Leverage: Redemption is here! This is a long awaited comeback for both the fans and the entire cast and crew. After our exclusive interviews with the entire cast and our advanced reviews, it’s time to review Leverage: Redemption 1×02 “The Panamanian Monkey Job.” This episode is like a second part of episode 1, the team finishes the job, we say goodbye to Harrison and a new character lands right in the middle of it all. Ready?
Here we go!
Leverage: Redemption 1×02 “The Panamanian Monkey Job” is set as a continuation of the previous episode. The job is not done yet and now it’s about finishing it because this bad man can’t get away with it.
As the team tries to get back to the job, they are still trying to deal with the loss of Nate… and the new addition to the team. Harry doesn’t think he was involved with a team of thieves and con but he is there and he feels… good. That is what puzzles him the most that he, for the first time in a long time, he has no feeling of pretending, he really starts to feel that he is right where he needs to be.
But … what does that mean? Because this team is dedicated to scamming and robbing people, what makes him feel like he’s in the right place? He tries to figure out what position this leaves him in as he realizes that Nate’s death has left a void in all of them and that opens his mind and his perspective on the team.
They are scammers and thieves, yes, but, in reality, they dedicate themselves to doing justice when conventional justice is not enough and they are… they are a real family. He is watching it. He sees it in the way they treat each other, the trust with which they look at each other, the way they honor their deceased friend. Maybe being part of that family is the right thing to do, maybe it is the path that he should follow.
He just needs the team to trust him.
We have to remember that this family was not created overnight. At the beginning of this whole story, none of them trusted each other, it took time for them to do so. And now that a new member has joined, a member they don’t know who is, they need time to check that Harry fits in there.
Leverage: Redemption 1×02 “The Panamanian Monkey Job” is about that. Trying to find that confidence … which is not as far as it seems. Harry evaluated each member of the team but they also evaluated him … and recognized a good man full of remorse and who is in search of redemption.
But redemption is not something you get without work, it’s something you earn every day. Little by little, by helping people, he will begin to forgive himself, he will compensate for all the evil that he did and, almost without realizing it, he will redeem himself. He just has to give time and not get carried away by guilt. And the team will be there at every step, if he is willing to let them.
And that is precisely what works in this family: they don’t judge each other, they help each other, they support each other, they are always there when they need it. And that’s also what draws Harry to them. The team means something to him that he always looked for: understanding. He knows that they won’t judge him and that he can help turn things around if he joins them.
In the midst of all this, in Leverage: Redemption 1×02 “The Panamanian Monkey Job” we suffer a loss… and a new member joins the team. Hardison’s methods are out of date and his foster sister arrives to make it clear. We’re sorry, Hardison, but we still love you.
Breanna revolutionizes Hardison and the entire team. She is as brilliant as he is and quite novel in her methods. And neither of them knows exactly how to feel about this encounter. Breanna always looked up to Hardison and he always felt like family, he’s the only one who really felt that way.
She admires him and always wanted to emulate him, competition with him in their own field makes them feel a kind of camaraderie that makes her feel like they are blood brothers, like they are family and she just hopes Hardison feels the same about her. Breanna loves Hardison and only wants him to love her.
And he does. But he doesn’t know how to prove it… until he must go and there is no greater proof that he trusts her with his position on the team. The team is his family, it is the most important thing for him and he is entrusting it to his sister.
The tears for how precious this is fight the tears caused by losing Harrison. He is one of my favorite characters and I will miss him. It’s unfair that we just watch him again after so many years only to lose him after two episodes. However, I understand that the show needs some time to introduce Breanna in a way that doesn’t clash with Hardison as to what she does within the team and that they don’t step on each other while we meet Breanna.
The parting between Hardison and Parker has broken my heart, they love each other so much… and I really liked that Parker accepted that Hardison needed to leave for a while but that she was aware that this doesn’t mean an end for them.
And what about the case in Leverage: Redemption 1×02 “The Panamanian Monkey Job”? Well, the team doesn’t usually fail, right? It has taken them a little longer than expected but they have managed to finish the job. Although it was… it was special to Sophie because she continues to struggle with depression over the loss of Nate and feels him everywhere. Sometimes she plays with her ring just to calm herself, just to feel him …
The team gives Sophie a purpose, a distraction from letting herself be overwhelmed by depression, but she also brings back memories… good memories that make her smile and cry in equal measure. She is strong and knows that she will get over it but now she doesn’t feel like she can do it sometime soon. It’s like an emptiness inside her that she can’t help but feel.
But one job is not enough so she has time.
Here ends our Leverage: Redemption 1×02 “The Panamanian Monkey Job” review. Stay tuned for the review of episode 3 that we will publish tomorrow.
Agree? Disagree? Feel free to share with us in the comments below!
Leverage: Redemption is available to watch on IMDbTV.