leverage-thoeries

[leverage-thoeries]

honestly tho a big part of why the quinn fight is so fun to me (and part of why i imprinted on quinn, quinn-style, like a baby duck) was like,,,

its the first david job. everything is going to shit. and here comes this ominous little bastard man, walking With Intent towards eliot spencer in his neat little suit like “hi. i know who you are and i’m a little disappointed that i’m not getting the insane challenge i was promised”

like. it’s eliot! it’s eliot spencer, hitter boogeyman extraordinaire, and this guy decks him in the face and says “why aren’t you making this fun for me :3”

little bastard man (affectionate)

#leverage #Quinn #eliot Spencer #also 'au where moreau hires quinn to drag eliot back' #quinn is so fun in this scene mr crawford and mr kane were having a blast and i love this 4 them #his vibes. impeccable but in a bad way. mr quinn my beloved

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oh my god do you think hardison plans his leverage bases on who he thinks needs to be given more purpose with the group??????? he bought everyone an office at the start, because everyone needed a base of operations that they could go to. then he bought nate’s building right as nate was pulling away, locking him into their family more securely. he bought eliot a brewpub after time apart - knowing eliot would want to stay to make sure it didn’t fail. and now he’s bought sophie a theatre after eight years of retirement. he’s buying properties based on who he thinks needs a little extra encouragement or incentive or reminder that they’re part of this family

#leverage #leverage redemption #alec hardison #the nester

[leverage-thoeries]

One thing I haven’t seen much leverage meta for (it probably exists, the show’s been out for a long time, but I haven’t run across it) is how one of the main themes the show explores is grief. This is reinforced in the reboot, but let’s leave that aside for now.

Nate is the most obvious character the show explores this through, but the others come in as well. Parker also lost someone as a child and it continues to effect her as an adult. Eliot also grieves, for the people he killed, and the man he was/could have been. All of them grieve with each other, for what loss has done to their teammates, how it has hurt them. Watching someone you care about be crushed by grief hurts. But Nate’s own role is the easiest to pin down. Some viewers don’t like Nate, apparently, which is fine – but being likable is really not the point of his character? Like he’s not supposed to be nice. Just *interesting*. I’ve seen a lot of meta that boils him down to just “asshole middle aged white man” - he is all of those things, but that’s kind of… reductive. He may not be *the* protagonist (all five of them are, it’s not really hierarchical, although it can seem that way at the start) but he is our introduction to the story and its themes.

And from the moment we meet him we are made aware that this guy is absolutely furious. Like, seething in a way that is not at all helped by his alcoholism. Which is a part of the point, of course. He avoids processing any of his emotions by drinking to numb them. This really establishes the tone for the show, for all that it has some great comedy. Our entry-point into the story is “corporations will let children die for the sake of profit.” And that entry point is through Nate. Yes, it is about the horror and injustice of letting people die for money, but it is also about what happens to the people who get left behind. Parents, siblings, friends, children, etc. It is established pretty early on that Nate’s anger issues/god complex/substance abuse didn’t start with his son dying, but that loss made all of them worse.

It’s like that one quote I can’t remember the origin of: Why is Nate full of anger? Because he’s full of grief. Why is he full of grief? Because he is full of love that was cut short.

(under a cut bc this got ridiculously long)

Keep reading

#leverage #nate ford #anyway nate ford's journey is interesting as hell

[leverage-thoeries]

The new age of the geek

I just wanted to collect all the canon information we have about Hardison’s humanitarian work in one place.

~

The Too Many Rembrandts Job

SOPHIE: Why are you staying at home?

HARDISON: You know, just working with refugee groups, coordinating food drives to resettlement camps, getting medicine to aid workers. George Clooney’s satellite that tracks all the war crimes? It’s all software. Somebody’s gotta run it.

~

The Panamanian Monkey Job

ELIOT: What was that?

HARDISON: It’s nothing. Just some NGOs freaking out about supplies in Venezuela. I got some Russians trying to crack a pro-democracy group I’m babysitting.

~

HARDISON: (on the phone) Okay. I’ll put some Ukrainian white hats on it. No, don’t worry, don’t worry. We’ll get your people to the border, all right? (hangs up)

ELIOT: I’m just saying, dude.

HARDISON: Uh, yeah, yeah. Don’t get distracted by the side gig.

ELIOT: Is it a side gig? In our line of work, you’re one of the best. But in that line of work…you’re the only one, man. It’s okay to grow up, realize you’re not the person you used to be.

~

So far, he’s working with NGOs in Venezuela, a pro-democracy group in Russia, white hat hackers in Ukraine, and who knows what else. Then of course there’s Sri Lanka.

~

PARKER: Where are you going?

HARDISON: Sri Lanka. Currency is under attack. If I don’t do something, it could trigger a total economic collapse.

PARKER: (tearing up) Oh, great, so if I want you here with me, I’m pro-famine. Cool. (steeling her resolve) You should go. I…I…want you to do this.

HARDISON: You know I wouldn’t do this without your blessing, right, babe?

~

The Paranormal Hacktivity Job

SOPHIE: We can’t have guests. We can’t have innocent civilians privy to any crimes we might be committing.

PARKER: But we’re not committing any crimes since Harry and Eliot are in Brunei helping Hardison with that extradition.

~

Did I miss anything? This is a lot. We know Hardison’s a genius, that he can move mountains from behind a computer, but this requires so much more than talent and skill. He’s working with groups all over the world, people who are in various states of crisis, who are witnesses and victims of horrifying atrocities. It takes a special kind of leadership, and a heart as big as the world, to do this lifesaving work.

This is absolutely the perfect arc for Hardison, given his desire for a leadership role that he expressed in the original series. In The Scheherazade Job, Nate told him that he wasn’t cold enough to push the necessary buttons that a mastermind needs to push. Parker, Nate’s chosen successor, is not the same kind of mastermind that Nate was, but she does have that solid core of pragmatism essential for the job. Hardison is different, and I’m so glad that instead of changing himself, he found a place where he can make a difference using his particular strengths. Hardison’s warmth and empathy are essential to his leadership style, and incredibly precious lifelines for the communities he’s helping. He’s still fighting against the same forces of injustice and oppression, but he’s doing it his way.

We all miss Hardison, and we want more of him always, but this is so beautifully done it should be a masterclass for other shows. This is how you respect a character and the viewers who love him. Like his Leverage family, I find it bearable to share Hardison only because I know that he is out there doing good work that no one else can do. But he better come home once in a while or else I’m gonna cry.

#leverage redemption #alec hardison

[leverage-thoeries]

past-eliot/moreau is fun bc it’s like. mutually unrequited except it’s not but it is but it’s not. yes it isn’t. different flavours of mutually unrequited obsession. there is so much happening but whether a feeling may or may not be part of that is anyone’s fucking guess

#yes everything. yes. yes #leverage #eliot spencer #season 3

[leverage-thoeries]

I can’t even begin to imagine how Harry Wilson would wrap his head around a man like Eliot Spencer. Having spent most of his life around slick-talking lawyers and sleazy businessmen, I imagine that Eliot and the bits and pieces of his history that Harry is putting together have to be completely out of his realm of experience.

He watches Eliot carefully, did you notice? And yes, at first it was because he’s the most dangerous man in the room. Eliot knocked him out with a single punch, then spent a lot of their first encounter staring him down. He even herded Harry around in Sophie’s house because he wasn’t about to leave a stranger unsupervised in their private space. And there was this.

But he also cooks for the team, cares for their needs in his own gruff way, and fits in seamlessly with their banter and inside jokes. When he speaks, it’s with great insight and sensitivity. (Remember that Harry was around when Eliot offered a listening ear for Sophie’s grief, and there are several serious conversations he might’ve heard over the comms.) Then there’s this post by @nerdsandthelike, where Harry must’ve started to realize that he’s now under this complex, singular man’s protection.

After Hardison said what he said about repentance, I think Eliot became someone whose approval Harry wants. This is true for all of them—Harry is refreshingly transparent about his esteem for each member of the crew, no chill at all—but I think he senses that Eliot is the one who had gone down the darkest road and walked the longest way back into the light. If Eliot did it and is still doing it every day, maybe he can, too.

So he watches Eliot Spencer. Well, he’s looking at the right man. I, for one, think it will be quite an education for our Mr. Wilson.

#leverage redemption #harry wilson #eliot spencer

[leverage-thoeries]

we see in the series that eliot tends to herd people/check in physically after something goes wrong, so hc that as time goes by this eventually evolves into like. latching on for a while. after the end of a risky con the closest person is getting held in an iron grip for at least half an hour. hardison starts trying to be the closest so he has an excuse to get spooned and do nothing but play his switch for a bit

#leverage #leverage headcanons #eliot spencer #hardison also knows it helps eliot calm down so win win #parker sometimes enjoys eliot hug but she likes to have the option to wriggle free when shes done #sophie is usually exhausted so she lets herself zonk out because eliot is safe and also a space heater #nate is almost never comfortable with it so cue the awkward back pats

[leverage-thoeries]

no, the thing about rundown is that it takes five years to get eliot to the point where he doesn’t automatically defer in military situations, or assume that there’s probably some underlying noble goal. it takes until rundown - eight episode to the end - for him to stop saying ‘sir.’ it takes that long for him to conflate what he did for people like vance in legal, army-sanctioned ways with what he did for moreau in more traditionally criminal ways. that’s how long it is before we see him make a clean break from service and for it to click in fully that killing for country and killing for an individual are exactly the same thing. it’s in rundown that he says ‘i don’t do that anymore’ to the request that he ‘serve his country.’ i’ve heard people say that rundown is the episode that feels like a start to redemption, and for me at least, this is why

#and the thing is eliot is always gonna b that guy who is looking for guidance or orders!!!! #in a kinda subby way. dont look at me #but he has completely completely changed who he answers to #the person (people) he serves arent the most important thing any more #even tho hardison and parker r his lights. his center #its what he does w himself #as a tool. and what good he can affect #teshuvah baby. teshuvah #eliot spencer i diagnose you with a) yes do go to a hospital that's a gunshot wound b) read the 'what is love for a country' leguin speech #leverage #eliot spencer

[leverage-thoeries]

i think that parker and quinn should be Weird Reluctant Friends but i also think that if they were let within 10 ft of each other for more than 15 minutes without outside supervision something, somewhere, would explode. a bank vault perhaps

#Quinn #mr quinn #solid gold. solid gold #i would like to see it in a fic #i wish to see hardison watch the chaos of the other three unfold and think #not my problem #while putting his headphones back in

[leverage-thoeries]

I've decided that when Nate and Sophie got married they became Mr. And Mrs. Devereaux.

#leverage #sophie/nate #sophie devereaux #nate ford

[leverage-thoeries]

Just thinking about The Nigerian Job and all primary reasons/excuses the others have for wanting to hang around despite always having worked alone...

Parker wants to learn from Nate. He sees things she would have missed and she wants to be better at what she does.

Hardison has so much fun on that first job and makes a point of saying that Nate kept him focused. Hardison got into this work because he's good at it and it is fun, but having someone there to keep him on task and point out the weak spots of a job makes things ever better. (Plus he's already crushing on Parker so that's another reason to hang around.)

Eliot doesn't say this, but it's clear from the start that he's a protector and he's found people to protect. At this point he's really only interested in protecting Nate from himself, but that quickly changes and soon he's looking after the whole team.

Sophie enjoys the score, but mostly the thrill of being with Nate and the chance to explore the spark between them.

Nate had fun too, and he clearly enjoyed masterminding a job with such talented individuals. The first three are wearing him down, but of course it's Sophie that finally hooks him. You can hear him made a little sound when he sees her on the bench and he realizes he's already lost.

#leverage #the nigerian job #season 1 #nate ford #parker #alec hardison #eliot spencer #sophie devereaux

[leverage-thoeries]

leverage related rant i went on on twitter that i felt like sharing here

#leverage #season 2 #eliot spencer #the order 23 job #the stork job #season 1

[leverage-thoeries]

my mind is drifting once again to the narrative potential of the favor Eliot owes Quinn....

Like. Eliot Spencer (Of All People) owing you a favor is a big deal, especially in the hitter world. Eliot has a rep, one that just keeps growing over time. For the right people just having him show up could make them reassess what they're doing or who they have employed. So Quinn wouldn't want to waste his favor on something small.

And then again, maybe just having it is a nice little status boost. Or even just a mood boost. A nice little bit of insurance that he can call Eliot in if he ever needs to, and a point of pride that first off the Eliot Spencer called him when he needed help, and secondly Quinn's got this handled, he doesn't need help yet. Could be a comfort and a motivation in one, during tricky situations.

So when Quinn calls it in I feel it's gotta be big. Or at least important to him in some way. That - or incredibly silly.

Maybe a loved one is in some kind of danger. It's a situation he wants to be 100% certain of victory and with him and Eliot together that's a guarantee.

Maybe it's a total angstfest and Quinn himself is in deep trouble and needs a rescue, and he really did wait until the last moment to call Eliot - almost too late

Maybe someone puts a hit on Quinn with a bunch of people and we get a full on bodyguard action movie where Eliot helps watch his back as they figure out who's after him

Maybe something happens that pushes Quinn to his breaking point of wanting to be a better person, and calling Eliot isn't for help on a job at all. Maybe Eliot is his Toby, helping him through a difficult emotional time and then setting Quinn up with his own Leverage International team

Or hell, maybe it's just been a long time since Quinn had so much fun on a job and he kinda misses Eliot but feels awkward getting in touch for no reason, so he hunts down a difficult job he thinks Eliot would like, and calls him in for an extended date as assistance for the gig

Maybe he never calls it in at all but they end up working together several times over the years anyway and they always talk about the favor Eliot owes and Eliot is like, just ask man, I'm ready, and Quinn is super enjoying holding it over his head. Calls him up in the middle of the night just to be like: "Remember that favor you owe me?" *Eliot rolls out of bed and starts getting dressed/arming himself with knives* "Yeah. Where do you need me?" Quinn laughs: "Just making sure." and hangs up and Eliot barely refrains from throwing the phone at a wall. This happens like once a year.

Maybe he does something only to realize that it was a mistake and he needs help to undo it. Helps a guy who goes too far and violates his own moral code, or something. So he needs someone the guy doesn't know to be the face while he rescues whoever he captured, or whatever.

Quinn stumbles across some huge threat ala Rundown Job and is forced into helping prevent it by virtue of being one of the only ones who can and like, 'I don't want the world to end because I live here too' mentality. Eliot's the only one he trusts to help him.

He's been telling his parents he lives a very normal life for years and part of the lie was an elaborate fake boyfriend, but he recently got interrogated by his parents about how serious they really were, panicked, and updated him to fake fiance. Except now his parents want to meet the guy and Eliot can't refuse or tell anyone because It's The Favor

Quinn gets drunk and brags about Eliot Spencer (yes, That Eliot Spencer) owing him a favor, and then a bunch of fellow hitters/goons don't believe him so he drunkenly puts Eliot on speakerphone and makes him confirm it's still good.

Quinn is severely injured and needs a safe place to rest up while healing, and his other safe houses got burned for whatever reason.

Quinn gets stuck with a dog during a gig and has some excuse why he needs to keep it but really he's just fallen in love with her, so he asks Eliot to be his petsitter while he is away on a single job. But Eliot falls in love with her too and offers to be her standing petsitter, and then it turns into them just coparenting this dog, whoever isn't traveling for work keeping her with them.

Someone else calls in the favor on Quinn's behalf, but when Eliot shows up it's actually a trap for him. Quinn finds out and comes to his rescue and then tries to demand a second favor while they fight their way out, but Eliot insists this still ought to count

(A bunch of these could overlap with one another, too.)

SO MANY POSSIBILITIES. So much potential for Eliot/Quinn adventures or friendship or romance or any kind of emotional intimacy or something.

@darkfinch my fellow Quinn aficionado, do you know of any fics with this premise? Or have any other favorite favor ideas to share?

#leverage #quinn #eliot/quinn #also in the fake dating one quinn is forced to reveal his true first name and it's like. harold. or something

[leverage-thoeries]

#leverage #season 4 #eliot spencer #always loved that scene #the experimental job

[leverage-thoeries]

it’s the tower job (lev: redem 1x04) and eliot’s actually manning the food truck while the rest of the team run the con.

it’s a quick shot. the focus is really on breanna and eliot’s just a blur in the background. but once you notice you can clearly see him hand off a lunch. add a bag of chips. give a little prayer hands bow after being tipped. 

and I love the concept of eliot running the food truck in the background of a scene. it’s very equal opposite energy to eliot fighting the bad guy in the background of a scene from the og series. 

but it also a subtle reinforcement of how important the food trucks are to eliot. yeah, they’re mini lucilles and serve a purpose for leverage international. but they also provide jobs to recent veterans. gives them a chance to reacclimate to life outside a warzone. 

because eliot was once himself a broken soldier. he knows what it’s like to leave the service without a support system. how little it takes for a soldier to become an assassin. a mercenery. or a member of a private military company. and how hard it was to step away from that path. how hard it continues to be. everyday. 

so really the food trucks are an ode to toby. his legacy if you will. back in the french connection job (lev 5x04) we learn that toby taught eliot how to use a knife. in a way that doesn’t equal death. but life. he taught me how to cook. 

but more than that he’s one of the guys that kept me from falling all the way down. and eliot is passing that on. 

because eliot didn’t feel anything for a long time. he didn’t have the team yet. he was alone and struggling and it was only by accident that he ran into toby. learned an art. started to feel again. then allowed others to feel with him. it’s like letting a stranger in your head just for a second. and you allow them to feel what you’re feeling.

and the thing is. eliot still has more to do. redemption is a process and the food trucks are just one of the ways he’s doing it. a small way, but no less impactful for it.

#leverage redemption #the tower job #the french connection job #eliot spencer #went feral after catching the little thank you bow #like eliot you dork you softie i see you #and then all the feels from the og series hit me #brick and basil food trucks #headcanon that it's basil for the food he grows and brick for the brewpub

[leverage-thoeries]

When Eliot has to (reluctantly) go through the vents, he complains "Don't they ever clean these things?" even though it was usually Hardison who complained about dust and dirt on the job (including freaking out about dust mites in the vents).

Conclusion: Eliot's primary vent experience is from their own home's vents ("vent practice"), and Parker keeps those vents fastidiously clean and dust-free for her boys to make hanging out in the vents with her as appealing to them as possible.

#leverage redemption #parker #eliot spencer #alec hardison #vent practice

[leverage-thoeries]

One thing I love about Leverage: Redemption but haven’t seen noted yet is the overhead shot motif. Or at least a specific aspect of it.

We see it sprinkled throughout the original series when the team’s coming together or when they’re going their separate ways. It’s a symbol representing the team as a cohesive unit (thank you Symbolism of The Circle) - this group of random strangers that has somehow forged themselves a family.

And you can use it to understand the team’s current dynamics. The first time we see them like this, they’ve just finished a one-off job for a lying asshole Dubenich. All of them understand and want this to be a one-time thing. They’re all moving within the circle as they talk, antsy, and when it’s time to part ways no one hesitates.

Then, compare that to the end of the season. At this point they’ve grown close. They’re a family. None of them want to go, but they have to because they need to lay low for a while and they can’t do that as a group. It’s a separation that’s probably going to last forever and no one is moving. In fact it takes forever for them to turn and leave, and some of them are close to tears (Sophie actually does cry). And the first to turn away? Nate. Because despite these people being his family and him not wanting to leave them, he’s not a thief. (Which is the exact reason Sophie cries. It’s a rejection of who they are, who she is, because Nate hasn’t come to terms with who he is yet.)

So now we have Leverage: Redemption, where we get our first overhead shot. It’s at the beginning of the first episode to show us where the team stands in the present day, and it’s a fucking gut punch. At first we think it hits hard because Nate’s not there. The team is there, but a piece is missing, leaving a hole both literally and figuratively. And this is what I’ve seen a lot of comments on.

But that’s not the case. If you look closer, you realize that Nate Ford IS in the shot, in his place by Sophie, even, but instead of his presence being a comfort to the team it’s an oppressive weight. A figurative hole, but not a literal one.

Nate’s death is the elephant in the room. Always present and affecting everyone, even though he’s no longer physically there with them.

And the first to leave the shot?

Sophie.

She exits swiftly in the opposite direction of Nate, cutting her way through the rest of the team in her effort to get away. In fact we learn not a few moment later that she’s been avoiding everyone and trying to get away for a while now. (“Because you’ve stopped returning our calls” ~ Parker)

Sophie’s arc this season is her grief, learning to process the loss and, in my opinion, to keep living throughout the process. Grieving is something we all do. It’s natural and it’s necessary, but when we’re grieving we cannot also forget to live. And I get the distinct feeling that Sophie has forgotten how to keep living through her grief and that hasn’t allowed her to fully process it. It’s also why I think the rest of the family came to rope her back into the business. It started out as a way to distract her or make her smile again, but really it’s encouraging her to live. Then, through the numerous cons afterward, she’s able to keep living and grieving side-by-side, and that is what helps her process her loss.

#leverage redemption #sophie devereaux #nate ford #grief