Apparently I should have saved the "savory" metaphor I used last week, as it would have fit well with the truffle shuffle con job Nate and the team pulled in "The French Connection Job" this week.

It’s safe to say that Eliot Spencer is the one member of the Leverage squad we know the least about. In fact, the last Eliot centered job I can remember was "The Studio Job" back in Season 3 when he posed as an up and coming country music star.

I’m thrilled that we got to learn where Eliot found his love of food and we got meet Toby, his cooking mentor. Eliot’s comment about Toby being one of the men who helped him realize that he had more to offer than his fighting skills and that Nate was the other was subtle yet powerful. 

Eliot: He's one of the guys that kept me from falling all the way down, and now I'm asking the other guy to understand why I'm gonna help him. | permalink

Christian Kane has done a great job of shaping Eliot into one of my favorite TV characters. Watching him barely break stride in cooking to knockout guys who were there to kidnap him was funny. Letting the last guy taste his garlic sauce before knocking him out? Pure awesomeness.  

We also saw some growth in Parker as she struggled to figure out what her “thing” is. Eliot showed the true measure of his evolution as he coached her on his cooking and how it made him feel something more. I can’t wait to see where Parker goes now that she knows what feeling she is looking for. Clearly it won’t be jazz, given her reaction to Sophie’s prompting. 

The only confusing part of the episode for me was Hardison. First, he doesn’t want to tip a messenger... then he’s obsessed with cooking with a laser... finally he’s walking around randomly eating vegetables and barely participating on the job. 

I get that the cooking with laser was a nod to those extreme cooking shows that do crazy things with lasers, liquid nitrogen, etc. The rest of it is where I was totally lost. Why would he start eating a yellow pepper while bringing back onions? Why was he so against being the supply runner when it was clearly part of the job to give him mobility? 

It was almost as if they wanted to give Hardison a funnier or geekier part but couldn’t figure out how to work it into the episode because you don’t need a computer to cook. Oh well, sometimes you crush it, and sometimes you flop; I’m chalking his part up to the latter.  

What did you think? Do you feel like you know Eliot better now? What do you think Parker’s “thing” should really be? What hobby would fit well with her character and the show? Be sure and check out this week’s Leverage quote offerings to see if your favorite made the list. 

Jim G. is a TV Fanatic Staff Writer. Follow him on Twitter.