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White Collar 3x09
Mmmmm .... hmmmm. I think my reaction to this episode may have had something to do with having high hopes for a Keller episode, and then ... I felt like they squandered a lot of potential, really. So I'm not sure if the episode really wasn't very good, or if I was just disappointed in this one because of artificially high expectations. I wanted them to do more with Keller, but in the end, his role in this episode could have been that of any small-time crook who found out about the treasure. Neither his trademark mind games nor his hatred of, and desire for revenge on, Neal and Peter really played much of a role in the plot, and it should have. The whole episode felt like it was building up to something really explosive happening -- everything going horribly wrong at the end -- and then it ... didn't, really. It just sort of limped to a conclusion.
At least they didn't go ahead and kill off Keller, which I thought for a moment was what had happened. I really like him as an antagonist, and I would've hated to lose him in such an anticlimactic way.
And something I'm really struggling with right now is that normally, even when the plots of this show are a bit ... limp, you can usually count on the characters to be smart and competent regardless. This episode -- not so much, really. Neal and Mozzie -- neither of them are bringing their "A" game right now. Granted, both of them were working with only half the information they needed (Neal was lying to Mozzie about the manifest; Mozzie was concealing from Neal that he'd taken out a hit on Keller) but the end result was a lot of flailing at cross purposes that didn't really do either character any favors.
... actually, I think I just figured out one reason why I was less than enthralled with this episode. I love watching smart, twisty-brained characters match wits and cleverly figure out each other's secrets. That's one of the big draws of the show for me. But having the plots hinge upon the characters blundering around because they don't have all the information, and repeatedly getting close and then not telling each other things, is just frustrating. This show has rarely tipped over that line, but this episode, I feel, went too far in that direction for my tastes.
I know that a lot of people on my flist have been bothered by the show's darker direction with Neal and Mozzie this season, but this is the first episode where it's genuinely bothered me -- Mozzie taking out a hit on Keller, when it has a very real possibility of blowing back onto his friends; Neal not only directly lying to Peter's face about not having the treasure (I think this is the first time that there's really no way to explain it away as misdirection or half-truths), but also risking Peter's life by withholding critical pieces of information. And Peter, for that matter, moving so slowly on the pieces of information that he does have about the treasure that he's really just spinning his wheels -- okay, I get that he's dragging his feet because he cares about Neal, he knows Neal's guilty and he's still trying to give Neal opportunities to come clean (I think that's pretty obvious at this point), just as Neal's dragging his feet about leaving New York for similar reasons. But the end result is the characters not really doing much of anything, just keeping secrets from each other and staying in more or less the same place.
There were some things I liked! There was some fun bantery bits, and I really loved Peter's sympathy for Mozzie when his friend was killed (and listening to him immediately, when the other FBI agents didn't). It was nice to see Mozzie being protective of Neal, even if his plan was MADE OF SUCK, and it was also nice to see Sara again and get some closure on her storyline with Neal. (Though it bugs me that she's perjuring herself to the FBI for him -- Sara deciding to keep quiet on Neal's behalf makes sense to me; Sara committing a felony for Neal makes a great deal less sense. I was on board with Sara's protectiveness of Neal right up until the perjury thing.)
All in all, for the episode right before the mid-season finale, it didn't leave me going "Squee! More!" so much as "... I really hope the next episode is better than this one."
I didn't watch the preview for next week and am trying to remain completely unspoiled, so please do not spoil me in comments. Unfounded speculation is welcome, though! :D
This entry is also posted at http://friendshipper.dreamwidth.org/364072.html with
comments.
At least they didn't go ahead and kill off Keller, which I thought for a moment was what had happened. I really like him as an antagonist, and I would've hated to lose him in such an anticlimactic way.
And something I'm really struggling with right now is that normally, even when the plots of this show are a bit ... limp, you can usually count on the characters to be smart and competent regardless. This episode -- not so much, really. Neal and Mozzie -- neither of them are bringing their "A" game right now. Granted, both of them were working with only half the information they needed (Neal was lying to Mozzie about the manifest; Mozzie was concealing from Neal that he'd taken out a hit on Keller) but the end result was a lot of flailing at cross purposes that didn't really do either character any favors.
... actually, I think I just figured out one reason why I was less than enthralled with this episode. I love watching smart, twisty-brained characters match wits and cleverly figure out each other's secrets. That's one of the big draws of the show for me. But having the plots hinge upon the characters blundering around because they don't have all the information, and repeatedly getting close and then not telling each other things, is just frustrating. This show has rarely tipped over that line, but this episode, I feel, went too far in that direction for my tastes.
I know that a lot of people on my flist have been bothered by the show's darker direction with Neal and Mozzie this season, but this is the first episode where it's genuinely bothered me -- Mozzie taking out a hit on Keller, when it has a very real possibility of blowing back onto his friends; Neal not only directly lying to Peter's face about not having the treasure (I think this is the first time that there's really no way to explain it away as misdirection or half-truths), but also risking Peter's life by withholding critical pieces of information. And Peter, for that matter, moving so slowly on the pieces of information that he does have about the treasure that he's really just spinning his wheels -- okay, I get that he's dragging his feet because he cares about Neal, he knows Neal's guilty and he's still trying to give Neal opportunities to come clean (I think that's pretty obvious at this point), just as Neal's dragging his feet about leaving New York for similar reasons. But the end result is the characters not really doing much of anything, just keeping secrets from each other and staying in more or less the same place.
There were some things I liked! There was some fun bantery bits, and I really loved Peter's sympathy for Mozzie when his friend was killed (and listening to him immediately, when the other FBI agents didn't). It was nice to see Mozzie being protective of Neal, even if his plan was MADE OF SUCK, and it was also nice to see Sara again and get some closure on her storyline with Neal. (Though it bugs me that she's perjuring herself to the FBI for him -- Sara deciding to keep quiet on Neal's behalf makes sense to me; Sara committing a felony for Neal makes a great deal less sense. I was on board with Sara's protectiveness of Neal right up until the perjury thing.)
All in all, for the episode right before the mid-season finale, it didn't leave me going "Squee! More!" so much as "... I really hope the next episode is better than this one."
I didn't watch the preview for next week and am trying to remain completely unspoiled, so please do not spoil me in comments. Unfounded speculation is welcome, though! :D
This entry is also posted at http://friendshipper.dreamwidth.org/364072.html with
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I want my bad guys to be BAD GUYS, but with a likabilty factor. Angelus was funny and droll. Spike had a deep capacity to love and was very protective of Drusilla. Azazel in SPN was gleeful and humorous. ET AL.
Keller is just...well...an asshole. That doesn't appeal to me.
Also, Eliza Dushku was SO UNDERUTILIZED in this ep. She's freakin' fabulous, and they have her what? Muggin' in that silly ass hat, and frontin' with a gun and going all secret assassin on Keller? then the kiss? Oh yeah, she got the scarab out of Neal's pocket with that, but really? THAT's what you pull in Eliza freakin' Dushku for? *sigh*
I was surprised that Mozzie took out the hit on Keller. Thrown for a loop, even, because Mozzie's not that dark a character. Sure he's fringe, and he's sidestepped some pretty shady dealings in his tenure as fringe operator, but he's not a cold blooded guy. And that he'd take the Degas, despite Neal's insistence that he not? Well, at the moment, I thought OUCH! But now I see it as the plot device to make Neal confess to lying about Peter having the list.
I'm also upset that Neal has the list now. Like, the original list from Peter's safe. When Peter goes to look for it, and doesn't find it, he's going to know it's Neal. The only people who know about the list at all are Peter, Diana, Neal, and Mozzie. IIRC
I did like the closure with Sarah. I keep wanting Neal to give up the life on the lam dream, and Sarah, to me, would be a perfect partner for him - better than Kate ever could be, or Alex for that matter.
I also liked the last scene b/t Peter and Elizabeth. I love Peter & Neal, but Peter/El just makes my heart melt. Ilove that when he tells her who he was after, she's up and awake immediately, concern obvious.
Anyway, another White Collar rant in the comments of your journal. *bows out* My bad!
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I do love complicated, sympathetic bad guys, but I can also go for some morally uncomplicated mustache-twirling every so often.
Also, Eliza Dushku was SO UNDERUTILIZED in this ep. She's freakin' fabulous, and they have her what? Muggin' in that silly ass hat, and frontin' with a gun and going all secret assassin on Keller? then the kiss? Oh yeah, she got the scarab out of Neal's pocket with that, but really? THAT's what you pull in Eliza freakin' Dushku for? *sigh*
Among other things, I think she suffered in this ep because she's so ludicrously similar to Alex. She's just about the same character, in terms of appearance and personality and her role in the story - even hair and wardrobe! This show in general has a bit of a problem with casting similar-looking women as background and recurring characters, and I had some trouble getting on board with this character because she didn't really seem to have a style or personality of her own. If it hadn't been a hyped and semi-famous guest star, I would've thought that they couldn't get the actress who plays Alex and had to fill in with someone else at the last minute! She never emerged as a unique and individual person of her own, and honestly, all props to Eliza Dushku, I think it would've helped tremendously just to cast someone who wasn't so similar in both her appearance and her role in the story to a character they already have. I got the sense that she was supposed to be more ruthless than the recurring non-antagonist characters normally are (she mentions the possibility of killing Neal when she first meets him, and then of course there's the whole shooting Keller for the bounty thing) but when Neal was interacting with her one-on-one, I never really got the sense of ruthlessness and cruelty that some of her dialogue would seem to imply. They just didn't really sell her as a character, I think.
... opinions, I has them! *g*
I was surprised that Mozzie took out the hit on Keller. Thrown for a loop, even, because Mozzie's not that dark a character. Sure he's fringe, and he's sidestepped some pretty shady dealings in his tenure as fringe operator, but he's not a cold blooded guy.
See, I could see where they seemed to be coming from with that, but, again, I don't feel like they sold it all that well. Mozzie took out the hit on Keller because he was finally pushed to the wall: Keller had killed a friend of his, he was genuinely afraid that Keller would kill another friend (probably his closest friend), and he had to take drastic steps to keep that from happening. At least, that's what the show seemed to want us to think ... but especially given some of the things that the characters have gone through in the past, I just didn't really feel like they made me BELIEVE that this was the time when Mozzie would be desperate enough to be that ruthless. Especially since his plan was one with such HUGE potential to blow up in a major way and cause an innocent bystander (or a friend) to get hurt! I mean, knowing that Keller is hunting his friends, what the heck does he think that painting a target on Keller's back for every hitter in the city is going to do?!
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Honestly, I think one reason why the end of the episode threw me for a loop is because I was expecting there to be some negative repercussions for both Mozzie and Neal's bad decisions. I thought the show was blatantly setting it up for something really bad to happen at the Palace, between Neal keeping Peter in the dark about Keller's motivation and movements, and Mozzie not only hiring a hitter but using Neal as a decoy ... Sending him the Palace and then tipping off THE CITY'S ENTIRE HITMAN ARMY that Keller is there - seriously, Mozzie, all that wine must have killed off some important brain cells, because WHAT THE HELL WERE YOU THINKING?! It's only through sheer luck and the fact that apparently all the city's other hitmen were on vacation today that Keller was the only one who got shot.
But now I see it as the plot device to make Neal confess to lying about Peter having the list. [...] I'm also upset that Neal has the list now. Like, the original list from Peter's safe. When Peter goes to look for it, and doesn't find it, he's going to know it's Neal. The only people who know about the list at all are Peter, Diana, Neal, and Mozzie.
And, see, YES - this is my problem with the episode in a nutshell; well, one of my problems anyway: they have the characters doing things that are dumb or counterproductive or slightly OOC just to push the plot along. And that's something that this show rarely resorts to - even when the plots themselves are kind of WTF, the characters are still pretty sharp!
I love Peter & Neal, but Peter/El just makes my heart melt. Ilove that when he tells her who he was after, she's up and awake immediately, concern obvious.
*nod nod* And after all the lies and deceptions in this episode, their fundamental honesty and trust in each other was a very nice counterpoint to the rest of it.
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Actually, you're quite right. White Collar and Gloria Votsis (aka Alex) had different schedules, they couldn't get her, so they rewrote episode for Dushku... (As well as with June's granddaughter from 3x01. In first draft it was Alex who helped Neal & Mozzie with their con, not Cindy.) And Jeff Eastin mentioned lots of times he wanted Neal/Sara/Alex love triangle in season 3. Since they couldn't have Alex, apparently he created Rachel as another possible love interest. *sigh*.
they have the characters doing things that are dumb or counterproductive or slightly OOC just to push the plot along.
I'm with you. I can pretty much live with plotholes of any kind as long as characters and their interactions remain true to themselves. White Collar was very good at that in season 1 and 2. But this season I have the thought "uh... did he/she really just did that? It's so wrong!" more often than I'd like. I want to love the show, damn it! *g* Hope next episode will resolve some of my issues…
And after all the lies and deceptions in this episode, their fundamental honesty and trust in each other was a very nice counterpoint to the rest of it.
Can't agree more. I realized how much I missed teamwork and genuinely camaraderie between Neal&Peter, Neal&Moz, even Moz&Peter…
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Although, I think it was Keller's best appearance so far. Just looking how elaborate his trap was: He set up Neal for an undercover operation so that he could approach him without anklet (and that before he even knew about the treasure cam! That's planning in advance), he nearly found the treasure, and the scenes with him were all great. Not over the top, but dangerous and suspenseful.
I had again some Sara issues (nothing new there), and I think I would have enjoyed the Raquel character more without the sexy poses - something more genuine would have been nice but otherwise, I loved it. To me, the best ep in this season so far.
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Like I said in an above comment, I was also really expecting Neal and Mozzie's bad decisions in this episode to blow back on them at the end, and was genuinely surprised that everyone got off without repercussions. I think it bothered me more than it has in the past because they've never been this careless with other people's lives before. I can believe they'd lie, cheat and steal -- it's who they are and what they do, and part of why I love them is because the show is fairly honest that they play other people, even their friends. But Mozzie was literally using Neal as bait (without his knowledge) to draw Keller into a trap and then siccing a bunch of hitmen on him, and Neal was was playing games with Peter's life by withholding key pieces of information about why Keller was in New York ... I guess that I didn't believe they'd go that far, or didn't want to believe it.
... er, sorry, issues with this episode, I has them! *facepalm* Which is not to say I think there's anything wrong with you liking it; I'm very glad that you enjoyed it. Someone had to. *g* And it would be a boring world if we all felt the same about everything!
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I think we will the the repercussions next episode.
Well, it's my turn to be happy, after I was so unhappy about all those Sara-Eps.
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I feel as though I've lost Mozzie. I cared about him, or I thought I did, but that character no longer exists. He's not the same guy who put his life in jeopardy to be sure that Elizabeth got her husband back; he's a vengeful but fearful man taking risks with the lives of his best friend and his best friend's friends and co-workers to protect the secret (and yes, get revenge for the death of another friend). His behavior seemed completely inconsistent with the Moz we've seen before.
I couldn't believe Sara's behavior at all. Neal and Mozzie are clearly out of control; they don't know what the heck they're doing. Once Sara knew that a killer was after Neal and trying to get the treasure, I really think she had a responsibility to go to the authorities with what she knew. Neal's life was at stake, and even if she figures that Neal made his choice and must take his chances, she knows Peter is right behind him. Peter didn't make those choices, but he'd put his life on the line for Neal. Keller's in the wind.
I've started to dread episodes, fearing that they'll destroy characters about whom I really care. Mozzie was the first to go. I can't imagine anything they can do now that will ever allow me to think of Mozzie truly fondly again. I never saw him as a killer, but if you take out a contract on someone's life, you're responsible for that person's murder. I hope they don't ruin anyone else I care about—but I'm already upset that Neal knows about the hit and is now an accessory to the whole thing.
The only good thing about this episode in my view was seeing Peter and Elizabeth. They are genuinely good people, and they continue to be genuinely good people. I love them together.
* The English professor in me is screaming that I've moved from roulette to pachinko, but roulette seems to me too simple for what Keller was doing.
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On the other hand, I actually loved Cindy being used in the con in the first episode (it was neat to see her again!) and I'm honestly VERY glad to have been spared a love triangle this season. *g* I liked Sara/Neal as the rather low-key thing that it was; watching Sara and Alex compete over Neal would've been no fun at all. Fingers crossed that they don't inflict a love triangle on us in the back half of season three ...
And despite my lackluster response to this episode, I'm looking forward to the mid-season finale - maybe not quite as much as I was, but at the very least the odds are really good that Neal & Peter will get their issues out in the open, OMFG ABOUT FRIKKIN' TIME ...
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(Peter's hand on Mozzie's shoulder, though, awww!)
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(Peter's hand on Mozzie's shoulder, though, awww!)
nnnnnnggggg I KNOWWWWW. :D Mozzie and Peter's little almost-friendship thing makes me very happy indeed. I love Peter and Neal, obviously, but they're pretty straightforward - they're friends and have been since the beginning, would take a bullet for each other in a heartbeat, etc. But Mozzie and Peter have sort of fallen by total accident into this respect-shading-towards-friendship thing. It's taken them years to build it up, and I'm sure neither of them would admit it, but it's totally there, and I was so happy and delighted to see Peter being so careful of him in that scene.
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Yes! How is it possible that only Raquel was there? Unless she followed Neal from her place, I can't understand how she could get there before more professional hitters showed up. If she followed Neal, however, I wouldn't expect her to shoot Keller from above.
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Also, that scene left me with no ability to respect Dushku's character. Okay, so you're going to kill Keller for the money. You do it when he's in custody, surrounded by a load of FBI agents, in a building with no alternate exits? How did you think that was going to work out for ya?
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First, that kiss couldn't have been Raquel getting the scarab out of Neal's pocket. She's in custody, going to jail. Where is she going to keep it? That was "Thanks for taking it and keeping it for me until I get out of jail." She'll be back another day.
Next, I'm not sure the list Neal has is the one from Peter's safe. He isn't an idiot. He took a picture of it with his phone. I think what we were seeing is that picture which would include the image of the evidence bag it was in.
Did Neal actually lie to Peter? I'm trying to remember his exact words. I know he said that Keller made the same assumption as Peter did - that he had the treasure. Well, that's true. They both made the same assupmtion (and they are both right). It was that tricky wording at The Palace that I'm not sure of. I believe Neal said he didn't have the treasure, which again is technically true. Mozzie has the treasure at a new location that he hasn't shared with Neal. Now, Neal is definitely walking a fine line and he is certainly guilty of misdirection and omission, but lying... I'm not so sure.
I thought Keller fell through a railing after he was winged (Peter's word when he talked to El). I thought he was going to be lying on the next floor down but when they looked, he was on his feet and running. Of course, he had to get away. He's got to come after them again.
I was a little surprised at Mozzie hiring a hitman, but I can understand his reasoning. Keller had already killed an old friend, and as Mozzie told Sara, he's the one guy who wants Neal dead. He's obviously after the treasure. What wouldn't Mozzie do to protect his future and his friend?
As for Sara perjuring herself to the FBI, is she really? She was going to give a statement about her conversation with Keller. She can honestly say she doesn't know where the treasure is. Even the IP address she had is useless since Mozzie moved it. Neal didn't tell her anything about it or show it to her. With a couple of sins of omission, she can give a true statement.
While I didn't love the ep, it was interesting to see the other side where things don't go as planned, people try and fail because they don't have the whole picture, and the bad guy gets away. Sometimes good intentions aren't enough.
Neal confessed his lie to Mozzie. Sara decided to live in her world of mostly white but shades of gray. Keller said what Neal already knew - that it would break Peter's heart when he found out Neal had the treasure. And now Neal and Mozzie are in a real pickle - Mozzie has sold the Degas that was on the list. Things are spinning totally out of Neal's control. Bring on next week!
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... wait, was she supposed to be taking the scarab? If that's what happened there, I totally missed it. Because, yeah, that doesn't make much sense.
I think what we were seeing is that picture which would include the image of the evidence bag it was in.
Okay, that does make sense, and is considerably less silly than having just walked off with it. Though sitting in plain view in the middle of the room when Mozzie could walk in at any time is less than bright ...
I believe Neal said he didn't have the treasure, which again is technically true. Mozzie has the treasure at a new location that he hasn't shared with Neal. Now, Neal is definitely walking a fine line and he is certainly guilty of misdirection and omission, but lying... I'm not so sure.
*muses* He definitely told Peter (more than once, I think) that he doesn't have the treasure in this episode. While he's told quite a few "lies" in the past that were technically true while being not exactly the answer to what Peter thought he was asking ("I don't have X" when in fact he'd given it to Mozzie, or whatnot), I honestly cannot see any plausible way to justify Neal not having an equal share in the treasure, on a technicality or otherwise.
And I don't think Mozzie actually moved it, did he? He just changed the IP address of the camera feed. Neal definitely knows where it is; he was going to it when he changed plans and went to the Palace instead.
On the other hand - you're right about Keller: he went over the railing. I went back and rewatched that part, and it made a lot more sense to me now that I knew what was going on. I'd completely missed that it was Keller, not the person who'd shot at Keller, that they were firing at and then Peter told his people to pursue - at that point (since they hadn't revealed Alex as the shooter yet) I thought the person they were firing at was the person who'd shot Keller. My own confused expectations played into it, because at that point I was still expecting several hitpersons to show up at the meeting place and the whole thing to turn into a shooting gallery (I still think they missed a bet by not doing that).
I was a little surprised at Mozzie hiring a hitman, but I can understand his reasoning.
Yeah, like I said in answer to one of the comments above, I totally get what they were going for with Mozzie (and I loved seeing him that protective of Neal); I just didn't feel like the episode actually sold me on the whole idea of Mozzie taking that drastic a step under the circumstances. Possibly because he did it in a way that seemed to be me to have a huge potential to get innocent bystanders (or Neal, or Peter) hurt or killed. I loved seeing Mozzie pushed to the wall like that, willing to order someone's murder when he's always been generally nonviolent in the past (even when people are trying to kill him). It was just such a dark step for the character to take that I wanted to be sold on it a little better than I was.
She was going to give a statement about her conversation with Keller. She can honestly say she doesn't know where the treasure is.... With a couple of sins of omission, she can give a true statement.
Yeah ... thinking about it, I guess that it's possible for her to get away with technically telling the truth. But it's tricky. And it feels like it's escalated her involvement in the treasure storyline from simply walking away, to actively helping Neal and Mozzie hide what they're doing. I'm a little uncomfortable with that, even though I know that she's doing it to protect Neal from the repercussions. Still, now that we've taken that step from Sara simply staying out of it (plausible deniability) to Sara being an accomplice, I feel like Neal doesn't really grasp the magnitude of what she's doing for him - that she is making herself into an accomplice, and if he does go ahead and disappear, some of the fallout is going to fall on her too.
... not that I expect them to actually disappear. *g* The more I think about it, the more eager I am for next week; I just want to know what's going to happen!
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I think another poster mentioned that. And it seemed likely in any other place except FBI offices...
And I don't think Mozzie actually moved it, did he?
That's what I thought he was doing when he boxed up the Degas, but perhaps he only took that one piece. Now that you mention changing the IP address, that makes more sense.
I'm not sure Mozzie was thinking clearly with his plan. Then again, he's obviously dealt with hiring hitmen through the priest before so perhaps he was comfortable with the abilities of the shooters to hit the target instead of Neal.
I wonder who Raquel was talking to on the phone when she metioned Keller was at her place. Was that a buyer? Her boss? Someone who matters or just a mysterious voice?
Honestly, it doesn't matter whether Neal has technically told the truth to Peter about the treasure or not. He did before he knew Mozzie took the treasure but once he knew and concealed it, every interaction with Peter became a lie. I still think in Neal's mind he hasn't lied to Peter's face but it won't matter if Peter finds out Neal has seen, touched, conspired over and assisted in hiding the treasure. Peter will never trust Neal again. I hope the conclusion of this arc does it justice.
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I guess I assumed she was talking to the priest or to a contact of some kind. But hmm. That's a good point.
I still think in Neal's mind he hasn't lied to Peter's face but it won't matter if Peter finds out Neal has seen, touched, conspired over and assisted in hiding the treasure. Peter will never trust Neal again. I hope the conclusion of this arc does it justice.
See, I just don't think they're actually that broken. The thing about Neal and Peter is that they're both onto each other -- Peter knows Neal is involved with the treasure going missing, and Neal knows that Peter is investigating him. And the affection and banter is still there. They're lying to each other, but they've both done that before. When it finally comes out into the open, it'll confirm what both of them already suspect, and there are probably going to be some hurt feelings that take a little while to get past, but I don't think it's any worse than anything they've had to deal with in the past. *fingers crossed*
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I feel the show did well setting Keller up as the kind of bad guy who can throw Neal off his game, and each time he shows up it's always a little bit worse. So that everyone wasn't their usual clever selves, that we were seeing the worst being brought out in them, made sense to me (but a lot of it is also based on how I personally see the characters. I actually do see Mozzie as having a darker side - not exactly violent or quick to be violent but not necessarily above letting others do a little dirty work for him, and he was pretty ticked. Although, yes, I think a little more build-up to this darker side of Mozzie would have been nice).
Things have to get worse before they get better so I wouldn't be surprised if we see more of the characters fumbling and digging the deception even deeper. I'm not looking forward to that (not with how popular punished!Neal stories are, and I'm really not happy with Mozzie's actions though I understand them) but I think it's inevitable.
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Things are definitely coming to a head, with the rift between Neal and Mozzie opening wider, and the Degas out in the marketplace now. I'm really looking forward to seeing what happens next week! Despite all the deceptions and the characters working at cross purposes, I think the show has been doing a good job of showing that they all still care about each other a lot, and like each other a lot -- which is one of the things that is making this such a difficult situation for all of them. I appreciate that the show is keeping the friendships intact while still having the characters at odds.
One thing that really puzzled me about the episode is that it felt to me like they were deliberately constructing the parallels between the three main characters in this episode keeping secrets (including Peter not telling Elizabeth about Keller -- actually I was totally expecting Elizabeth to get kidnapped/menaced by Keller when they made such a big deal in the episode of Peter not telling her about Keller being in town) in expectation of everything really blowing up on them all at the end -- and then, uh, not so much. I'm not sure if this episode is going to turn out to be mostly setup for next week's episode ... aaagh, it's gonna be so hard avoiding spoilers all week, because I really want to find out what happens!
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That I get because I was pretty much the same way. I was hoping for something a bit more (yes, specifically something whumpy), and it left me with a lot of mixed feelings for a little while (I know this show is whump lite but I just can't seem to stop hoping).
I think WC isn't really a show to make things so messy that when things do come to a head they practically explode. They like to resolve things pretty quick, especially episode by episode, and like to save the big stuff for the finales. I think this ep was meant to be a close call, to show us that matters are getting worse and can only get worse from here. That said, because this show likes to keep things from getting so overly complicated those complications never end, or get out of control *cough*Lost,Heroes*cough* we can eventually expect a resolve that will manage to lead the show back to normalcy for the next story arc.
Unless the show decides to change its MO. So, yes, I do worry a little. And those cliffhangers can be pretty mean :/
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.... hahahaha, yes, that's exactly what I was hoping the episode would deliver too. *g* Or at least the characters worrying about each other ... we got a little of that in the van, with Peter fretting about Neal going to meet with the fence and Keller, but I was hoping for a whole lot more. Which is one of the big problems with heightened expectations, I guess ...
I had a feeling when I first started getting into WC that it was going to be one of those shows that would frustrate me a little bit in that area. It's not that it never delivers on the h/c, angst, etc, but it's never gonna be front and center, and I think I need to scale back my expectations a bit so as not to be disappointed.
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I'm very happy with the tendency of providing fast solutions in WC. I hate shows in which a big mystery is dragged on and on and on....But they have to be careful that they keep a propper pace. Normally it's like a rollercoster: a slow build up ending up in a speedy downwards spiral. This season was like "speed up, full stop, speed up" concerning the overall storyarc - I still have a whiplash. But I'm glad that they finally moving forward, never mind the speed.
I think there was enough built up for Mozzie - that's the guy who held a patsy to beat people up when he was twelfe. I know people tended to focus on the cute parts in TDoD, but Mozzie grew up in a very violent enviroment, and has no calms to use violence himself if he deems it necessary, and he can be very vengentful.
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True, I'd actually kind of forgotten about that part in TDoD. For me it was easy to see Mozzie having a darker side because he doesn't "really" have the same boundaries as Neal, and enjoys living life by his own rules much more than Neal does (because we know Neal was willing to give that life up, while Mozzie would rather he didn't). We know Neal hates violence but we were never told if Mozzie is the same, so for me it left open the possibility of Mozzie having a darker side.
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Now that the rift between Neal and Mozzie has come to a head, I'm really looking forward to seeing what happens next week.
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But maybe I'm biased because I like Mozzie, and I want to like him.
I do think it wouldn't have worked as well with any random criminal. Keller was seen as a threat and threw everyone off their game, a random criminal wouldn't have. I wasn't impressed with the egyptologist, I would have preferred Alex.
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And I'm back to being excited about next week -- I'm really curious how things are going to play out! Though I'm not looking forward to the cliffhanger; this is the first time I'll have to deal with a White Collar cliffhanger in realtime ...
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Cliffhanger :( But I'm sure you'll find something to do with the time *looks at dragon!Neal* xD
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I did like the way that this episode brought Neal and Mozzie's relationship to a possible breaking point. Because so far, Neal's actions under Mozzie's urging have had the potential to destroy his relationship with Peter. But for it to be a genuine choice for Neal, he needs to know that either way, he might lose something, and his trying to have it every way means he'll lose everything.
If they resolve this with a treasure-poofing deus ex machina, I will be very pissed. This needs to be Neal's choice. But so far they've been very good with follow-through on that sort of thing.
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But I love the character stuff that's going on right now. I agree with you, it needs to be a real choice, a real dilemma. And he's risking everything right now. Oh Neal. *clings* Can't wait for tonight!