I had a thought! (Quick, catch it before it gets away!)

[sholio]

This is pure speculation on my part - I am (almost) completely unspoiled for the last two White Collar episodes of the season (I haven't even seen the promos) and would like to remain that way. PLEASE DO NOT SPOIL ME. Speculation is welcome, however. :D

Here's my thought: We know there's going to be a cliffhanger at the end of the season (there's always a cliffhanger). I have a new idea for what it might be - Peter goes to prison. Or, if not quite that dire, then the cliffhanger will be Peter being stripped of his badge and Neal being assigned to another handler.

I know they kinda did this already in "Burke's Seven", which is one thing that makes me think they might not go this direction. But with the "Kramer is now investigating Peter" twist in the latest episode, I can easily see it going this way, with Neal's commutation hearing turning into a desperate battle for Peter to keep his job - which he is unlikely to win, because, unlike in "Burke's Seven", it's not a frame job; he actually did everything he's accused of doing!

Like I said in my episode reaction, I'm delighted with Kramer as a well-intentioned antagonist (assuming the show doesn't reveal him to be a genuine bad guy, which I really hope they don't). I'm trying not to get my hopes up too much, but, as much as I adore Peter, I would LOVE it if the show really takes a serious shot at Peter suffering consequences for his violations of procedure (and not in the obnoxious "only bad guys would dare question Our Heroes' good intentions!" way that SGA did in The Episode Which Shall Not Be Named *g*). Because, the thing is, just about every badge-carrying cop, law enforcement and military character out there in TV land is shown violating procedure and committing various infringements of other people's civil rights under the aegis of "they were guilty, so it's okay!" while the show blithely presents it as a good thing. I am willing to handwave a certain amount of this, because it's just entertainment and I try not to take it too seriously, but it does bother me if I think about it too hard - because the regulations that limit cops' powers are there for good reasons. Conveniently "losing" evidence that implicates a friend, or framing a bad guy when you know he's guilty but can't prove it, is a big loooong step on a slippery slope that leads nowhere good. And even though I am willing to handwave it under the banner of wish fulfillment, I would LOVE to see a show portray it as Not A Good Thing, just once.

I really am trying not to hope too hard for this. For one thing, I think there's only an outside chance that the show would actually do it. And I don't want to see Peter lose his job permanently (well, he couldn't; the premise of the show wouldn't allow for it). But if WC really does take a serious crack at putting one of their main characters in genuine danger of losing his job because he's broken the rules in the way TV characters do all the time and get away with, I will love this show FOREVER. (I mean, more than I already do. *g*)

Comments

[leonie_alastair]

I gave up on Hawaii 5O after the first couple of episodes because the police abuse (of both people and regulations) was too much for me to hand wave away. It wasn't helped by the show's mixing of military and police methods and personnel as though they were and should be interchangeable.

The misuse of police/legal procedures doesn't bother me as much in White Collar, I'm not sure why. The protagonists are cuter? More articulate and less violent? However, I do occasionally wonder at their attempts at legality. I'm pretty sure that Sara's possession of a key to her ex-boyfriend's apartment doesn't give her the right to authorize a warrantless search. *g*

Regarding the season ending, I'm leaning towards Kramer setting up a situation where Neal is forced to choose between Peter's career (or possibly Diana's) and having his sentence commuted.

[frith_in_thorns]

I'm leaning towards Kramer setting up a situation where Neal is forced to choose between Peter's career (or possibly Diana's) and having his sentence commuted.

Ooh, I like that idea!

[sholio]

I like that one too. :D Especially if Peter is also willing to testify on Neal's behalf even if it puts his career at risk (hey, characters sacrificing for each other is one of my big narrative kinks!).

Or maybe they'll both end up in prison. XD Which would be kind of awesome, at least in the very, very short term.

[leonie_alastair]

Now you have to write that! With Neal as the protector, because he knows the ins and outs of the prison system!

[sholio]

Yes, exactly! Heh, I now have about half a dozen ideas for AU versions of this scenario that I want to write. *g* I'm not sure if I want to write any of them before the finale, since I don't want to risk getting halfway through a story and then have canon do that exact thing (this used to happen to me in SGA all the time *g*), but once the finale is over ... oh yes. :D

[sholio]

Yeah, my frustration with the characters' flouting of procedure was one of the reasons I stopped watching NCIS. But it doesn't bother me as much on WC, either. I think it's at least partly because it's a very nonviolent show -- there is very little police-on-suspect violence -- and a lot of the time, the show at least pays lip service to getting warrants and such. There have been a couple episodes that skeeved me (like the one where they get the guy to confess by convincing him that he's dying) but for the most part, it's a lot better than most shows are. I'd still love to see it seriously addressed, but in order to do that the writers would have to realize that the characters are actually doing something wrong, and I'm not sure that they do!

I like your idea, though. :D I can definitely see Neal having to make that choice!

[leonie_alastair]

My biggest problem with WC isn't the misuse of police procedure - it's that everyone on the show (with the exception of Neal) owns at least one car! And drives around Manhattan! Where on-street parking is rarer than diamonds and garage parking in midtown is currently running an amazing $50+ a day. Every time they work a scene around a car all I can think is "Oh yeah, the writers are based in LA where cars are part of the language. Cause that just won't work in Manhattan."