- Title: Leverage – The Grave Danger Job
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When the team sets out to take down a crooked mortuary director (Anne-Marie Johnson) who is running not one but two cons on her clients and the recently departed they get more than they bargained for. Hardison (Aldis Hodge) ends up buried alive in one of the coffins and it’s up to the team to find him, take down the drug runner (James Martinez) who put him there, and save their friend before he runs out of air.
As Hardison struggles for his life Parker (Beth Riesgraf) deals with her own feelings at possibly loosing her best friend. The pair have a couple of great moments here including a phone conversation where Parker helps calm him and refuses to let him die and the episode’s final scene where Hardison offers his thanks in the empty bar.
I love to see Riesgraf and Hodge together, and this script gives them both an opportunity to shine. Both actors do a great job showcasing a wide range of emotion over the course of the episode and moving the Parker/Hardison relationship one more small step forward. I’ve also got to give the show a nod for having Elliot (Christian Kane) be the first one to hug Hardison after he’s freed from the casket (and Parker, still emotionally wrecked being the one farthest away from the group who all welcome Hardison back to the land of the living). Well played.