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.
Yes! This, exactly. El, in fanfic and on the show, often ends up being this perfect paragon of understanding wifely considerateness, and as much as I appreciate that the show hasn't gone to the opposite extreme of making her a jealous, controlling shrew, I really love that she got to join the boys' Really Stupid Ideas Club in this episode. *g* Because, yeah - Neal and Peter and Mozzie all do dumb, inconsiderate, hurtful things to their loved ones (generally by accident and/or with the best of intentions) and now El's doing it, too. She's always had that ruthless streak in her -- we've seen it before -- so it's not like it's coming out of nowhere.
I'm glad that the characters are flawed and human, and screw up and make dumb decisions; it's part of what makes them feel like real people.
I could be wrong here, but I don't actually expect that much of a reckoning when/if the truth comes out, though. I get the impression that by the end of the episode, Peter is already (mostly) over Neal lying to him, and I think he'd be able to move past El lying to him for much the same set of reasons. He understands what it is to lie to protect someone you care about; he's done it to/for Neal in the past. He might be temporarily upset or hurt, but I think that in both cases the reason why they did it (to keep him from being hurt) is so transparently obvious that it's something he's going to hold a grudge about.
The one lasting effect that I can plausibly see, however, is that since Neal has finally broken his unspoken "I'll never lie to you" promise, which is going to make it harder for Peter to believe him in the future -- in the past, at least, it was a given that the actual words that Neal was saying were true, even if there were lies of omission behind them, and Peter believed that. This is going to shake up that belief (which I don't really have a problem with; one thing I've said before about this season is that I'd like to see Peter lose some of his illusions about Neal, and I think he's lost one here).
Neal and Peter and Mozzie all do dumb, inconsiderate, hurtful things to their loved ones (generally by accident and/or with the best of intentions) and now El's doing it, too
Yes, exactly! I like that they all get a turn to screw things up, and do the wrong things for the right reasons. And my headcanon version of El and how she relates to Neal has always been a lot harder-edged than how they're usually written in fic. (IMO she's the only character on the show who trusts Neal more than she loves him. Which makes for a fascinating dynamic, but it's not a warm and fuzzy relationship.) It feels like a very realistic and in character mistake for her to make, as I see her.
I think Peter will be angry and upset when he finds out, but I don't think he'll stay angry for very long - Peter doesn't really hold grudges, and like you say, he won't agree with what she did but he'll totally understand why she did it.
What I'd really love to see is fallout between El and Mozzie. Because those two are always fun together, and Mozzie would have his own perspective on the situation. (I, um, might be halfway through writing this fic as we speak ... *g*)
Yes! This, exactly. El, in fanfic and on the show, often ends up being this perfect paragon of understanding wifely considerateness, and as much as I appreciate that the show hasn't gone to the opposite extreme of making her a jealous, controlling shrew, I really love that she got to join the boys' Really Stupid Ideas Club in this episode. *g* Because, yeah - Neal and Peter and Mozzie all do dumb, inconsiderate, hurtful things to their loved ones (generally by accident and/or with the best of intentions) and now El's doing it, too. She's always had that ruthless streak in her -- we've seen it before -- so it's not like it's coming out of nowhere.
I'm glad that the characters are flawed and human, and screw up and make dumb decisions; it's part of what makes them feel like real people.
I could be wrong here, but I don't actually expect that much of a reckoning when/if the truth comes out, though. I get the impression that by the end of the episode, Peter is already (mostly) over Neal lying to him, and I think he'd be able to move past El lying to him for much the same set of reasons. He understands what it is to lie to protect someone you care about; he's done it to/for Neal in the past. He might be temporarily upset or hurt, but I think that in both cases the reason why they did it (to keep him from being hurt) is so transparently obvious that it's something he's going to hold a grudge about.
The one lasting effect that I can plausibly see, however, is that since Neal has finally broken his unspoken "I'll never lie to you" promise, which is going to make it harder for Peter to believe him in the future -- in the past, at least, it was a given that the actual words that Neal was saying were true, even if there were lies of omission behind them, and Peter believed that. This is going to shake up that belief (which I don't really have a problem with; one thing I've said before about this season is that I'd like to see Peter lose some of his illusions about Neal, and I think he's lost one here).
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Yes, exactly! I like that they all get a turn to screw things up, and do the wrong things for the right reasons. And my headcanon version of El and how she relates to Neal has always been a lot harder-edged than how they're usually written in fic. (IMO she's the only character on the show who trusts Neal more than she loves him. Which makes for a fascinating dynamic, but it's not a warm and fuzzy relationship.) It feels like a very realistic and in character mistake for her to make, as I see her.
I think Peter will be angry and upset when he finds out, but I don't think he'll stay angry for very long - Peter doesn't really hold grudges, and like you say, he won't agree with what she did but he'll totally understand why she did it.
What I'd really love to see is fallout between El and Mozzie. Because those two are always fun together, and Mozzie would have his own perspective on the situation. (I, um, might be halfway through writing this fic as we speak ... *g*)
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