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Geek Girl Authority
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LEVERAGE: REDEMPTION Season Finale Recap: (S03E10) The Side Job
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. RELATED: Catch up with our recap of the previous Leverage: Redemption episode, 'The Polygeist Job' 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. RELATED: Olivia Morris Shares How The Librarians: The Next Chapter Hooked Her From Page One 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. RELATED: TV Review: Leverage: Redemption Season 3 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. RELATED: Dean Devlin Dishes on The Librarians: The Next Chapter's Magical Homecoming 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. RELATED: Geek Girl Authority Crush of the Week: Leverage: Redemption 's Parker 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. RELATED: On Location: The Belgrade Fortress on The Librarians: The Next Chapter 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. RELATED: A Leverage: Redemption Primer: Get Ready to Steal Season 3 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. RELATED: Read the Recap of the Best Leverage: Redemption Season 3 Episode, 'The Grand Complication Job' 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. RELATED: TV Review: Cross Season 1 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. RELATED: Read our Leverage: Redemption recaps 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.
Geek Girl Authority
29-05-2025
- Entertainment
- Geek Girl Authority
LEVERAGE: REDEMPTION Recap: (S03E09) The Polygeist Job
Supernatural cons are so much fun. When a company claiming to save the world by accumulating huge wealth leaves firefighters and homeowners cut off from help in the interests of commerce in Leverage: Redemption Season 3 Episode 9, 'The Polygeist Job,' the team divides and conquers with the help of cults, ghosts, and a couple of assassins. RELATED: Catch up with our recap of the previous Leverage: Redemption episode, 'The Cooling Off The Mark Job' 'The Polygeist Job' is another example of the updates that Leverage: Redemption has made to the Leverage world. Not only is technology on trial, but the entire aspirational culture of global net neutrality gets a hard look. Sounds heavy, right? But it's so much fun. Image Credit: Prime Video Leverage: Redemption, 'The Polygeist Job' In the midst of a raging forest fire, a firefighter tries to phone his captain. His call doesn't go through because his provider, Futurilogic, has cut off his service in order to force him to upgrade his plan. He ducks behind his truck as a burning tree falls on him. At Leverage HQ, Elliot and Breanne take a video call from the firefighter, who summarizes the casualties and damage that happened because Futurilogic cut their service. Breanne explains the concept of throttling, where cell companies upcharge the areas using their service the most, forcing people to pay more for their access, even as natural disasters and catastrophes happen around them. Unfortunately, there's no legal recourse. The firefighter doesn't want this to happen to anyone else. Elliot promises Futurilogic will never do anything again. RELATED: A Leverage: Redemption Primer: Get Ready to Steal Season 3 Parker complains it's hard to be a criminal in a world where there is no way to actually break the law, as Breanne fills the team in on the Futurilogic heads. The top guy is Matt Sandry, who preaches 'effective altruism.' Futurilogic is about to launch Galactica, free global Internet, which will buy them infinite goodwill. Breanne feels that some of the top execs are truly trying to do good. CFO Cassandra Shin started in non-profits. Chief Engineer Aubrey Wolf is genuinely brilliant. Then there's Sam Woods. He's responsible for 'chill vibes.' 'And Then We Crime' Breanne explains that about 50% of their investors are anonymous crypto, aka bad actors from North Korea and/or Russia, looking to launder their money. Elliot votes they burn it all down. Parker seconds it. Sophie amends it to metaphorical burning. Parker sighs. Sophie's broad-strokes plan is to get embedded in Futurilogic and convince one of the inner circle to flip on Matt, exposing the money laundering. Breanne walks into the board office where Sandry and the other three are discussing the bad publicity around Futurilogic's throttling during the forest fire and the dogs that were affected. She sells herself as the ultimate PR person and interviews each of them, learning that there used to be a fifth member of their group, Josh. Cassandra wears a pin made from one of Josh's cufflinks. Matt refuses to talk about him. RELATED: TV Review: Leverage: Redemption Season 3 The other team members fill Breanne in on Josh Stern. He was Matt's investing partner who left the company six months previously and then died. Sophie asks Breanne to debrief the team in terms of what she saw versus what they said. Breanne realizes that their constant touching and use of the word 'we' hints at a polycule relationship encompassing all of them. Let's Go Steal a Horror Flick The Futurilogic team retreat is soon. The execs refuse to cancel it for fear of looking worried to the investors. Breanne describes it as a bunch of cabins in the woods. Sophie decides that this one writes itself. They'll pit the Futurilogic execs' trust in each other against their self-preservation. Parker, dressed as a ranger, runs into the Shaw Pond Nature Camp and warns the two staff members that there's a fire approaching. She points to the prolific smoke rising from the trees and tells them to evacuate immediately. As the team preps the camp to re-enact a Satanic cult horror movie, Sophie explains that since Matt saw Josh's leaving the company as a personal betrayal, the plan is to scare off the three execs and make Matt think they're betraying him too. He then moves the company's money, which forces the others to flip on him for real. A bus arrives, delivering the Futurilogic staff and Breanne. Sophie, playing the camp leader, Gwyn, welcomes them and breaks the news that there is no cell reception or wifi at Shaw Pond. She introduces Parker and Elliot as Hiram and Lilith, the camp's owners. They are dressed as American Gothic figures. RELATED: Geek Girl Authority Crush of the Week: Leverage: Redemption 's Parker The execs chose a shared cabin while the rest of the group have individual accommodations. Elliot leads Breanne and the four to a cabin filled with animal heads, old tech, and locked boxes. A strange noise freaks them out, and they open a door to find a taxidermist den with a fax machine. A Hard Reset When Breanne tries to meet with Cassandra and Sam to discuss PR strategies, Matt gets paranoid and insists they all stay together to explore the camp. Sophie reconvenes everyone at the fire pit, telling them to write the thing they feel most guilty about on a piece of paper and throw it in the fire. Matt makes a speech and shows them his blank paper, stating he has no regrets. Parker cozies up to Sam and slips him a note that says to meet her later. On the way back to the cabin, she lures him away from the group. Matt watches Sam go with suspicion. Calling for Lilith, Sam wanders into the dark woods. Suddenly, Parker/Lilith is behind him, a noose around her neck, panicked about someone coming for her. The noose tightens, and she flies into the tree canopy, convulsing. Sam runs out onto a dirt road, narrowly escaping being hit by a car. Opening the passenger door, he recognizes the unseen driver and begs them to get him out of there. RELATED: Read our Cross recaps At the camp's main building, Parker gives Sophie Sam's laptop and phone. Sophie, as Gwyn, was the driver Sam recognized. She drove him to the local sheriff's office to tell his story. Out on the lake, Breanne's describing the polycule bond as more of a Cult of Matt when Matt storms up to her and demands to know where Sam is. He's paranoid that Sam's creating the bad press to cut Matt out of the Galactica deal. Nearby, Elliot's clearing the lawn with a leaf blower. A singed piece of paper flies into Matt's hand. Sophie prepped it earlier, but Matt believes it's Sam's fire pit regret. It reads, 'I betrayed Matt.' Cracks in the Polygeist Back at the cabin, Matt shares his theory with Cassandra and Aubrey. Aubrey offers to go for a walk with him to discuss feelings. Breanne insists that Cassandra take a nap while she goes to look for Sam. Parker sneaks in while Cassandra's sleeping and rigs her room. Sophie leads a camp activity with everyone except the four execs. Cassandra wakes up to strange radio noises and ghostly voices calling for help. A porcelain doll riding a horse moves on its own at the foot of the bed. Cassandra notices the locked box sitting in the middle of the floor open. She finds clippings inside about a Satanic Swingers Cult that ate human flesh. The black and white photo has Parker and Elliot front and center. Cassandra tries to leave, but Parker's outside her door holding a sack and grinning. Screaming, Cassandra escapes out the bedroom window. RELATED: Read our Fallout recaps Elliot finds her on the ground and mutters something about the reckoning as he reaches for her. She jumps up and runs to the camp's meeting building for help. There, she finds the rest of the staff chanting and wearing robes, led by Sophie. Terrified, she runs back out. Sophie tells the team to make sure Cassandra heads towards the fire track to town. Back at the cabin, Matt and Aubrey return from their walk. Breanne lets them know that Cassandra is gone. Matt finds the pin made from Josh's cufflink in Cassandra's room. He shows it to Aubrey, accusing Cassandra and Sam of conspiring to betray him. Aubrey tells him he's awful to believe that about the people who love him and leaves. Out in the woods, wiping tears from her eyes, Aubrey hears footsteps nearby and then turns and screams. New Players In the cabin, Matt asks Breane to help him use the fax machine to contact his bank. She has him write down his instructions with the account numbers and sign it. They send it. He leaves for a walk and a snack. Breanne lets the team know that he transferred the funds from the Galactica account to his personal crypto wallet. Parker joins Breanne on the cabin porch and asks where Aubrey went. Wandering in the woods, Elliot hasn't seen Aubrey either. Checking the surroundings, he suspects there's someone else in the woods. Breanne hacks Matt's computer, thinking he might've hired someone to take care of Aubrey. Parker heads out to search the grounds. She finds an old trailer parked in the woods. Elliot finds the site of Aubrey's abduction, noting there was a struggle. Breanne discovers Matt had Josh followed. Sophie figures Josh left because he learned about the money laundering. RELATED: Falling Skies Season 4 Premiere Thoughts and Recap In the trailer, Parker finds an elderly couple tied up and gagged. Elliot comes across a maintenance shed. There are noises inside. Breanne finds a receipt for oleander in Matt's deleted files. Elliot connects the dots: Oleander is a poison that can look like a heart attack. Josh died of a supposed heart attack. Matt killed Josh. The people Parker found say they're the camp's owners. She wonders who the staff she told to evacuate were. Elliot peeks into the shed and sees the staff moving Aubrey with a bag over her head to a chair. He identifies their accents as North Korean assassins. He asks Sophie for a distraction so he has time to get in and rescue Aubrey. Breanne sees Matt's reflection in his laptop screen. He comes in carrying an ax. This Is Altruism Matt attacks Breanne with the ax, stating that his altruism means doing whatever he needs to do to save the world. Breanne escapes when his ax gets stuck in a desk. Freeing the ax, he chases her into the woods. RELATED: Read our recaps of The Librarians: The Next Chapter In the shed, the North Koreans prepare to torture Aubrey. They explain they were sent to watch Futurilogic after the fire fiasco. Now the money is gone. As they go to pull Aubrey's teeth out, they hear chanting outside. When they go to investigate, Elliot gets in through a loose sheet metal panel. When he gets to Aubrey, she says, 'Hiram!' loud enough for the assassins to hear. Sighing, he takes them on. Matt continues to chase Breanne through the woods with an ax. Elliot rolls Aubrey's chair out of the way as he fights the assassin couple. Sophie suggests that Breanne lead Matt to the shed to confront the assassins. In the shed, Parker arrives to help. Matt catches up to Breanne at the shed's improbably wooden door. He puts the ax through the door The S hining -style. Elliot points Matt out to the assassins. Elliot and Parker exchange professional pleasantries with the assassins. Breanne tells Matt he should probably run. The assassins follow. RELATED: Read our Leverage: Redemption recaps Matt runs until his phone registers a signal again. Jubilant, he dials 9-1-1 only to be cut off by the Futurilogic throttling message. Flashback: Breanne at the fax machine, sending a message to cut Matt's service and signing his name to it. In the present, the assassins catch up to him. Galactica, No More At Leverage headquarters, Breanne reads out a news report on Matt Sandry's arrest to Sophie. Flashback: Cassandra runs into the sheriff's office and finds Sam telling his story again. She tells him about the cult. They both get a notification that all the Galactica funds were transferred to Matt's account. Immediately, they tell the sheriff about the money laundering and Matt's involvement in it. Elliot comes in talking to his friend Jared, the firefighter, assuring him that Futurilogic's days of throttling service are over. Hanging up, Elliot conveys Jared's thanks. Breanne still looks sad. She tells the team that she'd always hoped her generation would be better. People like the Futurilogic execs were supposed to save the world. Sophie reassures her that besides Matt, the others were sincere, just misguided. Parker adds that good people get fooled more easily because they're weak like that. Breanne cheers up when she gets an email from Aubrey saying she's starting her own non-profit. As the team heads out for dinner, arms around each other, Parker wonders if they count as a polycule. New episodes of Leverage: Redemption Season 3 stream on Prime Video on Thursdays, with the Season 3 finale dropping on June 5. TV Review: RESIDENT ALIEN Season 4 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.
Geek Girl Authority
22-05-2025
- Entertainment
- Geek Girl Authority
LEVERAGE: REDEMPTION Recap: (S03E08) The Cooling Off The Mark Job
Fans of Leverage: Redemption and the O.G. series are pretty familiar with the various roles in a con — the mark, the roper, the inside man. However, in 'The Cooling Off The Mark Job,' a contingency role, 'the cooler,' comes into play when a mark gets away and finds the crew's HQ. The twist here is that the crew is still out on the con. Instead, he finds their old friend Hurley (Drew Powell), and things get complicated. RELATED: Catch up with our recap of the previous Leverage: Redemption episode, 'The Shakedown in Clone-Town Job' Hurley's coming off a con-gone-wrong, and that's a novel situation as well. After all, he's a bit of a jack-of-all-cons, lending a hand to various crews across the global Leverage organization. What does a Mr. Fix-It do when he feels broken? This is what Leverage: Redemption is all about. Image Credit: Prime Video Leverage: Redemption, 'The Cooling Off The Mark Job' Hurley arrives at Leverage headquarters and looks up at the Val's Juke Joint sign with a somber expression. Flashback to a con in Rio. As he and his team enjoy 'The Gloat,' the mark escapes the police and runs into traffic. Hurley jerks back into the present and heads inside. The space is empty. He shouts a greeting, setting off the intruder alarm. A laser cage appears, and Hurley passes out from the knockout gas. Out on a con involving cowboy hats, Breanna (Aleyse Shannon) checks to see who tripped her alarm. When she realizes it's Hurley, she calls him to apologize. After turning off the cage, she hands the phone to Sophie (Gina Bellman). RELATED: Falling Skies Season 4 Premiere Thoughts and Recap Sophie explains to Hurley that their mark ran off before they could close him for the full take of three million. They only got two. As she's inviting him to make himself at home, a gun-wielding man runs in and threatens to kill Hurley unless the con team gives him back his money. Thinking quickly, Hurley claims to be looking for them too because they stole his money. He throws his phone away, killing the line, leaving Sophie stunned on the other end. The Cooler Hurley introduces himself as 'Mark' (lol). The other man says he's Clay (Alex Boniello). Out on the job, Sophie tells the team that Clay found Hurley at the headquarters. Parker's (Beth Riesgraf) confident that Hurley knows what to do to cool off the mark. Harry doesn't know what that means. Sophie explains, 'In the very unlikely event that the mark finds the crew after the blow-off, someone has to stay behind and convince him to accept his losses and move on.' Elliot (Christian Kane) tells Harry that everyone has a different technique to cool off a mark. Sophie comforts people. Elliot gives them a win. Parker shoves them off buildings, telling them, 'You can't grow until you go.' RELATED: Read our Fallout recaps At headquarters, Hurley's pouring shots for Clay and himself. Hurley puts in a team com earpiece and chats him up. Breanna and Sophie inform Hurley that Clay embezzled his three million from their clients, a church. Sophie advises Hurley to start cooling Clay down. Breanna wants him to find the last million so they can go home. Harry goes to visit Reverand Dupree (Taprena Michelle Augustine). The church needs the money to turn the lot across the street into a community center. They trusted Clay with their nest egg. Now, the real estate company plans to sell to a developer unless they come up with all the money by midnight. Harry urges her to have faith. The Next Move Clay asks Hurley how far he's willing to go to get his money back. Hurley says he's all in, with nothing left to lose. Clay warns him that things might get ugly. He heads downstairs. Left alone, Hurley tells the team he wants to run another con on Clay and take him on a quest. He doesn't believe Clay's willing to accept his losses and move on. RELATED: Geek Girl Authority Crush of the Week: Leverage: Redemption 's Parker Elliot sneaks into headquarters. Hurley hits him over the head with a bottle. Clay's got a gun pointed at Elliot and demands to know where his money is. Elliot claims the con crew stiffed him, too. He grabs Clay's gun and tells Clay that Parker is on her way to his office to take the million he held back. Clay runs out. Elliot switches the gun's bullets for blanks. He smells the booze on Hurley, a recovering alcoholic, and warns him against making poor choices. Elliot gives him the gun loaded with blanks and tells him to give it back to Clay to build trust. Clay brings Hurley to the Bayou Bluffs Real Estate offices. He explains they were just getting into development when things went south. He introduces Hurley to Denise (Nicolle Ashley), a deaf property salesperson. It's her last day. Clay signs fluently in conversation with her. A sound from the manager's office attracts his attention. He and Hurley go to investigate. The Near Miss Parker breaks into Eiger's safe and steals a folder randomly to make the theft look convincing. Clay sees her leaving the office and pulls out his gun and chases her. She escapes through a ceiling panel into the vents. Clay insists on following. While crawling through the ventilation system, Hurley freezes, imagining a widow pointing an accusatory finger at him. Coming back to himself, he realizes that Clay has fallen through a hole in the vent and pulls him up. RELATED: TV Review: Leverage: Redemption Season 3 Giving up the pursuit, they return to the office kitchen where Hurley starts cooling Clay down. He offers Clay another scam, promising him that a big score is just around the corner. Clay doesn't look enthused or convinced. Sophie, Harry, and Breanna listen in from the mobile headquarters, urging Hurley to rope Clay in for the missing million. Clay tells Hurley they're not the same and walks away. Hurley follows him, asking where he's going. Clay says he's going to the police. The team gets there first. Dressed like detectives, Breanna and Harry head into the Economic Crimes Unit and convince Detective D. Lancer (Robert Walker-Branchaud) that they're from Internal Affairs. He offers to meet them in the backroom of a nearby bar. Once he's gone, they set the office up to look like Breanna is Detective Lancer. Harry clears out before Clay arrives. What They're Not Seeing Clay comes in, claiming to be a victim of fraud. Breanna says the con crew is well-known to police and pulls out a folder on Sophie and Harry. When the phone rings, she turns her back, and Clay steals the folder. RELATED: Read our Cross recaps In the mobile HQ, Sophie prepares. She mentions to Parker that Hurley is drinking again. Whether he internalizes or externalizes the feelings he's dealing with, things could go wrong. She advises Parker to tread lightly as she's his Leverage manager. Parker has faith in Hurley, but accepts the advice, seeing as Sophie's experience with Nate (Timothy Hutton) gives her expertise in these matters. Clay finds Sophie alone in a motel room. When he demands his money, she throws a duffel full of shredded paper at him, claiming Harry double-crossed her. She tells him Harry got all three million, causing Clay to panic. He calls his Swiss bank to check the balance. Breanna intercepts the call and uses his password to transfer the last million back to the church. Once they've confirmed the transfer, Sophie offers Clay a chance to get Harry. Instead of rising to the opportunity, Clay breaks down in tears. Hearing this, Hurley runs out of the mobile unit. He bursts into the motel room, claiming to have followed Clay to protect him from Sophie. Clay tells him he didn't steal the money for himself. He was trying to help Denise. Saving Clay Back at headquarters, Hurley appeals to the team to help Clay. He sees himself in Clay. Hurley wants them to run a con to keep Clay and Denise from losing each other. While Elliot protests that they don't do love cons, Parker urges Hurley to run it. Clay feels guilty about getting Denise the job in real estate, moving her up from the valet parking desk. Because she sold a penthouse unit in an uninsured development destroyed by a hurricane, her client lost their investment. The Bayou Bluffs manager, Barry Eiger (Jonathan Gregg), threw her under the bus, and she plans to move to Seattle to live with her mom. RELATED: A Leverage: Redemption Primer: Get Ready to Steal Season 3 Elliot caters the cake for Denise's last day party. Hurley convinces Clay to talk to her, offering to be his Cyrano with an ear com on a separate channel from the team. Sophie and Harry arrive as Veronica and Carl Lundermeyer, real estate tycoons. They interrupt the party to whisk Denise away. Informing her that because she's a sales associate, not a licensed broker, the non-compete clause doesn't apply to her, they urge her to come work for them, as she can bring all the clients with her. As they leave, Sophie spots Eiger eavesdropping from a nearby cubicle. Clay's frozen with anxiety despite Hurley's help. Hurley gives him a pep talk and shoves him out the door. Elliot's got his feet up in the break room when he spots a custodian pushing a cart by the door. He leaps to his feet and follows. Complications Clay finds Denise and starts to confess his love to her. Elsewhere, Elliot shadows the custodian. From a different direction, a woman in a yellow dress, carrying a huge balloon arrangement that obscures her face, enters the office and turns. Elliot informs Parker and Breanna that he's spotted two contract killers in the office. RELATED: The Librarians Sequel Coming to the CW Breanna learns they're known as The Party Girl, identity unknown, and The Janitor, aka Nathan Clegg. Going through the decoy folder Parker stole, Breanna discovers that Denise's client is a front for a cartel. Elliot prepares to take on the assassins. He starts with The Janitor, who has a Japanese blade hidden in his mop handle. At Hurley's insistence, Clay tells Denise that she can't leave. He needs her to stay, but before he can express that, he blurts out that there are killers looking for her, repeating what Hurley is saying. Hurley appears and suggests they leave. Clay and Denise argue in sign language as to whether to escape down the stairs or the elevator. Sophie and Harry approach the other office staff and offer them each a $50,000 signing bonus. This gets them all out of the office. The boss follows. Cleaning House Elliot beats The Janitor with a roll of bubble wrap. Leaving the fight room, he sees the balloons. It's a trap, and The Party Girl ambushes him, jumping on his back, laughing maniacally. Hurley makes it to the parking garage alone. A third assassin appears, but Hurley refuses to give up Denise's location. As the assassin prepares to shoot, Sophie warns Hurley it's going to get loud. All the car alarms simultaneously go off. Hurley punches the assassin. Parker appears out of nowhere and hits the assassin with a taser, knocking him out. Flashback to Sophie and Harry escaping to the parkade with Clay and Denise. They find the valet station, and Denise hands out keys. Everyone punches the alarm buttons. RELATED: Read our Leverage: Redemption recaps Cut to Elliot in the office, lifting the unconscious Party Girl over his shoulder. He reassures everyone that he's okay. 'Can't Grow Until You Go' At headquarters, Clay and Denise have a candlelit dinner. Parker and Hurley watch from a balcony. Hurley regrets they weren't able to take down Eiger. Parker hints that they might've. Flashback to Harry and Breanna in Detective Lancer's office, handing over the green folder full of incriminating evidence of a money laundering scheme. Lancer storms off, insisting he'll arrest Eiger immediately. Hurley laughs delightedly at the news. He asks Parker how Clay found the headquarters in the first place. Flashback to Clay during the first con. Parker bumps into him and slips the address into his pocket. In the present, Hurley looks confused. Parker explains that she'll never give up stealing stuff and that she's gotten good at running the crews. However, she's never done the feelings piece well. She admits that she sensed that Clay wasn't really a bad guy, but she was more concerned about Hurley. She sent Clay in his direction to help him find his way after Rio went bad. Hurley chuckles, realizing he was the mark she wanted to cool off. He hands her his beer bottle and thanks her. Leverage: Redemption Season 3 streams on Prime Video with new episodes every Thursday. Prime Video Renews FALLOUT for Season 3 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.
Geek Girl Authority
08-05-2025
- Entertainment
- Geek Girl Authority
LEVERAGE: REDEMPTION Recap: (S03E06) The Swipe Right Job
When you do what the Leverage: Redemption team does, catching frauds and exploiters in their own webs, you just can't turn it off. In Leverage: Redemption Season 3 Episode 6, 'The Swipe Right Job,' Sophie (Gina Bellman) discovers her most recent dating app match catfishes vulnerable dates. At the same time, Harry (Noah Wyle) is dipping his toe in the dating pool as well. This comes in handy. RELATED: Catch up with our recap of the previous Leverage: Redemption episode, 'The Grand Complication Job' From the sidelines, Parker's (Beth Riesgraf) theories on the evils of dating apps border on the surreal. Elliot's attempts to explain his relationship experiences are a masterclass in digging oneself into a hole of self-actualization. Breanna (Aleyse Shannon) runs the op from headquarters, thoroughly disgusted by their mark's depraved abuse of those desperately seeking love. Leverage: Redemption, 'The Swipe Right Job' Sophie's on a date with Neal Trividi (Maulik Pancholy). He shows her a sapphire ring he retrieved at great physical risk and insists on giving it to her. When she asks how he got into the gem business, he tells her his sister motivated him to make something of his life. He offers to fly Sophie to Havana in his private jet on their next date. At headquarters, Harry's daughter, Becky (Auden Wyle), begs him over a video call to let her see his dating profile. He assures her his dating life is going well and says goodnight. Sophie enters. They compare notes. Harry's date ate an entire fish head while Sophie argues that her date was even fishier. The ring he gave her is a fake, and he made an obvious business overture. RELATED: Geek Girl Authority Crush of the Week: Leverage: Redemption 's Parker Breanna deep dives on Neal. He made millions by pretending to be a billionaire to people he met on dating apps. He takes their money as investments that he never pays back and then hits them up for more to pay for 'protection' from his enemies. She pulls up the profiles of the partners he's landed, both men and women. Sophie wants to know who lost the most money to Neal's scheme. She meets with the ex-partners. One, Roger (Sean Hankinson), an accountant, is still deeply in love with Neal. Another, Jolene (Jessie Terrebonne), hates him, and when they parted ways, she stole cash and gems to even the score. However, they turned out to be counterfeit. Let's Go Steal a Dream Date The team regroups, has a quick discussion about how they find romantic partners, and then, Sophie lays out the plan. They're all going to Havana for her date. Elliot and Parker con a pilot into leaving the airport and take his place on the plane. Unfortunately, Elliot's never flown a plane before. Uh-oh. Sophie arrives, a new cover story in place that she's an owner in a thriving mining enterprise. As she approaches the plane, Neal's sister, Reena (Annet Mahendru), steps out of the car. She tells Sophie that Neal's already in Havana. Reena will accompany her instead. RELATED: TV Review: Leverage: Redemption Season 3 On the way to Havana, Reena shares that she manages Neal's savings. It's a bumpy ride. Parker, as the flight attendant, dumps the pretzels on Reena at one point. Upon arrival, Reena leaves to do some work while Neal whisks Sophie away to the hotel's aquarium-surrounded restaurant. Neal pours champagne while dropping hints about his investment connections and the dangerous people who target him. Sophie innocently asks him for some business advice. The Apps Are The Enemy In the lobby, Elliot and Parker stand watch. Parker muses about how dating apps aren't helping Sophie and Harry find partners. Elliot notices Reena on her phone and overhears her saying something about a British woman showing the person on the phone a video of Neal. Parker tries to warn Sophie, but the coms aren't working because the hotel's walls have ferrocement and block transmission like a Faraday cage. RELATED: TV Review: Cross Season 1 In the restaurant, Neal is very interested in Sophie's ruby mine in Myanmar. His bodyguard interrupts to hand him a phone. He steps away to talk to Reena, who warns him that the British woman Roger warned them about must be Violet (Sophie's pseudonym). Neal returns to the table and tells Violet/Sophie that he's just heard a very interesting story. In the lobby, Elliot and Parker see a couple of goons arrive. Elliot intercepts them on the stairs while Parker runs to rescue Sophie. An Empire of Lovers Neal interrogates Sophie, believing one of his marks hired her to come after him. He tells her that his empire of lovers may not be as precious as gems, but they are far more loyal. Once she's done her champagne, his goons will take her to the local police. Neal has a close relationship with them, and they'll punish her for her betrayal. Leaving, he calls Roger to thank him. He leaves the area, and Parker pokes her head out of a nearby door, sickened by the lovey-dovey talk Neal pours over the phone. She grabs a fire hose. At the table, Sophie chats with the silent bodyguard. They hear a shot fired and jump. Sophie describes what could happen if her rescuers puncture the aquarium glass with their bullets. Water starts pouring in under one door. Sophie advises the guard to run out the other one. He leaves. She opens the first door, revealing Parker holding an open bottle of champagne and the running fire hose. RELATED: Read our Cross recaps Back at headquarters, having escaped Cuba in the hold of a boat owned by one of Elliot's friends, a smuggler, Sophie shudders at the memory of being covered in shrimp. Breanna and Harry reveal that Neal rewarded Roger for his loyalty by making him his new money manager. Roger still believes the money is legitimately made in the gem industry. Sophie believes they can get Roger to follow the money and realize the truth on his own. Now that Sophie, Parker, and Elliot are burned, they need a new lure. Harry's the guy. Breanna makes him over into Arthur Bennett, a public interest lawyer with old money. Meanwhile, Sophie coaches him on how to run a long con. Leverage: Redemption, Setting Humanity Free Waiting for Roger to arrive at work, Parker and Elliot discuss dating apps again. They're wearing FBI jackets. Roger arrives, and they spring into action. At headquarters, Breanna's makeover is complete. On his plane, Neal checks his matches on the app and swipes right on Arthur Bennett. RELATED: TV Review: The Wheel of Time Season 3 Parker and Elliot knock on Roger's office door. They intimate that an estate Roger recently began managing is a front for money laundering. He protests that the money tracks back to a billionaire. Parker questions whether all the money is the billionaire's. Roger suspects Reena and wants to warn Neal, but Parker and Elliot point out that it would make him an accomplice if Neal turns out to be the criminal. Introducing Arthur Bennett Over dinner, Harry flirts outrageously with Neal. Suddenly, Becky's there. Harry goes over to her. She congratulates him and tells him she's proud of him. Telling him she loves him, she hugs him and leaves. When he turns back to the table, Neal's seat is empty. Panicking that he's lost Neal, Harry turns and finds him standing behind him. Neal says he overheard the conversation and thinks it's beautiful that 'Arthur' and his daughter are so close. They return to the table to finish the dinner and date. The next day, Neal texts 66 times, leaves a voicemail, and sends a dozen red roses. When he phones again, Harry answers. Before Neal can invite him to Havana, Harry invites him to the Bennetts' ancestral estate. RELATED: Read our The Wheel of Time recaps Walking through a pasture with horses, they meet up with Reena. Harry tells Neal that he's donating the land to charity. As an aside, he mentions there are untapped oil reserves under the land, and he doesn't want to deal with it. He walks away on a phony phone call, leaving Neal and Renna making meaningful eye contact. Trouble in Paradise As they picnic in a pasture, Reena tries to steer the conversation to proposing that she and Neal manage the land for Arthur. When Neal persists with cutesy romantic talk, she asks to speak with him in private. Alone, they argue over the approach. Reena wants a business deal. Neal wants to marry Arthur and then inherit everything when Arthur mysteriously dies. Reena tells him he would never have been successful without her. He gets on his phone and texts Roger, telling him to lock Reena out of the accounts. Reena screams in frustration and storms off. RELATED: TV Review: The Bondsman Back at the picnic, Harry's concerned that the con will require him to marry Neal. Sophie reassures him and tells him it's time to reveal his true self. As they walk through the stables, 'Arthur' confesses to Neal that he's already given away all his worldly assets. Neal proposes Reena's idea of buying this last property from Arthur and maintain it for him. Reena ambushes them at the stable door, pointing a gun at them and flanked by the bodyguard. Crying Wolf Forcing them into a vehicle, Reena and the guard drive them to an airplane hangar where they're tied up. Reena demands $20 million from 'Arthur,' but Neal explains the fortune's gone. Reena hits Neal with the gun's handle. He promises to get her the money from Roger. She dials Roger with Neal's phone and holds it up as a video call. In a call very similar to the fake one he sent to marks before, Neal begs Roger to transfer three million dollars to Reena. RELATED: Read our recaps for The Bondsman Roger doesn't believe Neal. He tells him he followed the money and discovered the entire scheme. Roger admits he'll be lonely but needs to learn to love himself. He says goodbye to Neal. Neal begs 'Arthur' to help him out with some money. Harry informs him he doesn't even have his restraints anymore. Parker pops up, having cut Harry's zip ties. Elliot takes care of the bodyguard. Breanna sneaks into the room. Reena starts to run but returns at Neal's pleas for rescue. The two of them board a plane. Breanna calls ahead to the Mumbai airport. Propped Up No Longer At the Mumbai airport, Reena presents her bag for inspection. It's full of counterfeit cash and gems, courtesy of Jolene. Flashback to the plane where Breanna stashed the items Jolene stole in Reena's bag. The Mumbai police drag the siblings away. At headquarters, Sophie sits down with Roger. She lets him know that Neal can never pull his scam on anyone again. Roger thanks her and admits that he's ashamed of being fooled. She tells him she wishes she were more like him. Because of her own loss, she is quick to spot all the red flags in potential future partners. Roger loves wholeheartedly, flaws and all. They promise each other they'll keep trying. RELATED: Read our Leverage: Redemption recaps Parker and Elliot sit at the bar. She's changed her thinking on the dating apps. With Hardison's help, she plans on creating their own dating app that saves humanity. Harry and Becky are at the other counter. Becky helps Harry select his next match. Sophie bids Roger goodbye, joins the others, and shares a smile with Harry. Leverage: Redemption Season 3 streams on Prime Video with new episodes every Thursday. HOUSE OF THE DRAGON: Season 3 Cast Adds 3 New Faces 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.
