If you were wondering what that strange squealing noise was the other night, that was me finally getting to watch "The Zanzibar Marketplace Job." There are not enough exclamation points in the world to say how excited I was to see Maggie and Sterling back. Further evidence of how much the writers love me, I tell you.

And what an episode this was. It proved that Maggie is still awesome and Sterling...well, Sterling successfully defended his title as Biggest Bastard Anywhere Ever and proved that he can hold onto that title no matter the odds. (Of course, as John Rogers likes to point out: Sterling. Always. Wins.)

But even if we knew Sterling would win in the end, nothing could take away the sheer beauty of Sterling's first scene. Nate asking Eliot not to do anything too violent, Eliot insisting he only uses violence when necessary...and then Eliot attempting to beat the crap out of Sterling.

And the looks on everyone's faces as they watched...Sterling really should watch his back, because one day he's going to slip up, just once, and the Leverage team are going to rip him to shreds. I loved Alec's immediate bribe to the bartender to keep him from breaking up the fight or calling the cops, and the way Parker, Alec, and Nate just watch with little grins on their face, and Tara isn't concerned because they aren't, but rather a bit amused by the entire thing.

Sterling knows, of course, that once Maggie comes up, he's safe, because as much as they hate him, they love Maggie. And so the team is off to Ukraine to find a Faberge egg and free Maggie, but really, did they think she wouldn't figure out something was up? Tsk tsk, don't go underestimating her, people.

Maggie showing up to yell at them was perfect, because she would. And Nate and Sterling trying to convince her everything was aboveboard was interesting, although did anyone think she completely believed them?

The scene was awesome enough, but Sterling pouring that drink for Nate, oh, that was the crowning touch of evil. Sterling couldn't resist twisting the knife, could he? He couldn't resist pointing out Nate's weakness and exploiting it further. Ouch.

(Although Sterling does rather like Nate's methods when it suits him to do so. Witness his little smirk when Nate says "I have no doubt you'll get what's coming to you very soon" to egg thief Alexander Lundy. I suppose it could be argued that the smirk was because Sterling knew that Nate was about to learn something important about Lundy, but I didn't read it that way.)

Interspersed throughout, we had a series of very nice scams, from the team conning the cop into letting Maggie go ("Do you know who this woman's lover is?") to Parker and Alec playing "lovebirds" to Tara and Eliot scaring the crook without using a single word. (Kudos to the writers for "What we imagine is always so much better than the reality." "Like love?" which hurt, but worked well, for some reason.)

(Nitpick #1: Okay okay, I that the team had to call Sophie to find out what a Zanzibar Marketplace is so that the writers had an excuse to tell the viewers, but...seriously? Seriously? None of these folks has ever encountered one? They've never seen ink that needs a UV light? Okay, I'm handwaving it all away now, see?)

The moment to crown all moments in this episode was, of course, the reveal at the embassy party. I can only be grateful that my kids weren't in the house when I was watching, because at the moment we saw Maggie and Lundy smooching, I sat up straight and hollered "Holy shit! Sterling, you're a bastard!"

The embassy scenes were a lot of fun and I enjoyed watching the team adapt on the fly. We actually don't see that as often as you might think, because we don't usually learn how they adapted the plan until the big reveal at the end. And Nate and Maggie fighting while in captivity was so much fun. I just love their relationship and the comfort level even when they're angry at each other.

And then the kidnapping call to the team...leading to Eliot and Sterling's fight for control. That scene was amazing, especially the change in Eliot once he knows he's needed and the way the team instantly backed him up. Because he's the retrieval specialist. That's his job.

As a shallow note, I'd like to point out that Eliot in charge is even hotter than normal. I didn't actually realize that was possible. But it was amazing to see him show his brains and prove that he's more than a "punchup artist."

The show had me completely fooled when Phillips turned out to be the criminal. Not so much because I believe that Nate is infallible, but because I found it difficult to believe that both Nate and Sterling could be so wrong! As soon as Phillips showed up in the room with Nate and Maggie, I was sure he was actually a villain, but I figured he was working with Lundy, not setting him up. Brilliantly played, as always.

But not nearly as brilliant as the final twist, as Nate and Maggie and Lundy find themselves on an elevator with a bomb that...somehow blows up near Phillips instead. (Eliot's smirk=the hottest thing in the known universe. Although big bonus points for Nate and Maggie's kiss.)

As soon as the news cameras showed up at the end, I knew Sterling was going to show up with the egg. It was all I could do to watch, so I can just imagine how the Leverage gang must feel, knowing that he's taken advantage of them again. Sterling, you're a bastard, but I do love you.

The ending, with Maggie and Nate, was bittersweet. I agree with her that I'm less bothered by Nate drinking and more bothered by his need to hide the booze in a coffee cup. I'm a little afraid to see what he's going to do next.

In any case, as one would expect, the episode was filled with fabulous dialogue, from "Maggie's the most honest person we know. Besides that she's okay." to "First bomb's always the hardest." Actually, for an episode that was about Nate and Maggie and Eliot, somehow Parker managed to get the best lines. ("It's your first time being a fugitive, so I made you a bag." Oh, Parker's wild and crazy love for Maggie just gets better.) For non-Parker dialogue, I have a fondness for Maggie's "People underestimate you, Eliot." and Nate responding, "That's kind of the point."

This was hands-down my favorite episode so far. It had comedy and tragedy and confusion and explosions and snark and brains and Maggie and Sterling. Who could ask for anything more?