The Homecoming Job

A soldier serving in Iraq was shot up badly by some private security folks working for Castleman Security. He's now in great need of rehabilitation and treatment...but like too many injured vets, it's slow in coming. The team decide to help him but scamming Castleman, but soon it appears that the attack on the soldier and his comrades was NOT accidental AND there is corruption...including massive bribes to the government. So, the plan is to relieve Castleman of their ill-gotten gains and expose a senator who is just too cozy with Castleman.

This episode is obviously intended as a critique of the infamous Blackwater Company, which has come under criticism for their actions in Iraq. But the show also manages to be very intelligently written AND play on the audience's feelings about injured vets and endless wars. Well made and well worth seeing.

The Homecoming Job is the first job where a victim contacts the #Leverage team (via the internet, no less) asking for help. This episode includes a lot of "firsts": the first introduction to Leverage Headquarters; the first (and second) use of the word "distinctive" by #EliotSpencer to describe his uncanny ability to identify people, objects, and scenarios by sound or pattern; the first time #AlecHardison is pushed off a roof; the first time #Parker's absolute love of money is revealed; the first time #NateFord shows his drunk side; and a second example of #SophieDevereaux's bad acting. All this would become boring and predictable if the actors were all "one trick ponies" and the writers ensured that each of those "firsts" is repeated in every subsequent episode. Fortunately, the actors and the writers are more interested in telling unique stories and in character growth. Yes, although each of the things I mentioned are repeated throughout the 77 episodes (and some into the #LeverageRedemption resurrection series), they are not repeated in every episode. They are interspersed throughout the 5 years, are always relevant to the story, AND always bring me a smile. I love revisiting these great stories, often finding new nuggets I missed the first dozen times. For example, this time I heard #EliotSpencer tell #NateFord, "Next time, I wear the suit" instead of playing the waiter.

I remember a report on boxes of US currency, making its way to Iraq during the war. I also remember that there was little or no oversight when it came to these huge caches of money. I assume this was the impetus for this episode.

The case is that of soldier, badly injured, but because he was in the reserve, there was limited funding to aid him in his recovery. The gang, all of them pretty rich now, investigates corporate graft being worked through government contracts.

To be honest, I'm going to have to be very patient with this show. Much of it is tongue in cheek, a nod and wink. I enjoyed the scene where the black member accuses the security patrol of arresting him because he is Jewish. Again, they are able to do things that are really over the top. But it's a fun show.

Though this is the second episode of "Leverage" it's the first one that establishes the template for a "standard" episode of the show: beginning with a clip showing the injustice suffered by the client, we see him making his case to team leader Nate Ford as to why he needs their help. In this case, it's a soldier who was crippled in a firefight in Iraq caused by a team of shady private military contractors. Moved by the case, Nate has hacker extraordinaire Alec Hardison send the Leverage signal to assemble the team.

After a brief reintroduction to the rest of the team - grifter Sophie Deveraux, hitter Eliot Spencer, and thief Parker - they meet up at their new home in Los Angeles. From there we discover the marks: Blackwater Castleman Security CEO Charles Dufort and his pet congressman, Robert Jenkins. Quickly the Leverage team realize that there's more to the case than the shooting, as Dufort and working together to smuggle something big into the company - something that they're willing to kill in order to conceal.

Apart from the fact that this episode sets the basic patterns of an episode for the majority of the series, it's something of a step down from the pilot. Part of the problem is with the antagonists, both of whom are played by veteran actors with long resumes. Unfortunately, while Robert Pine - a familiar face from his longtime role as the duty sergeant in "CHiPs" - does a nice job playing a smarmy pol, Richard Cox is pretty forgettable as Dufort. This foreshadows what would become the show's Achilles' heel, demonstrating that without a compelling foil the story suffers. Fortunately the chemistry between the leads remains solid, while the action is staged well enough to maintain a degree of excitement throughout the episode. The result may not rank among the best of the season, but it's a solid entry and a good early example of what would prove a successful formula.