Five things kick off the squee

[lagilman]

1: #SOTU: My president is a left-leaning pragmatist. I approve. Now to see if he can drag Congress with him or not [and how much violence he's willing to use to do it. I would approve of carefully-applied presidential violence, in this case].

2. Internet: Ur doin it Right: My congresscritter just used his e-mailing list to ask us to vote on the top three things we want him to focus on during the year. No trees were killed in the soliciting of these opinions.

3. Giving a certain publisher a deadline for a response is a pretty good way to get a "No." Then again, after 18 months of waiting, even a no is a relief of sorts. [yes, even multiply-published writers get rejected. The game is not rigged, just slightly biased]

4. Every day is a mix of bad news and good news, up moods and down. Any day you can end on an even note is a good one. I need to remember that when the bad stuff hits.
4a. Also, I have the best damn friends, even if too many of them live on the wrong damn side of the country.

5. Leverage. Oh, show. I ♥ you. "The first bomb is the hardest."
5a. I really wish story ideas would wait until after my show(s) to come knocking in my brain. Then again, jumpstarting ideas is the mark of Good Stuff, so kudos to them.


And here, your Thursday morning Leverage-squee kickoff:


I loved the set-up for this -- anything that lets Elliot beat up on Sterling is all right in...pretty much everyone's books, I think, plus it was a good and interesting twist on the "find client, client tells them their story of woe." Also, more Mark. Always, always a good thing, used wisely and in moderation. Parker still Parker. Still awesome.

The actual job itself was a bit hole-y, but this is the nature of caper plots. You handwave and talk fast and by those standards it worked okay -- especially when you added in Sterling's quasi-official status to bring them in as needed. The "location" shots seemed a bit lacking this time... did someone overrun the budget?

Am I the only one who doesn't like Elliot's longer hair? Must be. But I love how he takes over with no fuss or arrogance when the job needs him to [and how the show established his not-quite-beta status by his mostly-following Nate's request not to do anything violent (by Elliot's standards, anyway) allowing Nate to stand back and enjoy the show w/o having to worry about actual damage being inflicted]. And the quiet paying-off of the bartender by Hardison was genius, and a bit of worldbuilding most shows would have forgotten. Good writers. Yes, I probably enjoyed that entire scene waaaaay too much.

Hardison didn't get enough to do here but he still gets some of the best minutes -- the feedback thing was pure nasty genius. Entire team was on-target, IMO. Tossing the egg was a perfect little telling touch, especially since it was done so casually (both the tossing and the showing) to establish how little-impressed the team is by Things of Value purely for their value, especially when something more important's at stake. Nicely done, show.

Oh Sterling. When will you get your own spin-off? Or at least a stand-alone adventure? I'd so write that.

Maggie still awesome, yes. Her taste in men still sucks, too. The way she and Nate torture each other, without ever meaning to do harm -- it's like a master class in how to write complicated loving-but-broken relationships. And the bit at the end, where she tells him that what's worrying her is that he's hiding the booze in a coffee mug -- zing. Right there, shows a) that she understands him better than anyone else and b) he will hear what she's saying when he ignores everyone else. He may not listen, but he hears her.

And Nate... well, Nate's heading for a crash. That's what he does, manic-obsessive control freak alcoholic woobie genius that he is. Still the nastiest, tho. But I want to note that I am not impressed with Sophie's "I need space...no wait, why aren't you chasing me... everyone can talk to me but don't let him know" behavior. If she wants to be part of the team, she should come back. If she needs space and time to figure her shit out, then stay away. Demanding it both ways [especially if she comes back pissy at Nate] doesn't impress me much. I may be in the minority here, tho.

Comments

[blitheringpooks.livejournal.com]

Sorry about the turn-down, but yeah, 18 months is ridiculous.

As for Barry, I would be much happier with him if he had ditched his efforts at bringing in the Republicans as soon as it was apparent that saying "no" and watching Dems fail was their m.o. Is there still time for him to correct that mistake? I don't know.

[kradical.livejournal.com]

Agreed regarding Sophie, but it also is perfectly in character and makes sense for her. She's not used to having human relationships with people where tons of lying isn't involved. And someone who's been so many people isn't in a position to lecture Nate on being who he is until she figures out who she is. It's all completely in character, for all that it's frustrating and annoying, and is a nicely elegant way of writing Bellman out while she procreates.

And I love that they continue to remember that Sterling is smarter than all of them. "Call me when you need me -- because you will need me." And of course they did need him. And in the end, he played them all like a two-dollar banjo (plus, without his drunk act, they never get the egg in the first place). And Mark was Mark. Bliss.

[plattcave.livejournal.com]

Great Leverage last night. Key line about Nate: "The booze isn't a problem it's a symptom." Key lines about Elliot: "A lot of people underestimate you." "That's the point."

I think the whole "Sophie space" thing is because they can't get the actress back in the studio. She's obviously shooting he scenes somewhere else while working on a different movie or TV show.

[lagilman]

Oh, it makes utter sense for the character. Still not impressed with that character. Especially if she's pissed at Nate when she comes back -- he has many many flaws, but taking someone at their word and giving them space is NOT a flaw, IMO.


Not sure I agree that Sterling's smarter than Nate -- less fucked up, certainly. But Nate totally played him during The Two Davids, Part 2. As for the rest of the team -- as was stated more than once that's why they work as a team -- because they're too focused on what they do best to see the big picture. It limits their ability to react to a specific sphere.

[lagilman]

I think the whole "Sophie space" thing is because they can't get the actress back in the studio. She's obviously shooting he scenes somewhere else while working on a different movie or TV show.

She's on maternity leave, yeah. But my note is specific to how they're playing the character, not the fact that she's not there.

And Maggie's "I like the man you've become, too bad you don't" just cut through Nate's entire deal and laid it bare. And did it without becoming Plot of the Week, yay.

[mevennen.livejournal.com]

Someone once asked me at a workshop if I still got rejections.

When I'd stopped laughing, I told him....

[kradical.livejournal.com]

Nate played Blackpoole, not Sterling, in "The Second David Job," IMO -- but Sterling could also have shitcanned the whole thing by being loyal to Blackpoole instead of being a self-centered prick. Good thing Sterling's a self-centered prick.... *grin*

[kradical.livejournal.com]

And Maggie's "I like the man you've become, too bad you don't" just cut through Nate's entire deal and laid it bare. And did it without becoming Plot of the Week, yay.

YES!

[lagilman]

Disagree. Leading Sterling along by his gut nature and what he expected of Nate & crew (as opposed to what was actually going on, which Stirling could have figured out if Nate hadn't enabled him to feel so smug) was a classic play.

[lagilman]

Yeah. Sometimes they seem so crestfallen to learn that it's not all champagne and contracts once you get past the first few (dozen) hurdles...

[kradical.livejournal.com]

*considers* Yeah, okay, fair point...

[xmurphyjacobsx.livejournal.com]

Not crazed with the longer hair, either. Favorite Eliot hair was from the pilot episode flashback. Perfect hair. A fighter typically shouldn't have long hair like that anyway -- gives an opponent something to grab to control you. Some hair, yes, to protect from headwounds and give a little padding. Right now -- too much hair. Country Music hair. With beads in it.

Now, see, Maggie was the one who pissed me off, so involved in the tiny-world situation of "Nate Lied" that she can't even see clear to defend her own interests. She's so involved in being right and proving how right she is that she is shortsighted everywhere else. (This does not mean I don't love the character, just that she irritated me a lot this episode). In some important ways, she and Nate are a lot alike, especially in their need to prove how much more right they are than other people.

As for Sophie -- Sophie walked away from Nate, but not so much the rest of the team, with whom she had much less complicated and contradictory relationships. In a way, it's a little like the kids in a messy parental relationship -- the kids still have relationships with each parent, but the parents themselves have nothing going on. And, the kids try to protect the parent they consider the most fragile.

Yeah, Nate is heading for the Great Big Crash. I'm expecting it for Sweeps week. And I am SO GLAD you did not miss the Eliot/Sterling beatdown. I saw you tweet about watching the show after that had already happened and I was just hoping you had it recorded!

[wolfsilveroak.livejournal.com]

anything that lets Elliot beat up on Sterling is all right in
I agree. This so needs to be in, oh, EVERY EPISODE.

I like Elliot's hair at the length it is right now, no more, no less.}:P

Yeah, Nate's setting himself up for a big fall.}:(

[sorek.livejournal.com]

Good question by Maggie, does Nate not know when he goes into "com' voice" mode? I mean they can obviously here him just fine when he talks normally, so is it another sign of need to control?

And frankly Sophie can stay away for a long time for all I care. More Jeri Ryan, please!

[blazedglory.livejournal.com]

Many many years ago, I was at Boskone, right after I'd started as editorial assistant at Ace. Someone suggested that I'd gone into publishing for the money. Laughing is a similarly appropriate response there, I think.