We’re back! We missed this show and it’s time to talk about Leverage: Redemption 1×09 “The Bucket Job” in which we brought Christmas forward a bit and we are not very sure that we liked this idea… although the episode is the beginning of many emotional challenges for our characters and we really love that. Time for review!
Here we go!
The premise of Leverage: Redemption 1×09 “The Bucket Job” is not one of my favorites. I mean, I don’t like it when shows pretend to be something they aren’t. Leverage: Redemption is about a team of ex-criminals who use outlaw means to help people in need but they aren’t exactly actors who play a role because they want.
It’s true that the episode brings Christmas forward and we all know that the Christmas spirit makes us do things that we would not normally do for people we don’t even know but…I don’t think this plot really fits in Leverage: Redemption. Not for me. And less in the episode that opens this season 1B. I was expecting something more powerful and setting the pace for the second part of the season. To tell the truth, it was an episode with a plot too slow at the beginning, almost … boring.
I said what I said.
And it hurts me a lot to say it because I love this show but Leverage: Redemption didn’t have me until it started to be the show it really is and some really bad guys got in the way and things got pretty serious.
What I liked about this plot were two things: Hardison had to do with it and the way it developed Eliot’s past.
Hardison is the only member of the team that is in Leverage: Redemption but he is not, he participates in counted occasions in the show as a guest star so when he’s introduced in the day to day, I get emotional. It was something that I didn’t expect but I think it’s a precious detail because here the whole team was united … except for Hardison and that somehow they made him there … it’s huge for me.
On the other hand, Leverage: Redemption 1×09 “The Bucket Job” allows us to explore a lot of Eliot’s past and that’s always good. Eliot was always that great stranger who never spoke about his family or his past. We knew that he was a military and he didn’t get along with his family but not much else. And this episode starts to fix that and goes deep into his story.
This man that the team is trying to help, helps him. He protects him from himself. He acts as a father in a way, giving him some very valuable advice: don’t wait. Life is unpredictable and ends when you least expect it, so waiting to do those pending things that we all have is not an option. You never know what will happen …
Eliot has long delayed getting close to his family, having contact with them, especially his father. They were so close… and knowing that now they just can’t be in the same room hurts. “Dont wait.” It’s time for Eliot to take his first step to get closer to that other family he has and what better time of year to do it than Christmas.
Christmas is the quintessential time for family gatherings and celebrations. So far, Eliot has enjoyed it alongside his second family: the team. He has not felt alone for years, but a part of him, a part of his heart, bleeds for not having the family that saw him grow up by his side. That’s why Eliot no longer waits…and contacts them to get closer to them again. To start over.
But his father doesn’t want to.
It seems that Eliot’s family is looking forward to seeing him again, to being back in his life and just…they were wanting him to call but Eliot’s father makes it clear that he wants nothing to do with him and, for Eliot, that is…too painful. It breaks his heart. It breaks mine too. And he gives up.
For Eliot, his father is someone really important in his life, he loves all of his family but his father is…is special. He’s his hero, the person he respects and admires the most, his best friend…and he wants nothing to do with him. So he feels that it is not worth the effort if the most important person of all has made it so clear that he doesn’t want him back in his life.
It’s weird because Leverage: Redemption 1×09 “The Bucket Job” starts off in the happiest way possible but ends on the saddest note ever. And our heart is broken for Eliot and we scream because we need to tell his father that he needs to see his son again because he’s one of the best people he will have the pleasure of meeting and he should be proud of him.
We just hope this story is just the beginning and we’ll see a lot more of Eliot and his family soon.
By the way, was I the only one who thought Eliot was going to see Maria? (Wink, wink.)
Redemption is not an easy thing, it’s a day-to-day struggle … and it’s hard. Actually, the easiest thing is to stop trying and go back to your old habits, that’s why I don’t like the offer that man makes to Harry in Leverage: Redemption 1×09 “The Bucket Job.” Don’t get me wrong, I don’t think Harry is going to waver now, he’s a good person and he’s really sorry for how he handled his life so I don’t think there’s danger here. I believe in Harry.
But I hate the way this man has despised Harry’s efforts and work to redeem himself, to be a better person, as if it’s just a whim that he will soon forget. He’s literally fighting with his past, with his guilt and the day to day is a challenge for him and this man is here, in front of him, despising this fight. I will fight anyone who wants to make Harry despise what he’s doing.
Don’t you love when you feel the unity of the team? Almost everyone has celebrated Christmas together and the gifts that have been given have shown how they know each other, even if none of them mentioned exactly what they wanted, they had it right there. And that’s the best thing about gifts, when they don’t ask you what you want … because they already know. I love to see how the emotional bonds have grown in the team.
And here ends our Leverage: Redemption 1×09 “The Bucket Job” review. We will be back tomorrow with a new one! Stay tuned!
Agree? Disagree? Don’t hesitate to share it with us in the comments below!
Leverage: Redemption season 1B will premiere on IMDbTV on October 8.