White Collar 4.12 Brass Tacks
... aka the one where El starts channeling my Kate.
OH, PETER. *SQUISHES HIM* He looks so hurt, knowing that Neal just lied to his face. And he has NO IDEA that El is lying to him, too. That's the last thing he would ever expect, and it's going to mess him up. And if Neal gets hurt going off on his own because El told him to ... oh, this is going to be a godawful mess.
And part of me wants to be pissed at El - I am extremely defensive of Neal, and when she says "do you know how it feels?" I want to shriek at the screen because OMG YES HE DOES HELLO. But at the same time ... yes, El is absolutely wrong but I think she's totally in character, too.
And Neal is equally capable of doing stupid, wrong things when people he loves get hurt, and I love him all the more for it.
El does have a cold, ruthless streak when it comes to protecting Peter, and she'll sacrifice anyone else she has to to keep him safe. This goes all the way back to 1.09 when she tells Neal to break into the judge's chamber and steal that tape - she knows Neal could go to prison for that and it's a risk she's willing to take. Likewise, when she tells him in 2.14 that she wants him to do "whatever it takes" to bring Peter home, she knows he could end up in prison or getting hurt as a result, going against Hughes' orders, but Peter's safety is her priority and she's willing to sacrifice Neal if that's what it takes.
Because here's the thing about Neal and El - she trusts him. I think she's the only character who does, completely. She trusts him more than she loves him (which is the opposite of every other character on the show). She tells him what to do, here, and she absolutely trusts that he will obey her. When she says "when it counts, you can trust him" this is what she means - she can order him to break the law to protect Peter and she knows he'll do it. And that trust is something Neal doesn't really get from anyone else.
(And the other reason why I like El in this is because she's totally channeling my Kate. In my head Kate is exactly the same way about Neal; she has that same coldness in her, and that same willingness to do anything to protect Neal, and both Neal and Peter see Kate and El as sweet and perfect and innocent and incapable of hurting anyone.)
Part of me is just delighted that El gets to be wrong and stupid and sharp-edged and not perfect. I like that she gets to have flaws, and screw up because she's hurt and scared. And I like that Peter and El's relationship is not perfect. They're going to have trust issues, after this.
I just hope the writers are going to actually deal with the fallout from all this, between the three four of them (because if anything happens to Neal because El told him to lie, that's going to affect El and Mozzie's relationship, too *hides from the plotbunny*).
OH, PETER. *SQUISHES HIM* He looks so hurt, knowing that Neal just lied to his face. And he has NO IDEA that El is lying to him, too. That's the last thing he would ever expect, and it's going to mess him up. And if Neal gets hurt going off on his own because El told him to ... oh, this is going to be a godawful mess.
And part of me wants to be pissed at El - I am extremely defensive of Neal, and when she says "do you know how it feels?" I want to shriek at the screen because OMG YES HE DOES HELLO. But at the same time ... yes, El is absolutely wrong but I think she's totally in character, too.
And Neal is equally capable of doing stupid, wrong things when people he loves get hurt, and I love him all the more for it.
El does have a cold, ruthless streak when it comes to protecting Peter, and she'll sacrifice anyone else she has to to keep him safe. This goes all the way back to 1.09 when she tells Neal to break into the judge's chamber and steal that tape - she knows Neal could go to prison for that and it's a risk she's willing to take. Likewise, when she tells him in 2.14 that she wants him to do "whatever it takes" to bring Peter home, she knows he could end up in prison or getting hurt as a result, going against Hughes' orders, but Peter's safety is her priority and she's willing to sacrifice Neal if that's what it takes.
Because here's the thing about Neal and El - she trusts him. I think she's the only character who does, completely. She trusts him more than she loves him (which is the opposite of every other character on the show). She tells him what to do, here, and she absolutely trusts that he will obey her. When she says "when it counts, you can trust him" this is what she means - she can order him to break the law to protect Peter and she knows he'll do it. And that trust is something Neal doesn't really get from anyone else.
(And the other reason why I like El in this is because she's totally channeling my Kate. In my head Kate is exactly the same way about Neal; she has that same coldness in her, and that same willingness to do anything to protect Neal, and both Neal and Peter see Kate and El as sweet and perfect and innocent and incapable of hurting anyone.)
Part of me is just delighted that El gets to be wrong and stupid and sharp-edged and not perfect. I like that she gets to have flaws, and screw up because she's hurt and scared. And I like that Peter and El's relationship is not perfect. They're going to have trust issues, after this.
I just hope the writers are going to actually deal with the fallout from all this, between the three four of them (because if anything happens to Neal because El told him to lie, that's going to affect El and Mozzie's relationship, too *hides from the plotbunny*).