S01.05: The Paranormal Hacktivity Job

[tessaray]

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

When a woman believes she is being haunted and runs from her home in terror, Sophie leads Breanna and Parker through a con to convince the two real estate scammers responsible to target Leverage HQ.
 

[Prevailing Wind]

Oh, a "Girl's Night Out" episode.  I enjoyed the heck out of this one.

[Zonk]

It was interesting how they had to work around not having a hitter at their disposal. They should da that more often (like once a season, otherwise I would miss Elliot too much).

[giovannif7]

Loved this one! Leverage has always been great at having episodes that focus on part of the team, allowing us to delve deeper into the featured team members. Some great Sophie/Parker moments, and it's fun watching Breanna learning the ins and outs of the con, and getting to know the OGs better, especially Parker ("You say 'human brains' like you have an outside perspective...") My only (temporary) disappointment was that they didn't hold this episode for fall - it would have been perfect right before Halloween. Then I remembered that I can just watch it again toward the end of October, so all is good!

I gotta slow down my pace of watching these - at this rate I'll be done with the 8 episodes this weekend, and won't have any new Leverage episodes for months! 😳😢

[leighdear]

Definitely a fun one, and I didn't really miss the guys.  My favorite was Parker's giant skeletal hand, and when she was counting things off on the fingers....too hilarious!

I knew they were going to have to have an episode with hauntings and supernatural stuff, but I expected one with more of a Voodoo focus and a little more Creole creepiness. But I still loved it!  

[Chaos Theory]

Halloween spooky girls only episode.

Remember that Breanna is still a teenager and acts like it sometimes and needs to be reminded to not use the good toilet paper on her Decorations. “When you draw this much attention to a secret lair, it just becomes a…not so secret lair.”

And we get more teacher/student Parker Breanna scenes which I loved.   “I hate the human brains”.  “You say the “human brains” like you have an outside perspective.”  

Yay Breanna got a chance to say the “Let’s go con ourselves a conman.”

It’s always fun watching the gang critique criminals trying to con them who are actually really bad at it. “I take pity on you.  Newbie con guy.”

but of course the third act had to be when they realized really bad con men were working for really superstitious assassin.   

Of course when The Wraith shows of Eliot is out of town.   But the  gals took care of him nicely.    I always loved they could come up with a new plan with one of them tied to a chair at a moments notice part of the fun of the show  

 

Edited July 12, 2021 by Chaos Theory

[DearEvette]

This was a fun one,  The mid episode twist really worked.  I was at first wondering if they would stick to the Scooby-Doo like hijinks but I enjoyed when it took the turn quite a bit.

For once I was curious about the end reveal that would show how Deke “killed” Sophie. How did they get the fake blood? And I was not disappointed at all.  Even Sophie herself was surprised about the convenient blood.  LOL.

Funny moments: Breanna ticking off the high points of her favorite politician with the wacky monster fingers and of course Breanna popping up like some demented jack-in-the-box behind Sophie with the fake blood packets.  You can tell the actress is having a blast.

Also good to see that Parker’s love of tasers is still in effect.

And Sophie nixing Breanna’s plans to decorate the headquarters because she doesn’t want to bring attention to their secret lair, reminds me of a book series I enjoyed (also a motley crew of outlaws who are down-low do-gooders) where the leader laments that when you start getting mail at your hidden lair, it is no longer a hidden lair.

[Ms Lark]

On 7/10/2021 at 6:49 PM, leighdear said:

I knew they were going to have to have an episode with hauntings and supernatural stuff, but I expected one with more of a Voodoo focus and a little more Creole creepiness. But I still loved it! 

Maybe for Mardi Gras?

[Prevailing Wind]

With Tina on crutches, I got a flashback to Parker in the Broken Wing Job.

[MissLucas]

I got so confused because Gilian Saker (Tina) looks a lot like Lindy Booth.I thought it must be her and that's why they removed Elliot and Wilson from the scene LOL!

That was fun! I agree it was interesting to see how they handled such a hairy situation without their hitter present. And at this point you know the team's working so well that no dialogue was required when thing went down. Parker just knew that Sophie would handle things while it was her first priority to get Tina out of danger.

Breanna having a blast with the Halloween stuff and ranting about Hardison's wiring technique was great.

On 7/11/2021 at 4:29 PM, Chaos Theory said:

Remember that Breanna is still a teenager and acts like it sometimes and needs to be reminded to not use the good toilet paper on her Decorations.

I'm starting to wonder how old is she supposed to be? She's written like a teenager but even if she's a tech prodigy her skills and knowledge read a bit older. Plus she mentioned that 9/11 is her first memory, so she's got to be in her early 20s - unless she was talking about its aftermath.

[Chaos Theory]

16 minutes ago, MissLucas said:

 

Breanna having a blast with the Halloween stuff and ranting about Hardison's wiring technique was great.

I'm starting to wonder how old is she supposed to be? She's written like a teenager but even if she's a tech prodigy her skills and knowledge read a bit older. Plus she mentioned that 9/11 is her first memory, so she's got to be in her early 20s - unless she was talking about its aftermath.

My first computer was an Atari 800 this was back in like the mid 80s early 90s  (I think). I was barely a teenager then and my parents figured I would be occupied for weeks trying to figure the thing out.  Two hours later I was showing them all the cool things I could do with it including writing basic programs and I was hardly a prodigy.      And I am guessing when she said “First memory” I don’t think she meant it literally.  I think it’s meant as the first big memory event.    Like the moon landing,   Reagan getting shot,   Princess Diana’s wedding,  her death.   The first big thin that generates “worldwide news” that stays with you.  And in Breanna’s case the thing for her is 9/11

[Maelstrom]

A very "Girls' Day Out" episode, and I loved it! One of my faves so far.

Agree that it was awesome watching everyone seamlessly shift gears after the Russian mob reveal. I love how well they work together that they all just change direction without batting an eye. And it's so refreshing that no one freaked out about facing a ruthless hitman without their resident hitter - each of them knows they can get the better of the Wraith solely with their own skillset. And the three of them together? Those guys didn't stand a chance.

It was nice though that the younger guy who didn't even want to be scamming people anyway got an out. I always appreciate when the team meets a mark that doesn't want to hurt people and offers them a way out.

Breanna's love of Halloween decorations makes Parker's love of Christmas decorations look tasteful and subdued. Glad I wasn't the only one thinking of The Broken Wing Job during this!

Also, Tina's hair was gorgeous! It gave my hair inferiority issues, lol.

[Johannah]

I know a while back I said Sophie and Parker looked a little older and tired, but I thought they were positively glowing in this episode.  Not sure why the difference.  Maybe they are settling in.

Loved this episode.  So much fun.  Not sure I buy that cheesy special effects scared a murderer, but it was fun,  so I'll go along with it.  I also thought when Sophie was seeing the dead people, she should have been more subtle. Like, I see a bird, a cardinal...  ..And let him figure it out.  But then, when I watched shows like "Medium" I always liked it when they had to figure out what the signs meant, so that might be my bias.

Anyway, the cast seemed to be having so much fun, I did, too.

Thank you, thank you, thank you  to everyone involved in bringing me more Leverage!

[Maelstrom]

On 7/11/2021 at 11:54 AM, DearEvette said:

And Sophie nixing Breanna’s plans to decorate the headquarters because she doesn’t want to bring attention to their secret lair, reminds me of a book series I enjoyed (also a motley crew of outlaws who are down-low do-gooders) where the leader laments that when you start getting mail at your hidden lair, it is no longer a hidden lair.

I’m curious, which book series? I’m always up for a good thief story. 🙂

[DearEvette]

22 minutes ago, Maelstrom said:

I’m curious, which book series? I’m always up for a good thief story. 🙂

It is a Steampunk series called The Emperor's Edge by Lindsay Buroker

If you want an actual Leverage inspired story there is one called The Palace Job by Patrick Weekes --also set in a fantasy/alterna world

[Maelstrom]

Thank you, DearEvette! I will check them out for sure 😄

[Emma9]

I was briefly disappointed afterwards that we didn't get a 'Boys' Night' parallel to the 'Girls' Night' this time, but A) Less Noah Wyle is always a good thing and B) Any additional time they can get Aldis for, I'd rather he get to interact with the whole cast.

  

On 7/13/2021 at 1:57 PM, MissLucas said:

I'm starting to wonder how old is she supposed to be? She's written like a teenager but even if she's a tech prodigy her skills and knowledge read a bit older. Plus she mentioned that 9/11 is her first memory, so she's got to be in her early 20s - unless she was talking about its aftermath.

In her first episode, Breanna mentioned Parker teaching her something when she was eleven. So that makes her 19 max, 21 if you want to fanwank that Hardison took Parker home to meet Nana (as of the s4 pilot, she still hadn't met her) sometime between jobs in the last couple seasons.

 

On 7/14/2021 at 4:18 PM, Johann said:

But then, when I watched shows like "Medium" I always liked it when they had to figure out what the signs meant, so that might be my bias.

Aw, Medium. Although I'm delighted to have more Leverage, one small reservation is that it was previously one of my two good examples of shows that didn't get cut off without a real resolution but also didn't drag out long enough to become horrible. I hope whenever it does end again this time the end is still as satisfying. (Granted, they'd have to work hard to end as terribly as Medium did.)

Edited July 15, 2021 by Emma9

[Prevailing Wind]

They didn't let her drink the celebratory alcohol beverages, so she's under 21.

[Lugal]

This one was fun, kind of a Broken Wing Job with a Scooby-Doo twist.  I loved how obvious Sofie was but they still never caught on.  And then they bring in the Wraith.  Interesting they had with a professional killer who respects (even fears) the spirits of the dead.  I hope we see Tina again, since she is their neighbor.

[DoctorAtomic]

Given how New Orleans loves itself a parade, I would have told Sophie that it would have been more conspicuous if they didn't decorate the lair. 

[Hanahope]

On 7/15/2021 at 7:28 PM, Emma9 said:

was briefly disappointed afterwards that we didn't get a 'Boys' Night' parallel to the 'Girls' Night' this time, but A) Less Noah Wyle is always a good thing and B) Any additional time they can get Aldis for, I'd rather he get to interact with the whole cast.

No doubt there's a "boy's night" in the second set of episodes and it will probably include Aldis.  They usually do one of each.

 

[andromeda331]

I loved Girls Night Halloween! It was so much fun. I loved Breanna's excitment for Halloween and all her decorations.

Only Parker would say she hates human brains. I liked the call back to the Psychic job.

 

[Irlandesa]

I loved the Home Alone-esque shenanigans of the uncle and nephew "con men" and that the hit man was preoccupied by ghosts.  It was a well constructed episode.  It would have been a great Halloween episode.

[Lugal]

20 hours ago, Irlandesa said:

It would have been a great Halloween episode.

The fact that it's just the three women and kind of isolated from the larger continuity and that it looks like it was planned as a Halloween episode makes me wonder why it was released with the first batch, rather than the second in the fall.  I guess it could have been a production thing, maybe there's some continuity (hopefully with Aldis Hodge back for more episodes in the fall) or the fall eps are being released after Halloween.

[blueray]

I really enjoyed this episode. I love the episodes where you get nice scenes between characters. I do agree they should have saved this for Halloween. 

[aradia22]

This one felt a little filler-y with the bad special effects, focus on Tina, and Halloween aesthetics. There were parts that were totally old school Charmed. 

Estella Havisham? Like Great Expectations? A bit obvious... but then again, New Jersey. 

Having so many weak actors this episode was tough but I did like the concept of exposing incompetent con men.

I appreciated the hit man twist where Sophie really got to flex on conning someone. It was a modern cold read... where you just look up stuff on the internet.

Wow, Sophie got Deke's cooperation quickly. Weaker episode but the second half brought it up a bit.

[aradia22]

Quote

And it's so refreshing that no one freaked out about facing a ruthless hitman without their resident hitter - each of them knows they can get the better of the Wraith solely with their own skillset. And the three of them together? Those guys didn't stand a chance.

I do think they got very lucky to get a superstitious hitman that 1) didn't want to kill anyone he hadn't been contracted to kill and 2) never looked up to see Parker in the rafters

Quote

Not sure I buy that cheesy special effects scared a murderer, but it was fun,  so I'll go along with it. 

Aside from them being a little obvious (I feel like there's more of the characters having conversations the marks could overhear and generally being less sneaky in this revival) I bought it because the easiest mark would be someone already superstitious. They just had to give him some hint and let his mind do the rest and also ramp up to the point that he was so freaked out he didn't question his spotter falling out of the closet or Deke being grabbed by a "ghost."

[andromeda331]

I like that Parker wanted to do the job because she once believed in psychics which was a good call back. I like when they debunk things like that. 

[Prevailing Wind]

This is airing right now on ION Mystery. Whoo hooo!!

[andromeda331]

15 hours ago, Prevailing Wind said:

This is airing right now on ION Mystery. Whoo hooo!!

That's great!