S02.E02: The One Man's Trash Job

[AnimeMania]

The crew finds out that a shady plastics exporter whose dumping threatens local waters is smuggling black market antiquities on his barges, and plots to relieve him of his ill-gotten gains.

Premiere Date: November 16, 2022    

[Prevailing Wind]

I love the references to Special Agent McSweeten.

[Llywela]

The anti-single use plastics message was a bit heavy-handed here, but in this environmental climate it probably needs to be.

This season seems to be really leaning into Sophie's mysterious past - this episode picked up on a plot strand seeded as long ago as the King George Job and built on it, giving us some intriguing backstory on her Charlotte, Duchess of Hanover persona. It really sounds as if she might have actually married the Duke of Hanover - which still sounds an odd title to my ear because Hanover is in Germany not Britain, and British peerages are almost always linked to British territories rather than anywhere overseas. But the British crown does have a historical link with Hanover through King George I. Queen Victoria was the last British monarch to also rule the House of Hanover, so the implication is that this (fake) dukedom dates back to that time. So anyway, the upshot is that if you combine what we were told in this episode with what we learned in the King George Job, it all adds up to a really fascinating glimpse into Sophie's past and how the Charlotte, Duchess of Hanover persona was created.

[DearEvette]

Eh, I didn't really love this one.  It was ok but nothing I think I'd be re-watching on the regular.

Agreed on the Duchess of Hanover stuff and being introduced to more aspects of Sophie's past.  Also, the more we learn -- which I suspected back in the King Gorge Job -- that that was a very long con that Sophie made real, i.e. a real marriage, given her relationship with the Countess in that episode.  So while 'Charlotte' isn't a legal identity,  Charlotte is really the Duchess.

I wonder, did we ever see her Kiki character before?  Because her old associate in this one also mentions Kiki just like in the prior episode.

I also find it interesting they are reminding us on the fact that as a grifter 'our' Sophie wasn't the benign working for good causes but someone whose literal job it was was to con people and she did it for personal gain and likely left a lot of bitter and hurt people in her wake.

I did like Harry's enthusiasm on his 'death.' and the best way to die "Do i crumple forward?  Or fall backward?'  LOL

[Llywela]

24 minutes ago, DearEvette said:

I wonder, did we ever see her Kiki character before?  Because her old associate in this one also mentions Kiki just like in the prior episode.

I don't think so. I don't remember hearing the name before, anyway. A new persona invented for this season, I guess, but inserted into an early enough point in Sophie's life to also be referred to again here, bumping into yet another guy who knew her at about the same time.

This is two episodes in a row where Sophie has been confronted by her past, one way or another - I'm interested to see where this is going, when more episodes drop. Unless of course it is just a coincidence rather than the start of a theme for the season. I think I'd like it to be a theme for the season. We spent enough time unpicking Nate's history and backstory through five seasons of the original show, while Sophie always retained her mystique. I'd enjoy seeing that mystique broken down more now that she's the one in charge. Maybe one day we'll even know her real name!

[Maelstrom]

OK, so that was... convoluted. It felt like the job had so many twists and surprises and plan changes that I honestly lost track of it all. I wouldn't call this one of their stronger episodes.

That being said, I really enjoyed the deeper dive into Sophie's past, specifically with the Charlotte Prentiss persona. I remember during the original series John Rogers and the other PTB said that Sophie's mystique was central to her character, but as Llywela said, Nate's past got plenty of focus and development so IMO it's about time we get to know more about Sophie. I especially liked the moments when Eliot called her out a little on holding things back from the crew, and Harry asking her whether she was protecting the team or protecting Wilde. I only wish we could have gotten more moments like that. Hopefully in coming episodes.

The McSweetin references made me happy too, though I continue to hold out hope he'll show up onscreen in a future episode. And Tara, too. And I wouldn't say no to another appearance by Hurley.

[Mabinogia]

On 11/17/2022 at 11:29 AM, Llywela said:

This is two episodes in a row where Sophie has been confronted by her past, one way or another - I'm interested to see where this is going, when more episodes drop. Unless of course it is just a coincidence rather than the start of a theme for the season. I think I'd like it to be a theme for the season.

Given that the new show title is Leverage: Redemption and last season I assume was our Mr. Wilson's redemption, it would be interesting if this season was Sophie's. I mean, before they became the Leverage crew none of them were really good people and while the work they are doing now is good, perhaps we can get a bit more personal redemption, like in this ep where Sophie was able to confront directly someone she wronged and attempt to make it right. It is sometimes easy to forget how much devastation these criminals left in their wake because they are such loveable do-gooders (mostly, I mean, they admittedly still steal constantly, and not just as part of a Leverage case).

I always like getting more of Sophie's backstory because as a grifter hers is probably the most fun and varied. I love learning more about all of them really, but as I started watching the show because I'm a fan of Gina Bellman, I've always favored Sophie. I love them all now but she is the one that started it for me. 

[DoctorAtomic]

On 11/17/2022 at 1:03 AM, Llywela said:

The anti-single use plastics message was a bit heavy-handed here, but in this environmental climate it probably needs to be.

I try to limit buying stuff that is packaged in plastic. It's hard! I drive to the next city over to recycle my plastic waste, but you never know if it is. 

I felt they were a little sloppy this time around. I can chalk it up to Sophie being off-game because of Arthur. 

[P2C2E]

On my second watch of this episode. Somehow I accidentally watched this one first when the episodes dropped. So I had to watch it again in order. This time around in one of the group at the house scenes I noticed Parker wearing the jade tiara she stole and replaced with the tiles. Also, when Sophie is first telling the crew about Wilde, I'm pretty sure she's using her "con voice". The one Nate called her out on during the David episodes in season one, "I know that voice, that's the voice you use on a mark".

Also, the line where Parker tells Breanna to switch the container numbers so they take the wrong container was clearly dubbed in later. I remember John Rogers talking about the OG show and saying sometimes they had to spell out the con really obviously for the 30% of viewers who didn't get it. So I'm guessing something similar happened here.

I agree this episode felt a little too convoluted. It was just a little bit off. But I liked the peek at Sophie's past, and the arc potential of dealing with who you were before, who you are now, and does that mean you've changed?

[Lugal]

This one was a bit convoluted, so much so that the con started to feel theoretical and I think it put a bit of distance between it and the viewer.  Although it's always good to get more insight into Sophie and her past, and we got the origin of the Duchess of Hanover.  I did like how they twisted things so that even when Arthur outed them, the mark didn't believe him.

They keep dropping hints about McSweetin, so I'm hoping he appears at some point.  I'd be curious how much of his career is due to the Leverage crew.

Edited November 22, 2022 by Lugal

[Prevailing Wind]

3 hours ago, Lugal said:

I'd be curious how much of his career is due to the Leverage crew.

Pretty much all of it, I'd wager.

[andromeda331]

Always happy for a McSweeten reference I hope we get to see him at some point.

I like that we're learning more about Sophie's past. I've always wondered about it especially after the King George Job with her run in with the Countess. 

I really thought Breanna wanting to do more would end up being something. They can't change the world but Leverage has grown beyond just the team with all the other stuff they do. 

[DearEvette]

9 hours ago, andromeda331 said:

I like that we're learning more about Sophie's past. I've always wondered about it especially after the King George Job with her run in with the Countess.

I just rewatched the San Lorenzo job and that one made me think about other Sophie aliases.  Like the Duchess of Hanover, which while we know Sophie isn't really Charlotte she really is the Duchess.  In the San Lorenzo Job Sophie created the same sort of persona where she was the "assassinated" almost-first lady of the newly elected president.  Her persona there, "Rebecca' is a real person to the people of San Lorenzo and is basically a martyr in that country with a statue, probably a shrine or two by now and a school named after her.

I find those types of aliases fascinating in the scope of the con and how something fake is made real.

[blueray]

For the longest time, I thought could Sophie's real identity be the duchess, as that would have been a good twist. Oh well... I guess there goes that theory, unless she did marry him, then it is sort of real.

[aradia22]

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The anti-single use plastics message was a bit heavy-handed here, but in this environmental climate it probably needs to be.

I feel like Breanna's uncompromising soapboxing felt true to the character, though I think it would have suited a younger character even better. She's just on the line for Gen Z. It's an industry/government regulation issue and not an individual consumer issue so reprimanding Harry seems like the behavior of a young fanatic. 

The guy playing Wilde has a truly nondescript, anonymous face so I had to check if he was on the original series. 

Harry was fun as the greaseball with the toothpick.

Another episode where the accents were all over the place. I did kind of like having a more brutish mark. 

I feel like the episodes are too neatly plotted now. I mean, they're convoluted. But they've lost the sense of things really closing in on the mark. I realized it when Wilde was telling Hammond it was all a con. Those scenes played differently in the original series. Now it's expected that as convoluted as the plots are, it will be something that Sophie planned in advance. Zero concern when Wilde was shot. I thought bullet proof vest since blanks can still hurt at close range but I knew it was something.

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That being said, I really enjoyed the deeper dive into Sophie's past, specifically with the Charlotte Prentiss persona.

Co-signing interest in the Sophie backstory. I hope they're going somewhere with this. Also, please continue avoiding a romantic relationship between Harry and Sophie.

[DoctorAtomic]

9 hours ago, aradia22 said:

I feel like the episodes are too neatly plotted now.

I've said the same. They have limitless resources now, so it's hard to feel there are stakes.