Can it be? Were we really and truly treated to a very special Mozzie episode of White Collar last night? Awesome! To the extent that it diminishes the Neal/Peter interplay I’m wary of too much of him, but you’ve got to love Mozzie taking center stage every once and a while.
In an ascot. Or dressed like Truman Capote. And in love with a girl named Gina (Diane Farr, looking absolutely nothing like TA Jill from last season’s Californication). I’ll be honest that for a while there I was convinced that Gina was playing an elaborate, spy-novel based game with Mozzie, and that he’d be involving Peter and the FBI for nothing more than a rendezvous of lovers. Oops!
What we did get was not as much an enthralling case-of-the-week as yet another solid, funny, entertaining episode from what quickly became one of my favorite shows when it premiered last year. Mozzie and Neal’s elevator exchange was great, and I loved the sobriquet Peter’s team assigned to Mozzie: “Little guy.” Almost as good as “Suit.”
Can you believe that Mozzie stepped foot in FBI headquarters? I thought his head would explode. But it was absolutely perfect that by the end of the episode he’d be calling for “what’s next?” Being in the belly of the beast must have thrilled him to no end … not to mention given him some valuable knowledge that I’m sure he’ll be employing yet this season.
I loved how Mozzie and Neal recruited Jonesy for their con. And it was so Jones to do the open shirt thing, a very “movies as a source” play by a straight-laced, innocent guy who has no frame of reference for this sort of thing. Neal and Mozzie really do have more fun!
I’m still not fully clear on the complete details of the original “perfect exchange,” but it was funny when both Neal and Mozzie realized that there could be no middleman. Or rather that the middleman was expendable. Better they use a method ala Tony Soprano and Butch DeConcini in the series finale of The Sopranos — a neutral location with a neutral party guaranteeing everyone’s safety. That way if something goes wrong, it’s the guarantor and his family you get to kill. Choose the guarantor strategically, and worst case scenario you can kill two birds with one stone … that is, if you made it out alive in the first place.
The final scene was nice. After Gina broke Mozzie’s heart, it was good to have a minute with him, Neal, and Peter just letting loose. It did speak to the one caution I mentioned above, however, in that a delicate balance must be used when inserting Mozzie into the script. This isn’t a complaint, just a subtle reminder that we come to see Neal and Peter jaw it up. Mozzie’s great, and he should play a role in each and every episode. But if you had to nominate leading actors from the show (hint, hint), there should only be two. Mozzie’s a solid supporting character, but this show belongs to others.
That said, keep the good times rolling!
“Can you give me Gina’s last name?” – Neal
“And then some.” – Mozzie, handing Neal a file
“This is a little creepy.” – Neal
“Oh, that’s nothing.” – Mozzie
“You ever wonder why you’ve never been introduced? She meets you and suddenly I become the quirky friend.” – Mozzie to Neal, on Gina
“What exactly is the nature of your relationship with Gina?” – Peter
“Intellectual … literal … ongoing….” – Mozzie
“Is he stalking her?” – Peter, to Neal
“I’d have to look up the legal definition.” – Neal
Clacked by Aryeh S.
on Aug 04, 2010 @ 12:00 EST5EDT
I love Mozzie. You missed the quotes about the boyfriend being a “version of” Mozzie. Not to mention the reasons given for not letting other people onto the elevator. Which does beg the question why push all of the buttons if he did not want frequent interruptions?
I think it speaks to the fact that neither Neal nor Mozzie used violence in their crimes that they did not consider how expendable the middle man actually would be.
*POST AUTHOR*
Agreed, which I like about them … although, I think they think they’re better than “criminals” because they avoid violence.
I loved the cup switch-a-roos!