TV Verdict

Last week’s episode of Leverage, “The Fairy Godparent Job”, just might be my favorite so far. It was hilarious and fun, as all the episodes are, but this also had a lighthearted, simplistic quality that I found appealing.

Nate and crew are trying to find the embezzled cash from a funds manager who left a free clinic high and dry. They need to get the cash back to keep the free clinic from having to close their doors. To do this, the team ends up taking over a school. Their only job, for their con to work, is to bring out the talents of a misfit 10-year-old.

We know the team can take down the toughest bad guys, but watching them attempt to build up the confidence of an awkward kid was an interesting change. Sophie’s attachment to the kid is endearing and shows us a little of the real Sophie. We see Sophie mirrored in the kid as he struggles to find himself.

Nate does what he does best, keeping the team on track while dealing with outside interference, in this case the parents of the school children. He does it all with a hilarious cover as a professor with a thick German accent who has actually developed his own method of teaching and has even published a book about it.

Eliot easily jumps into his role as the P.E. teacher. You would expect that since he is working in a school full of children that this episode would be lacking an “Eliot kicks some serious butt” segment. Not to worry. Eliot gets into a brawl with an assassin behind the curtain during the school’s big production, with Sophie shushing him the entire time.

Parker and Hardison have a harder time of it. While casing the apartment of the villain, posing as a stuffy married couple, they meet up with the only two FBI agents who know their faces. What are the odds? They quickly explain they’re undercover back-up for the agents. Forced to adapt to their new roles, Parker has to come out of her shell or blow her cover while Hardison gets to play the part of the thief.

Was that a bit of jealousy I spotted on the part of Hardison as Parker had to deal with the obvious infatuation of the one FBI agent?

As the series progresses and the characters develop, they all become more interesting. The dynamic between all the characters is what keeps me coming back for more. Well, that and all the action, high tech gadgets, creative cons, and the humor. The show just keeps getting better and each episode is so fun that you can give them a second viewing and not get bored.

There are a select few shows I’ve been willing to shell out money for so that I can watch the episodes again and again. I’m adding Leverage to that list.

Photos: TNT