‘Leverage: Redemption’ Recap – ‘The Hurricane Job’

Written by John Edward Betancourt

Caution: This article contains spoilers for Episode Thirteen of ‘Leverage: Redemption’.
​
It is definitely safe to say that 2020 opened our eyes to a great deal of unfortunate realities about our world. For instance, it taught us that law enforcement is not the noble profession that we’ve always thought it to be, since so many injustices and horrific acts by police officers were exposed last year. Sparking a grand debate and protests about how we fix these injustices so that others don’t lose their lives at the hands of corrupt officers who struggle to understand that all men are created equal and that the world doesn’t revolve around them. But that debate, is going to continue on for some time, simply because it is going to take major and sweeping reforms to solve those kinds of problems, permanently, which does leave one to wonder… what can we do in the here and the now to try and stop some of these abuses of power and privilege?
​
Well as it turns out, there are stories coming forth now that are eager to explore that very question and it should come as no surprise that the IMDBtv series, Leverage: Redemption, is amongst those stories. Because this is a series that tackles social injustices head on in a thoughtful and appropriate manner and it just so happens that particular question served as the focal exploration of the next episode of this phenomenal series. For ‘The Hurricane Job’ wasted little time in introducing us to a corrupt cop named Abel. Who was happy to commit a hate crime against a man named Omar Solina, if it meant he could get his hands on something quite special. Something so amazing in fact, that when he couldn’t find what he was looking for on a bruised and battered Omar, he took his power grab to a whole new level by using his crooked buddies to seize the hotel that Omar was staying at… to find the prize in question.

But unfortunately for Abel, a forthcoming hurricane washed Parker and Eliot Spencer ashore at that very hotel and of course, it didn’t take long for them and Maria, since she swung by to pick them up… to realize that something sour was happening in this place. Something that required everyone to work together to not only expose Abel for the crooked cop that he is, but to save Omar from trouble on the outside and to prevent Abel and his lackeys from getting their hands on the surprise prize. Which was, a lottery ticket that Omar won that would bring home $230 million, and Abel wanted it because he felt a man with a checkered legal past such as Abel… wasn’t deserving of a free and fair prize. But thankfully, Eliot’s fists of fury and Maria and Parker’s ingenuity, brought justice forth… alongside some lessons.

In that, if we cannot remove systemic racism and corruption from law enforcement at the moment, then it is up to the public to apply a little pressure on police forces where these problems run rampant. Not through anything violent mind you, since that lands folks in jail or worse. No instead, the best way to put a little heat on corrupt police… is to indeed hold them to task as public servants and expose their actions as Eliot and the team did here. Because there’s little escaping video and audio evidence in this digital age and also… we need to demand better of the officers that enable guys like this. Because code doesn’t matter, what matters is the law, and if by chance we can find ways to engage other officers and have them do what Abel’s partner Boggs did here, where he worked to stop Abel and held him to task for his sour actions… then perhaps we can start making immediate change regarding this problem.

But of course, there are some who might say that’s not enough and that we need to go further, and they are not wrong in asking for greater reforms. But that once again, will take time and the issues surrounding that progress will get us into a whole different discussion. So, in the meantime, we can do our best to demand better of our police officers and all lessons aside… we can also take a moment and bask in the wonder of another great episode of this show. One that really did offer some calculated commentary on a subject that makes everyone uncomfortable, and it even managed to find a way to handle this topic in a lighthearted and hopeful manner. By leaning into the comedy when appropriate and by making Eliot the genuine hero of this story, who also hammered home what Abel lost sight of and well, kudos to the series for going big at the end of season one and hopefully it continues to do so. Because it really is shining a light on some tough topics, the kind that we can no longer avoid discussing. Until next time.  

---