LEVERAGE: REDEMPTION Season Finale Recap: (S03E10) The Side Job

Geek Girl Authority

2 days ago

For a finale, Leverage: Redemption, 'The Side Job,' doesn't feel all that final. Not to say it isn't a masterclass in building an engaging and layered narrative. But, honestly, that's kind of a given with this series. It also elegantly bookends the season with Hardison (Aldis Hodge) returning and Parker (Beth Riesgraf) holding him to his six-month reflection on the reason they do what they do. We can only hope Prime Video gives them a few more seasons with which to continue doing.
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In this episode, the unique use of black-and-white and color footage to denote the scenes 'in' the con versus adjacent is a multi-purpose device. It sells the film noir style of story. It highlights the epically dramatic lie Parker sells to the mark. Most brilliantly, it reminds us that Parker sees the world in black and white. Always has. Always will. It's her con. Her way. Image Credit: Courtesy of Prime Video Leverage: Redemption, 'The Side Job'
Cold open on a black and white pan over Puerto Nuevo, Colombia. In a shadowy pub, a hatted man seated at the bar answers his phone, saying that he needs to get to the island to close the deal before 'the blonde' finds him because she's going to kill him. Further down the bar, the camera focuses on Parker glancing over with a grin.
In Louisiana, two weeks earlier, at the Ramirez Processing Plant, the hatted man, wearing a suit and no hat, directs a hesitant worker to dump the load into the bone-grinder. In his office, he finds Parker rifling through his files. He's the plant's owner, Edgar Ramirez (Ricardo Chavira). She's [allegedly] Elise Bannister, a social worker.
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She's investigating the child labor he uses. As he escorts her out of the building, she notes how small his workforce is, height-wise, and gives the bone-grinder a hard look as she passes it. Outside, he's impressed by the sports car she drives. Putting together her surreptitious entrance, her ransacking of his office, and the fancy wheels, he guesses she's up to something and promises to find out what it is. She scoffs and drives off. Reality
As Ramirez heads back into the plant, the picture flips to color. Elliot (Christian Kane) and Sophie (Gina Bellman) drive up, looking for Parker. Sophie checks in with the rest of the team to see if they know what Parker's up to. Breanna (Aleyse Shannon) and Harry (Noah Wyle) are in a hospital room, asking a woman about a boy, Rodrigo (Adan Carvacaño), who lies unconscious in the bed, his arm in an external fixator device.
She tells them he had told her that he got a good-paying job, but she didn't know it involved dangerous machinery. She tells Harry they can't sue because Rodrigo had fake work papers saying he was old enough. When Breanna asks where he got the papers, Rodrigo wakes up and says it was Ramirez, but he can't testify because Ramirez will punish his undocumented cousins. Boundaries
At headquarters, Sophie asks Elliot if the particulars of this case don't have him worried. Harry gets off the phone with his mom and asks them how to get around answering her questions about Leverage. Breanna enters and debriefs Edgar Ramirez, who repeatedly violates child labor laws. He deflects the bad press onto the employment agency, saying Dean Cisco (Garrett Hines) didn't vet the employees properly. However, Breanna's learned that Ramirez actually owns Cisco's company.
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Harry wants to know why they're so concerned about Parker. Parker arrives and explains that she is triggered by cases involving kids. She's installed bugs and cameras in Ramirez's office and a backdoor to his computer. Breanna has access to all of it. Parker promises to call if she needs help.
When Elliot questions her going it alone, she points out that everyone on the team has their personal side job projects. Elliot looks out for veterans. Harry takes on legal clients. Breanna does her white-hat hacking. The team wishes her well. As Parker leaves, Sophie asks Elliot if he believes Parker's explanation. He doesn't. The Set Up
Back in black-and-white. Ramirez and Cisco discuss Parker's visit. Ramirez tells Cisco that she was looking for paperwork on his employees connecting them to Isla Nubla, a tiny island off the coast of Colombia. He remembers receiving a voicemail from a Marta Cabrera from Gold Star Properties asking about employees from Isla Nubla. He plans to go see her in person.
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In color, at the Gold Star offices, Sophie lets herself in. Over the cons, Breanna reminds Sophie that Parker wasn't taking anything from Ramirez's files; she was planting the Isla Nubla stuff, including the voicemails from Cabrera. As Sophie wonders why Parker laid a trail to Gold Star, Breanna realizes that Ramirez should be arriving any second. Sophie finds a blue folder with a sticky note on it that reads, 'FOR SOPHIE.' Grinning, she opens it up, picks up some wardrobe props, and acknowledges that Parker set her up. Drawing Sophie In
When Ramirez knocks on Gold Star's door, it's back in black-and-white. Sophie greets him as Marta Cabrera. He says he's there to discuss Isla Nubla. She jumps on the topic, explaining that Gold Star owns the island now, and they're waiting for investors to develop a deep-water cruise ship port.
Parker makes her entrance, pointing out that the island is empty because Hurricane Frances forces everyone to evacuate, and no one was allowed back on. However, before they can develop, they need someone born on the island to sign off to satisfy Colombia's government's mandate to respect indigenous claims to the land. That person will get a million dollars a year for life as compensation.
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Outside, Ramirez tells Parker he doesn't need her now. He'll find someone born on Isla Nubla by the weekend. Parker coerces him back with talk of making even more than the payout Mart Cabrera mentioned. She texts him an address to be at in an hour. Something Like That
He leaves, and the picture blinks back into color. Parker returns to the conference room and debriefs with Sophie. They agree that the seat-of-the-pants grift was a lot of fun. Sophie guesses that the real reason for Parker's con is that their current jobs are too safe. Parker allows that might be part of it.
Parker tells Breanna to meet her at the address she just texted Ramirez. They arrive on the 34th floor of a partially constructed building. Parker tells Breanna she wants to put the mark under stress to distract from the lie. Playing the building's architect, Breanna guesses that the real reason for Parker's con is that she wants to innovate their cons. Parker allows that might be part of it.
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Flip to black-and-white for Ramirez's arrival on site. Breanna calls Parker and Ramirez over to where they can't be overheard. They step out onto an unfinished balcony. Breanna tells him that Marta didn't divulge that anyone indigenous to the island will get a piece of any business established there. She wants her firm to be the one to build the port. If Ramirez wants in, he needs to buy in at 10 million dollars. She guarantees a ten-to-one return, minimum. Spinning Stories
At headquarters, in color, Harry checks in on Sophie, who is reviewing Parker's sting. Sophie explains how Parker's combined two different cons to convince Ramirez to empty his coffers into an escrow account that the Leverage team will pillage. She's concerned that Parker's placing herself in danger in order to close the deal.
In black-and-white, Parker attends one of Ramirez's fundraisers. On the dance floor, he accuses her of being a bigger bad guy than him because she uses people to get ahead. His phone pings, and he shows her that Cisco has doctored papers to prove that Ramirez was born on Isla Nubla. This pulls the rug out from under Parker's plan. Recovery
In color, Parker sits in the corner of Rodrigo's hospital room. His aunt comes in and tells Parker that he's improving slowly. She tells Parker that she's a good person for helping them. Parker gets up and leaves.
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Harry gets into his car, unaware Parker's hiding in the backseat. She startles him. He screams and jumps out of the car. She follows and tells him she admires him because he changed. He points out that she did, too. She admits she did eventually, but it started out as a way to do new crimes, a challenge. She says she changed with the team while he changed on his own. He guesses that the real reason for Parker's con is that she's trying to figure out how people change. Parker allows that might be part of it. She asks him to revert to evil lawyer mode temporarily as a favor.
At the plant, in black-and-white, Harry finds Ramirez. Calling himself Dexter Cheeble, Harry asks for employment records on Hector Ortez, a 19-year-old born on Isla Nubla, Colombia. Ramirez tells Harry that if he comes back in the evening, he'll get the paperwork for him, and they can discuss some potential financial accommodations. Shaking hands on it, Harry leaves. Ramirez places a call, saying that they've got a problem. Flipped
In his office, he tells Parker about Harry's visit. She recommends they pay Harry off. Ramirez argues that blackmailers just keep on taking. They're better off just killing him. He's already engaged some men from Cisco's bunch. They'll wait for Harry in the plant parking lot and kill him as soon as he arrives. Parker turns to one of her hidden cameras and shoots a meaningful look at Breanna.
Breanna's surveillance footage is in full color. She tries to raise Harry on the coms to warn him. Next, she tries Elliot. Meanwhile, Harry arrives at the plant. He gets a warning text from Breanna just as a black SUV squeals up behind him. The goons chase him into the plant.
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Parker slaps Ramirez in black-and-white, accusing him of screwing up by ordering the hit on the lawyer at the plant. He suggests they leave.
In color, Harry fights the goons until Elliot arrives. Harry runs out and confronts Ramirez and Parker in black-and-white. Parker pulls out a gun and shoots Harry twice. Ramirez takes it from her and puts a final slug in his back. Elliot arrives, and Ramirez criticizes his hitman skills, leaving Elliot to dispose of Harry's body in the bone-grinder. Ending It
Once Ramirez and Parker leave, the scene reverts to color. Elliot compliments Harry on his fall and helps him to his feet. Back at headquarters, Parker tries to make light of the real hired killers she didn't anticipate. Sophie and Elliot insist she finish the con immediately. She agrees once Breanna assures her that they will get every cent of Ramirez's money.
In black-and-white, Ramirez leaves the plant with his papers. Parker drives up and offers him a ride. He gets in, and she stuns him with a taser. Grabbing his phone, she messages the plant supervisor to clear the floor and send everyone home because of a spot inspection.
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In color, Sophie's waiting at the Gold Star offices and tells Breanna and Harry that Parker's late. They ping her phone and discover she left it at headquarters.
Back at the now-empty plant, black-and-white Parker prepares to send Ramirez through the bone-grinder, explaining that a little while ago, someone asked her why she does what she does. When the others asked her, they didn't let her answer: they just kept guessing. Starting up the bone-grinder, she gets ready to tip Ramirez in, stating she's not sure what she's going to do. The bone-grinder stops. Faint with relief, Ramirez sees Elliot and assumes he's there to stop Parker. Elliot denies this and walks away. Got Your Back
Parker follows him in color and asks him if he's going to stop her or tell on her. He tells her that they aren't like the others. Whatever she chooses to do, he's got her back.
In black-and-white, Parker rushes back to the bone-grinder. She turns it on. Desperate, Ramirez tips the trolley and rolls out. By the time Parker follows him out of the building, he's disappeared. Flashforward to the Colombian pub. Cisco tells Ramirez that the papers he traveled on aren't from him. Parker walks over and ends the call.
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Full color when the phone hits the bar. She tells him his papers are hers. Flashback: After Parker and Breanna pulled the construction site con, she had Breanna use Cisco's software to create new Colombian papers. In the pub, she tells him he's been traveling as a wanted fugitive. Her real reason for the con is redemption. She tells him his redemption begins with empathy. In the U.S., he's dead. Flashback: Parker leaves his shoes, wallet, and cell phone next to the bone-grinder opening. Now that he has to live in a country with no papers or resources, hiding from the law, maybe he'll understand the lives of the people he exploited in his plants. Not Just the Side Job
Parker returns in time for Breanna to go pick up Hardison. Before Sophie leaves for a weekend with Jack, Harry asks her to meet his mother because he wants his mother to meet his best friend.
Once Hardison's home, Parker gives the team her report, the product of six months of analyzing why she does crime. She's concluded that she's a thief. She breaks the rules because the rules sometimes say it's okay to hurt others, and that's not right. This is her way because it's their way.
All three seasons of Leverage: Redemption are now streaming on Prime Video. Come on, Prime Video. Let's give Leverage: Redemption three more seasons.
REVIVAL: Check Out 9 First-Look Photos From Melanie Scrofano-Led Series Diana lives in Vancouver, BC, Canada, where she invests her time and energy in teaching, writing, parenting, and indulging her love of all Trek and a myriad of other fandoms. She is a lifelong fan of smart sci-fi and fantasy media, an upstanding citizen of the United Federation of Planets, and a supporter of AFC Richmond 'til she dies. Her guilty pleasures include female-led procedurals, old-school sitcoms, and Bluey. She teaches, knits, and dreams big. You can also find her writing at The Televixen, Women at Warp, TV Fanatic, and TV Goodness.