LEVERAGE: The Blue Line Job

I’d like to apologize for the lack of recap for the premiere, but that’s all the fault of Comic Con and a very dear friend who needed some extra time in San Diego.

So, the gang has moved to Portland and there’s some sneaky things afoot.

Any episode, of any show, that starts out with a sports fight has my interest already. Hockey is not my sport, but I will happily watch it anyway, especially given that Leverage has already done my favorite sport, baseball. This kid has a seriously sad story and the faked notes are more than a little scary, but I’m sure a very real part of some sports. Sad commentary on our collective views of sports as entertainment, but there it is.

Who in the writers’ room went to do all of the hockey research? I want to love them for it. But they also brought in a reference to the Cold War and now I just want to sit here and write love letters to the whole room. This shouldn’t be a shock at this point, given how long I’ve loved this show, but the extra mile right now is just impressing me. Call me a sap.

This gamble to get Eliot on the team is not something I’d ever want to see Nate do for anyone outside the team, though I suppose that a young kid looking to help his dad is going to get Nate right in the chest. Really, your whole life for one player? But Hardison baking fake pucks is something I’m not shocked by in the least. Is it too weird to wonder what the pucks were made of?

Did I just hear “Rogers and Downey” as a pair of hockey players? Thank you Leverage for inserting your fearless leaders into the show slowly. Of course they aren’t part of the Otters, but I find that funnier in my head.

This evil man of evil is just one step ahead of a cockroach. Really, hiring other teams to beat up your player to avoid a bonus? I’d rather not know how evil owners can be when it comes to sports teams, though I know that they exist (McCourts, I’m looking at you and what you did to my Dodgers). Please team, let’s get this guy good so I can feel better about paying to watch semi-professional or professional sports again.

A delusional player is worse than anything that the owner is doing. I’d rather not see his man lose so much of himself for a game that is doing nothing for him. I mean, all of those injuries are just one small example of what the game has done to him, but he still wants to fight and play.

Sophie, please be worried when your old partner gets along better with Nate than you think. Nothing good can happen with that now. I mean, by the end, when Nate gets signed gear, and all you get is a quick kiss, I think there’s something else afoot. Does Nate secretly want to be a hockey player?

I’m having a hard time following this con, though I suppose that’s part of the point right now. Confusing cons are all the best for this show. Why is there discussion of NHL being too small for an international hockey league?

Eliot, using all of the medical issues is not the way to get to this poor player. His kid is the key to everything here. If you have to have the client tell you that, there’s something just a bit off about your priorities and how you think this whole con is playing out. Or was that supposed to be a way to get the client to realize how important life is before you ruin his last game?

I love that Hardison and Parker were watching Soylent Green, and spoiling the end because Parker fell asleep. (Really, if you don’t know what they said, I feel bad for you.)

The evil man of evil is about to sell his team at a $5 million loss, of which $4 million is his salary. You sir, are a creep. But I do hope that whatever plan Parker has in store is one to make him pay dearly for selling out the team that badly. More than anything right now, I’m confused by the owner shredding some tickets after the money is given to the guy from the armored truck, but I’m sure that’ll be explained after the commercial break.

This poor guy! No one wants to fight him. Good on you Eliot for telling everyone that they could be the one to kill him. All of that drama and then Eliot will get out of his penalty and still end the game.

What did Hardison put into that bank box to get it to stick to the plate? Oh the magnets! Getting the money that way is pretty great. I do love a quick thing at the opening of the show that comes back to be the great item that holds the con together.

Marko scores the last goal too! I’m all for a happy ending right now. Bad guy loses and the good guy gets to win the big game. I really just want to sing “Put Me In Coach!” right now to make it all right (minus the sport being off).

Angry hockey players at the end are amazing. A rink full of enforcers from the team against an owner who wanted to sell them up river is a great ending. Right now to having the evil man of evil sell the team to the team.

This was all a little light on that big secret between Hardison and Nate, but I expect that it’ll take a few more episodes to explain what’s going on there. Nearly everyone on the show has secrets, but this one seems big, even by the team’s standards.

Photos: Eric Heinila/TNT