The Leverage Family


I love the family dynamic that emerges as the show went on. Where sophie and nate were the parents, elliot was the big brother, parker was the quirky little sister, and hardison was the wacky black neighbor :-) also tara was the weird aunt.

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I have to quibble with your characterizations a little. While I agree that Sophie and Nate were in parental roles vis a vis Parker, they were also in that mode relating to Hardison. Eliot and Hardison definitely had a big brother/kid brother dynamic. And Sophie and Nate's relationship with Eliot was more that of older siblings, or perhaps avuncular, rather than parental.



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I agree. Sophie, Nate, and Elliot older siblings, while Parker and Harrison the younger ones.

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Yeah, but hardison and parker ended up doing it, so they cant (at least shouldnt be) brother/sister. Hence, wacky black neighbor. Also he's black :-)

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Hardison's ethnicity is the least important thing about him. The fact that Hardison and Parker end up as a romantic couple doesn't change the nature of his relationships with the other three. After all, these are emotional, not genetic, relationships we're discussing. Eliot definitely acts as an older brother to Hardison as well as Parker, and Nate has a paternal relationship with Hardison as well as Parker. (Complete with occasional filial rebellion on Hardison's part.) Actually, the relationship between Sophie and Hardison is the least defined of all the intergroup relationships, but given her liason with Nate, I'm willing to go with maternal there. I'm not willing to relegate Hardison to "wacky neighbor," and exclude him from the familial relationships within the group, just because he's black, and in love with Parker.




We provide ... Leverage.

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I agree. Ethnicity has nothing to do with a family unit. He was like Elliot's younger brother. Nate and Sophie both seemed like the parental units to everyone except Elliot. Parker was definitely a young, naive little sister.

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Just a point- Parker was only naïve in respect to people, or more correctly, interacting with. Her time w/Archie was a secret apprenticeship, and the Leverage team was her first attempt at actual collaboration. And so, imperfect.
As to everything else, her other facets...I would say her thought processes more sophisticated than most...ergo Nate's final decision.
The whole idea of a family dynamic is interesting because it puts the lie to the propaganda of "Family Values" by showing how broken people can listen and get heard, work together and gat jobs, cooperate and get cooperation. And love and respect.
Love and Respect.
I guess that's all a body wants, after getting what it needs.
The problems start when some try getting what they didn't work for.





I'm issuing a restraining order: Religion must stay 500 yards away from Science at all times!!

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I love the family dynamic too. Sophie and Nate are parents. The birth order of the siblings/children is Elliot, Hardison, Parker. Shows that have the co-workers as surrogate family dynamic often have inter-office dating/romances. It's okay, because they're just co-workers, and not actually related to each other.

"Forget reality, give me a picture"-Remington Steele

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Just a slight quibble. Parker is actually older than Hardison.




We provide ... Leverage.

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Only in the chronological sense.

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"You'll shoot your eye out, kid."---A Christmas Story

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I agree Teach417 - How 'bout if I throw this in..

Eliot as the weird young uncle to Hardison and Parker. That uncle that would protect you with his life, but always let you do things that your parent wouldn't let you do.

My Uncle Joe was only about 15 years older, so he was always the COOL one that, for some reason, my parents thought was responsible enough to watch over my sister and I once in a while. He FELT like an older brother but wasn't.

I only think that because sometimes he feels more like a younger brother to Nate than one of the childrn

That's what we need - ridiculous odds, and just a speck of hope that someday, we'll beat it

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I can see that. Elliot can talk to Nate in a way that Parker and Hardison can't. Haridson seems to be seeking Nate's approval more than Elliot.

"Forget reality, give me a picture"-Remington Steele

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