elrhiarhodan

Doing the dish a little differently this week.

I finally realized something - after nearly three seasons of Dishing, that I don't get the chance to enjoy the episode as it airs because I'm trying to capture my thoughts about it in real time. So I miss a lot...and that's no fun. I've looked over the responses to this Dish, and tbh, most of them don't start coming in until 11 pm or midnight, hours after the show's ended.

So - going forward, since I since I DVR the episode anyway and can rewatch it immediately, I'm going to stop the real time squeeing, focus on enjoying the episode, and THEN formulate my thoughts, okay???

But in the interim, if you do want to get the ball rolling, please feel free to start your comments and add your thoughts, thinky or otherwise.



First Impressions

I heard the news today, oh boy,
Four thousand holes in Blackburn, Lancashire
And though the holes were rather small
They had to count them all
Now they know how many holes it takes
To fill the Albert Hall
I'd love to turn you on.

A Day in the Life, Lyrics by John Lennon.


Yeah - Parting Shots is a good, FUN episode, but the story is not it’s strength. Let’s face it, the capers are rarely very solid, but this one, in particular, was more than a little weak. But it was also fun.

We got Sara in the plot in a way that made terrific sense. There’s an insurance payout, she’s an insurance investigator - as my friend rabidchild67 (of Rabid Squee fame) would say: “There ya go!”

Frequent readers of the Post Ep Dish know that I like Sara - I like her character, I like the actress, and I like the Neal/Sara pairing. What’s not to like about watching two smart, sexy people do sexy things to each other?

But that’s not to say that her role has been flawless - the Pulling Strings debacle was horrific example of a fine character given a ludicrous backstory, and I have to put the blame for that squarely on the WhiCo Writers and JE…

But back to Parting Shots, I liked her reintroduction in this episode. A nice amount of snark, a bit of banter and that - as they say - is that. Sara makes it clear she hasn’t been carrying a torch for Neal, and Neal seems just a little, well, cowed? Put out? Definitely unhappy about being pimped out to the blonde and lovely Sophie Covington, particularly in front of Sara, who seems equally put out. But Sara is Sara, and she pulls herself together and focuses on the job.

And since this is the Dish, what’s the Dish without some squeezing/flailing/random comments:

We finally have confirmation that Neal is actually paid SOMETHING, although it surprises me that he doesn’t have direct deposit :) Though this sort of contradicts Peter’s statements in S3.04 - The Dentist of Detroit, when Peter says “This is why we pay you the big bucks” Neal gives him a dirty look, and Peter continues, “If we paid you.” I for one, am glad that Neal is getting paid - it means he has healthcare too. And to continue to digress, that makes the Hurt/Comforteer in me very happy, because he seems to spend a lot of time in hospitals these days.

Peter is too easily creeped out. And those are really not fake glass eyes - those are, for lack of a better term, gag eyes or even an opthamologist’s model eyes. They aren’t prosthetic eyes, which are sort of shield-shaped, rather that a complete eyeball, and are even creepier. (Please take note, I am behaving myself and NOT including a picture of a real glass eye, just because I have the time to add the link).

With regards to Patterson, Peter’s boss - I have ideas about him, and once I have some time (and hopefully soon) I’m going to do a fic on that. I don’t think he’s anywhere nearly as bad as he’s actually behaving. I think there are reasons.

Getting out of Act One - I like how they did the almost kidnapping scene - interspersing Neal’s dawning realization of the danger with the military salute.

A word about that.

Ridiculous.

It looks like the memorial is at Grant’s Tomb (checking DVR now, for the first time). Yup - Grant’s Tomb. I’m not going to go into the legalities of firing any type of salute at the official resting place of a U.S. President - but you don’t just to “request” a 21-Gun salute at your memorial service. It’s an honor reserved for Presidents, heads of state and reigning monarchs, and recipients of the Medal of Honor.

Okay, ‘nuff said.

The pretty blonde widow is sort of meh as a character, but I can see that she’s just the type of woman who’d appeal to a certain part of Neal. She’s got a lot of good qualities - she's smart, intensely vulnerable, mysterious, down to earth, and she appreciates art. Sort of an upscale version of Kate.

As I kept commenting to my pal jrosemary (of White Collar Fixation note and fame), and she commenting back as the ep was airing, Sophie Covington comes across as a little too good to be true. I wish she had a bit more bite to her. Not that she’s a doormat or a cipher - it’s just that I wanted her to be a bit more realistic. Donate all $50 million??? Nah.

You know, I just realized something - Season Four is breaking with tradition - in S2 and S3, the fourth episode was a Mozzie ep - By the Book and the aforementioned Dentist of Detroit. I sort of miss that. Moz has some fine, fine moments here. I particularly love his interactions with Aunt Ellen.

And speaking of Aunt Ellen - what’s not to love about her tales of Wee Conman Neal! I wonder if that was the start of Neal’s aversion to watch-wearing (Matt Bomer commented that Neal doesn’t wear a watch at the Paley Event in May 2010, but he certainly knows his watches, as demonstrated in the limo scene in this episode).

As much as the plot was filled with holes, there was so very much to love. The banter between Peter and Neal when Peter completely failed at giving him an alias is one of the best exchanges between them since the “Bad Cop - Good Criminal” scene in Need to Know (even though Peter preferring Eisenhower is simply wrong. “Eisen” is German for “Iron”).

Can I say something about the scene where Peter gives his statement to Diana? (Of course I can, this is my Dish, after all). When I saw it in previews, I actually thought that Neal was only there in Peter’s head the first time I watched it. Neal had almost no interaction with anyone else, and it wasn’t until J-Ro pointed out that Hughes dismissed Neal that I realized that Neal wasn’t just a figment of Peter’s imagination. I am re-reading too much of my own fic.

I am pretty much going to skip to the highlights now:

Neal dodging the tail - the smile he gives to Peter and Clinton;

Reconvening Burke’s Seven at the Burke Residence, less Mozzie (who is entertaining Aunt Ellen, and Diana, who is probably planning her wedding). At least Peter still has a badge in this episode.

Moz trying to dig up dirt on Neal’s childhood - but asking if he wore ties to preschool is a little odd, since when he and Neal met, Neal wasn’t a suit kind of guy (Forging Bonds)

Peter’s bad puns

Hughes - “Don’t worry, I’ll be there to keep an eye on you. Ever tell you how much I hate that van.” If I were Copperbadge and keeping score, I’d say that Reese Hughes wins the episode. For this scene, and for what comes afterwards - the annoyance, the facepalm - and then giving Peter the go-ahead to take Mailer down.

YAY for Clinton taking off Neal’s anklet, though we don’t actually SEE him doing it. I wonder if there was any talus tickling that we weren’t privileged to see.

Neal’s quick thinking in the limo - getting Sophie safe and out of the car. Impressive.

I don’t know that if I were Mailer, I’d buy the brand of cheese Neal’s selling - but this is White Collar, and Neal can sell anything to anyone, right? And it’s true - a dead body’s a pain to get rid of. I should know :D

And for the record, this tuxedo is an improvement on the one he wore for Dentist, and no slick-backed hair, either. But his bow tie seems all out of proportion.

I love the scene between Hughes and Peter - “Careful, Peter - I don’t want you to wake up one day and not recognize yourself.” Hughes clearly has the same worries about him that Kramer (die die die die die die die) does.

Even better is when Neal reads out the board’s decision regarding Peter. “It is our recommendation that he be reinstated as Special Agent in Charge of the Manhattan White Collar Division, effective immediately.” We finally have a full title for Peter Burke - he’s SAIC!

And then there’s the eye-fucking between Neal and Peter as Neal gives the toast - “To Peter Burke, the man we all wish we could be more like.”

And the canon back story just keeps coming - Sara’s sister has a name - Emily. And from the way she speaks - she was borrowing Sara’s clothes - it seems that she’s the younger sister. I definitely got the impression from Power Play that her sister was older. Hmmm.

The climatic scene - wow! I mean I knew this was going to happen - there were spoilers out about a death of an important, but non-major character - for months. But my heart aches for Neal.

Is it the week after next, yet?

Remember - this is a wank-free zone, no character bashing, no mean-spirited comments, no ass-hattery of any shape or form will be tolerated. I am an admirer of John Scalzi and his blog Whatever. He doesn't hesitate to wield the modly Mallet of Doom, and I won't either.