You're the smartest guy I've ever known Hardison. I need that brain to get me to him, cause if you know I lay my hands on him, it's done. | permalink

Between those words and fighting Udall after being shot in the shoulder, Eliot reminded us what he does best. It looked like the pep-talk was exactly what Hardison needed, too, as he stepped up right after that and got busy. 

While we are speaking of Hardison, I loved the visual styling the show used where it overlaid his hacking on the screen so we had a feel for what Hardison was doing. Of course, it was equally as cool when he intercepted the keys to the corvette and threw them to Eliot. I wonder how many takes that took to get right. 

Parker Tries to Stop an Attack

We also saw a more limber side of Parker, first when she worked her way across the laser guarded vault and then again when she disarmed the claymore mine. If you watch the latter again, look at Parker’s face as she climbs around on Hardison, there is genuine fun and affection in Beth Riesgraf's expression that makes the scene that much more fun. 

Parker was in excellent form all around, from getting out of her cuffs with Vance to taking the briefcase off of Udall during his monologue. I laughed so hard when Vance pointed out that she was already out of her cuffs. 

Did anyone else see her using the mini blowtorch to burn the gas as it vented from the brief case? I didn’t but realized how brilliant it was as she did it. Well done, Parker, you earned that spare diamond.

Of course, Angel fans out there would roast me alive if I didn’t mention the return visit of Christian Kane’s former co-star Adam Baldwin as Col. Vance. Given his insistence at the end that Eliot should consider working for him again, I suspect this will not be the last we have seen of Vance – and I couldn’t be more thrilled. The team could use more powerful contacts on their side, and I think Vance is at the top of a short list in that respect. 

Leverage takes a chance when it moves away from the “client of the week” episodes. Sometimes it missed the mark completely, but this episode took the very pieces of the show we love and put them on large doses of caffeine. The action was fast, the comedy was funny and the Leverage quotes were very enjoyable.  

Don’t forget to head over to the second half of this week’s double feature to see what Sophie and Nate were up to while Eliot, Parker and Hardison were in DC.