“The Inside Job”
Written by Geoffrey Thorne, Directed by John Rogers
When Parker is trapped in an unknown location while working a theft for her mentor, the LEVERAGE team must race the clock to find her and free her. Richard Chamberlain (The Thorn Birds) and Dean Devlin’s wife, Lisa Brenner (TNT’s Blank Slate microseries), guest star.
For an episode that focuses on Parker, it’s interesting just how little Beth Riesgraf actually features in “The Inside Job.” Nevertheless, we get some great insight into just how messed up in the head Parker may be, courtesy of guest-star Richard Chamberlain. Chamberlain’s character was the one who made Parker the socially disconnected thief that she is, but possibly at the price of her own sanity. It’s interesting that her former mentor is convinced of who and how she is, but Nate points out that no one knows who she is, most of all Parker herself. One thing is for certain, Nate and company consider her family and they seem to be the group she most belongs with. This episode is also notable as the directorial debut of series co-creator and writer John Rogers. Considering he has to juggle a caper in a high rise along with notable guest-star Chamberlain, plus telling Dean Devlin’s wife what to do, I’d say he does a remarkable job. He seems to never keep the camera still, so there are never any boring static shots and he gets some better than the usual stellar performances out of the actors. I hope Rogers directs more episodes soon as his pacing and camera work are perfect for this series. Oh, and did you spot not only the comic book reference, but the huge nod to 1960s spy series The Avengers?
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“The Scheherazade Job”
Written by Chris Downey, Directed by Peter Winther
To rob an African kleptocrat’s Boston vault, the LEVERAGE team has to time their heist to a symphony concert nearby, where amateur violinist Hardison must play a solo for a sell-out crowd. Giancarlo Esposito (Homicide: Life on the Street), Elisabetta Canalis and Oakland Raiders cornerback Nnamdi Asomugha guest-star.
This episode takes on an international political flavor while sticking to Boston, a tricky task deftly handled by series co-creator Chris Downey. This episode we focus a bit on Hardison and get another piece to his past. What I found most interesting about this episode is a possible growing rift between Nate and Hardison. In the season premiere, Hardison was the only one to voice uncertainty about breaking Nate out of prison. In this episode, our resident hacker attempts to talk to Nate about the possibility of running his own crew one day, which Nate completely ignores. Also, in order to ensure the con succeeds, Nate hypnotizes Hardison, something the younger man does not take kindly to at all. I wonder if this is all leading somewhere later in the season and what it means for the group and their trust of Nate. The mysterious Italian returns this episode and I keep wondering if there is some unspoken history between her and Nate and what her true agenda is. In both respects, the Italian and Nate’s treatment of his colleagues, the plot definitely thickens.
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