Eliot Spencer is Still a Killer
I've been thinking this for a while and I think "The Side Job" basically confirmed it.
Killing and murder are two different things, especially to a man like Eliot. He has his own moral code. He will never take another innocent life. NEVER again. But if they deserve it? Maybe so. (Who he is to decide that is an entirely different matter)
Some examples I can think of to support this theory:
"The Wedding Job": Nate asks if he just killed a guy with an appetizer, he replies with "I don't know, maybe." Doesn't seem to bother him at all (kind of freaked Nate out, though!). Never did get confirmation one way or another.
"The Order 23 Job": He shows up outside of that boy's house dressed in all black with his hair tucked into a hat waiting until the boy is clear... I remember reading that the writers didn't mean for it to look like that but, uh, it did.
"The Future Job": Parker asks if they could kill the "psychic", Eliot tells her "yeah, I mean, I could". No big deal. Sure. Wasn't even like a hesitant "but it could compromise my morals!" more like a "just another Tuesday".
"The Carnival Job": "Nate, if I'm engaged..." "Do your worst." They both know what means.
"The Experimental Job": The CIA interrogator who was torturing veterans did not look very lively at the end. Just saying.
"The King George Job": Eliot straight up asks Nate "if I take out Keller how hard would it be get at Moreau?".
"The Big Bang Job": A big deal is made about the gun scene but right before he picks it up he just causally snaps a guy's neck. He also doesn't object to Nate saying he might have to kill Atherton.
"The Rundown Job": Eliot tells Hardison "you get me to him. I get my hands on him and it's done."
Pretty sure there's a couple other instances I'm forgetting but this is a few.
Of course, this is the exception rather than the rule. Generally he won't kill, it's rarely his first choice. I mean, in that last example the tone he used to tell Hardison "it's done" strongly implied killing but when it came down to it he didn't. I don't think the man is bloodthirsty but he makes the hard call sometimes and doesn't let it bother him. This is not a morality I agree with but it certainly makes the character more interesting. (I always wondered how things would've played out had Sophie not been there with Dubenich. Would he have "saved a friend some trouble"?)
I don't think it's in conflict with him not being the same kind of guy anymore either. He's in control now, he never takes an innocent life and he doesn't kill indiscriminately or for fun or pleasure.
"The Side Job" really sort of confirmed it for me because he didn't outright disagree or discourage Parker from killing someone. He'll support her in it. Even against the rest of the team because none of them would understand or support it.
Whether the rest of team knows about Eliot is unclear. He definitely doesn't go around talking about it. He does what needs done and moves on.
But I think Nate did. I don't know if he always approved but I think it was an unspoken understanding between them. I think he trusted Eliot enough to kill the right people and not cross the same line as before.
I don't think Hardison, Sophie, Harry, or Breanna knows. They have their own innocent views of who Eliot is and what he's done. Partly because they don't want to think about it.
I don't think Parker did at first. After running the crew though I suspect she does now. They have the same unspoken understanding as Eliot and Nate did. Because she gets it. The others don't understand because they're different. He's different. She knows and she gets it.