A little bit of Leverage

I can't help it, it's another TV post. That's because yesterday morning, I got to watch one of Sunday night's episodes of Leverage. Does anybody watch this show? I've watched it from the start, mostly because I was a fan of both Timothy Hutton and Christian Kane. I stuck with it because, while it might be formulaic, it was fun formula. The banter was great, the plots energetic and fun, and the performances interesting enough to engage me.

This summer season has shifted my feelings for it a little bit, specifically The Rundown Job, the first of the episodes that aired Sunday night. It centered on Eliot, Parker, and Hardison handling a terrorist threat in Washington, DC, with Adam Baldwin having a guest role. Over the seasons, these three have become my favorites, for different reasons. Hardison is the geek I understand. Parker is the lonely girl, unaccustomed to making personal attachments, that I know. And Eliot...well, Eliot is the ultimate badboy hero, now isn't he? He's got a major chip on his shoulder, he's a loner by nature, and he growls half the time at the people he loves. When these three get together in scenes, it's often funny, sometimes emotional, always entertaining.

Yesterday, I went from liking the show, to loving the show. Mostly because of Eliot.

While I like the direction the show has taken by having Hardison and Parker date, I would have honestly preferred if it had been Parker and Eliot. Don't get me wrong. Hardison is exactly what Parker needs. He brings out the best in her. But the chemistry between Parker and Eliot has been off the hook since the show started. These two get each other. And that moment in the climax of Sunday's episode where they just looked at each other and knew what they were going to do without ever uttering a word, leaving Hardison in the dark and safe? Sealed it for me.

Because I think Eliot and Parker could work, albeit in a different way. They're very similar, and it would take a hell of a lot longer because of their mutual trust issues, but they would combust where Parker and Hardison simmer sweetly.

Except...Eliot will never go there now. He has too much respect for Hardison to ever put Parker in that place again. Which means he's doing the honorable thing and being alone, and when that combines with all his yummy badass-ness? Pretty much my catnip.

Man, I love this show.