The Long Con

Agent McSweeten asks Parker to help him investigate a case that his father never managed to close: The D. B. Cooper mystery. Nate agrees to take it on and interviews McSweeten’s dying father Peter about what happened. They also meet his partner and best friend Steve Reynolds, whose wife was on the plane that day. Like the Van Gogh Job from last season, the Leverage actors play new characters as they reimagine what happened in the famous 70s crime.

The team has to get involved with the government when a young cheerleader gets injured because the competition isn’t up to safety codes. The company that owns them, Pep, is allowed to get away with sub-par safety because cheerleading is considered a recreational activity and not a sport. The team decides to try and get the government to turn cheerleading into a sport, but they find out it’s not as easy as buying a politician or two. They have to work against the clock to turn four congressmen by the time the bill goes up in front of them. Should cheerleading be a sport or an activity? How far of a drop would Parker consider scary? And what the heck is going on with Nate? All that and more on this episode of Leverage.

Toby Heath, the man who taught Eliot how to cook, comes to the team for help after he gets fired from a special culinary institute. He thinks the owner David Lampard is doing illegal business on the side, possibly drugs. Eliot and Hardison infiltrate with Eliot becoming the new teacher and Hardison one of the students. They find out it’s not drugs Lampard is dealing in but expensive and rare truffles. Would you want Eliot as a cooking instructor? Is food cooler if it’s made with a laser? And shouldn’t Hardison be better at safe cracking by now? All that and more on this episode of Leverage.

We had some sound issues this episode. Really sorry guys. We tried to do what we could, but we didn't want to delay the episode any longer than we already had.

A man named James Kanack stole a special design from his employee Oren Matz, ruining his reputation and the credit he deserves. The team finds out that Kanack is obsessed with the idea of Extraterrestrial life and believes in aliens. They decide to “steal a close encounter” and get him to believe that there’s a message from outer space only they can decipher. They do manage to steal money from him, but that’s not enough for Oren, who cares more about his creation and reputation than money. Can the team take down Kanack for good? How perfect was it that Jonathan Frakes directed this episode? Can you get Hardison and Eliot’s song out of your head? All that and more on this episode of Leverage.

The team is approached by a boy named Danny whose father Craig is a professional hockey player. He’s getting into constant fights while playing and Danny thinks he’s going to die before the end of the season. They find out that his father is being offered more money by his coach to start fights because the crowds like it, and that the coach is making all the doctors clear him even when he’s injured. It’s up to them to find a way to take down the corrupt coach and save Craig from himself. Is Eliot good at all sports? Should Vlad become a regular guest star? And did Sophie really steal the Stanley Cup? All that and more on this episode of Leverage.

The gang is back from their break, and Hardison’s set up a new base and business in Portland, Oregon. Nate agrees this is the right place for them to lay low until they get back on track. Their first client is a grieving widow whose husband died on the job and the airline company got away with it. They target the wealthy executive Scott Roemer, who happens to have an unusual obsession with Howard Hughes. Nate uses this against him by creating a con about Howard Hughes’ famous plane the Spruce Goose. Can Eliot make a teddy bear menacing? Should Sophie start her own theater? Why are Nate and Hardison making top secret plans together? All that and more on this episode of Leverage.

The real villain of season four has been revealed: Victor Dubenich. The man who brought the team together in the first place and became their very first victim. He’s been in prison all this time studying everything they did. He partnered with Latimer and mapped out where Nate was going to have the team hit next, so they made money off of every job. Unfortunately Dubenich knows everything about them, so none of their usual tricks will work. They have to recruit former enemies to do the job for them. Meanwhile Nate considers killing Dubenich in revenge for his father’s death, and the team tries to talk him out of it. Should Quinn, Chaos, Archie, and Maggie have their own spin-off show? Does anyone else want Archie’s cane? And what do you think should happen in season five? All that and more on this episode of Leverage.

Nate runs off on his own when he finds out that Latimer hired his father, Jimmy Ford, for a special job. Jimmy’s supposed to steal a specific patent, but by the time they all get inside someone’s called the cops. The team has to keep fending the cops off by pretending to have a hostage situation and then a terrorist attack, but one thing is for sure: someone is messing with them and it isn’t Latimer. The true villain of season four is revealed and Nate gets one more reason to be an alcoholic. Why were there so many Doctor Who references in this episode? How did Sophie look so amazing pregnant? And did anyone actually care about Jimmy by the end? All that and more on this episode of Leverage.

The team goes up against a brother and sister who are corrupt gold dealers. This seems like the perfect time for Hardison to finally take point and run his own con. When he refuses to work until they listen to him, Nate gives in. Hardison claims he has a new con, a revolutionary con, and one that involves video game knowledge. He thinks he has it all working perfectly, but he’s not ready to take Nate’s position quite yet. Should they keep their nicknames? Will Hardison ever be able to be a mastermind? Would you have rage quit earlier? All that and more on this episode of Leverage.

Nate is surprised when a wealthy businessman, someone he’s targeted as a potential enemy, comes into the bar and asks for their help. His much younger wife has gone missing. They assume that she’s probably a grifter and agree to take a job in exchange for a favor from him down the road. The team quickly realize she’s from a team of grifters run by a manipulative woman named Meredith. Nate goes undercover as a potential partner to Meredith and Sophie goes undercover as the mark he is supposed to seduce. Who would you bid on, Hardison or Eliot? Is it a surprise to anyone that Nate and Sophie have their first real date on a con? All that and more on this episode of Leverage.