Leverage Manifesto - Sophie Devereaux

[melpomenethemis]

Challenge 1 of Leverageland Heist 12 - creating a manifesto for a character/ship in Leverage.

Why I love Sophie Devereaux

Admittedly, when watched the first half of Leverage season 1 I didn't really love Sophie. I liked her as a character but I didn't have any particularly strong emotions for her. Then, after I saw the Mile High Job, I stopped and re-watched season 1, really watched it and everything just clicked for me with Sophie. She became one of my favourite characters.

There are so many reasons why I love Sophie as a character - for start, she's got such a unique talent that changes every episode, sometimes multiple times an episode. She completely becomes her character (unless she's on a stage of course) and she always can tell what the mark needs in her grift. That in itself is a huge (and interesting to watch) talent.

Sophie is similar to the mother of the Leverage team - her dynamics with Parker, Eliot and Hardison tend to lean towards the caring and in some cases nurturing side. You can tell as the audience that Sophie genuinely likes her team and that it's not an act or a grift - she can be herself. Then of course, Sophie is a bit like the Nate whisperer which is pretty awesome as well. You can see her personality shine through multiple interactions with minor characters, such as being friends with Maggie, and she also never denies who she is. Sophie Devereaux is a strong female character who helped make the show as successful as it was - after all, there must always be (at least) one leading lady.

Top ten best Sophie canon moments

1. "This is her stage, Sophie Devereaux is the finest actress you've ever see…when she's breaking the law" - The Nigerian Job, the very first time we see Sophie Devereaux grift is one of the best Sophie moments, simply from the fact that she managed to shock the whole team and the audience when everyone had seen her attempt to act previously. This was the first moment we saw the grifter in action and from then on it has been one grift after another, but this one was special as it is the first grift that we see on Leverage.
2. "You bought us gifts?" - The Ho Ho Ho Job, when Sophie and Nate buy Hardison, Eliot and Parker gifts for Christmas. This is a small part of the episode but goes to show how much Sophie cares about the members of the Leverage team. They pick out personal gifts that shows a lot of thought went into the selection and you can see how happy Sophie is since they are happy.
3. "That's what I sound like to you?" - The Rashomon Job, when the Leverage team show what Sophie's accent sounds like to them through flashbacks. As someone from Britain I find this hilarious - each character gives a different accent to Sophie's quite well spoken English accent, Eliot gives a cockney accent, Hardison gives a Scottish accent and Parker…well Parker just had a jumble of words. It's definitely interesting to see their interpretations of her accent, as well as Sophie's reaction to their interpretation.
4. "My wife? You recruited my wife as your backup?" - The Last Dam Job,  when we learn that Maggie is the only honest person Sophie knows and that they are friends. This part of the episode really highlights the friendship between these two characters as well as having the added bonus of seeing Nate's reaction to this news.
5. "That's my girl" - The Boiler Room Job, where Sophie was able to identify the origin of the chocolate as "The Chocolate Whisperer". In this moment we see the skills of Sophie Devereaux, with skills that truly wow the audience of chocolate fans, but we also see how proud Nate is of Sophie.
6. "What happens when he loses? Last time he lost, it broke him." - The Top Hat Job, where Sophie is talking to Eliot around the dangers associated with Nate and the risks that he's taking. This scene demonstrates how Sophie looks to the future with Nate and is concerned about him, even before they start a relationship. It's this far sight that helps save the team in the end, as well as save Nate.
7. "He doesn't need me. He needs you" - The Grave Danger Job, where Sophie is able to talk to Parker about how best to help Hardison in the coffin. In this moment, we truly see how the relationship of these characters has developed over the course of four seasons. We see that Sophie really looks out for Parker, with earlier in the episode seeing Sophie give extra advice to Parker around her relationship with Hardison.
8. "She's got a right hook like a freight train" - The Hot Potato Job, where Hardison is trying to stall lawyers and failing so Sophie goes over and punches him. This is a hilarious moment because of the look of shock on Hardison's face, the pride on Eliot's and the determination on Sophie's.
9. "Look, we all have a past, you don't have to tell us anything, Eliot" - The Big Bang Job, where Eliot has told the team about his past with Damien Moreau. In this moment, we see that Sophie has accepted what Eliot has said to them, and affirmed to him that she doesn't need him to say any more. We see a new level of trust in this moment, and the dynamic between the two becomes stronger after this episode.
10. "Marry me, Lara" - The Long Goodbye Job, where Nate asks Sophie to marry him. The fact that Lara is used shows that Sophie feels as though she can trust Nate with her everything, although pretty much every scene in the Long Goodbye Job could have been picked for this top ten.

Sophie inspired mini fanmix





Shattered - Trading Yesterday
Link here
And I've lost who I am, and I can't understand.
Why my heart is so broken, rejecting your love, without, love gone wrong, lifeless words carry on.
But I know, all I know, is that the end's beginning.
Who I am from the start, take me home to my heart.
Here Comes Trouble - Honor Society
Link here
She's a heart breaker, like a masterpiece
She could look even better than me
She's the baddest girl I've ever seen
How could something that's so wrong
Be exactly what I need?

She's a Lady - Tom Jones
Link here
Well she's all you'd ever want,
She's the kind they'd like to flaunt and take to dinner.
Well she always knows her place.
She's got style, she's got grace, She's a winner.
She's a Lady. Whoa whoa whoa, She's a Lady.

Rec list of Leverage fanworks

1. Sophie Devereaux Poster for 'The Long Goodbye Job' - by LadyLeverage. This is a dual poster as part of a set of posters for each character in The Long Goodbye Job, made by LadyLeverage, with the poster being for Nate (Mastermind) and Sophie (Grifter). This is a beautiful piece of art as the images chosen are simply beautiful, especially in combination with the colour and greyscale tones.
2. Rec 2 Earth's Mightiest - by ishilde. This is one of my favourite fics, with a fusion of Avengers and Leverage, written by the very talented ishilde, it's a crossover with Nate as Iron Man, but what caught my attention was the Sophie plot throughout - it's incredibly clever and I'd recommend you all read it!
3. Rec 3Aliases - by acquariusgb. This video is the video to go to if you want to see the many aliases in Leverage. It's really interesting to watch and see how many you can remember or be reminded of ones that you've forgotten about.
4. Rec 4Apples and Trees - by Telaryn. This is an adorable ficlet which centers more around Sophie's past rather than Sophie herself. It's an interesting take on her family and will definitely make you smile when you read it.
5. Rec 5The Story Job - by theron09. There are way too many fics of theron09's that I could be recommending, but as I'm focusing on Sophie for this I thought I'd recommend this one. It's a very sweet ficlet where you can actually see the passion and enthusiasm of Sophie radiating from the screen. It's very much a team bonding story and it flows very well - definitely one to check out.

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Sophie picspam



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Sophie sig tags




Sophie wallpaper




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