Post Ep Dish - White Collar - S3.10
Aug. 9th, 2011 10:14 pm![[personal profile]](https://www.dreamwidth.org/img/silk/identity/user.png){kind=small}
elrhiarhodanI can’t believe it - this is the big one. The summer season finale. I have had such mixed feeling about this episode - this whole season. The treasure arc - it really burned me from the beginning - the callous use of Nazi atrocities as a plot device. The twist of Mozzie into someone unrecognizable.
But we’ve been promised a redemption.
Here we go. Not too much squeeing - I’m going to try and concentrate.
I run on this - New York is just a memory. Gah - That breaks my heart.
But the rift between Neal and Moz - that doesn’t. It’s about time he cut his ties there.
That statute keeps changing. It was a young girl a few eps ago.
Peter is definitely being very evil
And I called the Tsarkoye Selo loot months ago.
The ultimatum - Neal needs to stay. He needs to stay. Just knock that hourglass to the floor and tell Moz you’re done.
The PROM PICTURE!!!!
The Archeologist - Neal’s loosened him up
“Gotham City’s Finest Cop and Robber” - I do love that!
Once a con, always a con? Love that as a question. “People can change.”
Neal looks very nervous - and his eyes are exceedingly blue in the interrogation room.
Peter and Neal are chatting about Homer. This is why I LOVE THIS SHOW. The writers are sometimes not afraid to scare away their viewers with intelligence
Why did Peter signal his intent from 30 feet away?
I wonder if ERT can pull deep data
Ah shit - Agent Matthews. Neal - you are so screwed.
Neal - I got to say - you are brilliant. But can you keep it up
Diana - you are a gun slut! The way were eyes are lit up.
Peter - you’re breaking my heart. You’ve all but told Neal you’re going to lock him away for the rest of his life. Why would he want to stay now?
And Keller - he is an evil, oily bastard.
Beater and chinos - Neal is forging art
Neal and that toothpick - I’mma needing my bunk right now.
Moz and a mustache. Just call him Bazooka Joe?
(Love the music - it’s really terrific - but so out-of-show character)
Peter - what gives? You go from “I want to see his face” to shoving him in a closet
Where is the apartment’s owner? Ah - there he is.
And no one sees or pays attention to a black parachute floating around downtown?
Peter looks heartbroken, and Neal turns the knife just a little bit. “Sorry Peter, I know how much you wanted this.”
PETER KNOWS! That smile - he knows.
NO! Neal doesn’t want to leave. Oh, save my heart. He’s made the right choice
EL! NO! OH SAVE MY HEART.
This is it folks - the last Dish for the next four months. Your thoughts - thinky, not so thinky. And many hugs please - because this is killing me.
But we’ve been promised a redemption.
Here we go. Not too much squeeing - I’m going to try and concentrate.
I run on this - New York is just a memory. Gah - That breaks my heart.
But the rift between Neal and Moz - that doesn’t. It’s about time he cut his ties there.
That statute keeps changing. It was a young girl a few eps ago.
Peter is definitely being very evil
And I called the Tsarkoye Selo loot months ago.
The ultimatum - Neal needs to stay. He needs to stay. Just knock that hourglass to the floor and tell Moz you’re done.
The PROM PICTURE!!!!
The Archeologist - Neal’s loosened him up
“Gotham City’s Finest Cop and Robber” - I do love that!
Once a con, always a con? Love that as a question. “People can change.”
Neal looks very nervous - and his eyes are exceedingly blue in the interrogation room.
Peter and Neal are chatting about Homer. This is why I LOVE THIS SHOW. The writers are sometimes not afraid to scare away their viewers with intelligence
Why did Peter signal his intent from 30 feet away?
I wonder if ERT can pull deep data
Ah shit - Agent Matthews. Neal - you are so screwed.
Neal - I got to say - you are brilliant. But can you keep it up
Diana - you are a gun slut! The way were eyes are lit up.
Peter - you’re breaking my heart. You’ve all but told Neal you’re going to lock him away for the rest of his life. Why would he want to stay now?
And Keller - he is an evil, oily bastard.
Beater and chinos - Neal is forging art
Neal and that toothpick - I’mma needing my bunk right now.
Moz and a mustache. Just call him Bazooka Joe?
(Love the music - it’s really terrific - but so out-of-show character)
Peter - what gives? You go from “I want to see his face” to shoving him in a closet
Where is the apartment’s owner? Ah - there he is.
And no one sees or pays attention to a black parachute floating around downtown?
Peter looks heartbroken, and Neal turns the knife just a little bit. “Sorry Peter, I know how much you wanted this.”
PETER KNOWS! That smile - he knows.
NO! Neal doesn’t want to leave. Oh, save my heart. He’s made the right choice
EL! NO! OH SAVE MY HEART.
This is it folks - the last Dish for the next four months. Your thoughts - thinky, not so thinky. And many hugs please - because this is killing me.
![[identity profile]](https://www.dreamwidth.org/img/silk/identity/openid.png){kind=small}
no subject
Date: 2011-08-10 02:26 am (UTC)*clings*
*cries*
WHY JEFF EASTIN WHYYYYYYYYY
no subject
Date: 2011-08-10 12:48 pm (UTC)WHY OH WHY? JEFF EASTIN - I AM GOING TO GO QUIETLY INSANE BECAUSE OF YOU!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!
no subject
Date: 2011-08-10 02:26 am (UTC)I knew Neal was going to stay.
no subject
Date: 2011-08-10 12:50 pm (UTC)I think the decision to give us Neal's decision now - and to let us focus on El's peril for the next four months, was a masterstroke.
no subject
Date: 2011-08-10 02:28 am (UTC)The giant hourglass (the sands of time days of our lives).
Satchmo isn't much of a watchdog. Bad dog.
Neal is the one who brings Peter out of the fog.
I hope Neal told Mozzie about Elizabeth (Moz is going to shit).
How many times are they going to let Keller get away? I know he's their favorite "go to" bad guy, but really. If he doesn't get caught and stay caught over EL then, well, seriously?
no subject
Date: 2011-08-10 04:10 am (UTC)no subject
Date: 2011-08-10 12:53 pm (UTC)Satchmo is a terrible, terrible watchdog.
I have my thoughts on how this ends (and they are much happier than they were last week).
And I agree that it's really time to wrap it up with Keller, as great a character as he is. It's time to get the sharp knives out and let the butchers go to work.
(no subject)
From:(no subject)
From:(no subject)
From:(no subject)
From:(no subject)
From:(no subject)
From:no subject
Date: 2011-08-10 02:38 am (UTC)I love Neal and Peter.
I'd also like to point out that technically, Neal didn't steal the treasure. Mozzie did, and planted his painting too! I think Moz should take the fall for this one.
no subject
Date: 2011-08-10 12:57 pm (UTC)(no subject)
From:no subject
Date: 2011-08-10 02:58 am (UTC)I've been pondering Peter's behavior in this episode what with trying to catch Neal, and I've come to the conclusion that Peter was trying to coerce Neal into giving up the treasure before the FBI finds it. If he can get Neal to cop to him instead of being caught with it, then Peter has a chance to save him.
But Peter is Peter, and so in the end he will go after Neal, even if he cares deeply about him. I loved that conversation between Peter and his mentor in the beginning. I want to smoosh Peter into a hug.
And then OMG EL!!! I knew it was going to happen, but OMG!!! Tim DeKay is an acting GOD. Seriously. I thought he did a superb job with the ending scenes. -hugs him-
Keller, I hope you're ready to die. <3 He's such a terrible bad guy...which makes him AWESOME!! We have waaaaay too long of a wait. -sulks-
no subject
Date: 2011-08-10 01:28 pm (UTC)I was not so clean on Peter's motivations. On one hand, he wanted to see Neal's face when the Degas was revealed, and on the other hand, he shoves him in a storage room when he finds Neal's lockpicks. That was a little strange.
But the problem I have had with Peter is that he's handling Neal all wrong - he should know how Neal's mind works - how easily he can be lead into doing the right thing. I've felt, all season long - that if he used a softer touch, Neal would have rolled over and giving him his belly to scratch.
But that would have meant a lot less conflict and tension and character development.
And a lot less anxiety on my part.
How is Princess doing?
(no subject)
From:no subject
Date: 2011-08-10 03:06 am (UTC)This was a real "on the edge of your seat" episode. I thought it was well-paced, and had a good balance of character interactions and action.
Loved that Mozzie and Neal finally actually talked about what *Neal* wants. Totally agree about the, "I run on this..." line. Gah, indeed.
Thought it was really interesting that Kramer wasn't convinced that Neal is reformed, but *was* convinced that he wants to be there. And that whole earlier conversation about Peter being too close to Neal, Kramer's C.I., and "people can change" - good stuff.
I also totally agree about the Homer conversation. Loved seeing Peter and Neal being intelligent with each other (even if they are still at odds).
I had the same reaction to Agent Matthews' appearance...*and* to Neal getting around it.
Anytime we get to see Neal making art, it is a good thing.
Keller is slimy and evil and needs to be taken down.
I'm willing to forgive the failure of anyone to notice the parachute, in light of everything else about that whole sequence. I loved it all, from Mozzie with the mustache and the bazooka through Neal slipping out just as Peter and Diana are arriving, and the "other way down" was way cool.
Kramer on the forged Degas: "It's the best I've ever seen." And suddenly, Peter *knows*. Fist pump.
Neal decides to stay!
I called the cliffhanger before the episode, so I found the whole sequence where Peter is working late and El is home alone very worrisome. The bit where Keller quotes El back to Peter was genuinely chilling.
I'm not actually worried that they will kill or seriously hurt El, so it's kind of like last year with Mozzie - it's not so much about what happens to the "character in peril," but about how the events that led up to the peril (and the peril itself) will effect the characters and their relationships.
Or, a shorter reaction to the episode: "Wow!"
no subject
Date: 2011-08-10 01:33 pm (UTC)I do have to agree - and Neal's talents are beyond comprehension. He perfectly recreates a Degas that he hasn't seen in person except very briefly - when his brain is trying to process the entire storeroom full of treasure. And while there are pictures of the work in books - those are at least 70 years old!
All in all - a magnificent episode.
And the ending? OMFG!!!!!!!!!!!!!
(no subject)
From:(no subject)
From:(no subject)
From:no subject
Date: 2011-08-10 03:21 am (UTC)And I was pretty grrrr at the end. Kate killed as motivator, now El kidnapped as motivator. At least I trust the writers to show that El's smarts will help her get out of it, even though Peter and Neal et al will help too of course. But what really made me gripe this season is that there used to be moral ambiguity (Neal sometimes chose people over the rules, sometimes Peter was WAY wrong to trust the proper authorities to handle things justly in S1), but in this season, there has not been moral ambiguity. I think the writers THINK they are making Neal an antihero/exploring moral ambiguity - but they are not showing the WORLD as a morally ambiguous place if that makes any sense at all. It's all the criminals' fault, and the innocent ppl get hurt this season. (Exaggerating, but... O am grumpy because I don't want to spend several months wondering what kind of relationship Peter and Neal will have). And as soon as Neal decided to not tell Peter about Keller, it was obvious Keller was going to kidnap someone (I thought Moz, then I saw El happy and not worried and knew...). So if Peter blames Neal and lashes out at Neal, I will not be a happy camper. (Even though Peter doing so would be understandable, cuz not telling them Keller is threatening something when Keller KNOWS Peter is Neal's weak spot is not okay).
So ... guesses for winter? Mine is that Peter is so upset but then Neal risks everything for El and Peter is forced to trust Neal again in order to work together to save El, and El kicks ass in some way too, and maybe Mozzie gets to shoot Keller. And then El makes Peter forgive Neal because she is in charge. All that in the first ep of the new season, is my guess :)
no subject
Date: 2011-08-10 03:23 am (UTC)no subject
Date: 2011-08-10 04:38 am (UTC)I know in fanfic land that's where a lot of writers will go (with Peter blaming Neal), but I don't see the show going that direction. At least not in any way that would be too deep.
(no subject)
From:(no subject)
From:(no subject)
From:(no subject)
From:no subject
Date: 2011-08-10 01:36 pm (UTC)I think the first ep is going to be pretty much as you called it. Neal will call Moz, who will ride to the rescue - and will free El, sacrifice the treasure for her (was there ever a woman more worth a few billion?), Peter will spank Neal, they will all have cuddles and everything will be fine.
(no subject)
From:(no subject)
From:no subject
Date: 2011-08-10 03:58 am (UTC)(Hi by the way. Lurker who reads your episode reviews.)
no subject
Date: 2011-08-10 01:41 pm (UTC)I loved this ep so much, the parachute floating around lower Manhattan was more funny than annoying. I agree that Moz probably collected it and went along his merry way.
I also think you're completely right about blase New Yorkers who'd go, "what ev" and keep on going. We're a very phegmatic bunch these days.
no subject
Date: 2011-08-10 04:20 am (UTC)(Who called Neal Peter's boy, btw?? I must know!!)
no subject
Date: 2011-08-10 04:40 am (UTC)(no subject)
From:(no subject)
From:(no subject)
From:no subject
Date: 2011-08-10 04:45 am (UTC)I thought this was mostly a great episode, except EL!!! D:
(no subject)
From:(no subject)
From:(no subject)
From:(no subject)
From:no subject
Date: 2011-08-10 05:30 am (UTC)Here it is:
(Anonymous) on August 4th, 2011 03:36 pm (local)
Neal has hit rock bottom
Prompt/Request: Neal has hit rock bottom
Characters: Neal, Peter, El, Moz, Keller, anyone else writer needs
I would Like: Mozzie, no longer trusting Neal, moves the loot so that he does not know where it is. In the meantime, Keller stalks Elizabeth. He won't stop terrorizing her and keeps stepping it up until or unless Neal turns over the Nazi loot which he now does not have. Peter doesn't believe him and throws Neal in a holding cell until Neal tells him where the loot is so he can save his wife.
Neal realizes no one trusts him, no one believes him or in him, they all think he thinks more of the loot than anyone else. He has to prove himself to save Elizabeth and to get back what he treasures most, his friends. But how can he do it, guarded day and night in a cage in the depths of the F.B.I. building?
I Don't Want: Suicide, self harm, Neal crying. Giving up the loot can be part of it but not the whole thing because Peter can't be bought.
---------------------
So aside from yelling throughout this that I wrote it first, I was really not surprised about this episode at all. This has happened to me a few time before but not this exactly.
Okay, I think Moz will be back. I think that's a no brainer.
I agree, parachuting from a very high building in New York and no one sees, give me a break.
You know what gets me though, more and more, what they are doing to Peter. The only thing he has been wrong about is accusing Neal of stealing the Nazi loot because he really never did.
Everything else he's been right about and it's as if Neal is gaslighting him. He's always left with that one niggling doubt which always turns out to be true.
Okay, now to the last part, hey guys, mid season cliffy is *always* a red herring, always. Yes, Keller could have kidnapped El but that was made to look like a dream sequence.
This episode was very tense though however, once Keller came into the picture, and we all knew he would, I knew I'd nailed it somewhat.
no subject
Date: 2011-08-10 09:01 am (UTC)Now that you are mention it: Yes, it could be a dream sequence. I was a little bit irritated that the whole FBI team AND Neal would manage to be at Peter's home before him when he was already on his way there. But I handwaved it for the sake of the moment. A dream sequence could be an explanation - but I hope not, because a kidnapped El would be the one thing which would make Mozzie stay. (And personally, I hate dream sequences, I consider them cheating).
(no subject)
From:(no subject)
From:no subject
Date: 2011-08-10 01:02 pm (UTC)First off, I have to give props to the writers, especially JE. I have been particularly hard on him this season. And I really wasn't sure how he was going to get himself out of this mess. It's not over, but this ep went a long way toward fixing things. So, there I was sort of wrong! LOL
When I saw the Prom Picture I thought of you Elr! I knew you were squeeing! LOL
You know, Anna Chlumsky, she actually has a lot of chemistry to MB. I would not be terribly upset if they brought her back! I liked how she admitted she got scammed and that it was partly her own fault. Although in her defense, really who could resist Neal looking and acting all Nealish! I know I'd have fallen at his feet! LOL While she was mad at him (and had a right to), she wasn't bitter (or didn't seem to be). I think she came away from this experience a little wiser and probably a little thankful that it didn't blow up in her face (which it really could have). If she was going to be conned, thank god it was by Neal who has half a conscious, even if he doesn't always use it.
So, the beater and the chinos is Neal's forgery comfort clothes! I had to laugh when I saw that. The only thing better would have been if he lost the beater!
The toothpick was actually a turn off for me. It just seemed a little too trashy for Neal. But that's just my opinion! But I do love that outfit! :-)
The whole "lock Neal in a closet" was a plot device. It didn't make sense, will never make sense, but did make for some fun and silly moments in the ep. I loved Peter's speech to the guards.
I'll second, third, forth, whatever the number of commenters who said "You don't notice a man parachuting off the edge of the building?" I will give Tuppence credit, that is probably the one explanation that might work (the TV/Movie shot). But JE LOVES his big stunt at the mid-season finale and this was sort of fun. I still love the dive and flip off the bakery canopy the best, but mostly because I love the looks exchanged by Peter and Neal right after that!
And speaking of that look...It was the same sort of proud look that Peter got when he realized that Neal had forged the painting last night. That "Damn he's brilliant" and "I so want to bang him!" LOL Ok, that last thought might have been mine, but I still think it works!
The whole Keller thing. If they don't either kill the man or lock him up really good... ARGH! I get that the actor plays really great bad guys (he is awesome!) but come on people, I can only suspend disbelief so much.
I'll admit I didn't see the kidnapping bit. I was thinking that Keller would just use the threat of harming El to try to force Peter's hand, but now that I think about it, it does make sense. Some comments thought it might have been a dream sequence, I don't think so. I think it was Peter in a fog about the whole situation and didn't come out until he saw Neal. And yes, I can see Peter blaming Neal (to some extent) but because it is El, he knows that Neal will move heaven and earth to get her back. I was going to say that he's told Neal that he trusts Neal with his wife, but now I can't remember if it was in an ep or one of Elr's fanfics (I sometimes forget she's not writing canon! LOL). And Elizabeth is the one person that would force Mozzie to stay. He'll give up the treasure for her. And if he didn't, well then they would have to write Willie out of the show and somehow I don't think that is happening!
Thankfully I can breath a little easier for the next couple of months. But I can't wait to read the fanfic that comes out between now and then, it is going to be epic!
no subject
Date: 2011-08-10 01:52 pm (UTC)I loved the look that Peter gave Neal when what Kramer said hit home - that Neal probably forged the painting. It was that little smile that told me - yeah, Neal - I'm going to catch you, but I know you're not going to run, so we can dance a good long while.
The fanfic is going to be awesome - and very, very dark.
Writers - start your engines!
(no subject)
From:(no subject)
From:(no subject)
From:(no subject)
From:(no subject)
From:(no subject)
From:(no subject)
From:(no subject)
From:(no subject)
From:(no subject)
From:(no subject)
From:no subject
Date: 2011-08-10 08:38 pm (UTC)Sigh. Back to work. (But I'll have a short unexpected break after the bit I'm supposed to finish by the end of tomorrow. Here's hoping it'll be enough to let me finish you know what!)
no subject
Date: 2011-08-10 08:56 pm (UTC)I agree that JE has definitely redeemed his poopyheaded self. This was the best ep of the season, and certainly amongst my all time top five now. (Sadly consigns Free Fall to the sixth place in my Top Ten).