S01.E03: The Rollin' on the River Job

[tessaray]

Drops July 9, 2021 on IMBd TV's free streaming service. 

The Leverage team takes on a greedy riverboat casino owner, before he can bulldoze the homes of longtime New Orleans natives for his planned expansion.

[Gigi43]

This one wasn't as good as the first two but I'm still in. They're over killing "things are worse than ever" already. We get it. But hopefully the conversation with Parker and Brianna at the end will put a pin in it as Brianna stated she gets it.

 

I love Hardison has an ap to track social media posts of people stating they're in trouble, even if it's an invasion of privacy.

 

I like how Wyle is meshing with Gina Bellman, not romantically, just their vibe on the cons like when they played husband and wife. The one on one scene with Harry and Brianna about being on the team was nice.  

 

[akg]

I really didn't like the scene between Parker and the mark at the shooting range. I know it was an act and he was awful but I didn't think bragging about her white privilege and his parents' immigration was necessary. I kept hoping they'd come back to the conversation in some way although I'm not sure what would have made me feel better about it.

I did love Eliot bonding with his boss and Parker training Breanna. Especially the women's talk at the end where they finally seem to get on the same page.

I also thought they did a good job making Hardison feel present even though Aldis Hodge had this week off (one of the actresses on the Flash was recently unavailable for a couple episodes and it was super obvious she wasn't there so this is extra impressive). 

[Zonk]

So the vault only had a wood floor and directly under it there was river, not the ships hull? Sure show, sure.

46 minutes ago, akg said:

I really didn't like the scene between Parker and the mark at the shooting range. I know it was an act and he was awful but I didn't think bragging about her white privilege and his parents' immigration was necessary. I kept hoping they'd come back to the conversation in some way although I'm not sure what would have made me feel better about it.

Eh, I mean in a con you do what works. It was realistic that the old-money-privilege of the character would trigger him and make him make some stupid mistakes.

It's not like Parker grew up privileged.

[leighdear]

I thought Parker was dead-on as the privileged Southern Belle....Just enough condescension and insult, but covered in honey & magnolia.  The only thing she missed was saying to Chaudry "Well, bless your heart".....

I'm really not missing Nate, as his last seasons were so focused on his drinking and downward spiral that I didn't feel he added much.  Though I do think he always did the very best declaration "So let's go steal a _________".   And I did love when Eliot commented to Sophie that she had to immediately walk off after her stating that....*LOL*

[marceline]

"When in doubt, always trust the person stuck inside the van."

So true.

I'm enjoying the show a lot but I miss the hell out of Hardison. Breanna is a good addition with plenty of potential but I feel like Hardison's absence is bad for the characters of both Breanna and Parker. I think the dynamic among the three of them within the larger team would be wonderful.

[DearEvette]

Ok I’ve watched three in a row. I am stopping.  I need to pace myself.  Even though the episode was still good, Hardison's absence is noticeable.

Parker’s “typical tourist” with the bells outfit was cray. Ioved it.

I like on the one hand, the Brianna isn’t as savvy or deep into game enough to know really how to follow the money, but knows more than Harry New Guy to know the names of the grifts and when to do a 'not it!'

Parker’s rich lady snotty Southern accent was perfect.

I love how this series is sticking to formula.  The middle of episode twist where their well thought out plan hits a huge snag and the later flashback reveal of how they fixed everything, LOL.

I think Elliot’s fight choreography is a lot better though.

Dennis (and his spreadsheets) was a great character. I liked him.

 

[preeya]

Thankful for Parker in this one. She carried it, the rest was weak. 

And TPTB need to take a few real life lessons in casino operations because the characters depicted here were straight out of a comic book.

[leighdear]

9 hours ago, preeya said:

And TPTB need to take a few real life lessons in casino operations because the characters depicted here were straight out of a comic book.

Agreed.  Even in the evening, in the high roller room of a Casino boat, the guys are going to be wearing Columbia fishing shirts, cargo shorts & Top Siders, because they came right off their own boats.  Their much younger, 2nd trophy wives will still have on their bikini's with a cover-up and spike heeled sandals, and the usual 4-carat diamond solitaire on their bony, tanned ring finger. 

The old ladies at the slot machines are never wearing sequins.  And they are usually only daytime gamblers, because they don't drive after dark....

(Yes, I live on the Gulf Coast, very near N.O. and dozens of Casinos!)

Meant to mention the PERFECT touch near the beginning of Sophie carrying a Styrofoam Daiquiri go-cup in the scene where she & Harry played spouses checking out the house address.  Absolute New Orleans realism there.  The only thing better would have been a "Big Ass Beer" cup.  *LOL*

Edited July 10, 2021 by leighdear

[Chaos Theory]

15 hours ago, leighdear said:

I thought Parker was dead-on as the privileged Southern Belle....Just enough condescension and insult, but covered in honey & magnolia.  The only thing she missed was saying to Chaudry "Well, bless your heart".....

With this show you go after the bad guys weak spot and with Chaudry reminding everyone that he was a Congressman heritage and his lack of it is important to him so playing on it is fair game.

 

I like that even though Hardison is probably going to be absent for a fair amount of the season he is still mentioned often.    

Harry continues to mesh well with the team.  His conversation with Breanna about being the new people was well done.  
 

I love the teacher/student relationship between Parker and Breanna.  
 

I love Elliots relationship with the guard.  

 

 

 

 

 

 

[preeya]

5 hours ago, leighdear said:

(Yes, I live on the Gulf Coast, very near N.O. and dozens of Casinos!)

I live in North Las Vegas, a stone's throw to the world famous Strip.

[AnimeMania]

They added a little comedy to lighten the mood, maybe a little too much.

What was up with Parker's southern accent, were they trying to make my ears bleed, well played show, you succeeded!

Maybe not have kids that are not even 16 years old yet, point guns in peoples faces if you want the viewers to like them.

What was the point of stealing Harry's evil client list if you are not going after those people.

Why get Eliot's bestie a job on the police force, why not make him a pastry chef for your food trucks.

[formerlyfreedom]

21 hours ago, DearEvette said:

Dennis (and his spreadsheets) was a great character. I liked him.

 

36 minutes ago, AnimeMania said:

Why get Eliot's bestie a job on the police force, why not make him a pastry chef for your food trucks.

I too loved Dennis, and was sure he’d be working for Eliot by the end of the episode . I’m hopeful it still happens in the future, this show did some great callbacks for characters in the past.

[akg]

4 hours ago, AnimeMania said:

Why get Eliot's bestie a job on the police force, why not make him a pastry chef for your food trucks.

I thought that too. I loved the guy but he didn't seem like police material, especially at his age. I hope he gets at least a mention later and he's decided to change career goals.

 

[MissLucas]

Another vote to keep Dennis and his awesome cakes (and spreadsheets) around!

Elliot taking down that mobster with a life jacket was very creative.

Someone mentioned in the discussion for episode 2 how this show always makes good use of its location - and that was certainly true for this episode. I also love the new digs.

Loved Breanna's physical comedy after having touched whatever Parker had put on those bells. The way she went down was very Hardison and made me laugh. 

I thought Hardison had left binders only for Breanna (15!) but it sounds as if Parker also got some binders. Now I wonder if he made binders for each team member specifically or if the collection is for all of them. I guess there will be more references down the road.

The vault with the wooden floor and the magically unrolling rug was a bit much - but it was such a fun episode that I'm going to do some hand waving here.

Of course Parker got the pearl!

Edited July 12, 2021 by MissLucas

[Crs97]

I assume Hardison has created all the binders as training manuals for the other teams they run, which is a bit of a sticking point for me in this episode.  If they got so flummoxed by their Russian mob snag that the only idea came from the newbie, then I don’t buy their ability to run all the teams.  Nate could have, but not them.  I didn’t really enjoy this one.

[Johannah]

Ahhh.  I didn't even think about the binders being for the other teams and wondered how he managed to write them all for Breanne before he left.

Parker stole the pearl!  Of course.

"You weren't even in that room!". 

" I'm Parker. "

[Orbert]

I don't remember Parker being that smug or arrogant about her skills.  Yes, she is the best.  But stealing something when she wasn't even in the room and then "explaining" that she could do it simply because she's Parker doesn't seem like something she'd have said.  But maybe all the years of people telling her how great she is has started going to her head.

I know, it was meant for laughs mostly, but you can go for laughs and still be in character.

[Johannah]

I get what you're saying, but it's been a few years and their roles have changed without Nate and Sophie being there, so I can accept some changes in their personality.  Also, I kind of thought the line was a way to get out of the writers having to figure out a way for her to have done it.

[Orbert]

It basically was.  A way for the writers to not explain how she did it, that is.  If Parker had just smiled and walked away, that would have worked for me.  Ha ha, you'll never know, and the joke would be intact.

Parker saying "I'm Parker" reminded me of another show I used to watch called "Suits" and there was a character named Donna who was supposed to be this amazing person who could do anything, pull any strings, get anything done that you needed, and if asked how she managed it, she'd just say "I'm Donna".  Such incredible arrogance.  The reason why it didn't work is because she actually got caught and fired at least once for doing something she was sure she'd get away with, resulting in her company getting sued.  She was not infallible and her arrogance was really unwarranted.

Anyway, I'm glad that Parker has continued to grow and is no longer the meek, awkward, downright bizarre person she once was, but this just seemed a bit far for me.

[Lugal]

I like how well everyone seems to mesh and no one feels like they don't belong.  Even without Hardison, they just mention him enough so it really feels like he's still there in spirit.  "Hardison just gets me the job...and a 401K."

On 7/9/2021 at 8:30 PM, DearEvette said:

Parker’s “typical tourist” with the bells outfit was cray. Ioved it.

That reminded me of the "Training Jacket" from White Collar.

[Maelstrom]

Not as strong as the first two, but still lots of fun. Also, opening credits, cool!

Parker's dress was everything. It's as though a high school prom dress saw Kaylee's Layercake dress from Firefly and thought, "Too subtle!"

Loved Eliot befriending Dennis (who seems ill-suited to security work, lol - hopefully whatever he does next will be a better fit). And I think Eliot's sheer outrage at Parker eating his carrot cake ("Dennis baked it for me!") makes his reaction to The Sandwich seem like nothing.

And all those times Eliot complained about Hardison overdoing things, but when he not only has to interview but doesn't get his 401K... somehow Hardison's dedication doesn't seem like too much, does it Eliot? ;)

Harry's undercover persona with Sophie was far too much for me, reminded me too much of how Flynn ate The Librarians. I'm hoping they'll keep NW reined in more in future eps.

Most of all I loved seeing how "the kids" have adapted and grown over time, expanding beyond their original skills but still putting their own spin on it - Parker approaching grifting with flow chart flash cards instead of as a Method actor, for instance. Good stuff.

[Emma9]

On 7/9/2021 at 10:23 AM, Gigi43 said:

They're over killing "things are worse than ever" already. We get it.

I find it interesting that Covid apparently didn't happen within the show's timeline (or you'd think Breanna would have mentioned it during her litany). On one hand, it does free them from the headache of whether, and when, to have characters wearing masks, but there would have been a lot of material they could have gotten from that going forward, and it makes everything feel more disassociated from reality than is typical for Leverage (especially since they're otherwise responding to current events).

It's always weird to think about Covid in the context of this show, though, given that the standout episode for me has always been (and will probably ever be) The Rundown Job. It would have been hard for the trio to cope with living through a pandemic after their greatest triumph was preventing one.

 

On 7/9/2021 at 10:20 PM, leighdear said:

I did love when Eliot commented to Sophie that she had to immediately walk off after her stating that....*LOL*

Recalling one of the few episodes in the original where she did get to deliver the catchphrase, I wanted someone to add 'and not into a closet this time' after Eliot's remark.

[DoctorAtomic]

On 7/12/2021 at 12:35 PM, Johann said:

Also, I kind of thought the line was a way to get out of the writers having to figure out a way for her to have done it.

That too, but from these three episodes it seems Parker was the motivation for Hardison and Eliot (and her) to keep their skillset sharp and take on other challenges; like Eliot with the vents last time. I can buy that they're much better than when we last saw them. I don't think she needed to say 'I'm Parker', but I can fanwank that's she's just teasing the noob. Clearly, she wants Breanna to succeed, as she was teaching her in the opening scene. 

I'm pleased I figured out the escape beforehand. I saw the ideal gas law on the whiteboard, and said, why would she write that down? And got it when Eliot had the tanks for the pressure. 

I don't have a problem that they escaped that way. Maybe this boat had something else build under it because they took the hull out since it wasn't a boat any more. It's like they said on Burn Notice - Yes, you can't break every lock by freezing it, but in this scene, this lock actually can be frozen and shatter. So, no, if they were robbing a casino on a cruise ship in the Caribbean, they couldn't escape out that way. But they weren't. It was a riverboat built to be a casino. So they can. 

Edited July 16, 2021 by DoctorAtomic

[andromeda331]

This was fun. I love Parker's idea of a tourist outfit. Her big dress. Of course she stole the pearl. 

I love that Hardison had manuals made. Of course he did. I do like the mistakes Breanna made. They made sense. She's heard all the stories of what they did but didn't realize things like she had to do more then just find the money and wanting to steal the Pearl.  Same with Harry. Like him assuming the family wanted money when they want the house.  

I loved Dennis! His friendship with Eliot was great. I'm glad Eliot's going to help him out but I wish too it was for him working for the food trucks. Eliot was awesome taking down the bad guys.

Sophie's doing great job as boss and pep talks with Parker who's training Breanna. 

[Crs97]

I’m confused why Sophie has taken over as boss.  She has been out of the game for years while Parker has been leading a twelve team global conglomerate.  I need more explanation why Parker seems to have abdicated her role.  She had one “you’re not the boss of me” quip to Sophie, but otherwise has reverted back too far for my taste.

[DoctorAtomic]

I don't know if that's totally fair. Parker did take on the lead role here as the roper here and showed Sophie she's been working on it. 

[DearEvette]

I just re-watched this (Don't Judge me!) and one thing I picked up on re-watch that I didn't catch in first watch: The big computer screens where Hardison --and now Breanna -- briefs the team on the mark has a stage that they can stand upon.  As they are talking about the congressman and looking at the maps of the city and his bank stuff etc.  Breanna exits the platform and Sophie starts to profile him.  She walks up to the platform and as soon as she realizes she's on a stage her face takes on a delighted look and she immediately starts to do the exaggerated arm movements and her voice goes up a register like she does when she is acting.  But then the camera cuts to Elliot and Parker and they both shake their heads "no' and Sophie kinda sighs and gets back to profiling.  It was just a couple of seconds but what a lovely little piece of character recognition.

[Llywela]

On 7/17/2021 at 3:07 AM, Crs97 said:

I’m confused why Sophie has taken over as boss.  She has been out of the game for years while Parker has been leading a twelve team global conglomerate.  I need more explanation why Parker seems to have abdicated her role.  She had one “you’re not the boss of me” quip to Sophie, but otherwise has reverted back too far for my taste.

 

On 7/17/2021 at 5:26 AM, DoctorAtomic said:

I don't know if that's totally fair. Parker did take on the lead role here as the roper here and showed Sophie she's been working on it. 

I agree with @DoctorAtomic, I think the show has shown us that although Sophie is automatically stepping up and taking a lead role in planning the cons, Parker is deliberately taking a step back and allowing her to do this, because the whole point of getting Sophie back into the game was to help her move past her grief over Nate, so the others are trying to give her what she needs, up to and including a measure of control over the jobs they take on. But we have also been shown that Parker still gets the final say on most decisions - Hardison and Eliot have both been shown looking to her for verification of whatever Sophie has planned, and Sophie too, while instinctively taking the lead on planning the cons, when it comes to the crunch also looks to Parker for that final say so. And when Sophie started to fall back into her old pattern of coaching Parker, she was shown clearly that Parker no longer needs this coaching, because she has developed her own style that works well for her, and having been shown this, Sophie expressed appreciation of her methods. I've been enjoying the new dynamic between the two, because it is new, the relationship has been allowed to move forward in a way that rings true both to the years that have passed and the specific circumstances bringing them back together.

[marceline]

I'm doing a re-watch and there's a scene where Parker is telling Eliot all the tough situations he's gotten out of:

You chipped your way out of an ice cave. (The Long Way Down Job)
You broke out of a gorilla enclosure.
You made dinner for the mob. (The Wedding Job)

I know the first and third one but I can't find anything from a past episode she would be referring to for the second. Of course, maybe this is a reference to something that happened between last season and this one. If so I like it. I remember the discussions during the Original Series about references to jobs we didn't see so this would feel right.

Edited August 2, 2021 by marceline

[blueray]

On 7/9/2021 at 6:42 PM, akg said:

I really didn't like the scene between Parker and the mark at the shooting range. I know it was an act and he was awful but I didn't think bragging about her white privilege and his parents' immigration was necessary. I kept hoping they'd come back to the conversation in some way although I'm not sure what would have made me feel better about it. 

I thought it was perfect as it was the role she was playing (not what she actually thinks, obviously). She nails the southern privilege accent/attitude. It showed of how far Parker has actually come as a grifter. In the original show especially the first season, she could have never pulled that off. And I love that she somehow got the pearl. 

It was interesting as this felt the first just episode of the show. The last two being a two parter. I liked this episode, though I do wish there was more explanation of how that guy was able to just kick people out of their houses. 

I did miss Harrison but Brianna was fine. I liked that in the end she came up with the escape plan (even it if was predictable that she would). I forgot that they were on a boat. So I was confused how they got out of the room at first. Also of course Elliot bonded with the boss guy (who was a good person). 

Overall, I'm enjoying this so far.

Edited August 22, 2021 by blueray

[Llywela]

10 hours ago, blueray said:

I did miss Harrison

Just to note for the record, because you've made this mistake a few times now in different threads, his name is Hardison, not Harrison. 😉

[blueray]

3 hours ago, Llywela said:

Just to note for the record, because you've made this mistake a few times now in different threads, his name is Hardison, not Harrison. 😉

 oops, sorry. I did know that but I kept messing it up anyway.

[Prevailing Wind]

I was blaming autocorrect for the error.  LOL

[DearEvette]

4 hours ago, Prevailing Wind said:

I was blaming autocorrect for the error.  LOL

It is definitely autocorrect.  I had written an entire post that referenced Hardison about three times in it.  I know I wrote his name correctly.  Hit sent and went to re-read the post after it published and every place I had typed 'Hardison' had been replaced with 'Harrison'.

[aradia22]

I don't know much about Cajun accents but these seem bananas. 😂

This was an interesting one. The villain is a 1st generation immigrant who seems to think bribery is part of doing business but wherever he started he is fully corrupt now and also knowingly exploiting vulnerable renters to claim their homes. Sure, the old money Sinclairs seem like the villains to him but he is just as much of a bully and in a shadier way.

I didn't buy Chowdry's master plan for his empire when the first riverboat would barely pass as a 70s hotel (not in a good way). It had Ramada Inn + Golden Corral energy. So many curtains. The Russian mob angle helped a little to explain why he thought it would still work out but he could have tried a little harder on the decor. It doesn't help that the show isn't lit very well. 

The blue dress was like an adult version of a child's pageant outfit. Especially with the hair and the makeup and gloves. I do love the idea of one of their clients helping with the con.

Who dresses like that (not that the outfits were nice but they were evening attire) for a daytime trip to the casino???

This wasn't as funny of an episode but I still enjoyed the twists

Breanna's a little annoying but in the way Gen Z can be annoying so I can't complain much. If anything, she's less grating than you'd expect for someone perpetually online.

[aradia22]

Quote

 I liked this episode, though I do wish there was more explanation of how that guy was able to just kick people out of their houses. 

I'm going to have to watch the whole season but so far it helps if you've been watching Last Week Tonight with John Oliver.