When discussing this week’s Leverage, I have to admit my hatred of “special guest stars.” A lot of the time, when a TV show attracts a high-profile guest — like, say, Danny Glover — we hear about it ad nauseum and then the episode ends up being more about that person than anything else. I was pleasantly surprised to find that “The Van Gogh Job” defied my unhappy expectations. Yes, Glover was in the promos, but he wasn’t overhyped. Nor was he the focus of the episode. Instead, it proved to be a beautiful, poignant showcase for Aldis Hodge and Beth Riesgraf, who gave possibly their best performances of the entire series.
The search for a missing Van Gogh painting leads the Leverage team to Charles Lawson (Glover, who disappears entirely into his character), who confides in Parker about his World War II love affair with a young woman named Dorothy Ross. In another one of Leverage‘s ingenious approaches, this takes the entire cast back to the 1940’s, with Hardison as a young Lawson, Parker playing Ross, and appearances from the rest of the team as we watch the bittersweet love story unfold. The present-day search for the painting almost becomes secondary — that’s how good this flashback storyline is. The episode is less a caper, and more a poignant romance. By episode’s end, I was getting choked up.
The material gives both Aldis Hodge and Beth Riesgraf a chance to shine. Riesgraf is miles away from Parker as the earnest, good-hearted Dorothy, plus we get to see her play a pipe organ and roller skate; she gets to show how much more she can do in addition to being socially aloof and threatening to stab people.
It’s Hodge, however, who’s far and away the episode’s MVP. Likewise, he gets a break from Hardison’s hacker-speak and comic relief to bring out his considerable dramatic acting chops. There’s a quiet strength to his performance as the defiant Charles, who’s willing to literally risk his life for love. He impressed the heck out of me.
Leverage‘s crew also turns in great work this week. The episode’s flashbacks are beautifully shot, with great coloring and an attention to detail, particularly in the World War II scenes that reminded me of HBO’s Band of Brothers. It’s pretty impressive that an hour show can evoke memories of an acclaimed miniseries.
The costuming is also magnificent; Timothy Hutton in particular gets a great new look as the town sheriff, including a gun that he looks particularly badass wielding. (Fans of the Nate/Sophie relationship no doubt smiled when it was revealed Nate’s sheriff was married to the local organist, played by none other than Sophie.)
And as if that wasn’t enough, Eliot fans got to see Christian Kane in not one but two impressive fight sequences this week. He makes bashing skulls look so easy.
All in all, “The Van Gogh Job” was a fantastic episode that was clearly a labor of love for all involved, and I think it’s my favorite episode of the fourth season so far. Season four in itself has been a pleasant surprise every week. Last season, I began to get restless with plots that weren’t as interesting as the characters; this season, the story ideas are as innovative as Nate’s plots, and that’s made for a burst of fresh energy. The show is as great as it’s ever been.
And maybe we’ll revisit these characters again someday. It’s not likely to happen, but I have to admit — watching them fall in love with each other, I fell in love with this episode.
Clacked by Brittany Frederick 
on Jul 18, 2011 @ 02:18 EST5EDT
