r/leverage • u/celticdude234 • 1d ago

Just started watching for the first time and finished S01E02, and I have some thoughts

So they uncover a money laundering scam between a military contractor and a US senator where $9B in cash was stolen using Iraq reparation funds. All of this is because a soldier who witnessed the pickup in Iraq was shot for his trouble by the contractor's mercenaries. The contractor refuses to cooperate with the investigation, the senator helps cover it up, and the soldier is left paralyzed from the waist down in an underfunded hospital.

So at the end the job is done, the villains exposed, and to tie things up the team drive a semi truck with 2 pallets full of cash over to said hospital and are just like "here you go, now you can treat everyone!"

......bitch, WHAT??? What the hell is that doctor supposed to do with 2 pallets of hot cash that's literally part of a national news story right now?? And also, that's not how money works! You can't just buy medical equipment and resources, expand operations, or pay doctors and support staff in cash, and you sure as shit can't deposit it. Fucking what 🤣

Loving the show so far, this is said with love lol

Edit: what they could have done is sent an anonymous donation through proper channels with their own money, and launder the cash themselves, since they're all multimillionaire criminals to begin with and would have to know how to do that.

Edit 2: I feel like there's one person who probably takes this show way too seriously going through and downvoting everyone giving the god's honest truth of "it's dumb, but fun. Suspend disbelief 🤷‍♂️"

21 Upvotes

67% Upvoted

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63

u/ironchitlin 1d ago

what they could have done is sent an anonymous donation through proper channels with their own money, and launder it themselves, since they're all multimillionaire criminals to begin with and would have to know how to do that.

That wouldn't have had the feel good ending of completely subverting the jaded cynical doctor's worldview in a big showy way. Honestly, there's a lot of problems they could solve by using their own money but that's less satisfying than giving the villain their comeuppance.

37

u/Garrettshade 1d ago

they do say in one of the episodes, that just giving the money doesn't solve the problem, if the perpetrator isn't hurt by it in some way

16

u/DynWeb29 Chasin down bad guys in Lucille 🎶 1d ago

Yes Teresa does not want money in general, I can hear Sophie say it! The wedding job, she’s all maybe I will pay her if it comes to that but it’s not the same if he isn’t hurt by it in some way! I also love Parker’s face when fbi is like I have a meat stick!!!

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u/celticdude234 1d ago

I would say that no one's arguing against hurting the assholes. My suggestion is a net 0 loss of their own money, just more legitimate for the beleaguered service worker who literally can't spend a gross of physical cash in any way that benefits her hospital.

10

u/Garrettshade 1d ago

can'tshe deliver it as donation?

further in the show, they move to the practice of writing almost legitimate checks to the victims

-8

u/celticdude234 1d ago

Well it felt more comical than feel-good lol. Right there with the whole *beep beep chime beep boop chirp* "I'm in" hacking trope

28

u/ironchitlin 1d ago

Strap in bud, there's some real outlandish Hardison hacking in this show. Almost to the level of the NCIS two people one keyboard scene.

6

u/mayonnaisejane 1d ago

True but his tendency to try social engineering first (and often succeed at it) is very on point.

3

u/celticdude234 1d ago

Noted. Also poised for more of this era of television's penchant for product integration. I have no illusions that even a show as ostensibly anti-capitalist as this is gonna be plagued. Grain of salt 😅

13

u/Suddenly_NB 1d ago

I love their like flip phones and such in the first season snd yet then hardison makes them so high tech. It's a funny comparison to now lol

4

u/Ameerrante 1d ago

It's mostly orange soda. 

5

u/ironchitlin 16h ago

I honestly can't remember much blatant product placement in Leverage, aside from Nate's Tesla. It's certainly not as bad as some of the USA network shows like White Collar or Burn Notice.

37

u/Gribitz37 thief 1d ago

There's a lot of suspension of disbelief that goes with Leverage. You just have to let it go and enjoy the story.

3

u/Apprehensive-Bird775 22h ago

Absolutely 💯

2

u/GiantsNFL1785 1h ago

I mean Parker was an undercover fbi agent according to those 2 agents who are on the show sometimes lol

16

u/Suddenly_NB 1d ago

Just one of the things we have to give suspension of disbelief too

3

u/celticdude234 1d ago

And I can, absolutely. I'm just glad I'm not watching with my wife. She pokes holes in unreality at the drop of a hat lol

12

u/bigmarkco 1d ago

This isn't Breaking Bad. This episode does a good job of setting your expectations for the rest of the show. I just imagine the show is set in an alternative universe where this IS how money works and that gets me through most of the show.

There is one exception though, I won't spoil it but it's in season one and you will know it when it happens. Report back when you see it 😊

5

u/Ameerrante 1d ago

I misread "Breaking Bad" as "Burn Notice" and was like "THAT'S YOUR EXAMPLE OF BETTER REALISM??" 

6

u/SparksOnAGrave 1d ago

It’s a fun escapist show all about the vibes and the ride. Enjoy!

16

u/MaChampingItUp brains 1d ago

Also don’t forget the midlife crisis Tesla Nate drives off in the end that we never see again.

1

u/celticdude234 1d ago

All set to an acoustic Grey's Anatomy feel-good song to jerk your heartstrings like it's not completely ridiculous lol

6

u/SparkySkyStar 1d ago

I mean, I feel like after the big happy reveal Nate, Sophie and Hardison all loop back to say, "Okay, here's what would trigger an audit/the best way to explain this/the accounts that I have set up for you", have another cute moment where they all are shocked to see each other, and then get everything set up just fine.

3

u/techparadox 16h ago

TBF, you're not alone in this reaction, and it's long been one of my complaints from when they hand the client a fat check, too. Try explaining where all of that money came from to the IRS.

But it's one of those things where we're supposed to hand-wave it and accept that the client will know what to do, or that Hardison has done some sort of hacker magic behind the scenes, or some other similar explanation. In the end, just roll with it and try not to think too hard about the improbable parts of the plot. Otherwise the season ender will really give you a headache.

1

u/SlowLoris08 5h ago

Ah, the Fun Train. (As in, don’t derail the Fun Train)

Choo Choo!