Leverage: 10 Parker Quotes We’ll Always Remember

When a bunch of thieves unite under an honest man to take down particularly narcissistic criminals, Leverage is born. Amongst the crew is Parker. Parker has a checkered past. Her life of crime actually started as a kid – she was a getaway driver at only 12 years old!

Thanks to Parker’s unconventional childhood, she became a world class thief, able to scale buildings, pick locks, crack safes, and is able to adapt to a lot of other aspects of the con artist life. She’s also got some of the most memorable lines in the series. She’ll likely have even more with the Leverage revival on the way, but for now, these are some of her best.

10 “I Think People Are Like Locks, Really Complicated And Frustrating, But You Can’t Force Them. You Have To Take Time And Be Fiddly.”

In the early episodes of the series, Parker is the most socially awkward of the group. It doesn’t seem like she understands people, but she’s a fast learner.

Parker understands more than she lets on. She realizes that she doesn’t always get what people are saying and that she doesn’t have the kind of interests people would consider normal. Parker does, however, pick up on some things that others don’t, including when the relationships of others are on the rocks.

9 “I Think I’m Getting Better At This. I Didn’t Even Stab Him!”

Parker is great at a lot of the aspects of a major con that don’t involve other people. She’s not usually the person who has to target the mark. When she first has to, it doesn’t go well. Parker literally stabs the guy with a fork.

As she starts learning more from Sophie about how to be the face of a job, she learns to curb her impulses and keep from attacking people she doesn’t like. The line is played for humor, but Parker grows so much by learning from Sophie.

8 “Looks Like Parker’s Going To Have To Crawl Through The Air Duct Again. God Forbid Anyone Else Learn How To Crawl On Their Stomach Through A Tiny Space. It’s Not Rocket Science, People.”

One of the greatest parts of Leverage over the course of the series is each of the members of the team learning to appreciate what the others do. They often take one another’s roles on the team for granted until they have to do someone else’s job.

Parker, however, is almost always the person who has to crawl through ventilation systems to get to the places no one else can get to. When she tries to tell other members of the team how easy aspects of her job are, they don’t believe her, and Parker can feel unappreciated as a result. When she mutters this line to herself while crawling through an air duct, she forgets that her earpiece is in and the entire team can hear her.

7 “Maggie’s The Most Honest Person We Know. Besides That, She’s Okay.”

Parker has spent her entire life around other thieves. That’s why she’s picked up so many skills, but it’s also why she has an inherent distrust of people who aren’t in a similar line of work.

Nate is the first “honest man” that Parker seems to trust. Maggie is his ex-wife, and Parker very quickly respects her. She, surprisingly, connects with Maggie, willing to bring her into the Leverage crew to help them off a job. When Maggie is framed for a theft, Parker is ready to fly to the other side of the world and help her out, no questions asked.

6 “It’s Your First Time Being A Fugitive, So I Made You A Bag.”

This line sparks an entire sequence of Parker sharing what she’s packed for Maggie to go on the run when she’s framed. Maggie, ultimately, doesn’t go on the run, and while she has a serious conversation with the group about just that, Parker tries to giver her everything she’s packed.

Some of those items involve chewing gun a explosives, which she doesn’t want Maggie to mix up. As usual with Parker, the lines are played for laughs, but it really shows how much Parker has come to care about Maggie.

5 “I Think That Maybe I Might Be Having Feelings. Like Weird, Weird, Feelings For… Pretzels.”

Though Parker grows a lot over the course of the show, it takes her a long time to be able to express her own emotions – especially when it comes to Hardison. Parker and Hardison grow closer very quickly, but it takes Parker until the third season of the show to realize that her feelings aren’t just about them being good teammates.

When she tries to express that to Hardison, she finds herself talking about pretzels on the bar instead, but Hardison isn’t fazed, and tells her that the pretzels are right there when she wants them. It’s one of the first big steps the two take in one of the most loved relationships in Leverage.

4 “He’s Like Nate… Evil Nate.”

Parker pretty succinctly sums up Sterling with this introductory quote. When the team first crosses paths with him on a case, Parker discovers just how good Sterling is at picking up on the details.

He continually foils their plans before she even realizes it. It makes Parker a little nervous – and angry – any time the group ends up in Sterling’s path in the future.

3 “You Want Me To Break Into A Secure Storage Facility With Whatever I Can Scrounge Up At The Buffet Table? Cool.”

Nate’s often seen as the brains of the show because he makes the plans. There is a character more creative than him, and that’s Parker.

Parker can take what she knows about a security system and break into it using tin foil, eyeshadow, and her own wits. She sees every impossible task as a challenge, and it’s rare for her to admit defeat.

2 “Sometimes, Bad Guys Are The Only Good Guys You Get.”

Parker’s line might as well be the tagline for the entire show. It’s said while she’s in the chute for a money drop at a bank to a man whose wife has been kidnapped.

The Leverage team all start their careers doing bad things, but they use those skills to help people when they come together. They are who people go to when official channels and authorities haven’t been able to help them. The Leverage team might be seen as criminals by the entire world because they break every law they can, but they still do good things.

1 “Right Now, You’re Suffering Under An Enormous Weight. We Provide… Leverage.”

This line isn’t originally Parker’s. It’s stated at the end of the pilot episode when the team first comes together for their Robin Hood ways by Nate. Over the course of the show, Parker learns all aspects of what Nate does in order to be a better member of the team.

By the end of the run, Nate has her helping him plan their missions because he sees that she has what it takes to lead the team as well. She reiterates Nate’s original line when she takes over the role and has a meeting with a new client to close out the episode.

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