 |
| Neal and Peter with lots to smile about! |
That said, I find myself entirely in agreement with Peter on
this score: “Nobody trades up from baseball.”
But back to the episode. We begin with a tribute to the
Pilot: Neal removing his beard—but this time for an entirely different reason.
He’s home where he belongs, in New York City. His only problem is Peter’s
reassignment, for which he blames himself. And the gourmet lunches he brings Peter, while touching, aren’t a substitute for working with the man.
Meanwhile Hughes has told Peter to keep his head down in his new job at Evidence. Don’t make waves, Hughes says. That’s the quickest way back to White Collar. But if anyone can tempt Peter into a riskier path to reinstatement, it’s Neal.
Confession: I am not a fan of White Collar messing with
the format I love. However, a clever, fun
case for Peter and Neal to solve together—under the table, of course—goes a
long way toward reconciling me to Peter’s wretched new gig.
There are lots of lovely tidbits here: Mozzie’s return, the mitzvah he performs for Peter, and the fact that Diana and Christy have been ring
shopping. But nothing
beats watching Peter and Neal bring out the best in each other as they go undercover, with Peter largely following Neal's lead.
Neal’s plan is flawless, except for the
getting-Peter-back-into-White-Collar part. The part of me that loves the format
groaned, but Diminishing Returns was so close to perfect that I think I can
survive watching Peter slave away in Evidence a little longer.
But Peter's reassignment isn't the only ongoing story-line. Neal opens up to Peter, confiding what he knows of
his family history—including the origin of his name. Peter, who has just found
closure on a nagging open case, understands that Neal needs closure with his
father's past, and encourages him to talk with Ellen.
Ellen begins telling Neal the story . . . a story that
should continue to unfold for the rest of the season. As Elrhiarhodan, my friend and fellow WCF contributor, noted in her post-ep dish, "And so the mythology for Season Four begins. No music boxes, no man behind the curtain, no blood-soaked treasure. Just a boy wanting to know who his father was."
Thank you, White Collar. I'll take Neal's search for his roots over music boxes and Nazi treasures any day.
And now it's your turn, Collars. What did you think? Were you as
impressed with this episode as I was?
16 comments:
Loved it. Loved your assessment as well. Still trying to figure out the title, tho'...
Thank you! And, huh. I'm not sure about the title either.
Nice opening: shirtless!Neal. Purrrrrrr!!!
I purrrrr'd a LOT more seeing our boys back in NYC. It was great to see El, Jones, and Diana, and MOZZIE'S BACK! (And playing Shoemaker Elf for Peter... YAY!)
Peter's new boss isn't quite so moustache-twirling EVIL as Collins (a.k.a. Dog the FBI Bounty Hunter, a.k.a. The Vicious Bastard Who SHOT Neal), but I can see him getting VERY annoying VERY fast. (I wonder how HE f*cked up to get himself put in charge of what's obviously the FBI's equivalent of punishment duty? I bet he's a loser who can't hack it anywhere better, so he's horribly envious of Peter and wants to lord it over him during his -- we hope brief -- exile to The Cave.)
This week's Bad Guy (well, the one who's not the petty dictator in charge of The Cave) was interesting without being over-the-top. I think the scriptwriters "cheated" a bit, though, by glossing over HOW he pulled off his heist... but since I'd rather have the time spent on Neal/Peter interactions, and on Neal asking Ellen about his dad, I won't complain.
The more we hear from Ellen about Neal's dad, the more I wonder if he was a somewhat-crooked cop who was framed for the cop-killing to keep him from doing what Neal's done: turn his life around and start working for the right side of the law again. I think he was going to meet the dead cop to ask for help "going straight", and his co-conspirator(s) killed the other cop and framed him. I bet Neal (and Peter) will end up finding the real killer(s) by the end of the season...
DEFINITELY looking like a better season than one dealing with Nazi loot...
I may be the only one, but I enjoyed the musicbox sl a lot. :-)
About Neals Dad, I think I'd prefer if they would not try to whitewash his crimes and turn him into a good cop. IMO it would make for a way better background for Neal.
I enjoyed this episode a LOT. I'm just hoping they fill in that huge plot hole regarding the reason Ellen told Neal the "truth" about his dad. Ellen said in "Judgment Day" that is was because Neal was going to join the force and as soon as he stepped foot into the police academy he was going to get an earful about his father. Well, if Neal, his mom and Ellen were all in Witness Protection in St. Louis, and Neal grew up with the name Danny Brooks, then NO ONE would have ever heard of his father because his WitSec father would be a piece of fiction. No one would ever KNOW who or what he was, so no problem with "Danny" joining the force. So, telling "Danny" that his real name was Neal and that his father was a murderer would just be cruel.
Also, if EVERYONE who knew "James" was put into Witness Protection, there HAD to be something more to the story than just a copy killing. As terrible a crime as that would be, there wouldn't be any reason for the entire family and the dirty cop's partner to have to disappear completely and live under assumed names in a completely different city. I would think there would have to be some kind of mafia connection or international drug cartels or SOMETHING that would threaten the lives of everyone.
I love this show and these actors and things like this really upset me. I want it to be TOTALLY good from the actors to the writers to the directors, etc. Here's hoping someone has already written the fill in to this huge plot hole.
A GREAT twist would be if ELLEN turned out to be a dirty copy, she and James were in on everything together, only Ellen was higher up in the food chain and SHE threatened Neal and his mom. Her being put into WitSec with them would insure that James would never say anything, EVER. Then, maybe when Neal turned 18, SOMEHOW James was able to go underground but became a threat to Ellen. She needed to draw him out into the open and used Neal to do it. Only Neal disappeared on her for nearly 15 years so the plan backfired on her.
Hmmmm...guess we'll find out.
*small voice* I enjoyed the search for Kate, I enjoyed the music box, I enjoyed the nazi treasure. The only story-line on White Collar I didn't enjoy so far was Neal's relationship with Sara, which for me screwed up the dynamic of the show. Needless to say, the last three episodes where like a breath of fresh air to me. And this episode - that was what "Power Play" should have been, not Neal being busy elsewhere instead of savouring the role exchange, but Neal teaching Peter the tricks of his trade.
This was fantastic :)
I was somewhat disappointed by the first two episodes of the season (they felt too rushed to me, and somewhat illogical) - but this was White Collar at its best. I enjoyed it from the beginning till the end, and I didn't find a moment that didn't feel right. I can't even write all my favorite moments (Neal shaving, teaching Peter, por Peter in evidence, Moz who helped with the phones :D ) - I enjoyed all of it. And Neal's history finally comming out - love it! I can't wait till next week :)
@Angel : Ok about the WitSec/Academy thing, but still, wait for the entire story before pinning any blame. We are at episode 3, we obviously don't know half of the story yet! I'm pretty sure there is something else than a possible cop murder.
Oh and I loved that episode. Feels good to be "home". Right ?
This was easily one of my favorite episodes of White Collar of all time! I loved how Neal tried to make things as close to being back to normal as possible, by bringing Peter lunch and needing him back in White Collar division. I was also thrilled how Mozzie returned, and I can’t wait for more! I always recommend it to my coworkers, at Dish, and they are almost as enthralled as I am. Unfortunately, I didn’t get to watch last night’s episode live, but I was able to catch it on Dish Online for free this morning, and it’s looking like I might have to do that the rest of the season. I am excited to hear more about Neal’s family and childhood, maybe we will get the real origin of Neal Caffrey.
One of my favorites so far and S4 looks to be great. It has a new feel and I love the way they are doing close-ups of Matt and Tim. I rewound the heart to heart 4 times. Aside from perfect scipted scene and info on past, that was truly the most perfect cinema of Matt Bomer - he was strikingly beautiful in that scene and his facial expressions so perfect. Episode gets an A.
@angelangiekc I suspect that plot hole will remain unfilled, alas--but maybe I'm wrong. Meanwhile, though, I'm willing to overlook plot holes like that if we keep getting the wonderful character interactions we just saw in Diminishing Returns.
Vote for Matt/WC:
http://www.tvfanatic.com/2012/07/frenemmy-awards-lead-actor-in-a-drama/
Much as I am enjoying this season, I want to play curmudgeon and address the giant elephant in the room: half a sub's worth of Nazi treasure.
I'm not wrong about this, am I? We learned this from Mozzi back in "Judgement Day." After all of the drama last season over the treasure, and the trust issues between Neal and Peter, at the end of all of that: Neal and Mozzi still have half the treasure somewhere and Peter doesn't know.
Except: Peter must have noticed the gorgeous mansion, not to mention the huge amounts of protection money Neal was paying. Which means he's either an idiot - which he's not - or he's turning a blind eye, which means he's essentially a corrupt agent (even if it's for all the right reasons.)
I know it's a plot device, and I know that stealing Nazi gold is considered a victimless crime in fiction, but this makes the whole "tell me the truth" scene ring in the picnic area kind of hollow. "Rather than tell you about the millions of dollars in loot I have stashed away, let's talk about my dad..."
Added to this is the fact that, when Neal ran away in "Judgement Day," he essentially screwed Peter over big time. Ignore the fact that Peter wanted him to; if he had Peter's best interests at heart, he would have put in his time in Art Crimes in DC. WAY easier to fix than fleeing the country just when Peter is testifying on his behalf.
And finally? The greatest con-man/thief in the world is now officially Mozzi, not Neal. Getting through the end of the last season and managing to sneak out all that treasure between episodes? The endless parade of boats, trucks, and planes he seems to be able to get his hands on? Breaking into the evidence warehouse this episode (which, if known, jeopardizes almost every case Peter has worked on)? While remaining, essentially, anonymous (at least compared to Neal)? Best. Thief. Ever.
(I LOVED Clinton and Diana's attitudes this season, though. Friends of Neal or not, they don't appreciate what his actions put Peter through, and they subtly let him know it. Watch them in the scene when Neal comes back to his desk.)
p.s. About that title: "diminishing returns" are what you get when increasing the amount of effort does not lead to an equal increase in results. Presumably this is meant to tie into Peter's demotion; his usual office shenanigans no longer cut it (although technically this would be a "negative return.")
Only a curmudgeon would read it to mean that the dramatic tricks and tropes of the show no longer get the same rise from the viewers as they used to. :-)
@David - Interesting perspective. But I really don't understand why we should ignore the fact that Peter told Neal to run. Do we assume that Peter is an idiot and doesn't understand that he may face consequences? I give Peter more credit than that. He did what he believed was right.
In "Judgement Day" Kramer was using every trick he could to get Neal to DC - not just for the remaining 2 years of his existing sentence, but permanently. (Kramer's words.) If Neal refused, he'd face the same new - permanent - sentence in prison.
Peter proved his true friendship with Neal by letting him go. Don't forget, Peter had planned to testify that Neal should serve out his remaining two years on the anklet in NY. When that option disappeared, setting Neal free became the only choice Peter could live with.
In any event, I'm sure the treasure is remaining in the background, waiting to come up again at some point. But I don't think Peter really has any idea how much of a reserve Neal might have even without that - and since he hasn't even been able to find out Mozzie's real name there's certainly no way for him to know what assets Moz might have.
Anyway, I loved the back-in-NY coming home feel of this episode. It was fun to get a glimpse of Neal's island life, and I might have wished for a little more detail over another episode or two. But the heart of White Collar is the relationship between Neal and Peter, and the two of them working together. This episode brought us back to firmer ground, even if the togetherness isn't quite complete yet.
And while I understand Jones and Diana being a little peeved at Neal over Peter's absence, I was glad that they still got behind Neal's quest to solve the case. Yes, Neal's actions contributed, but Peter's (temporary) demotion to the Cave is based on his own actions. Peter understands that, and I think his team is smart enough to see that too.
Now I'm just looking forward to learning more about Neal's past, and how it shapes his future.
To answer the previous comment...
I believe Peter did what he thought was right. I think Neal should have thought it through more.
It's not that Neal doesn't have Peter's best interests at heart, it's just that he doesn't always think through what that means. If we're voting for Neal's "redemption" - we want him to be somebody who can form real friendships and not end his life on the run - then we're asking him to make touch choices.
In this case, I think Peter would have had an easier time getting Neal extricated from DC than from his island, regardless of Kramer's intentions. Arguably, Peter should have gotten in more trouble than he did when Neal took off, in any event.
Neal would have realized that if he had thought more about Peter - he shouldn't necessarily have let Peter make the (potentially very real) sacrifice of covering for him.
...yeah, I'm holding Neal to a pretty high standard here. I like him, and it's easy for us as an audience to make excuses for him we.
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