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White Collar 4x14
No squee-harshing, please! I LOOOOOOOVED THIS EPISODE. ♥ ♥ ♥ I pretty much agree with everything Veleda_K said about it. I have really been loving the back half of this season, in general ... which shouldn't be a surprise, I always seem to like the second half better than the first half, and they're pretty consistent about the first part of the season ratcheting up the tension and trust issues, with the second half being where things get resolved and the characters' affection for each other is more firmly cemented.
One thing I have been particularly loving lately is that this is the first time that a major plot element has turned on what Elizabeth wants. Elizabeth tends to get the short end of the stick when it comes to how she thinks and feels about stuff -- she gets scenes, and she even gets plot, but what she doesn't really get is a focus on her thoughts and feelings. At most, we usually just get to see Elizabeth being worried or supportive or jealous or otherwise reacting to Peter and/or Neal's actions. She doesn't act so much as she reacts. And I love that in this case, we're getting an emotional arc for Elizabeth, over several episodes, that hinges on her internal struggle -- what she wants and she feels and, eventually, what she decides.
And the resolution of the arc was basically perfect: the show did deal with it, didn't just brush it under the rug (which I really appreciate!) but they dealt in the same low-key way that they dealt with, say, the fallout from the first half of season three. There is some anger, but mostly just TALKING TO EACH OTHER LIKE GROWNUPS. (I think it's interesting that the characters are, by and large, more forgiving of each other and more charitable towards each other than the fandom tends to be on their behalf ...)
And I really enjoyed the Sara/Neal interaction in this episode. I think one reason I enjoy Neal and Sara so much is because it's so vanishingly rare on TV to have a lead character involved in a romantic relationship that doesn't play out in a typical "UST building to True Love Forever" kind of way. I could imagine a Sara/Neal happy-ever-after being the eventual endgame (and I'll be quite happy if the series ends in that place) but in the meantime they have a fascinating low-key "friends with benefits" type of relationship that is incredibly rare on TV. It's not a True Love thing, but it's definitely not just sex; they are clearly friends first and foremost, and like each other, and enjoy doing things together. You can imagine them being happy together as a couple, or being happy for each other and still being friends if they end up with other people. They are very much NOT Neal/Kate 2.0 or Peter/Elizabeth 2.0, which is great - they shouldn't be! They should be their own thing, and they are. I hope Sara doesn't move to London, at least not permanently, but I love that for Neal, the most important thing is for her to follow her dreams and be fulfilled and happy.
Tons of wonderful character stuff in this one: Peter oh-so-sneakily feeding Neal clues (helping while not-helping), Neal and Mozzie watching Satchmo, Sara's loyalty to Neal and Peter and Elizabeth ... SO MUCH LOVE. ♥ And the guest "bad guys" were great! I really liked the Bonnie & Clyde couple, and I liked the actors portraying them.
Oh, and did anyone else notice - The title of this episode was "Shoot the Moon" and ... they literally DID, in the scene in which Oz demonstrates that his gun has real bullets. *facepalm*
Only two more episodes to go in the season, oh noooooooooo.
One thing I have been particularly loving lately is that this is the first time that a major plot element has turned on what Elizabeth wants. Elizabeth tends to get the short end of the stick when it comes to how she thinks and feels about stuff -- she gets scenes, and she even gets plot, but what she doesn't really get is a focus on her thoughts and feelings. At most, we usually just get to see Elizabeth being worried or supportive or jealous or otherwise reacting to Peter and/or Neal's actions. She doesn't act so much as she reacts. And I love that in this case, we're getting an emotional arc for Elizabeth, over several episodes, that hinges on her internal struggle -- what she wants and she feels and, eventually, what she decides.
And the resolution of the arc was basically perfect: the show did deal with it, didn't just brush it under the rug (which I really appreciate!) but they dealt in the same low-key way that they dealt with, say, the fallout from the first half of season three. There is some anger, but mostly just TALKING TO EACH OTHER LIKE GROWNUPS. (I think it's interesting that the characters are, by and large, more forgiving of each other and more charitable towards each other than the fandom tends to be on their behalf ...)
And I really enjoyed the Sara/Neal interaction in this episode. I think one reason I enjoy Neal and Sara so much is because it's so vanishingly rare on TV to have a lead character involved in a romantic relationship that doesn't play out in a typical "UST building to True Love Forever" kind of way. I could imagine a Sara/Neal happy-ever-after being the eventual endgame (and I'll be quite happy if the series ends in that place) but in the meantime they have a fascinating low-key "friends with benefits" type of relationship that is incredibly rare on TV. It's not a True Love thing, but it's definitely not just sex; they are clearly friends first and foremost, and like each other, and enjoy doing things together. You can imagine them being happy together as a couple, or being happy for each other and still being friends if they end up with other people. They are very much NOT Neal/Kate 2.0 or Peter/Elizabeth 2.0, which is great - they shouldn't be! They should be their own thing, and they are. I hope Sara doesn't move to London, at least not permanently, but I love that for Neal, the most important thing is for her to follow her dreams and be fulfilled and happy.
Tons of wonderful character stuff in this one: Peter oh-so-sneakily feeding Neal clues (helping while not-helping), Neal and Mozzie watching Satchmo, Sara's loyalty to Neal and Peter and Elizabeth ... SO MUCH LOVE. ♥ And the guest "bad guys" were great! I really liked the Bonnie & Clyde couple, and I liked the actors portraying them.
Oh, and did anyone else notice - The title of this episode was "Shoot the Moon" and ... they literally DID, in the scene in which Oz demonstrates that his gun has real bullets. *facepalm*
Only two more episodes to go in the season, oh noooooooooo.