Leverage Season 1 Episode 8: The Bank Shot Job

[ruric]

We're back (again)! Apologies for the gap - I'd promised the lovely vae that I'd help out and promptly forgot (a side effect of plague season is my brain turning to mush).

Anyway we're here now, just over midway through Season 1, and with a reboot on the horizon we should get a wiggle on to refresh our memories about the good things in the show!

Today we're watching and commenting about season 1 episode 8, The Bank Shot Job (remember we're watching in the intended order not the aired order). Expect spoilers for episode 1 - 7 in the comments.

If you want to comment about anything that happens in later episodes, please use rot13 to encode your comment, so anyone trying to avoid spoilers can do so. And yes, there are some people here watching for the first time!

Not sure what to comment about? How about your favourite scene? Your favourite character so far? What surprised you? Did any of the things said resonate with you? How about setting or design choices?

And don't forget about our fic prompt post if anything strikes inspiration! We also welcome icons, banners and other graphics for those who are visually artistically inclined (or point us to people making them).

If you're willing to host or post a weekly discussion post, please leave a comment on the schedule and say which one!

I've got a few houseplants to pot up but will be back with some comments later *G*

Comments

[lilituc]

The actor playing Judge Roy was really good. I think they said he doesn't usually play villains?

Aldis Hodge's adlibs on this one were spot-on. I laughed so hard when he was listing the demands. I think there's an outtake on the extras (now available on Electric Now!) that's longer.

Loved Eliot's fight scene with the meth heads. Apparently he adlibbed "stay in the car" which is just such a classic. I could watch that fight all day.

I love Parker's lines in this one. The part where she complains how bad the bank robbers are, and her reaction to being asked to rob a bank that's already being robbed.

Taggert and McSweeten are some of my favorite characters.

I recently found out there are some transcripts of some of the commentaries. This one is here.

[pensnest]

I really enjoy the construction of this story - the way the robbers are really the victims, the way it is all tied in so nicely to the original con. It's almost like a dance, intricate and satisfying.

[jenett]

I'd forgotten how much I love the opening with the hints you get of the set-up for this job (and Parker's "illegal downloading is wrong" exchange.)

And the way Nate realises something is about to go horribly wrong, and refusing to leave Sophie. (And the look they exchange when they both realise what's about to happen.) It sets so much up, efficiently, but without sacrificing meaning or depth, and I just really appreciate the craft involved.

Also "I'm a thief." "Ok. I'm not sure what to do with that..." is one of my favourite deliveries.

I find the second half a little less satisfying, but only because the opening few minutes are so awesome. Though the fight scene with Elliot, always great.