Yes, guys, Eliot really has hurt people.
A little bit ago, I had an interesting conversation with a RL friend about last night's Leverage. I was surprised to learn that she did not like the episode at all. She said she couldn't pinpoint a reason for her reaction, but when I told her my reasons for absolutely loving it, she commented that she feels like they (I assume she means the writers) are supporting Eliot's violence. Now granted, she said she was half-asleep when she watched the episode and said that might've had a bearing on things. But it led me to ponder how fans see Eliot.
In my eyes, last night's episode was a recognition of Eliot's past. It wasn't a new thing or an escalation. To me, the interrogation scenes were beautifully crafted and offered us a look into Eliot's state of mind. He doesn't excuse or rationalize what he's done--but he accepts it. And that's how I've always seen him. Last night, he was exactly the man I expected him to be.
Still, some fans--like my friend--seem a little taken aback by the whole thing, and by the revelations about Eliot's past with Moreau during TBBJ. Before that episode aired, I spoke to another person--this time an acquaintance who loved Eliot and the show, and she had told me that she was nervous about TBBJ, because she didn't want them to paint Eliot in a bad light. She'd been concerned that they might reveal that Eliot had done some really bad things. Well, yeah. He's a former soldier and a mercenary. Of course he's done bad things. I mean... Eliot has killed and creatively hurt people, and the show never pretended otherwise. And as TBBJ and TEJ reminded us, he's killed innocent people as well as guilty ones, and at least one of those people was probably a child. It really makes me wonder how people see Eliot.
Yes, a lot of his fight scenes are played for laughs, and yes, he cooks and has funny one-loners. And yes, he's got the gruff Wolverine thing going on. But then again, Wolverine was a killer, too, and a lot of comic fans seem to handwave that and focus on his general badassery. I have said and will continue to say that Eliot Spencer is a good man. But he's done bad things, and that's just canon.
It's the same thing with Nate, really. I've spoken to people who are appalled that the writers have "turned Nate into a bastard." Um... he's always been a bastard. And a mean drunk. Seriously, he's not a nice person, and he's never been portrayed as one. Did I miss an entire season where he was sweet and jovial?
But then again, a lot of fans handwave the fact that Parker blew up a house and likes to cause people physical pain by applying electricity to their bodies.
I love these characters for who they are. Scars and tasers and Jameson and all.