Sophie and Eliot are trying to approach their jobs in a slightly different way going into Leverage: Redemption season 3. Season 2 of the sequel to the heist series proved to be an emotional one for both Gina Bellman and Christian Kane's characters, particularly as the former was forced to confront the fallout of a past con while being framed for an art heist by her former mentor. Eliot, meanwhile, had to return to his hometown to help his foster father and the town get out from under a corrupt fracking operation.

The season 2 finale saw Sophie promise her stepdaughter, Interpol agent Astrid, she would keep in touch after years of being on the run, while Eliot also sought to work on himself in order to live up to his foster father. Leverage: Redemption season 3 picks up shortly thereafter, with Sophie staying true to her promise, though struggling to pull back from her criminal instincts, while Eliot also tries to find new ways to protect the team without flying off the handle. All the while, the group find themselves confronted by a past foe with their sights set on Parker.

Ahead of the show's return, ScreenRant interviewed Gina Bellman and Christian Kane to discuss Leverage: Redemption season 3. The stars discussed how Sophie and Eliot's evolution continues in the new episodes after their emotional season 2 arcs, including how the former is starting to open herself up to the dating world, and the latter tries to better manage his emotional problems. Kane also shares some insight about his Librarians: The Next Chapter return and what to expect from Jacob's role in the series.

Sophie, Eliot & The Rest Of The Leverage Cast Are Evolving More Than Changing

Devereaux, In Particular, Is Working On One Major Thing In Season 3

Coming into Leverage: Redemption season 3, Bellman acknowledges that Sophie's relationship with Astrid is still going to be a big part of her arc this season, even if not confirming whether Alexandra Park will reprise her role from season 2. The biggest way Sophie, and the rest of the crew, will find themselves impacted this season is that they're "looking at adapting and changing their professional life with their personal life", particularly in the opening episode, in which everyone has to humorously remind Sophie "you can't give her stolen things" for her birthday gift.

The other major way Bellman and Kane say the show will continue to grow Leverage: Redemption's characters is with the reflection of how any of them could have an authentic relationship while doing their somewhat illegal job. While the two acknowledge that they "have an authentic relationship" within the crew, Kane believes that the ultimate journey of the show is about their trying to break those walls down to find a similar connection.

This, in part, also led to Bellman opining that "one of the mistakes" the writers of the show avoid compared to other long-running titles is not making the characters change too much from what viewers know and love, but instead having them "evolve". She points to Beth Riesgraf's Parker as a clear example of such, denoting how the thrill-seeking thief of the crew is still "very true to who she started out as", but also has displayed a "lovely continuum and cohesion" of the life and social lessons Parker's learned from being with the group.

Another character who is indeed evolving this season is Eliot, with Kane reflecting on the hitter's emotional reunion with his foster father in season 2 as having "affected Eliot a lot" coming into season 3. Though promising the character will "still punch a lot of people," Kane explains that Eliot's gone through "some stabilizing" between the seasons, no longer going "through as many rollercoaster emotions that he usually does."

"I was talking to Gina earlier," Kane recalled, "and I said, 'It's funny, because we watch everybody on the show, regardless if they're a guest star, some of them are series regulars, run into brick walls. And we give them our two cents, and that's exactly what it's worth.' We say, "I don't know if I'd do this, but you've gotta go do it." And I think Eliot is kind of in that now, because usually, Eliot was the one running straight into the brick wall and I think he's stepped back a little bit, and I think the relationship with his father has helped him, in a certain sense."

Kane also reveals that he had a hand in casting Keith David as Billy Spencer in Leverage: Redemption season 2, having run into him at an awards show and approaching him as a "huge fan", only to be surprised when David revealed "he loved Leverage". "I said, 'I've got something for you. I can't tell you what it is. If you ever could come in on Leverage and play it, would you do it?'" Kane shared. "And he said, 'Absolutely, man.' I called him, and he did, and it was just amazing, man. I really wanted him to play my dad, so it was both an honor and acting school for me."

Sophie's Dipping Her Toe Back Into The Dating World

Eliot, On The Other Hand, Isn't Rushing That

Another major progression to come from Leverage: Redemption season 3's story is that Sophie is opening herself back up to the dating world, with the group finding her online dating profile while in the middle of a job. In reflecting on this step for her, Bellman expressed her feeling that "everyone deserves happiness", and what has ultimately been holding Sophie back in the few years since the death of Timothy Hutton's Nate was that she wasn't "giving herself permission" to, at the very least, "have fun" more so than "finding her soulmate."

In looking at Eliot's potential romantic future after his breakup from U.S. Marshal Maria Shipp in season 1, Kane humorously says "absolutely not" to the chances of his character dating someone long-term again. Though he certainly isn't writing off the possibility in its entirety, particularly as he thought Eliot's family backstory would never get explored, he ultimately feels "it's going to be a tough thing" for his character to find someone to trust the way he did Maria, with Bellman humorously recalling a season 3 scene in which she calls him out for always meeting his partners in the emergency room:

"I think it's going to be somebody like the US Marshall — I'm so glad you brought her up — that's going to have to ground it, but that's true," Kane pondered. "I don't know if that's in the cards for Eliot, and I think that it would be an unbelievable thing for the writers to be able to try to find that. We're all broken toys. It just seems to be that Sophie is healing faster than everybody else. I gotta be honest with you, and you see a lot of that this season. It's really fun to watch Gina play that."

Leverage's Biggest Sophie Mystery Was Solved Long Ago By Those Who Paid Attention

"...Some People Have Got It."

Shortly after the original show began running, one of Leverage's most-talked-about mysteries was that of Sophie Devereaux's real name, particularly when she began holding it over Nate's head regarding her trust in him. With Redemption season 2 revealing more of Sophie's mysterious past, discussion began again about what the grifter's real identity is, and whether the show would actually reveal it to the audience, or keep it under wraps.

When asked about this ongoing mystery, both Kane and Bellman confirmed they know what Sophie's real name is, with the latter even revealing there are "two Easter eggs" in the show revealing her name. The more notable of the two came in one of the original Leverage's Christmas episodes, in which Sophie wrote it on a note as a gift to Nate, which was also when Kane and the rest of the cast first learned it, though they nearly missed their opportunity to do so:

She wrote it once on a piece of paper for Tim, or for Nate, that was his Christmas present, and that was real. We all had to dive over the bar just to [get it]. She wadded it up and threw it away. [Chuckles]

Jacob's Librarians Return Is Something Of A Mentor Figure

"It's A Fun Show To Be A Part Of."

Looking beyond the Leverage: Redemption season, Kane is also re-teaming with the creative team of John Rodgers and Dean Devlin for the Librarians: The Next Chapter release, reprising his role as genius protagonist Jacob Stone. Though keeping exact story details under wraps for the sequel show, Kane indicated Jacob's return will be something of a mentor figure to the new team, comparing his role to that of Noah Wyle's Flynn in the original show, though also expressing "I would never be able to replace him".

"I'm sort of the guy that, every once in a while, if they get off track, I come in and go, 'No, this is how you do it,'" Kane shared. "And then you realize it's magic. There are no rules and stuff like that. So, it's just a fun thing for them to throw me in every once in a while, and for me to get to go, 'Look, I know exactly how this is done,' and then you realize there are no rules whatsoever. We always live about 16 feet off the ground on that show. It's a fun show to be a part of."

More About Leverage: Redemption Season 3

In Leverage: Redemption season 3, the team pits themselves against a power broker stealing the clean water under people's feet and turning into dirty money, fight against a mayor who's literally the judge and jury of his small town, outrun a mark who's finally caught up with them mid-con, outhustle a pool hustler with a side business in international extortion, and bring down an industrialist exploiting child labor. All this while dodging an intricate plan of vengeance from a past enemy and working through the fallout of their new personal relationships. But no matter what, when someone needs help, they provide ... Leverage.

Check out our other Leverage: Redemption season 3 interviews with:

• Beth Riesgraf & Aleyse Shannon
• Dean Devlin

The first three episodes of Leverage: Redemption season 3 premiere on Thursday, April 17 on Prime Video, followed by new episodes every Thursday.

Source: ScreenRant Plus