Line #25 Recap/LeverageS02E05TheThreeDaysOfTheHunterJob


1	[[quoteright:350:https://static.tvtropes.org/pmwiki/pub/images/levcrazy_804.png]]
2	[[caption-width-right:350:Makes you wonder just how close to being this guy Hardison actually is.]]
3	-->'''Sophie''': ''We need to steal a general''.\
4	'''Nate''': ''No it’s, “Let’s go steal a general!” You know, it’s a rallying cry''.
5
6	-----
7
8	IntrepidReporter Monica Hunter is on her show, ''The Hunt for the Truth'', talking about a tragic school accident and blaming the driver, Ray Pennington, even telling the people he suffers under mental illness. Due to that story, Ray tries to commit suicide but luckily is saved by his daughter Sarah. Sarah meets with the team and asks them to take down Monica Hunter and restore her father's reputation. As she leaves, Sophie announces that she wants to take the lead on this one, and despite Nate's protests, he agrees to let her. Sophie explains to the team (despite their surprise at her doing Nate's part) that they need to get the network, BNI Studios, to apologize and disavow Monica's story and her exposé show. To do that they’re going to fake a story that will destroy her reputation. The team discusses options and they realize Monica wants respect, as she's a joke among serious journalists. Sophie figures out a plan and tells them to pack up; they’re going to D.C. (despite Nate teaching her 'his way' of saying it and Sophie accidentally entering the store closet when she exits, trying to act how Nate does).
9
10	At the studio, Parker is trying to get caught rummaging through Monica’s office. When confronted she claims to be from a competing network then leaves, naturally making her suspicious. Parker admits that she’s trying to use Monica’s credentials to get to a source in the Pentagon. She’s after something that will bring down the President of the United States. Later, Parker brings Monica to the apartment where Hardison, who’s posing as some ConspiracyTheorist in his dark lair, lives. Monica is about to walk out, but when she sees Eliot wearing a [[TheMenInBlack dark suit and a menacing look]] she decides to hear him out. Hardison points to his bulletin board, [[StringTheory which is covered in photos of military installations, connected by strands of yarn]]. He says the government plans to replace Guantanamo Bay with a series of secret prisons on the mainland. Parker says her source at the Pentagon is General Mark Chesler, and she was trying to steal Monica’s credentials to get to him, and Monica tells her to call in the morning. A she leaves she calls the studio to arrange a cameraman, and Eliot overhears her saying she intends to take that story for herself, which means she’s hooked. Now they just need to provide her with a source inside the Pentagon.
11
12	At the Pentagon, before Monica arrives, Eliot finds the real General Chesler and steals his ID and even stalls him with a certain mission while Nate uses his ID and does a bit of makeover of his office, making it looks like he's General Chesler. Moments later, Parker leads Monica to the office while Monica explains to her about her method of 'interview' and how denial and refusal mean guilt.
13
14	->'''Monica''': Denial means guilt. Refusal means more guilt. Punch out my cameraman, and I'll kiss you on the mouth. (''[[GirlOnGirlIsHot The cameraman looks at Parker with a grin]]'').
15
16	Just then, Eliot walks by, and Monica recognizes him from before, convincing her they have a shadow, and that there’s actually something to it. The camera starts rolling as she knocks on Chesler’s door and Nate comes out and tells her he doesn’t know anything about any prisons when she interviews him, doing all the actions that Monica mentions even pushing the cameraman aside. As he leaves, she props his door open and lets them in. They find documents that seem to corroborate their premise and later she wants Parker to bring her source to her show. However, back at the studio, Monica goes with a different story. Parker and Hardison ask for a reason and she explains that the secret prisons aren’t scary enough, despite it being a national scandal, and adds that it makes people feel safe since they're going to be holding terrorists. What she wants to sell is 'fear'. Sophie decides to give her 'fear' while Nate comments that's how it all started..
17
18	The next day, Parker calls Monica from outside a coffee shop she's in telling her there’s more to it, but as Monica watches, a car hits her and Eliot takes a red file that Parker was holding and drives off. Monica is horrified and decides to check outside when Hardison appears and leads her away...as Parker gets up and brushes herself off. Hardison takes her to an underground basement where Nate’s waiting for them, while giving Hardison some "antidote". He tells her that a chemical compound has been released into the water supply and will start affecting people any day now, and that the “prisons” are actually safe houses for the elite and government officials to sit the contamination out in, with independent water supplies. Monica asks for more proof and Nate notes that Parker has it and tells her to find some sources. He gives her the code word “Destiny” and sends her off. Later, the team meets back up and Sophie declares that Monica will be the author of her own nightmare.
19
20	->'''Nate''': (about Sophie's speech) Do I sound that creepy when I...?
21	->'''Eliot''': Hell yes.
22
23	Hardison explains that journalists are lazy and always rely on the same sources like Monica is doing now. He manages to filter out the ones she isn't likely to use, which leaves them with four. Monica sends an email to one of them while he intercepts it, and fabricates a reply that they don't want her to mention this or discuss it. Her last source is a congressman and she asks him about Destiny, who happens to be a stripper he's gone to see a number of times and assumes that's what Monica is talking about. Stunned, he snatches her recorder and practically runs from her, telling her not to tell anyone. Monica is now convinced the conspiracy is real. Going back to her office, she suddenly notices how much water people are drinking and begins to freak out when she leaves the office. The team sees the footage of her freaking out 3 hours ago and Nate comments they might be pushing too hard. Sophie scoffs about it until Monica bangs the door, calling for Hardison. The rest of the team hides in the other room as Hardison opens the door and she drags him off to get some video proof.
24
25	At the army base, they manage to find a location that looks like a bunker while Nate is heading there to intercept her but Monica is climbing a fence to get inside while Hardison reluctantly follows her and they get caught by Army personnel. In an interrogation room, while Monica persistently tries to ask the interrogator to spill the beans about the bunkers (but keeps getting the same response of denial), Hardison tells his interrogator that she’s crazy and only met her in a bar. Hardison begins to stall, and even freaks his interrogator, Lt. Abbot, using information that Eliot pulls up on him to [[BavarianFireDrill convince him he’s actually the one being reviewed]].
26
27	Nate arrives still pretending to be General Chesler and bluffs his way onto the base. The interrogators question Monica and Hardison until Nate approaches them and compliments them for their effectiveness, then takes the two of them. Unfortunately, the captain has met the real General Chesler and they try to stop them. As they leave, Nate gives the pills to Monica while telling Hardison to take Monica's car out of here. As they are about to leave, the captain stops them but they manage to escape. However, once he hears Lt. Abbot mention Monica Hunter's name, he realizes she looks familiar and calls the police. Back at the apartment, Monica and Nate decide to take the evidence and proof while waiting for Hardison but as they enter, all of the stuff is gone. Monica notices the red file and picks it up, Eliot comes out saying he was just cleaning up, implying he 'killed' Hardison. Nate suddenly seems like he’s been working against her the whole time, telling her he's a patriot, but she sprays him with mace and makes her escape.
28
29	Panicked, she heads to the studio to get on the air and break the story. The producer Steve is shocked and asks if she's drunk but Monica decides to do it herself and pushes the reporter for a [[ThisJustIn special report]]. She announces the fake story that the water has been contaminated not realizing Hardison has hacked into the system with the footage of her jumping the fence and typing the headlines below. Confused and frustrated, Steve goes down and asks the news crew to find out who's doing this. When Monica pulls out the red file to present the proof all she finds are a bunch of papers that read, “ALL WORK AND NO PLAY MAKES MONICA A DULL GIRL.” Steve brings the police over and she starts to panic and gets caught. Steve checks the pills she was holding and finds that they are anti-psychotics. While Monica's being dragged away, Steve realize they're still on air and the only thing the reporter can do is announce Monica Hunter being taken in after suffering a psychotic breakdown live on air.
30
31	Days later, Ray Pennington was being interview by a reporter as his good reputation has been restored as the reporter pose a question on how many good people that Monica Hunter ruins. Back at the HQ, the team questions on the footage that being taken being false even some of the 'myths' and urban legends. Nate and Sophie talk about their switch in roles, Sophie admitting that she’s not really sure about herself like she used to be, and needs some time to figure it out. But Nate comforts her that she did a good job running the con and have fun.
32
33	!!Tropes stolen in this job:
34	* ArsonMurderAndJaywalking: Monica lists her three reasons for exposing the poisoned water scandal to Nate at the end falls under this. It is, however, still about her and her personal injuries as the priority. The "jaywalking" is what most moral people would have as a primary reason.
35	--> '''Monica:''' We're gonna grab the satellite photos and put you on the air. I am gonna make them pay for keeping me out of those bunkers.\
36	'''Nate:''' Yeah.\
37	'''Monica:''' And lying.\
38	'''Nate:''' Yeah.\
39	'''Monica:''' And injustice.\
40	'''Nate:''' Yeah.
41	* BavarianFireDrill: Hardison does this by having the others look up things on his interrogator and then talking about things only authorized personnel should know and making the guy think ''he's'' the one being questioned.
42	* BeingWatched: Hardison keeps insisting on it, and Eliot puts in a few appearances to sell it.
43	* BeneathNotice: Invoked. After "Cindy"'s death in front of Monica, Hardison sweeps in and moves Monica away from the crowd dressed as a mailman. When Monica notices he is dressed as one, she demands to know why. Hardison explains that people ignore mailmen and it allows him to move unnoticed.
44	* ConspiracyTheorist: Hardison plays one. His room is full of StringTheory, he babbles a lot as he talks, and his clothing is a mess implying lots of sleepless nights. Monica buys it right away.
45	* TheExitIsThatWay: Sophie finishes telling everyone about the mark, but her closing line falls flat. Nate tells her she should turn and leave the room at that point to make it more dramatic. She does, and Nate quietly remarks, "She's walking into the closet."
46	* FreezeFrameBonus: At one point in the episode an email from Monica to a "T. Smith" about her contract renewal. Pause it at the right moment and you get this:
47	--> '''Email''': Dear Sirs. In regards to my upcoming contract, I am writing to urge you to reconsider my re-assignment. The News that I would like to follow would be of a journalistic nature. Serious inhabits every accurate lunatic with a ladder. Serious emerges throughout the joking script. The remarkable astronomer stems serious.
48	* FunnyBackgroundEvent: Monica being dragged off by the police is seen in the background of the camera shot as one of her own colleagues tells the camera that it seems Monica has suffered a nervous breakdown and is being taken into custody live on air.
49	-->'''Monica:''' ''[screaming in the background]'' I'm Monica frickin' Hunter!
50	* GirlOnGirlIsHot: Monica's cameraman likes it when she mentions kissing Parker on the mouth.
51	* GlassesPull: Eliot does this when he passes Monica and Parker in the Pentagon, with accompanying DeathGlare.
52	* GovernmentConspiracy: A plot to build massive underground bunkers for the elite to wait out a catastrophe, or that's what they want her to think.
53	* HeKnowsTooMuch: [[InvokedTrope The team sets this up]] by having Eliot hit Parker with a car to convince Monica to pursue the story again.
54	* ImmoralJournalist: Monica Hunter is a self-aggrandizing sleaze-monger willing to destroy lives if that gives her any kind of ratings edge.
55	* InterruptedSuicide: Ray tries to commit suicide by carbon monoxide poisoning after being crucified on Monica's show. Luckily his daughter finds him in time.
56	* IntrepidReporter:
57	** Monica Hunter is a negative version of this trope, in that she's less interested in uncovering the truth than high ratings and self-aggrandizement.
58	** Parker's character Cindy [=McAllen=] is a more positive example. She plays a woman who wants to expose a government scandal. Monica sees Parker's young eagerness as naive and plans to exploit her help.
59	* ItsAllAboutMe: Monica cares little for anything else.
60	* ItWorksBetterWithBullets: Attempted but subverted with Monica's pepper spray. After Nate terrifies Monica thinking he is about to have Eliot kill her too, Monica pulls from her purse pepper spray and blasts Nate with it. After Nate writhes in pain for a moment allowing Monica to escape, Eliot notes Nate is fortunate that Parker switched it with water, only for Nate to cry out that Parker didn't. He did just get pepper sprayed in the face.
61	* LaserGuidedKarma: Monica tells sensationalist lies about innocent people for ratings and hides behind the network she works for when her victims take legal action against her. The Leverage team manipulate her into doing something so absurd that the network has to dump and throw her to the media wolves in order to protect their reputation. In addition, Monica is probably going to jail, given that there was both footage of her breaking into a US Army base (right next to a sign saying not to do that) and the army got her real ID when they caught her.
62	* MediaScaremongering: Monica's stock in trade, to the point that she admits she's selling fear and turns down the secret terrorist prisons story because she doesn't think it will scare her viewers enough.
63	* TheMenInBlack: Again, [[InvokedTrope arranged]] for their pursuit of Monica and making her think the bunker story has validation. Eliot appears around Monica several times making her think she is being tailed.
64	* MoonLandingHoax: Referenced when Eliot and Hardison are trolling Parker over conspiracy theories.
65	-->'''Parker''': We totally went to the moon.\
66	'''Eliot''': Movie sets. I've seen them, they're outside of Albuquerque.\
67	'''Parker''': Why would there still be sets there?\
68	'''Eliot''': Because they're gonna reuse them for the UsefulNotes/{{Mars}} mission, repaint them all red.
69	* MyCountryRightOrWrong: At the end, Nate makes Monica think he has this attitude and plans to assassinate her for knowing too much about the program and the crisis she thinks the nation is under.
70	* OneDialogueTwoConversations: Invoked by the team, and a very brief one at that. The one source that they let Monica contact in person about the "Destiny" project and the water being poisoned is a congressman. That congressman has a huge skeleton in his closet related to "Destiny." He bought a stripper named Destiny a car for at least one very good performance. Scared Monica is going to expose him on this scandal, he grabs her recorder and runs away screaming revealing this would be "the end of everything!" Monica takes it as confirmation of her fears of the water being poisoned.
71	* PowerHair: Monica wears this hairdo. It gets increasingly unkempt as her fear rises.
72	* SecretGovernmentWarehouse: Monica is made to believe they're actually secret government bunkers for Washington honchos to sit tight in.
73	* ShoutOut:
74	** The "proof" that Monica opens and plans to reveal live on air is just pages and pages of the line, [[Film/TheShining "All work and no play makes Monica a dull girl.]]"
75	** As Hardison hacks the network's signal so that they can't cut away from Monica's breakdown, he says, [[Series/TheOuterLimits1963 "Do not adjust your set. I control the vertical. I control the horizontal."]]
76	* SmallNameBigEgo: Monica. Hardison mentions that every time her contract comes up for renewal, she tries to move up from her small-time show to a job at a bigger network, and every time serious journalists laugh her out of the room. The Leverage crew plays on this by offering her a story she'll chase after to get the respect she wants.
77	* SpitTake: One of the news station crew, who gives Monica water in the end, is taking a drink of her own bottle when Monica announces the water is poisoned. She immediately spits out her water into the air.
78	* StolenCreditBackfire: Monica intends to take full credit for unearthing the story about the plan to poison the water supply as soon as she is convinced it is true. So of course, when she goes on live television and starts rambling about a conspiracy that isn't real and has no evidence to back up her claims, Monica ends up a laughing stock and her credibility is completely destroyed.
79	* StringTheory: Pretty much every vertical surface in the apartment occupied by Hardison's character is covered in photos, news clippings, etc., connected by string in order to sell Monica on him being a conspiracy theorist who has uncovered a government plot.
80	* TerrorHero: As Sophie channels Nate and his passionate speeches in declaring how the mark must suffer and be part in their own destruction, Nate openly wonders if this is genuinely how he sounds when talking about certain marks, having not realized it before.
81	-->'''Sophie:''' She has to have corroboration from her own sources. She has to craft the narrative. Monica Hunter has to be the author of her own personal nightmare.\
82	'''Nate:''' Do I sound that creepy when I...?\
83	'''Eliot:''' Hell yes.\
84	'''Parker:''' Mm-hm.\
85	'''Nate:''' Really?\
86	'''Eliot:''' You do.
87	* ThirdPersonPerson: Monica uses this a few times.
88	* ThisIsGonnaSuck: Nate's expression after he agrees to let Sophie take the lead.
89	* ThisJustIn: Monica starts doing one of these at the end, but it goes awry soon after.

Context Recap / LeverageS02E05TheThreeDaysOfTheHunterJob