Television Review: Leverage, "The Runway Job"
by R.J. Carter
Published: January 12, 2010
Leverage returns to TNT with new episodes, and a bit of a cast shakeup as Jeri Ryan temporarily moves into the position held by Gina Bellman. (It's okay -- much as we love Ryan, Bellman will return and even cameos in the upcoming episodes.)
Last summer, it was "Exit Sophie, Enter Tara," as Sophie (Bellman) decided to leave the group and tour the world, putting distance between herself and group leader Nathan Ford (Timothy Hutton). Tara (Ryan), sent by Sophie, was less-than-welcomed by the rest of the team (Aldis Hodge, Beth Riesgraf, Christian Kane), particularly Ford, but her skills as an accomplished grifter soon became quite apparent, slowly earning her some begrudging acceptance and respect.
In "The Runway Job," the team is recruited to put the kibosh on an Asian sweatshop producing knockoff label clothing. Run by Russell and Gloria Pan (Tom Choi, Grace Hsu), the factory uses labor from immigrants who are basically indentured into paying off their passage to the United States. To infiltrate their way into the Pans' trust, Nathan and the Leverage team crash Fashion Week and play up to Gloria Pan's dreams of becoming a recognized fashion designer. However, things go quickly sour when the team learns the factory is far more than it initially appears.
Passion for Fashion. Nathan (Hutton) and Tara Ryan) crash Fashion Week.
(photo credit Darren Michaels) |
As Tara and Nathan continue to conflict, Tara finds herself oddly attracted to him, forming the basis of a triangle between herself, Ford, and Sophie that ought to spark some interesting fan forum discussions who will undoubtedly segregate into Nathan/Tara camps versus Nathan/Sophie camps.
Leverage, "The Runway Job," premieres Wednesday, January 13 at 10|9C on TNT.
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