3 Favorite Things about Leverage “The Office Job” 

“The Office Job” was a really funny episode that spoofed NBC’s must-see comedy The Office. The look and the feel were similar and it was pure entertainment watching the Leverage gang adapt to a workplace setting. It was the Good Cheer Greeting Card Company and at its heart was a well-meaning but more-than-slightly clueless boss and the criminal mastermind was the head of Human Resources. Oh and a documentary film crew just so happened to be present to capture the Good Cheer crew as they struggled to keep their small company afloat and keep things stable enough to sell to a bigger company. Brilliant. My favorite things about “The Office Job”:

Nate and Sophie: These two have issues a mile long and I love how their confessionals got increasingly more personal and vindictive. It was all quite therapeutic as they revealed things about each other in front of the cameras that they probably shouldn’t have. Sophie had had it with Nate’s blatant disregard for her opinions and ideas. The Good Cheer HR lady called it “reverse favoritism” since he and Sophie are co-workers with benefits (yes, Sophie brought Human Resources into the situation). Sophie let it be known that Nate was an alcoholic. And I loved how he was all upset that she forgot to qualify things and tell them he was a “functional” alcoholic. Nate took shots at Sophie’s fizzled acting “career” that could have possibly been due to ageism. It was all very hilarious and I love that the show tackled the Nate and Sophie relationship like this. Other accusations? Nate said Sophie abandoned the team and called her a shrew. Sophie claimed Nate doesn’t love foreplay. However, It was a bit sad when she admitted how for Nate, they were all second to the job. Does she want a bit of normal with the guy? I wonder if they could ever have that. I wanted Nate and Sophie’s confessionals to go on forever. Actually, I could have watched an entire hour of their confessionals. Seriously. The card that Nate handed Sophie at the end as they shared a drink — what did it say? Was it the “f–k this” card? Or something nice and more sentimental? Whatever it was these two were highly enjoyable in “The Office Job.”

Eliot and Hardison Banter: The other pair that provided much entertainment were Eliot and Hardison. Their banter was as good as it gets. And all I need to say is one word. Sandwich. You see, someone stole Eliot’s sandwich and he was pretty sure it was Hardison. Alec was offended by the accusation, and told Eliot as much. The back-and-forth continued all hour long but when thugs threw Hardison off the roof, Eliot was there to save him. And then Spencer uttered my favorite line of the hour:

“Nobody throws Hardison off of a roof…except maybe me.”

I don’t know about you guys but I want Eliot’s “forgettable” sandwich:

Thinly-sliced Turkey
Pan-Sear some sweet Maui Oinions
1 Slice of Dill Havarti Cheese
1 Slice of Heirloom Tomato
Garlic and Green Onion Cream Cheese spread (Eliot’s personal recipe)
Everything Bagel

Love that this tough guy knows how to make a mean sandwich. Love even more how Hardison admitted to stealing the sandwich at the very end of the episode. I don’t blame him for snatching it. The sandwich sounds delicious. At least Alec ended up treating Eliot to dinner. It’s the least he could do.

Peter Stormare as Gunter: Prison Break alum Peter Stormare embodied the uber silly documentary filmmaker, Gunter. And it was just a ridiculously awesome performance. The guy was appropriately cheesy, sleazy and utterly pretentious all at the same time. Gunter developed a mad crush on poor Parker. I don’t know how she put up with it. But, he and his camera did help fight the good fight with the Leverage group, so that’s cool. Of course, he didn’t end up with any footage whatsoever because Hardison unleashed a nasty virus that erased almost all of it. And what was left wasn’t anything the director wanted or needed to get his “message” across. I hadn’t seen Stormare in a while so it was good to see him.

Leverage airs Sundays at 10/9c on TNT.