Review: Leverage, S4, E5 - "The Hot Potato Job"

Rating: ★★★★★

Airdate: July 24, 2011, 9/8c on TNT

Review: Leverage, S4, E5 - "The Hot Potato Job" 1

The team wears some new "hats" for "The Hot Potato Job"

I like where the writers are taking Leverage this season. Watching the team pull a con is always exciting but as I’ve pointed out in a previous review, following a formula too closely could lead to the show becoming predictable and boring. “The Hot Potato Job” was written by Jenn Kao and directed by John Harrison and both get high marks for delivering yet another great episode that balances the formula with new creative twists.

The tension between Nate (Timothy Hutton) and Sophie (Gina Bellman) is continuing to build. I think Sophie is playing Nate perfectly. He clearly wants to be with her but is scared of the commitment and her offer to be friends with “extras” is calculated to ease him into a relationship. One of my favorite scenes in this episode is when Sophie is discussing Jenna West’s (Bhama Roget) relationship to Colin Saunders (Mitch Pileggi) – her boss – with Jenna, but the whole team is listening in and it’s clear she is really expressing her frustration with Nate.

Review: Leverage, S4, E5 - "The Hot Potato Job" 2

Hardison takes one for the team

The freshest aspect to “The Hot Potato Job” is watching everyone play a different role than what they are used to. Sophie takes charge of the con when it starts to go sideways. Eliot (Christian Kane) ends up having to play an accountant. I was a bit disappointed that we wouldn’t get our fight scene, but the show doesn’t let the viewers down, and Eliot does shed his suit to take down the bad guys.

There are some great comedic moments between Hardison (Aldis Hodge), Nate and one of the kids on a school field trip as they try to convince the sharp youngster they are playing a video game and not doing anything suspicious. It’s not surprising that Hardison’s natural youthfulness makes him a hit with the kid.

Review: Leverage, S4, E5 - "The Hot Potato Job" 3

Nate and Parker pose as teachers

Hardison’s feelings for Parker (Beth Riesgraf) almost get her in trouble when he is too focused on her potentially getting hurt. Nate takes Sophie’s advice “to live in the moment” and is able to rescue Parker. The scene where Parker escapes the vault in a slide just ahead of a fireball is masterfully shot. And I love the detail of the singed back to her jacket in the next scene.

Pileggi, perhaps best known as Skinner from The X-Files and more recently as Samuel Campbell on Supernatural, is wonderful as the mastermind of the evil company. He is “super powerful and super paranoid,” and I wish there had been a lot more of him in the episode. Truthfully, I am disappointed by the execution of what seems like a great premise ripped from the headlines. The company wants to prevent help from reaching starving children unless they are paid huge sums of money, and they lock down all of their patents. The potato being developed by this week’s client is a “super tuber” and Nate calls it the “open source potato,” so naturally the company wants to steal it. I thought “wow!” at the beginning of the episode, thinking they were going to focus some attention on starving children and how they can be helped, but it’s merely a ploy to make the bad guys look as evil as possible. When West shows up to take the potato away, there is a major mistake in the plot when she tells the client she is infringing copyright. The Intellectual Property right at issue here would be patent, and I’m disappointed Leverage gets it wrong. But then, maybe I’m expecting too much from the show which delivers its usual fun caper.

Review: Leverage, S4, E5 - "The Hot Potato Job" 4

Sophie does her best Eliot impersonation

I am a bit confused by the ending. Both West and Saunders are behind bars and Nate and Sophie have gone off to have another private dinner, missing Hardison’s urgent call telling them West has been released. That’s the end of the episode and I immediately think, ‘cool, a two-part episode,’ but the scenes for next week don’t seem to pick up this storyline at all!

Overall, “The Hot Potato Job” is as fun as the name suggests. I’m still eagerly waiting to see how Sophie is going to get Nate to finally realize he wants to be in a relationship with her and let go of his demons.

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...