- Title: Leverage Redemption – The Date Night Job
- IMDb: link
On the eve of Hardison (Aldis Hodge) going into space, the show’s excuse to write off the character again, both he and Parker (Beth Riesgraf) separately talk to members of the team enlisting their help to break into a tax-free port housing millions in treasures including those of a recently-deceased woman whose collection will be on display at a private party. We get flashbacks filling in the various characters’ roles in setting in the night’s event, before jumping back to the present to deal with an unexpected problem. There’s fun Hardison and Parker back-and-forth leading to the break-in where things take a turn with the arrival of armed robbers at the party below who unintentionally trap the thief and hacker inside the safe.
The crew working on the fly dynamic works well and the scenes with the guests of the party, intercut with the team working by themselves, help fill in the setting and avoid an issue that can sometimes occur with the show where the lack of extras can be quite noticeable. Hardison and Parker work through her fears of his impending departure over the course of the night, leaving her in a better headspace by the end the episode.
With everyone except Breanna (Aleyse Shannon), who is interrupted from her own date night to offer support, already on scene Eliot (Christian Kane) takes on the other group’s hitter, Sophie (Gina Bellman) and Harry (Noah Wyle) talk with the other trapped guests looking for the inside man, and Parker offers some emotional support to a young boy (Kue Lawrence) in more trouble than he realizes while attempting to escape the safe before all oxygen gets sucked out. Despite the unexpected events, and Eliot accidentally scaring the kid into danger, Leverage is able to take down the bad guys, find the missing dinosaur skull, and unmask the mastermind behind the evening’s events.
