White Collar – Neal Junior?

It’s never a good idea to start an episode of White Collar with a Sara scene. I totally don’t understand what she’s doing with Neal or as a recurring part of the cast, and her participation in last night’s caper did nothing to change my opinion of her.

But it was a fun case. I’m not sure I’ve ever bought into the do-gooder angle that gets coupled with so many criminal stories — I’m not a Robin Hood fan — but that doesn’t mean I can’t appreciate a funny, ironic habit that an otherwise dishonest individual wears like an ill-fitting tick. And Scott Rivers (Hutch Dano) had a doozy: donations made to charities loosely related to items that he stole.

What was missing was a substantiation of Scott as a con, a background that would establish him as the grand artist Peter was making him out to be. A better way to have introduced his character would have been to sprinkle mentions of him over multiple episodes before having Peter and Neal hunt him down. At least give it more than thirty minutes before Neal catches up to him … how good could he be?

That was actually the weakest part of an otherwise enjoyable episode: the comparison to Neal. Maybe it was Scott who was lacking, or maybe it was just how the episode was constructed, but I didn’t so much feel that we were looking at a young Neal as I felt we were being told that we were. If anything I think Neal must have felt insulted — not jealous — when everyone at the office was making the comparison. And if Peter really was feeling a “Neal challenge” coming from Scott, then he’s losing his touch.

Again, on its face the episode was fun. The party where the motorcycle was stolen? All cool. But I’m pretty sure Neal wouldn’t have been reduced to driving the motorcycle through a plate-glass window; seems way too messy and unsophisticated for the man we’ve come to know. For me the comparison detracted from the episode. Delete all of the “Young Neal” stuff, and this was a classic, old school episode of White Collar.

The other big story, of course, was Mozzie and Neal’s continued pursuit of their big exit. In a way this is partially another example of shoddy plot establishment. I believe that Neal would be looking to leave … it makes sense based on who he is. But the show failed to make that clear over the last two seasons, and as a result many viewers have legitimately questioned whether or not Neal skipping town makes any sense.

A con’s life is all about the big final score and retirement, which is something Neal has within his reach right now. But the fact that we’d never heard him and Mozzie talk about a final con before the U-boat discovery means that, plot-wise, it’s coming as a big surprise. Would it have been so difficult to drop hints from day one?

And why was Sara’s discovery of Neal’s fake passport a big reveal? It sucks that she found it — why are people so nosy? — but is it surprising that a guy like Neal would have a fake passport hidden in a safe place? If Sara’s shocked (and we don’t know yet that she is), then maybe she needs to reexamine who she thinks she’s sleeping with.

And maybe stop?

Clacked by Aryeh S.
on Jul 13, 2011 @ 13:03 EST5EDT