"My son would be ashamed of me if I was a murderer... but my father, on the other hand... he'd buy me an ice cream."
Nathan Ford
It's payback time. The time has come to finally take down Latimer, but he has a surprise associate. Victor Dubenich, the team's very first mark, who was the one who ordered the hit on Jimmy Ford. Victor has since put up all kinds of defenses to make sure Latimer is untouchable.
The solution? Get people who Victor doesn't know to pull the con.
Tropes stolen in this job:
- Batman Grabs a Gun:
- Nate spends the entire episode debating whether or not to avenge his father by killing Dubenich and Latimer.
- Eliot seriously considers killing Dubenich so Nate can't. He gets to the point of having a gun aimed at Dubenich's face, but ultimately chooses not to take the shot.
- The Bus Came Back: Maggie, Chaos, Archie, and Quinn are called in to help the team take down Latimer.
- Call-Back:
- Parker says "hello" to Archie by stealing his wallet, the same way she said goodbye to him in "The Inside Job".
- Archie finally acknowledges Parker as his daughter, in front of his other daughter.
- Didn't See That Coming: Used for humor a few times:
- Archie calling Parker his daughter (in front of his other daughter, no less) clearly throws Parker for a loop, and all she can manage is a shocked "See you later, sis!" as she and Archie walk off.
- Nate has absolutely no idea how to react to Sophie recruiting his ex-wife for their con, and his brain visibly short-circuits when he realizes that Sophie and his ex-wife are now friends.
- Flat "What": Victor's reaction to learning that Leverage has managed to strand Latimer in the Cayman Islands.
- Humiliation Conga: The team puts Latimer through a very long and brutal one.
- Insistent Terminology: Sophie and Maggie call Nate out on the fact that he still refers to Maggie as his wife and not his ex-wife, even though Nate and Maggie have been divorced for years.
- It's Personal: Nate is very dedicated to this case due to the death of his dad. He makes it clear to the backup team that Victor is his.Nate: Hey, Victor? Remember when I said that the next time we met, I wouldn't be so nice? Welcome to the next time.
- Nice Job Fixing It, Villain: Victor's Evil Gloating to Nate about the things important to a man (his profession, his possessions, and his good name) is what inspires Nate's plan, in which he targets those three things of Latimer's and ruins him in the process.
- No Honor Among Thieves: When Nate has both Latimer and Dubenich at gunpoint, they each try to cajole him into sparing him and killing the other. Ultimately they both fall over the waterfall in a struggle for Nate's father's gun.
- O.O.C. Is Serious Business: For one of the only times in the series, Eliot does not immediately disarm a gun handed to him; instead, he aims it at Latimer, seriously considering killing him so that Nate won't.
- Oh, Crap!: Latimer and Dubenich get a big one when they learn that Latimer missed his appointment to speak in front of Congress (putting him in Contempt of Congress... a crime) because he's been drugged and sent to the Cayman Islands. With the entire contents of his vault.
- Papa Wolf: Archie lets Chaos jab at him about being old, but the minute he acts perverted toward Parker, he sticks the tip of his cane under his chin:Archie: I own two canes. One conceals a taser, capable of delivering ten thousand volts. The other extends a six-inch stiletto blade.Chaos: Which one is...(gulp) is this one?Archie: Oh, I don't seem to remember. I am "super old."
- Chaos later makes the mistake of making a second perverted comment toward Parker. Turns out it was the taser cane all along.
- Rock Beats Laser: Instead of hacking the dam, Eliot and Hardison dump an invasive species of shellfish into it, which would take a year for Latimer to get rid of.
- Screw the Rules, I Have Connections!: Latimer gets Dubenich out of prison early. "It's amazing what you can do when you have a few governors in your pocket."
- Take a Third Option: In the finale, Nate has Dubenich and Latimer at gunpoint at the edge of the dam, with each one of them begging for his life and telling him to the shoot the other one. Nate replies, "The only problem I have with that is that one of you gets to live." So he puts the gun on the ground between them and walks away. We viewers don't see what happens, but we hear a struggle, a gunshot, and a splash, and when Nate turns back both are gone.
- Throughout the episode, the team expresses their worry that Nate would turn to murdering both Dubenich and Latimer to avenge the death of his father. In particular, Eliot - the only member who has actually killed - advises that it will change who Nate is if he pushes through with it. Since he's still unwilling to let either man walk, Nate's third option is Talking the Monster to Death: in their pleas to be spared, Dubenich and Latimer end up disclosing the reasons why it would be beneficial if the other died in their place. Nate's choice to leave the gun behind leads to them struggling over it and subsequently killing each other in the process, allowing him to walk away without having actually killed anyone himself.
- As pointed out by John Rogers, he would be perfectly okay with one of them getting the gun and killing him...as he'd ALREADY ruined them.
- Throughout the episode, the team expresses their worry that Nate would turn to murdering both Dubenich and Latimer to avenge the death of his father. In particular, Eliot - the only member who has actually killed - advises that it will change who Nate is if he pushes through with it. Since he's still unwilling to let either man walk, Nate's third option is Talking the Monster to Death: in their pleas to be spared, Dubenich and Latimer end up disclosing the reasons why it would be beneficial if the other died in their place. Nate's choice to leave the gun behind leads to them struggling over it and subsequently killing each other in the process, allowing him to walk away without having actually killed anyone himself.
- Teeth-Clenched Teamwork:
- To say Chaos and Quinn don't get along is an understatement.
- To say Archie dislikes Chaos' constant attempts to hit on Parker is an understatement as well.
- Chaos and Hardison also continue their hate/hate relationship.
- On the other side, Latimer and Dubenich really don't get along.
- Token Evil Teammate: Chaos is surprisingly downplayed. He mostly just snarks, and is surprisingly kept under control; the worst he does is leer at Parker, and Archie has that handled.
- Used to Be a Sweet Kid: How Eliot thinks of who he used to be. "That kid had God in his heart and a flag on his shoulder. I haven't seen him in the mirror in ten years. I stopped looking."
- You Have GOT to Be Kidding Me!: Nate is very unamused to learn his ex-wife was brought in to be the substitute grifter.
