Leverage: “The 12 Step Job”
3 February 2009
by R.A. Porter
My father was an addict, my grandfather. I know how these people operate.
TNT’s done a bit of a number on the order of episodes, shuffling them around for a variety of reasons. Last week’s episode, in fact, was intended to be the third on the air according to John Rogers. But we get serendipity. Nate’s drinking from last week, which seemed a bit out of place because it was more pronounced than in previous weeks, makes a nice precursor to tonight’s full-on addiction problem.
Like any high-functioning alcoholic, as long as Nate’s well lubricated (but not too lubricated) he’s fine. Hence the booze in the soda can first thing in the morning and the ubiquitous tumbler. And like any high-functioning alcoholic, any interruption in the flow can be catastrophic.
Nate’s degrading behavior, DTs, and finally his hallucinations should have convinced him that Sophie’s not slinging bull, but like with any addict, no one can help him until he’s ready to help himself. So he goes back to self-medicating instead of facing his addiction head on. I complained last week that if the team always won it would eventually grow too formulaic and I’d lose my interest; Nate’s unwillingness to accept that he has a problem changes that equation a lot.
Nate out of control guarantees future friction. Nate out of control guarantees future failures. Nate’s continued battles with his addiction – or Sophie’s battles with Nate over it – ensure plenty of conflict and uncertainty.
As for the CotW,1 it was a nice change of pace. It was nice to see the bad guy not be a bad guy for once, but just a victim of his own mistakes. I would assume we’ll see this type of setup once a season or so, and I’m glad they threw it out this week.
The group therapy sessions in rehab worked really well and I thought the Goth was fantastic. Her delivery was so flat, so underplayed, she was like a real-life Daria. And of course: Parker on happy pills. Wow. Beth Riesgraf is bringing it in a way I wasn’t sure she’d be able to. When the season started, it seemed she was struggling to keep up with the rest of the cast, but I don’t think that anymore.
I find it surprising that a couple of thieves couldn’t find the money Jack Hurley had hidden in his car, but I suppose after their Lethal Weapon moment the boys were a little distracted. I’m more than willing to let that slide, especially because we got that great scene, as well as the Mexican (and Korean) standoff with Hardison’s unsuccessful island-flavored attempt to diffuse it and Eliot’s successful re-fusing of the bomb.2
Jack seems the sort of character we might see again which would be fine with me. I think a habitual liar with a heart of gold would make a nice foil/obstacle for the team. While he’ll have his fill of tacos and burritos in Rosarito, I suspect he’ll miss the comforts of home by sometime next season.
On the topic of recurring characters, I was happy to see Mark Sheppard make an appearance, even if only in Nate’s fevered hallucinations. He is definitely a good foil for Nate, even in his imagination.
Some other thoughts:
- I spent several minutes trying to pick out enough snippets of lyrics from the song in the cold open to track it down. The singer reminded me of Shane MacGowan, but it wasn’t a Pogues song I knew. Finally it occured to me to turn on closed captioning. Apparently, there was an issue with clearance, because the song on the soundtrack was NOT the song that was captioned. The lyrics there were for Flogging Molly’s “Drunken Lullabies” which I most definitely would have recognized. If anyone does know the song playing, please pipe up in comments.
- On the list of Hurley’s haunts “Hutton’s Hangout” appeared several times.
- I loved Hardison and Eliot’s childlike glee over getting to visit strip clubs…for the case, of course.
- Hardison shoots out the engine block…but he was aiming for the guy’s leg.
- Nate as Tom Baker yet again. Someone’s going to have to get that man some jelly babies.
- Apparently, Aldis Hodge and Christian Kane spent the entire week filming this episode calling each other Riggs and Murtaugh.
- I loved Hardison’s idea of using a bag of bricks even if Eliot thought it only worked in movies. Would it have hurt him to grab a bullwhip and some bricks and try it out?
- Hardison cockblocks with the “I’m with him” line. Nice.
- Sophie: “Ready to finish what you started?”
Nate: “I’m ready for a drink.”
What did everyone else think?
Tags: electric entertainment, tnt
posted by R.A. Porter in → Reviews
February 4th, 2009 at 4:01 am
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February 4th, 2009 at 3:24 pm
Anyone with interest in the topic of High-Functioning Alcoholics, as Porter describes above, may have interest in my new book "Understanding the High-Functioning Alcoholic: Professional Views and Personal Insights" (http://www.highfunctioningalcoholic.com)or my Psychology Today.com blog "The High-Functioning Alcoholic"
February 4th, 2009 at 3:34 pm
Huh. I'm used to self-promoters being more interested in penile enlargement and colon cleansing. This is a new one. Did you have anything to say about *the show*, or did your Google Alert just pop up this morning so you jumped into action?
The death of the Internet will come slowly, as each spammer, marketer, and huckster who leaves behind the world of direct mail and street corner ranting decreases the signal to noise ratio to the point where all that remains are people selling items of infinitesimal value to a nigh-infinite array of similarly-minded monkeys. (In this formulation YOU are the monkey, Sarah.)
Sarah, perhaps you don't think television is "important", but it's a fuck of a lot more important to me than your book, blog, and opinions. If you have something to say about Leverage, you're welcome to share; if you're here to promote yourself, piss off.
February 4th, 2009 at 3:37 pm
My dear, you just made my month.
February 4th, 2009 at 3:45 pm
I am loving the play between Hardison/Eliot/Parker. Kane and Reisgraf have really grown into these roles. (Aldis Hodge was fantastic from day one. I love me some Voodoo!) Sophie and Nate I really don't care all that much about, but I like your idea that his drinking is going to affect the con, which will provide some drama.
February 4th, 2009 at 10:42 pm
Did anyone find out what song was playing in the beginning? Kudos for thinking about "closed captioning", too bad it didn't work.
February 4th, 2009 at 10:45 pm
Not yet. I posted a comment on Rogers' blog and hope he'll have an answer next week. I'll be sure to pass it along if I find out.
February 4th, 2009 at 11:03 pm
It was worth coming just to read Porter's response to Sarah. I've missed a few episodes, but was really happy I caught last night's. Makes me wish I'd kept up with Leverage a little better.
Loved the way the Rehab job dovetailed with Nate's real world problems. Shows like this do better when the audience begins to care what happens to the characters vs. just trying to awe us with a new 'stab & grab' every week.
I was a little skeptical about the whole 'pull him under the car bit before the bomb goes off'. Maybe Mythbusters can try that bit on their show to see if it's actually possible. Other than that, I thoroughly enjoyed myself.
February 4th, 2009 at 11:06 pm
I'm gonna guess they're going to be reluctant to roll under cars when one of them's about to explode.
February 5th, 2009 at 4:47 am
I just now joined the facebook page, and thus found your page. In ways I'm not sure I can explain, i thought this was, if not the best, top 3 so far ( I now, there haven't been many yet) My mind wandered alot today just rewinding bits of it, like Parker on happy pills.
Hardison and Elliot were great together, as the whole cast is becoming. This has quickly become my favorite show on TV.
February 5th, 2009 at 6:13 am
John Rogers thinks this run of four episodes – "The 12 Step Job" through the season finale – are the best of the series. I've seen next week's episode, "The Juror #6 Job", and I loved it. The show's really starting to get its footing now.
February 5th, 2009 at 7:13 am
The 12 Step Job was a joke, most boring episode ever! I love the show but Nate's drinking problem doesn't fit in it!
February 5th, 2009 at 2:51 pm
Let's say I respectfully disagree and leave it at that.
February 7th, 2009 at 9:52 pm
I still haven't come down from the high I got from watching "The Mile High Job" episode. I've seen it three times now. One of the best 'humorous' job episodes of Leverage IMHO.
February 8th, 2009 at 10:19 pm
Hey! We finally have an answer on the song in the opening. From Amy Berg, commenting on Rogers' blog:
In the script, Chris Downey and I indicated our desire for a Pogues-slash-Flogging Molly type tune. Because purchasing source music (prerecorded songs from established artists) isn't in our budget, we left the task in the very capable hands of our talented composer Joe LoDuca. "Can't Go Home Again" is the song he created for us.
February 21st, 2009 at 10:28 pm
the lyrics to the song are : so you thought you could hide from the messes you made, all your promises broken… so you travel in circles…and you(or we) can't go home again.
February 21st, 2009 at 10:44 pm
Thanks j_man. You were clearly more patient about listening through the grunting than I was. I really was curious what the lyrics were and those are, well, on the nose.
February 24th, 2009 at 12:22 am
found out the song is "can't go home again" not available yet, though
February 25th, 2009 at 10:09 am
I want to take a colon cleanser but do not know which one I should buy? There are so many on the market and it is very confusing! Can you please suggest me a colon cleanser that might be wort trying? I don’t want to throw my money away. Thanks for your help!
April 12th, 2009 at 5:33 pm
Thank you so much for taking the trouble to find out what that song was! We've rewatched this episode a couple of times now, all the while going back and forth ("Sounds like Shane McGowan" "No, the mandolin is definitely more of a Flogging Molly thing" "Kinda sounds a bit like some of the covers of 'Drunken Sailor' I've heard"), so to know that it's an intentional melange of all of those is a bit of a vindication.
As for the episode itself, any week where Sterling shows up (albeit as a hallucination) is a good one. Most of the fun of any ep is in Hardison, Elliot, and Parker, personally. I am beginning to find the Nate/Sophie pairing a bit…forced, so it'll be interesting to see what next season brings. Personally, I think the show could do with a bit of Nate having to chase Sophie for a change.
Parker is so awesome of a thief that she does it unconsciously!
May 7th, 2009 at 10:47 pm
I think you're right. Hurley should be back next season. He's a great comic foil to the rest of the team of "smooth operators". I think he just seemed to "fit" well into the team, and that's not easy with such a distinct group.
June 2nd, 2009 at 5:07 pm
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July 6th, 2009 at 12:19 am
Oprah talked very well about this appetite suppressant product.
August 6th, 2009 at 4:02 am
http://www.ifmagazine.com/new.asp?article=7934
I found the song at this site
August 7th, 2009 at 2:53 pm
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August 24th, 2009 at 2:48 am
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September 9th, 2009 at 7:07 pm
the song that they used was a made up song done by the composer
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