I feel as if this isn’t the first time I’ve thought White Collar to be in the Thomas Crown Affair genre. It can’t be, right? I mean, Neal is so very Thomas Crown (Pierce Brosnan), the suave and sophisticated criminal who got his thrills by stealing priceless artwork (much like Tim Matheson’s Edward Walker robbing banks a few weeks back).
But never did it hit home as clearly as it did last night, when the thieves-of-the-week cut canvases out of their frames in order to steal them. All they needed was the picture of the man in the bowler with the apple for a face. Not that I’m complaining … just saying.
No, I’m very much not complaining. In fact, on the whole last night’s episode of White Collar just went to show why it’s such a wildly successful hit. It’s fun, entertaining, and the cast of characters play off one another wonderfully. Mozzie tap, tap, tapping his cane all day long? Peter relishing in revealing to Neal that he wasn’t the only criminal on the classes syllabus? They’re all awesome.
The only thing that gummed up the works was the Kate/music box plot. I’m as happy as anyone to see Alex (Gloria Votsis) return, but as Caffrey’s main squeeze and additional “street source” (not to suggest that Mozzie needs any help), not for the purposes of the greater Kate story.
The scene where Peter and Neal revealed to Diana and Jones that they were dealing with a “Copycat Caffrey” was scripted and acted brilliantly. So too was Neal’s stint as a guest lecturer in the criminology class. Once we got into the whole student/professor thing I started to drift a bit (my wife says I’m supposed to recognize Aidan Quinn, but I do not), and I hope that Michael Boatman is due a much broader role than he got last night (otherwise, why bother casting him?), but then Jonesy going undercover snapped me right back into it. And Peter playing a Chicago Mafioso while being fed lines by Mozzie, the least physically imposing crook ever? There aren’t enough accolades in the world to recognize the talent and brilliance behind this show.
Closing the episode with the arrest of the professor’s students was inevitable, but I loved how Peter took that opportunity to recruit for the FBI. Neal insisting that he had basically turned himself in was a criminal’s pride at its finest. It’s an impressive feat — but one accomplished brilliantly on the show — when we’re able to love the “bad” (in this case “do bad things”) guy.
But like I said above, I’m not really into the other arc the show is following this season, the one that we keep getting pulled back into after the last commercial break. Knowing White Collar so far, the payoff may actually be worth all of this, but I think the show is rock solid without the additional hook, that extra mystery.
It made sense last season because Kate was the reason Neal broke out of prison and wanted to stay out of prison. And it makes sense for Caffrey to pursue the mystery behind her alleged death, both because he loved her and because he was the likely target of that bomb. But for Peter and Diana to be studying a music box? For them to be spending so much time on a story that’s obviously going to blow up between Neal and Peter when Neal learns that “Peter was lying to him,” leading Neal to go off on his own and the FBI to hunt him down again for breaking his deal?
If I can script it myself, is it really worth bothering with?
“Slash and grab … frame’s too high.” – Neal to Peter, on the unlikelihood that Mozzie stole the painting
Clacked by Aryeh S.
on Jul 28, 2010 @ 12:00 EST5EDT
