Review: Leverage, S4, E3 - "The 15 Minutes Job"

Rating: ★★★★★

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

Review: Leverage, S4, E3 - "The 15 Minutes Job" 1

Michael Gladis as Rockwell

This season of Leverage is really upping the stakes for the team. In “The 15 Minutes Job,” the team sets out to take down Rockwell (Michael Gladis) who is, in many ways, a mirror image of Nate (Timothy Hutton). The episode focuses our attention on Nate and his relationship to the team and his own inner demons. Rockwell’s statement “Only our heroes fall” could apply to Nate even as it becomes a basis for this week’s job.

Nate certainly seems to be falling down the rabbit hole. The opening lunch meeting with the client sees Nate drinking heavily. The team worries that Nate isn’t focused on the real case. Rockwell is very much like Nate in that he is also a genius at manipulating people and remaining a “ghost,” so the team considers how they would take Nate down as their strategy. Parker (Beth Reisgraf), who doesn’t know how to filter her remarks, notes they “can’t say booze” because the entire subject has become taboo due to Nate’s drinking.

The case itself brings us back to Nate’s roots once again as the client is his childhood friend, Ed Kelly (Jim Iorio). For long-time fans of the show, there’s a nice shout out to Nate’s father as he and Ed discuss their childhood over lunch. Kelly is seeking Nate’s help because Rockwell is using his technological savvy, which earns Hardison’s (Aldis Hodge) respect, to blackmail Kelly who is a public official. Kelly himself points out both he and Nate help people.

Review: Leverage, S4, E3 - "The 15 Minutes Job" 2

Eliot tries to "persuade" Rockwell to be a hero

Nate almost loses sight of that purpose as he becomes fully engaged with catching Rockwell. Sophie (Gina Bellman) worries that Nate is self-destructive, yet at the end of the episode she points out Nate is trying to decide whether he’s an honest man or a thief. While she is unsure of which Nate she wants to win, it seems obvious to me that in order for the team to win, Nate is going to have to find a way to reconcile his alter egos. Eliot (Christian Kane) also continues to express his unhappiness with Nate’s behaviour which is starting to cause real tension between them. I was shocked, along with the rest of the team, when Nate tells Eliot to take the rest of the job off. Nate admits in the end he’s been reckless, and Parker is quick to forgive him saying, “It was worth it.” Eliot, however, qualifies her remark with “this time.”

Some of the highlights in this episode include a great fight scene in which Eliot defeats Rockwell using a screen door. Of course, there’s the usual humorous banter we’ve come to expect among Hardison, Eliot, and Parker – this week the running discussion is over the CGI version of Yoda in the Star Wars’ prequels. Writer Josh Schaer does a great job balancing the action and humor in this episode and the attempts at getting Rockwell to do something, anything, heroic are hysterical.

Review: Leverage, S4, E3 - "The 15 Minutes Job" 3

Parker manages not to stab the mark

Another thing Leverage excels at is character growth. Parker is still putting her foot in her mouth as often as not, as Hardison points out, but she’s also growing. It’s Parker who approaches Rockwell in the bar and baits the hook. Just as I thought, “she’s really getting better at this,” Parker said the same thing to Hardison! As always, the inside joke referencing previous episodes – “I didn’t even stab him with a fork” – had me laughing.

The episode ends by putting a face on the “big bad” for this season – the man who was apparently bugging Nate’s apartment in the season premiere. Part of me is a little disappointed it wasn’t one of the regular cast of bad guys, but most of me is anxious to find out what the bigger game is that’s afoot. It seems this person may want the team to work with him, but it’s not clear what his motives are or if he has “leverage” over the team.

“The 15 Minutes Job” is another solid episode that sets up some recurring themes. I can’t wait to find out if Nate is going to be able to keep it together and what the new “big bad’s” endgame is.

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...