Oh, Leverage, no.
Even if you don't watch Leverage, I think that part of the following is still worth reading, as an example of How Not To Invoke Politics In A Lightweight Television Series. Just scroll to where it gets angry.
Man, I need a facepalm icon for this one.
Okay, so I never did write up a response to last week's episodes (3.01 and 3.02). But my general comments on those are pretty much my comments on this week's episodes (3.03 and 3.04), being:
Leverage, I like you so much better when you stay the hell away from politics. 3.02 (whyyyy) and 3.04 (and various S1 and S2 episodes), though? Show, please don't do that anymore. Just. I know you're trying, but it's not really necessary, and just. Please, no.
Specifically regarding tonight's episodes--okay, yes, there were a lot of fun bantery team moments. Those were great! I loved those. Like:
In 3.03, having Sophie and Hardison go undercover as Peel and Steed? Fabulous. Having the guest-protagonist-of-the-week be named Archie Leach? Also fabulous. (Although Richard Chamberlain's line readings were frequently...not so fabulous.) I don't know how I feel about Leach as Parker's mentor--basically, I like that she had a mentor, but I'm not sure that I liked how Leach played out in the episode (for a start, I would've much preferred to see much more of Parker, and much less of Leach). But otherwise, you know, fun times. (Though I prefer the team working in pairs or groups, not individually, if only for the increased chance of hilarious dialogue exchanges.) And Parker's place! (Well, one of them?) Loved seeing the bunny on the bed, and all of her tools neatly laid out on the desk and hanging from the rack.
And in 3.04, Rimsky-Korsakov! The orientalism inherent in Scheherazade and works like it frustrates me, but it is a lovely piece. And Hardison actually playing the solo at the end! That was amazing. Hardison, I love you.
But most of the rest of 3.04? Oh, show, no. I mean, there was a good deal of fail in the 'political' parts, but I'm going to talk about just one bit here, because I honestly suspect that it probably went right by most of the audience. I will be so happy to learn otherwise, though. Because it was this bit:
When Sophie goes undercover as a PR agent and has her first meeting with Moto, she convinces him by telling him that she's improved the reputations of two major political dictators/tyrants. I can't remember who the first one was, but that's because in the next moment I went into a miniature rage blackout, because the second one was Than Shwe. As in Than Shwe, the military dictator of Burma.
...the fuck?
I just--it's difficult for me to speak levelly about casual, throwaway, meant-for-comedy mentions of Burma. Even though I'm a generation distant, it's still too close. That awful 'Free Burma' public service advert with Tila Tequila from a few years ago still makes me furious. Good intentions, shite execution. (And that's aside from its terrible, heteronormative representation of female bisexuality). And I get that Leverage's intention in mentioning Than Shwe was almost certainly to demonstrate just how dirty Sophie's PR-persona was. Okay. But I hated the next line(s), about how PR-Sophie was able to reform Than Shwe's reputation (and that of the other dictator) to that of a 'successful CEO', or whatever the fuck that line was. Because even though it was a throwaway line said while in character, it's still too close to what actually happens in real life, and I really, really don't think that the show successfully problematised that in a meaningful way. Like, pretty much at all.
Also, Gina Bellman? I like you a lot as Sophie, I really do, but that's not how you pronounce 'Myanmar'.
And finally, for a less explicitly-political moment of fail? Fuck you, Nate, for tainting Hardison's victory for him. I admit that I was sort of expecting some sort of reveal to explain how Hardison had done it (cleverly, of course, as is his wont), but I was so, so much happier for him when it turned out that he actually played the solo on his own. But then?
Oh, fuck you, Nate. Yes, Hardison had it in him from the start, and you 'just helped him to realise his potential' or whatever, but Nate? Fuck you and your smug paternalism. (As demonstrated just previously in 3.03 with Parker, and also in, oh hey, pretty much all of S1 and S2.) What. An. Arsehole. And what wonderful unintentional subtext. So a capable black man couldn't succeed on his own? He needed a white man to tell him that he could do it? Just. Fuck right off.
I am going to be so pissed off if 3.05 presses the reset button on this one. I want to see Hardison (and Parker and Sophie) be angry with Nate. I want to see Hardison get his own back. Nate needs a good taking-down. I mean, come on.
Damn it, Leverage was supposed to be my happy-fun-shiny show. Argh. Sigh. I hope that future episodes are better. Just--stay away from the politics, okay?
Man, I need a facepalm icon for this one.
Okay, so I never did write up a response to last week's episodes (3.01 and 3.02). But my general comments on those are pretty much my comments on this week's episodes (3.03 and 3.04), being:
Leverage, I like you so much better when you stay the hell away from politics. 3.02 (whyyyy) and 3.04 (and various S1 and S2 episodes), though? Show, please don't do that anymore. Just. I know you're trying, but it's not really necessary, and just. Please, no.
Specifically regarding tonight's episodes--okay, yes, there were a lot of fun bantery team moments. Those were great! I loved those. Like:
In 3.03, having Sophie and Hardison go undercover as Peel and Steed? Fabulous. Having the guest-protagonist-of-the-week be named Archie Leach? Also fabulous. (Although Richard Chamberlain's line readings were frequently...not so fabulous.) I don't know how I feel about Leach as Parker's mentor--basically, I like that she had a mentor, but I'm not sure that I liked how Leach played out in the episode (for a start, I would've much preferred to see much more of Parker, and much less of Leach). But otherwise, you know, fun times. (Though I prefer the team working in pairs or groups, not individually, if only for the increased chance of hilarious dialogue exchanges.) And Parker's place! (Well, one of them?) Loved seeing the bunny on the bed, and all of her tools neatly laid out on the desk and hanging from the rack.
And in 3.04, Rimsky-Korsakov! The orientalism inherent in Scheherazade and works like it frustrates me, but it is a lovely piece. And Hardison actually playing the solo at the end! That was amazing. Hardison, I love you.
But most of the rest of 3.04? Oh, show, no. I mean, there was a good deal of fail in the 'political' parts, but I'm going to talk about just one bit here, because I honestly suspect that it probably went right by most of the audience. I will be so happy to learn otherwise, though. Because it was this bit:
When Sophie goes undercover as a PR agent and has her first meeting with Moto, she convinces him by telling him that she's improved the reputations of two major political dictators/tyrants. I can't remember who the first one was, but that's because in the next moment I went into a miniature rage blackout, because the second one was Than Shwe. As in Than Shwe, the military dictator of Burma.
...the fuck?
I just--it's difficult for me to speak levelly about casual, throwaway, meant-for-comedy mentions of Burma. Even though I'm a generation distant, it's still too close. That awful 'Free Burma' public service advert with Tila Tequila from a few years ago still makes me furious. Good intentions, shite execution. (And that's aside from its terrible, heteronormative representation of female bisexuality). And I get that Leverage's intention in mentioning Than Shwe was almost certainly to demonstrate just how dirty Sophie's PR-persona was. Okay. But I hated the next line(s), about how PR-Sophie was able to reform Than Shwe's reputation (and that of the other dictator) to that of a 'successful CEO', or whatever the fuck that line was. Because even though it was a throwaway line said while in character, it's still too close to what actually happens in real life, and I really, really don't think that the show successfully problematised that in a meaningful way. Like, pretty much at all.
Also, Gina Bellman? I like you a lot as Sophie, I really do, but that's not how you pronounce 'Myanmar'.
And finally, for a less explicitly-political moment of fail? Fuck you, Nate, for tainting Hardison's victory for him. I admit that I was sort of expecting some sort of reveal to explain how Hardison had done it (cleverly, of course, as is his wont), but I was so, so much happier for him when it turned out that he actually played the solo on his own. But then?
Oh, fuck you, Nate. Yes, Hardison had it in him from the start, and you 'just helped him to realise his potential' or whatever, but Nate? Fuck you and your smug paternalism. (As demonstrated just previously in 3.03 with Parker, and also in, oh hey, pretty much all of S1 and S2.) What. An. Arsehole. And what wonderful unintentional subtext. So a capable black man couldn't succeed on his own? He needed a white man to tell him that he could do it? Just. Fuck right off.
I am going to be so pissed off if 3.05 presses the reset button on this one. I want to see Hardison (and Parker and Sophie) be angry with Nate. I want to see Hardison get his own back. Nate needs a good taking-down. I mean, come on.
Damn it, Leverage was supposed to be my happy-fun-shiny show. Argh. Sigh. I hope that future episodes are better. Just--stay away from the politics, okay?