Ai-ight. That’s more like it. At this point, I’m wondering whether Rogers, Downey, and Devlin have a mind probing satellite in geosynchronous orbit. A satellite tuned to my brain waves so they can put a show on the air specifically tailored to my tastes. Because this one? This one was exactly up my alley.

Here’s my checklist:

• Twists that feel organic. ((Remember the rules of drama: ending with a deus ex machina is cheap, but any setup is allowed.))
• Massive geekery from Hardison.
• Sophie doing an accent that sounded *unlike* her own accent.
• Timothy Hutton in a cowboy hat. ((I think it’s the stark contrast with the clean cut, WASP-y roles of his youth that makes me appreciate that.))
• The team acting like a *team*.
• Eliot getting in at least one good one-liner before kicking someone’s ass.
• Parker being Parker.
• Hardison being Hardison.

Add to that a fantastic scene-chewing turn from HITG Michael O’Neill and you’ve got a near-perfect hour of television.

Look, I’m not going to try to convince you this is important or meaningful; it’s not. I’ve been rewatching The West Wing, and even the weaker years still have spine tingling moments that a show like Leverage is never going to achieve. But you know what? It’s not TWW. It’s not FNL. It’s an hour of light action that aims squarely for entertainment and hits its mark far more than it misses it.

The original rip deal the team was pulling on Judge Roy doesn’t seem very well thought out, as I’m pretty sure he would have gone gunning for Nate when he realized he’d been scammed, but that’s a small complaint about an otherwise excellent episode. Each thread, neatly tied in a bow by the end, where even the Feds who came into town aren’t going to be overly concerned about what happened because they’re getting a big drug bust.

Some other thoughts:

• I really enjoyed the crosstalk between Eliot and Deputy Arnold as Eliot’s talking with Nate over the wireless and Deputy Dawg’s being all officious.
• Parker and Hardison showing up in the product placement Hyundai when they returned in FBI windbreakers.
• Hardison’s pack of Chupacabras.
• “Old Virgil up there, he’s a crack shot.”
• Deputy Dawg following SOP he learned from his online seminar in crisis management.
• Boss Hog!

What did everyone else think?