S02.E11: The Belly of the Beast Job

[AnimeMania]

The team reluctantly enlists the help of a naïve but ambitious assistant to take down a predatory music producer, in an episode told entirely from the POV of a regular person.

Premiere Date: January 10, 2023

[SoMuchTV]

I really liked this one - "from the POV of a regular person"!  So are we getting new team members?  And did we already know Brianna could sing? (If so I completely forgot it.)   How random is that?

I'm not sure I agree with this, though: 

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"The team reluctantly enlists the help..." 

Not sure there was any reluctance there!

[Mabinogia]

I enjoyed this one. My only complaint is that I don't have a Leverage crew following me around helping me right the wrongs in my workplace. 

It was a lot of fun watching the team trying to not get noticed by this one super observant, though not so observant that she saw them all lined up as she walked right past them at the end, assistant. 

Parker vanishing at the beginning was my favorite bit though. When the assistant (I watched it an hour ago, I'm really, really bad with names) walked past, stopped and turned and Parker was gone. It was hilarious. I was a little surprised that she didn't recognize her in the safe video after seeing her "fix" the light in Perv's office. I'll just chalk it up to her being so freaked by nearly being molested that she wasn't really looking at random maintenance lady.

[DearEvette]

This was a nice change up of the formula.  I do admit in the first... what..15 mins?  I was missing the team.  But it was nice to see how they operate from the perspective of someone on the outside who doesn't know what is happening.

The assistant (yeah I forgot her name already too...) was a sharp little thing.  I like that she immediately copped to Sophie's fake name.  You never know who you are gonna run into who knows character trivia.  There is a mystery series I read (Fox and O'Hare) where they run cons to catch thieves and Fox (the the reformed thief) always uses names for 60s-80s era tv show characters (Merrill Stubing or Thomas Banacek).  Those probably wouldn't tip a millennial but a Gen-x might get it.

I liked the fact that even with Parker's instructions, she wasn't able to miraculously crack a safe, and we got to see Parker slip down and open it for her. 

My one question about this ep was how did the Leverage team get the job?  It sounds like the original victim, Sara didn't know they were on the job since she thanked the two regular employees for helping her, not the team?  I am wondering if she sought them out and they were on recon and hadn't officially accepted the job when they realized the new plucky assistant was doing all their work for them and they decided to 'help' her out?

[rur]

1 hour ago, DearEvette said:

My one question about this ep was how did the Leverage team get the job?  It sounds like the original victim, Sara didn't know they were on the job since she thanked the two regular employees for helping her, not the team?  I am wondering if she sought them out and they were on recon and hadn't officially accepted the job when they realized the new plucky assistant was doing all their work for them and they decided to 'help' her out?

Sara, the girl we saw getting fired at the beginning of the episode,  later in the episode told the new assistant that someone else had contacted a lawyer named Harry, but she didn't know what came of it. So the team was already there, including "Lethbridge-Stewart" Sophie, because of the contact with someone the audience never saw. When the team realized what the new assistant was doing, they decided to help her. Sara never knew that the team was there. 

[Llywela]

Was the girl we saw getting fired at the beginning called Sara? I thought it was April. Not that it matters.

This episode was like watching the birth of a whole new branch of Leverage International. Jenna and Keith were adorable, they just need a bit of training up, a couple of partners to work with, and they are good to go. It would be really cool to see them again somewhere down the line, like how earlier this season we saw the young lawyer Harry mentored last season and caught up with how she's come on since her brush with the team, and like how we know Hurley is now a full blown Leverage team member. There's a big wide world of off-screen Leverage shenanigans going on, and I love the idea of seeing new members of that get picked up here and there.

[DearEvette]

6 minutes ago, Llywela said:

Was the girl we saw getting fired at the beginning called Sara? I thought it was April. Not that it matters.

This episode was like watching the birth of a whole new branch of Leverage International. Jenna and Keith were adorable,

LOL, bless you for using real names.  I did not have the energy to go bck and look for names and I was posting from memory.

And agreed about this being a look at a possible new pair of Leverage Int'l recruits.

[Llywela]

2 minutes ago, DearEvette said:

LOL, bless you for using real names.  I did not have the energy to go bck and look for names and I was posting from memory.

I mean, I was also posting from memory, it's just that my memory said April. But people here were saying Sara so I got confused and doubted myself! Maybe she was called something else entirely! Not that it matters. Anyway, it was her, whoever she was.

[rur]

50 minutes ago, Llywela said:

I mean, I was also posting from memory, it's just that my memory said April. But people here were saying Sara so I got confused and doubted myself! Maybe she was called something else entirely! Not that it matters. Anyway, it was her, whoever she was.

Add one more seat to the bad memory table. I couldn't remember any names, but when I saw a name, I thought, "Well, that must be it; I'm glad someone knows!" 

Yours truly, 

A brown-haired girl 😉

 

[Mabinogia]

April does sound right for the redhead, and Jenna was of course the current assistant. Maybe Sara was the assistant that hired Leverage? 

I like the idea that there are other Leverage teams out there doing their thing. I'd love to maybe do an episode where we follow one of those teams, though I'd miss our team, so maybe it's a collab between the two teams? I wouldn't say no to a spinoff if they struck gold again with casting. 

Oooh, Sterling could change his ways and lead a team. Anything to get more Mark Sheppard in my life. :)

[DearEvette]

Oh forgot to mention in my earlier post...

The romance novels that Carole (I think this name I got right... LOL) had on her shelves were mostly fake, except the first one, it was a Mary Balogh novel that I actually read (quite good).

Also I love that Harry being a 'LumberPrince' was a turn on for the ladies even with that stupid looking beard. 

I also liked the sight gag of the gumbo being delivered by invisible elves to Sophie as she worked in the food truck.

[Maelstrom]

A different kind of episode - I admit I missed our crew, but it was fun seeing them pop up (sometimes literally, lol). Jenna and Keith would absolutely be a fun addition to a Leverage International team, and have been added to my list of characters I'd love to see return. Loved how they were so sharp to notice oddities and anomalies, both from the mark's dirty deeds as well as the crew's, and were able to plan how best to proceed at each step without being wholly dependent on the crew - I'm thinking of Keith knowing to go after the mark for the financial crimes to give time to gather evidence of the assaults.

And the ending, where the crew McSweetins everyone! (Those two cops: "We get called out for a fire alarm and end up with the biggest busts of our careers! It must be our lucky day!")

So wow, Breanna's voice! I'm not even a fan of that type of jazzy crooning but her voice was absolutely beautiful. Lots of talented people in this cast.

The mark was impressively sleazy, and I cheered every time one of the crew appeared to interrupt him before he could perv all over Jenna. That scene outside the club when the mark is looking directly into the camera while coming onto her was especially effective *shudder*

So Hardison must have turned Breanna onto being a Who fan (or the Lethbridge-Stuart alias was already set up and Breanna just used it, but I prefer imagining young Hardison sitting down with little Breanna to watch episodes of Doctor Who). And speaking of Doctor Who, wasn't there an episode showing the Doctor from the perspective of normal people, possibly with a very young Marc Warren - or maybe I'm imagining things (room for one more at the bad memory table?).
 

• The assistant mark's Hallmark fetish was hilarious, as was Harry as the LumberDuke. ("My father wants me to take over... the farm.")
• Eliot knocking the mark's head against the HQ gates while carrying him out of the club.
• Parker's YT vids as the Lockpicking Bartender
• Sylvia the ex-wife is both Security's red alert situation and the crew's ultimate weapon.
• Sophie getting shoved behind the food truck counter while Eliot hands up the food (and takes the money, lol)

Edited January 12, 2023 by Maelstrom

[Mabinogia]

26 minutes ago, Maelstrom said:

The mark was impressively sleazy, and I cheered every time one of the crew appeared to interrupt him before he could perv all over Jenna. That scene outside the club when the mark is looking directly into the camera while coming onto her was especially effective *shudder*

That scene made me so uncomfortable, which was the point, so well done show. 

[P2C2E]

Oh well done, show! This was great. These last few episodes have been fantastic.

I loved Jenna foiling the team accidentally and knowing that something was off but never quite getting there.

This was a lot of fun to watch. And now I really want to see Jenna and Keith again.

[Linderhill]

It was fun seeing Jeffrey Vincent Parise on my television again.  He played Asmodeus on Supernatural a few years back, a Prince of Hell -- and he has a pretty good singing voice too.  I enjoyed this episode mostly but I did miss seeing our regular crew as much as we usually do.  Each one was given a couple of scenes to highlight their special talents.  I loved seeing Elliot taking down all of the various security guards.  Loved hearing Breanna sing! It was nice to hear her singing over the end credits.

[andromeda331]

This was a great episode. It was fun watching the crew work from a distance. I love how Jenna was observant to notice the Doctor Who name but not where the gumbo was coming from at the food truck. I love that she recognized Sophie from the food truck but not someone else opened the safe door. I love how quickly Parker disappeared. Harry pretending to be lumberjack prince for Carole. The cops showing up for fire and leaving with the biggest bust of their careers.

Breanna has a really good voice. 

[Lugal]

This was my favorite episode so far (I say that pretty much every week, but still...)  I love the perspective of seeing the team from someone else's eyes.  I really liked Jenna and Keith.  Despite Jenna's ambition, she didn't hesitate to do the right thing.  I would definitely like see Jenna and Keith again.  Sofie outright told Jenna, "We'll be watching."

Personal favorite moments:

• Parker's YT video of how to crack a safe which is clearly the safe right in front of Jenna, and Jenna's reaction of: "huh, you really can find anything on the internet!"
• Breanna singing (wow!)
• Sofie getting shoved to the window of the food truck (and her invisible helper)
• Harry the LumberDuke (and Carol's stash of illegally downloaded Hallmark movies)
• Elliot quietly taking down all the guys before they could get close to Jenna.

18 hours ago, Mabinogia said:

I like the idea that there are other Leverage teams out there doing their thing. I'd love to maybe do an episode where we follow one of those teams, though I'd miss our team, so maybe it's a collab between the two teams? I wouldn't say no to a spinoff if they struck gold again with casting.

There was a Korean remake of the original show a few years back.  I managed to track it down, and I enjoyed it (as a fan of Leverage and as a fan of K-dramas).  They even name-checked the series in The Golf Job when Hurley says he just flew in from Seoul and that "Lee Tae-Joon [lead on the Korean show] and his crew are killing it over there!"

[chaifan]

I'd like to know how they were going to rig the interview process so that Breanna got the job. 

When the exec's first event was cancelled and they needed to find a new singer, I thought Keith was going to be the breakout star.  (Since we heard him singing in the first scene.)  When that didn't happen, then I thought that Elliot was going to be the singer.  But nope, Breanna.  Was that her real voice?  She's good!  I also thought Elliot was going to be prince lumberjack, and then it's Harry.  So two Elliot fakeouts for me.  And speaking of Elliot, what's with the 16 year old girl ponytail he was sporting all episode?  Seriously, does his hair & makeup person hate him? 

I wonder if we'll see Jenna and Keith again.  It seemed like last episode they were setting things up for a Breanna exit.  And now it looks like they're setting things up to bring two new people in.  Hmmm....  makes me wonder...

[Prevailing Wind]

Well, Keith IS an IT guy.  Makes sense, I guess. I'd rather Hardison come back.

[DoctorAtomic]

I'm surprised they haven't done this episode technique before. You have to be far enough in to a show so the viewers know the characters well enough to pull off. I suppose the first season of the return of the show you want to get everyone back on board. 

I was laughing at the Brigadier reference, and then Jenna totally got it! And she recognized Sophie from the food truck. I'm surprised they were sloppy there. Jenna hadn't seen Breanna yet, and so what if she saw her at the food truck two times? They didn't catch the line clicking on the phone though. I did like how they were saying, "oh that's weird that happened" "how random is that". 

I don't think I've ever heard "forest-oriented lifestyle" on tv before.

"I can code. I'll always find a job." Basically.

On 1/11/2023 at 5:20 PM, Maelstrom said:

And speaking of Doctor Who, wasn't there an episode showing the Doctor from the perspective of normal people, possibly with a very young Marc Warren - or maybe I'm imagining things (room for one more at the bad memory table?).

That was during Ten's run; one of the so-called 'Doctor Lite' episodes where they focused on people who had random interactions with the Doctor and how they eventually formed something of a community. No Coat for Marc Warren though. 

On 1/12/2023 at 10:16 AM, Lugal said:

Parker's YT video of how to crack a safe which is clearly the safe right in front of Jenna, and Jenna's reaction of: "huh, you really can find anything on the internet!"

I'm fairly observant and skeptical, but this wouldn't phase me one bit. I wouldn't doubt for a second there's safecracking videos. 

 

[Prevailing Wind]

He's nowhere near as cute as Parker.

Edited January 14, 2023 by Prevailing Wind

[Mabinogia]

10 hours ago, DoctorAtomic said:

They didn't catch the line clicking on the phone though. I did like how they were saying, "oh that's weird that happened" "how random is that". 

That surprised me. Given that they were trying to prove the company was doing something shady, my first thought hearing a click on the line would have been that the boss had the line bugged or was listening in somehow. Is it a cell phone generation kind of thing? Cause I grew up with land lines where you could pick up in another room and eavesdrop. There was always a telltale click. Happened all the time on those daytime documentaries about the lives of crazy rich people. I think they're called soap operas? ;)

Edited January 14, 2023 by Mabinogia

[blueray]

Another good episode. It was definitely a different take seeing it from the civilian pov. I like that they seemed like they were going to get hired by Leverage at the end. As they were doing a good job on their own taking the company down. Also I thought for sure the lumber jack was going to be Elliot then was surprised when it was Harry. But then the show instantly answered by question of "why" as then Elliot was taking out the security guards ;). And Parker as a youtuber doing a video about lock picking was great.

I was disappointed that Carol turn out to just be bitch. Like I really thought it would turn out that he sexually assaulted her too. And she was actually looking out for the young assistants as that was once her. And it would have explained her obsession with romance novels as she still isn't over what happened to her. Maybe it was to deep for this show, but I think it would have been a better ending. The have her be involved with the financial fraud which would be why she wasn't saying anything.

[KittenPokerCheater]

I got such a good laugh when (sorry about names) the former assistant and tech guy walked out of the building and obliviously right past the team.  So sure they had done it all by themselves!  “How random is that?”

I see them joining one of the other leverage teams out there.

And wow, Breanna has a set of pipes!

[Sarah 103]

7 hours ago, Mabinogia said:

That surprised me. Given that they were trying to prove the company was doing something shady, my first thought hearing a click on the line would have been that the boss had the line bugged or was listening in somehow. Is it a cell phone generation kind of thing? 

My guess, if they didn't know a click on the line meant the phone was bugged, is they did not grow up watching old movies, especially 1970s-1990s conspiracy thrillers. 

I didn't like the episode. It's my least favorite of this series. I watch to see the team being awesome, and I didn't get enough of that. It was better than The Office Job, in the original series but not by much. I did enjoy Henry being the LumberDuke. 

[DoctorAtomic]

6 hours ago, blueray said:

The have her be involved with the financial fraud which would be why she wasn't saying anything.

She didn't know her name was on the other LLC though. I liked that she wasn't former victim and just a bad person. Sometimes some people just are. 

I did like that she was all 'pay your dues; I had to wait five years to get into a meeting.' as to why she was gatekeeping so hard. I was saying, 'well maybe you should have just barged in and told them you should be there' like Jenna did. That's not her (Jenna's problem). 

[Johannah]

I liked it, but just 'like', while I love most of the other episodes.  I missed 'our' crew.  It was kind of fun seeing it from the outsiders' perspective (and them thinking everything was random), but I would have liked to see our crew's machinations as they were creating them, not just the end result.  Reading the comments above, I realize that the stuff I liked best was when the crew were onscreen.

And I agree that, for that girl to have been shown as being so observant, it was ridiculous for her not to notice 5 people leaning back on a truck staring at her and the IT guy.  Maybe if the crew had been huddled together as if in conversation, but the way they were postured, they should have been noticed.  I think it would have been better if she noticed them, paused her speaking as if something triggered in her memory, then she shook it off and continued on her way.

[Johannah]

On 1/12/2023 at 12:16 PM, Lugal said:

...

There was a Korean remake of the original show a few years back.  I managed to track it down, and I enjoyed it (as a fan of Leverage and as a fan of K-dramas).  They even name-checked the series in The Golf Job when Hurley says he just flew in from Seoul and that "Lee Tae-Joon [lead on the Korean show] and his crew are killing it over there!"

Cool.  So, the order in the pic is: fighter, thief, mastermind, con-woman, tech guy with computer over shoulder.  (?) Would like to catch an episode or more of that show.

Edited January 21, 2023 by Johann

[Mabinogia]

23 minutes ago, Johann said:

I think it would have been better if she noticed them, paused her speaking as if something triggered in her memory, then she shook it off and continued on her way.

That actually would have been great. It's something I could see happening, you see someone you think you recognize with someone else you think you recognize but it makes no sense for them to be together so you think you must have it wrong and go about your day. But to not see them at all makes her seem a lot less smart and observant than the rest of the episode implied. 

[Lugal]

3 hours ago, Johann said:

Cool.  So, the order in the pic is: fighter, thief, mastermind, con-woman, tech guy with computer over shoulder.  (?) Would like to catch an episode or more of that show.

Yeah, Hitter, Thief, Mastermind, Grifter and Hacker.  I liked it, and thought it was worth seeking out.  It may be a little hard to find due to geo-blocking.

 

[DoctorAtomic]

Is it streaming?

[andromeda331]

13 hours ago, Mabinogia said:

That actually would have been great. It's something I could see happening, you see someone you think you recognize with someone else you think you recognize but it makes no sense for them to be together so you think you must have it wrong and go about your day. But to not see them at all makes her seem a lot less smart and observant than the rest of the episode implied. 

At least Parker, Sophie and Breanna since she interacted with them the most. It would have been great especially after she notice Sophie looked just like the woman at the food truck.

[Cthulhudrew]

That was a really clever twist on the usual formula. I enjoyed the way they did something innovative.

[jabRI]

On 1/21/2023 at 12:13 PM, Johann said:

And I agree that, for that girl to have been shown as being so observant, it was ridiculous for her not to notice 5 people leaning back on a truck staring at her and the IT guy.  Maybe if the crew had been huddled together as if in conversation, but the way they were postured, they should have been noticed.  I think it would have been better if she noticed them, paused her speaking as if something triggered in her memory, then she shook it off and continued on her way.

I loved that scene! It's kind of an inside joke, because most episodes end with them all standing there watching the bad guy takend own, as he/she stares open mouthed, 'you... you were all in on it!' so to just be anticlimatically not noticed was kinda meta.

[Johannah]

4 minutes ago, jabRI said:

I loved that scene! It's kind of an inside joke, because most episodes end with them all standing there watching the bad guy takend own, as he/she stares open mouthed, 'you... you were all in on it!' so to just be anticlimatically not noticed was kinda meta.

AND it's really stupid for them to be doing that.  Doesn't a con man want to get away unnoticed?  Less chance for retaliation and being recognized in a future con.

[aradia22]

This was a cute idea for an episode. It was nice to see a civilian involved in the case who was almost competent enough to get things done on her own. Also, it gave us time to enjoy the chemistry building between Jenna and Keith rather than just watching the established chemistry of the crew. 

I didn't quite buy Breanna as a great singer or a music label really wanted to pick up a classic jazz act. I thought it would be a ploy for the bad boss to harass Jenna... just pretending to go along with things to get close to her. I couldn't believe he actually wanted to sign Breanna.

I kind of wished they saved the roasting of romance novels/Hallmark movies for another episode. I was amused when Harry turned out to be the Flemish guy. One time when a ridiculous accent makes perfect sense. Still, as fun as this was, I wish they'd been able to spend more time on it. Maybe they'll bring that world back for another episode. I need a gif of "What? No... My secret..."

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Parker vanishing at the beginning was my favorite bit though. When the assistant (I watched it an hour ago, I'm really, really bad with names) walked past, stopped and turned and Parker was gone. It was hilarious. I was a little surprised that she didn't recognize her in the safe video after seeing her "fix" the light in Perv's office. I'll just chalk it up to her being so freaked by nearly being molested that she wasn't really looking at random maintenance lady.

I was surprised to see another case where they slipped up on using one of the team twice. Now that Leverage International has been introduced, it really doesn't make sense not to call in an assist if it's just a small thing. Jenna played along but she could have EASILY blown the case when she recognized Sophie. Also, they used Parker as the maintenance woman, the bartender, and then the safe cracker though technically she was a safe-cracking bartender in that youtube video so the last two could plausibly be the same identity. 

[aradia22]

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The romance novels that Carole (I think this name I got right... LOL) had on her shelves were mostly fake, except the first one, it was a Mary Balogh novel that I actually read (quite good).

I saw the Mary Balogh and just assumed they bought some romance novels to dress the set. And given how Hallmark movie actors already tend to look like stock models, I assumed all the movies were fake. 

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The assistant mark's Hallmark fetish was hilarious, as was Harry as the LumberDuke. ("My father wants me to take over... the farm.")

I thought he said his "grandmama calls it The Firm" as a reference to the British monarchy.

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Despite Jenna's ambition, she didn't hesitate to do the right thing. 

I think I've been watching too many mysteries. I was worried at first that she was only going to April so she could bring the evidence back to the bad guys. Jenna talking to April and also talking to Carol at the end read as grifter scenes so it felt a little odd coming from a completely genuine character. 

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Also I thought for sure the lumber jack was going to be Elliot then was surprised when it was Harry. 

I could not place the voice at all. I thought it was Hardison and it was just going to be an audio cameo. I was expecting Harry to appear at the very end to do some lawyering but I guess if you set off a fire alarm, you can just have the police show up.

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I was disappointed that Carol turn out to just be bitch. Like I really thought it would turn out that he sexually assaulted her too. And she was actually looking out for the young assistants as that was once her. And it would have explained her obsession with romance novels as she still isn't over what happened to her. Maybe it was to deep for this show, but I think it would have been a better ending. The have her be involved with the financial fraud which would be why she wasn't saying anything.

I agree this would have been stronger. Maybe she wasn't trying to protect the assistants but she could have at least seen the error of her ways, realizing she hadn't processed her trauma. But Carol and Hank were great bad guys so I'm not too mad. They might be my favorite bad guy team of the season next to the MLM couple. Blond e-sports guy and the professor have been the best solo villains so far.