Review: Leverage, S4, E2 - "The 10 Li'l Grifters Job"

REVIEW: Leverage– Episode 4.02 “The 10 Li’l Grifters Job”

Rating: ★★★★★

Airdate: July 3, 2011, 9/8c on TNT

Review: Leverage, S4, E2 - "The 10 Li'l Grifters Job" 1

Sophie and Nate looking for the killer

“The 10 Li’l Grifters Job” may well turn out to be my favorite Leverage episode of all time. The title is an obvious shout out to Agatha Christie’s classic Ten Little Indians murder mystery, and the episode has a number of quintessential murder mystery elements: creepy house on an island with party guests trapped for the night during a storm when a murder happens and everyone is a suspect.

But the thing that makes this episode my all time favorite is the loving shout out to Timothy Hutton’s late father, Jim Hutton – a brilliant actor in his own right who died tragically of cancer at the age of 45. Jim Hutton starred in the television series Ellery Queen, based on a series of novels, and I was a big fan back in the day. My initial interest in Timothy Hutton sprang from my respect for his father.

For those of you who weren’t fans of Ellery Queen – the series – or possibly weren’t around then, here are some of the shout outs you probably missed. The initial shot of the episode is Nate dressed in a tweed cap, red vest, and casual suit jacket. This was Ellery’s “costume” from the series. I admit I recognized it immediately and squealed in delight. Every episode of Ellery Queen was entitled “The Adventure of _____,” much like every episode of Leverage is titled “The ____ Job.” The episodes of Ellery Queen provided the audience with clues, and Ellery had the audience solve the mystery with him. Geoffrey Thorne, the writer of this Leverage episode, brilliantly mimics this structure as the episode unfolds with a series of flashbacks. We are given all the clues to solve the mystery as the episode unfolds, but it’s Nate’s narrative at the end that helps to put the story together. Another nice shout out is when the bad guy’s assistant tells Sophie (Gina Bellman) he’s dressed as Mannix for the costume party/murder mystery night. His entire costume consists of a hideously ugly 70s tie, but it does its job. The inside joke is that Mannix was also written and created by Richard Levinson and William Link who created Ellery Queen.

Review: Leverage, S4, E2 - "The 10 Li'l Grifters Job" 2

Eliot dressed as Charlie Siringo

There is so much going on in this episode, I have to tip my hat again to the writer. The episode seems to be a regular job. There’s a nice contrast between the beginning of the episode and the end. At first, Hardison (Aldis Hodge) works his usual technological magic and Parker (Beth Reisgraf) and Eliot (Christian Kane) do the breaking and entering while Sophie and Nate run the main scam. This is turned on its head in the second half of the episode when Hardison has to deal with an old house with no modern technology and Nate even calls on Eliot to run a grift instead of doing things his usual “messy and loud” way. Of course, the main wrench in the works happens when their mark is actually murdered, and it looks like Nate may have been the culprit.

This is another highlight of this episode, and introduces some fine character development and acting from Timothy Hutton as Nate struggles with the fact that at first, the team isn’t sure Nate didn’t do it. He tries to hide it, but Nate is deeply wounded that the team could have misunderstood him so much. Sophie calls him on it when he starts drinking at the end of the episode. She seems to be back as his full time conscience and watch dog. It makes me wonder if they are truly going to back away from the romantic dynamic between these two. Part of me wants to see them together romantically, but I also don’t want to see two couples (Hardison/Parker and Nate/Sophie) plus Eliot make up the team. If I got to choose, I think it would be Hardison/Parker.

Review: Leverage, S4, E2 - "The 10 Li'l Grifters Job" 3

Hardison dressed as Encyclopedia Brown and Parker as Nancy Drew.

Another delightful element of this episode is having all the guests dress up as famous detectives from literature, including Nate as Ellery Queen and the other team members as well. Their alter egos are perfect: Sophie as Irene Adler, the only woman smarter than Sherlock Holmes; Parker as Nancy Drew; Hardison as Encyclopedia Brown, funny on so many levels, right down to his man bag; and Eliot as cowboy detective Charlie Siringo, a nice shout out to Kane’s alter ego as a country singer. Even more fun, is spotting all the other “detectives” in the background of the party. There is Emma Peel, Dick Tracey, and a few Inspector Clouseaus. Did you see any others that I missed? Sophie identifies Inspector Bucket from Dickens. We learn that Parker has never been to a costume party, a fact that shocks Sophie.

The episode is masterfully edited together by director Arvin Brown. The flashbacks help piece together the mystery and highlight the clues. The beauty of this is that the clues aren’t obvious the first time you see them. “The 10 Li’l Grifters Job” blends humor and drama and plays homage to the murder mystery in general with great shots highlighting the “spooky” mansion, complete with thunderstorm.

A show like Leverage, which works off such a strong formula, runs the risk of repeating itself or becoming predictable or rote. So far I think season four is off to a terrific start, and I can’t wait to see what the writers have up their sleeves for us next.

Tune in to Leverage Sundays at 9/8c on TNT.

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LisaM

A tv addict for life. I'm interesed in anything to do with the entertainment industry and social networking - combine the two, and I'm in heaven. I'm a Canadian, currently living and going to school in LA. I'm also a lover of anything with four feet and fur...