WHAT SHE DID. i love them SO MUCH.

- "i had a big taco problem." this episode is comedy gold.

- lol harry, are you actually any good at golf? this makes me think of a conversation i once had with @cminerva where we talked about how harry has/had all these memberships, like at the golf club and at that shooting range, that he probably used only to interact with / schmooze his clients. and him not being good at golf despite being a member of what i assume to be the most exclusive golf club in the area kind of proves our point. and i LOVE that because it's yet another layer to our mr. wilson.

- awwwwww, harry and hurley are already best buddies. i want to be best buddies with hurley, too, lbr.

- parker has been teaching harry how to pick locks! not surprising cause that's like, thieving 101, but i still love having canon confirmation. and lmao "not too much tension on the wrench. nice and easy. like you're holding a woman's hand. gentle, gentle. [drops lockpicking tools]" gjsjfjskfjk. i wonder if those are the exact words parker used to teach him.

- harry has not just started using sophie's name, but he actually addresses eliot by his name now, too. i mentioned this to @cminerva ages ago because it's something i noticed in the first half of the season, how he hardly ever addresses anyone directly / by name. he uses parker's name ONCE in the first eight eps, as well as hardison's; he refers to nate by name twice (once as "nathan ford" and once—or twice if you count the moment he says it in airquotes to refer to fake!nate—as "nate ford"), and he uses breanna's name to other people twice, plus once more to address her directly. not once does he use eliot's or sophie's names. i noticed that because it's one of those little anxiety things i do, too. it's super hard for me to address someone directly and/or by their name, and the fact that my native language has formal and informal ways of addressing people makes it even worse. but once i do start using people's names, it's hard for me to stop. another point in favour of harry having an anxiety disorder!

- hello noah wyle's wife. she's beautiful, though not my type.

- ooooh harry doing some grifter thinking of his own. 👀 sophie would be proud :') "imaloser" lmao

- "like taking candy from an old dude with a baby." fjakfhskfh HARRY. parker has definitely been rubbing off on him 😂

- LMFAO SOPHIE ON THE PHONE DRESSED AS A MONK? PRIEST? IDEK. i laughed way too hard for this time of night. also, i am inappropriately attracted to her character there.

- harry mentoring this girl is [chef's kiss]. i've said this to cminerva a bunch of times, but i love how good he is around (younger) women. he's SUCH a DAD! that conversation with breanna from 1x03 about being "part of the team"? or when he taught parker about being "the best kind of mentor" in 1x06? i can TOTALLY see him coaching his daughter's little league team or whatever it is american dads and their kids do. before he started working way too much, ofc.

- FHAJFJSKFJJS AAAAAAAAH FINALLY. harry addressing sophie by name. only via comms, but it still counts. I HAVE BEEN WAITING FOR THIS FOR WHAT FEELS LIKE MY ENTIRE LIFE. i know i'm being overly dramatic, but. THEY BOTH DESERVE TO BE HAPPY. and i think they could be very happy together. not the same way nate and sophie were, of course. they had all that backstory and the chasing and the SHOOTING EACH OTHER for god's sake. there was so much passion and fire there. she said it to breanna in bucket job, that nate would have hated what they're doing for/to the librarian, but that that would have made her want to do it more. and one of the things she mentions to fake!nate is that she shouted at nate when he loaded the dishwasher wrong. THAT is the kind of relationship they had, and it was beautiful and it worked for them. harry and sophie together would be very different, but i think they could definitely make each other happy.

- LMFAO sophie just going from giving harry grifting advice to absolutely LOSING IT over the casket, i CANNOT stop laughing. AND PARKER IS HANGING RIGHT ABOVE HER.

- i NEED to know the con they're doing down in colombia. i already hated this during broken wing job—i was desperate to know all about that con, and it's the same this time. DAMMIT HARDISON LEVERAGE WRITERS!

- also, the new earbuds work across continents, huh? i like it.

- harry quoting sophie! 😍

- lmao hurley saying "chaos" in that intense tone of voice? did no one tell this dude that "chaos" means something/someone VERY PARTICULAR in this 'verse. but a++ strategy, hurley, getting eliot mad. awwww eliot misses hardison.

- HARRY MAKING A FAKE BOMB I LOVE HIM SO MUCH.

- noah using extra-fancy zooms i see you. 👀

- SISTER LUPE! SISTER LUPE! wow that's the perfect ending to this episode 😍😂

[according-to-the-laura]

StackedNatural Day 102: 2x13, 13x12

StackedNatural Masterpost: [x]

February 1, 2022

2x13: Houses of the Holy

Written by: Sera Gamble

Directed by: Kim Manners

Original air date: February 1, 2007

Plot Synopsis:

Avenging Angel, Sam’s faith versus Dean’s faithlessness, some of the best accidental foreshadowing of the entire series, Sam is Chosen, a righteous spirit, God’s will.

Features:

An angel causes people to cheerfully go out to murder, and when the Winchesters investigate one of them falls under its sway.

My Thoughts:

This episode is a contender for the coveted “Highest Density of Quality Accidental Foreshadowing” award, whose other option is 1x12 Faith.

Sometimes I really have to remind myself that they were not planning to bring angels or heaven into the narrative until right before it actually happened because episodes like this set it up so beautifully. I love that they keep similar mechanics of the rattling/glass breaking and white light for the “angel” talking in this episode, and actual angel possession in season 4 and beyond. And of course we can’t forget Sam pointing past Dean and saying, “Father, that’s Michael, right?” in a framing that has him pointing directly at the Michaelsword himself. Delicious.

I love that Sam is set up as the believer and Dean as the faithless one when Dean is going to be narratively aligned with Heaven and Sam with Hell. It makes the tension and stakes so much higher, especially when Sam meets angels in season 4 and they all fucking hate him.

It’s also super sad that one of the reasons that Sam believes in God and Angels is that he wasn’t old enough to remember being promised protection from angels and having that proven wrong, which also means he doesn’t remember even an ounce of stability in his life at all. Of course he prays, it’s probably the only thing that’s ever stayed the same from day-to-day for his entire life. Devastating that this angel turned out to be a spirit, and in season 11 he’ll think God was speaking to him and it will turn out to be Lucifer. No wonder he thinks he’s unclean.

The ambiguous Sign From God at the end of the episode where the would-be rapist is impaled by the pole becomes a completely unambiguous actual sign from god with the context of the rest of the series. Chuck literally wrote everything that happens in the first few seasons into his books. So while it’s a little on the nose, in the grand scale of the narrative, that’s the point. Chuck, God, is a hack writer. He sent that sign because he wanted conflicting emotions for his protagonists. This is the kind of thing I’m talking about when I say that the entire series is improved in retrospect by making Chuck God. Everything has a million more layers of meaning.

Absolute banger of an episode.

Notable Lines:

“Because it was God’s will.”

“Angels? I don’t think so.” “Why not?” “'Because there's no such thing, Sam.”

“Well, I like to think of them as more loving than wrathful. But yes, a lot of Scripture paints angels as God's warriors.”

“I mean, what's next, are you going to start praying every day?” “I do. [...] I do pray every day. I have for a long time.”

“I'll tell you who else had faith like that — Mom. She used to tell me when she tucked me in that angels were watching over us. In fact, that was the last thing she ever said to me. [...] She was wrong. There was nothing protecting her.”

“Some people need redemption. Don't they, Sam?”

“there's so much evil out there in the world, Dean, I feel like I could drown in it. And when I think about my destiny, when I think about how I could end up…”

“The way he died, if I hadn't seen it with my own two eyes I never would have believed it. I mean ... I don't know what to call it. [...] Maybe . . . God's will.”

Laura’s (completely subjective) Episode Rating: 9.9

IMdB Rating: 8.1

13x12: Various & Sundry Villains

Written by: Steve Yockey

Directed by: Amanda Tapping

Original air date: February 1, 2018

Plot Synopsis:

Dean falls victim to a couple of witches, sisters Jamie and Jennie Plum who manage to steal a powerful book of spells from the Winchesters. When Dean and Sam go after the book, they get help from a powerful and surprising ally when Rowena, back from the dead, intervenes to assist them.

Features:

Witch sisters with a love spell snag Dean, Cas and Lucifer break out of prison, Dean fully punches Sam in the face, Rowena is alive, Samwena bonding hours, siblings making bad decisions because of a dead parent, Cas learns from his mistakes.

My Thoughts:

This is an episode we skipped on our watch through for time since it doesn’t have a ton of overall plot relevance (actually shocking because usually @weedsinavacantlot would NEVER skip an episode with this much Cas when he’s this petty). So I got to watch everything pretty much fresh! I had seen a couple gifs of Dean saying he’s in love and of Sam and Rowena in the car, but not much else. Oh, and the scene where Cas kills Lucifer, because Nic and I accidentally found it looking for a different set location and stopped to take pictures so they showed me the scene on their phone. ANYWAYS.

We love a completely non-subtle brothers parallel. Let's show two siblings who have gone totally off the rails trying to save a parent and leave a trail of death in their wake until they eventually destroy each other. Jensen is a great actor so even though it’s obviously a spell he’s still completely charming when he’s in “love” with Jamie. And it’s nice to see him be so light and bubbly even if it’s the effects of a spell. I don’t totally buy Sam’s reaction as pro-destiel - I saw a few posts several months ago talking about how he didn’t get confused until after Dean started using she/her pronouns (would link one if I could find it but it’s definitely lost to the ether) - but I don’t NOT buy it either. This is Yockey, after all, and Sam was talking about Cas immediately prior to Dean announcing that he was in love.

Rowena coming back didn’t really hit the way it was supposed to because I also didn’t see the episode where Lucifer roasts her, but her scene in the car with Sam and at the end when they’ve gotten the book were excellent. Ruthie is one of the best actors they’ve been lucky enough to cast for a recurring role and she has really excellent chemistry with Jared. This is a Rowenagirl/Samgirl episode. Also, Rowena thinking Dean got pegged made me choke on my drink. If I didn’t have subtitles on I would have assumed that she said “what’s bi is bi”, not “what’s by is by” in that scene. God bless.

Steve Yockey does the fucking reading, and I love that he made space to explore Sam’s insane amounts of trauma while also subtly calling out the other writers for never bringing it up. I’m a Deangirl at heart, but I’m weak and I can’t obsess about Sam as much because he gets so much less attention from the main narrative. I really think Jared is at his best when he’s given a script that pulls Sam together as a complete character with the weight of everything that’s happened to him on his shoulders. And he wants to talk to Dean about it but he can’t! He gets shut down every time!

At first I was a little bit torn with the Lucifer and Cas stuff in this episode - one of my notes says “there are two wolves inside me, one wants to watch the Cas scenes and one wants to ignore the Lucifer scenes,” because I find Mark Pellegrino more and more annoying the later we get in the series. I changed my tune because Cas got to be a raging petty bitch and he deserves it. And even within that he finds space to be so proud of Jack. I really thought he was going to say “he looks like me”. And then even though Pellegrino Lucifer sucks in season 13, the team-up breakout kicked ass extremely hard. I LOVE when Cas gets to smite a demon. It doesn’t happen nearly enough times. And then he gets the rawest kill line. There will never be another character like Cas.

Notable Lines:

“Excuses aside, you’re saying you’re too weak to overcome even your weakest creation.”

“​​He’s thoughtful. He’s emotional. Remarkably intuitive. You – you know, he resurrected me just out of instinct. Isn’t that a beautiful gesture? [...] Jack would rather kill you than hug you. Seems relevant.”

“I’d much rather have a living son, even one that hated me, than a dead hero.”

“I guess I don’t deal with it. Not really. I mean, I pushed it down and, um, the world kept almost ending, so I keep pushing it down, and I don’t know. I really don’t talk about it, not even with Dean. I mean, I could. You know, he’d listen, but… That’s not something I really know how to share.”

“You won’t ever be able to change what happened. You won’t be able to change how helpless you felt, or how helpless you feel. You’re still gonna get scared. And that feeling… that feeling never goes away.”

“This is me, learning from my mistakes.”

“I know what Rowena is dealing with. And she’s not the only one who… feels helpless.”

Laura’s (completely subjective) Episode Rating: 9.3

IMdB Rating: 8.2

In Conclusion: today was about watching Sam go from full of righteous hope to completely helpless :(

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[nothingunrealistic]

billions episodes sorted by how many times the title is said in the episode

0: Pilot (1x01), The Good Life (1x05), The Conversation (1x12), Risk Management (2x01), Optimal Play (2x03), The Oath (2x04), The Third Ortolan (3x06), Chucky Rhoades’s Greatest Game (4x01), Infinite Game (4x07), Extreme Sandbox (4x12), Beg, Bribe, Bully (5x03), Implosion (5x09), No Direction Home (5x12), Cannonade (6x01), Tower of London (7x01), Game Theory Optimal (7x09)

1: The Punch (1x07), Boasts and Rails (1x08), Quality of Life (1x10), Dead Cat Bounce (2x02), Victory Lap (2x07), The Kingmaker (2x08), Sic Transit Imperium (2x09), With or Without You (2x10), Golden Frog Time (2x11), Tie Goes to the Runner (3x01), A Generation Too Late (3x03), Flaw in the Death Star (3x05), Not You, Mr. Dake. (3x07), All the Wilburys (3x08), Kompenso (3x11), Arousal Template (4x02), Chickentown (4x03), Overton Window (4x04), A Proper Sendoff (4x05), Maximum Recreational Depth (4x06), Fight Night (4x08), Lamster (4x11), The Chris Rock Test (5x02), The Nordic Model (5x06), Copenhagen (5x08), Victory Smoke (5x11), STD (6x03), Hostis Humani Generis (6x06), Napoleon’s Hat (6x07), Hindenburg (6x09), Cold Storage (6x12), Original Sin (7x02), Hurricane Rosie (7x04), The Gulag Archipelago (7x05), The Man in the Olive Drab T-Shirt (7x06), Axe Global (7x11)

2: The Deal (1x06), Indian Four (2x06), Ball in Hand (2x12), The Wrong Maria Gonzalez (3x02), Hell of a Ride (3x04), Icebreaker (3x09), Redemption (3x10), Elmsley Count (3x12), The New Decas (5x01), The Limitless Shit (5x07), Lyin’ Eyes (6x02), Burn Rate (6x04), Rock of Eye (6x05), Johnny Favorite (6x10), Winston Dick Energy (7x03)

3: Naming Rights (1x02), Short Squeeze (1x04), Where the Fuck is Donnie? (1x09), Magical Thinking (1x11), American Champion (4x09), New Year’s Day (4x10)

4: The Big Ugly (6x08), Enemies List (7x10)

5: Contract (5x05), Succession (6x11), The Owl (7x08)

6:

7: DMV (7x07) 

8: Admirals Fund (7x12)

9:

10: Currency (2x05), Opportunity Zone (5x04)

11: Liberty (5x10)

12: YumTime (1x03)

[pebblesrus]

index of tags

this is an addendum to my catalogue of posts

qwat au | team lesbiquinn | baby au | meg au | 

moreau’s fiddle game au

edits | incorrect quotes | photos/gifs with superimposed words

saved fics [not my work]

episodes that have tags

the nigerian job [1x01]

the twelve step job [1x11]

the first david job [1x12]

the tap out job [2x02]

the two live crew job [2x07]

the future job [2x13]

the jailhouse job [3x01]

the studio job [3x06]

the gone fishin job [3x07]

the big bang job [3x15]

the san lorenzo job [3x16]

the long way down job [4x01]

the carnival job [4x06]

the grave danger job [4x07]

the cross my heart job [4x09]

the boys night out job [4x14]

the last dam job [4x18]

the blue line job [5x02]

the hot potato job [5x05]

the rundown job [5x09]

the long goodbye job [5x15]

if not tagged with a specific episode, posts are tagged with characters names. most posts are not double tagged with episode and character.

eliot spencer

alec hardison

parker

sophie devereaux

nate ford

mr. quinn

damien moreau

anything even tangentially related to redemption is tagged with leverage redemption

[readinginthereadyroom]

I’m on leverage s2 and they just gave the show an opening sequence. it’s okay tho I think eliot got the short stick when it comes to job descriptions.

also nate’s no longer drinking (lev 2x01). he’s my least favorite character and he was becoming...boring. one note. drunk and doesn’t care. angst angst angst. I’m not a criminal and sophie not divulging that she has the second david (lev 1x13) is awful terrible LYING and I’m too catholic and guilt-ridden and divorced (but still married) to be in like like with her now.

basically I’m saying he’s a child. he gets all petulant when he’s not in control of which jobs get chosen (lev 1x07), he puts his team in jeopardy with all his “functional alcoholic” nonsense (lev 1x12), and he lied to maggie when they were still married about the events surrounding their son’s death.

disgusting. letting her hob-knob with the insurance company that denied their son’s experimental cancer treatment. made her look the callous fool. it’s gross, it’s disgusting, I hate it.

anyhow good for sophie moving on. she deserves it. and I hope nate becomes more palatable as a character (his redemption arc would be an amazing story) cause working for a big insurance corporation for 20 years makes him kinda the worst thief out of all of them.

[eg515]

oooohh is The Golf Job the boys' counterpart to the girls' Paranormal Hacktivity Job? 👀

[normal-thoughts-official]

I was thinking about what you said about the real redemption for Maryse and I feel like Alec might be the one who would never cut ties with her but he would probably be the last to reconcile. I mean, Alec would do whatever to support her for all the reasons you mentioned but it’d be very practical help so to say. However, it would be a very hostile relationship filled with coldness, and emotional distance, and frequent scathing remarks. Any attempts on reconciliation from her or other people ->

-> would be met with pretty painful jabs (we all know Alec is perfectly capable of it). She made a specific point that her love for him was highly conditional. He legit needed to work hard to earn her affection. Like he had to quite literally sacrifice himself to hear that he made her proud (1x12). If anything Alec was taught he could only be loved when he’s useful or for the things he could do for her. When Maryse was seemingly affectionate with him for no apparent reason, it was all a manipulation. She was still scheming to get him to do something from her like in that ‘we break noses’ scene in 1x06. Alec who was her victim for many years would likely have a hard time to believe her attempts to reach out and build a better relationship are genuine and not another trick because she once again needs something.

this is the post, in case anyone's wondering

oh, i completely agree! im sorry if i didnt like, make that clear? i hope that i did djdndid but yeah. i don't think he would be capable to completely 100% turn his back on her, so if she needed like, help to set up the shop or something, he would be there. but emotional support, closeness, that would be basically off limits. and i completely agree, maryse's approval is almost a trigger for alec, because it has historically always been laced with manipulation

for izzy it's a little different because while maryse's approval was also dangled over her, it was always basically out of her reach. in her experience, it doesn't exist. so the association between maryse actually being nice to her and the abuse isn't quite as present, and it's easier to believe that maryse truly has changed because this is new for her. with alec, it isn't, not really. he's seen nice maryse who gives him hugs and tells him she's so proud. and it always left him shattered, it was always a manipulation tactic, designed to convince him to do what she wanted, jump headfirst into whatever got her approval

so any niceties coming from her are just met with harsh coldness or straight up defensiveness, because in his experience, nice maryse is the worst part. punishment, harshness, that he can deal with. but nice maryse is dangerous, to him

and izzy is kind of like "i think she's really changed, you know" but alec sets his jaw and is kind of like "i would hope that she did", so izzy doesn't push. and maryse eventually realizes that the more she tries to win him over, the more distance he puts between them. especially because there's also that context - alec has just come out, he's dating a man, a warlock, he is the farthest he's ever been from her claws, and she needs him more than ever, and she's being nice? that can only end one way for him - him losing everything he's worked hard to get

so yeah. maryse actually needs to put her distance and wait a lot longer for alec to give her even a little bit of room to get emotionally closer. and she has to wait for that invitation, because if she tries to push it, it's three steps back. and it's painful as fuck for alec, because again... a part of him still revels in her approval. but he can't do that anymore. so he uses the same defense mechanism he always has - harshness and coldness and painful jabs, like you said