Episode Reaction - White Collar Season 3 Finale
Pretty much the dominant thought in my head just now is this:
OMG JEFF EASTIN WHAT DID YOU JUST DO??!?!?!?
I have so many other thoughts, but that sums it up pretty well.
For starters, we just got told in the last ep that Neal Caffrey isn't Neal's real name. (In case anyone missed it, Sara outright asked him if it was and he said "That's a long story" as the scene was transitioning.) As adorable as George is for his middle name, I'm betting his real name and the name we've all grown to love hearing Peter growl only have a couple vowels in common. ~_^
I started out not really trusting Kramer. I now officially hate his MFing a$$. <-- Okay, maybe that's overdoing it a bit, but still. Peter told him not to box Neal in. He warned him that it was the absolute wrong tactic to take with Neal. Kramer is so blinded by his previous big gay affair CI arrangement gone wrong that he refuses to accept the idea that Neal isn't the same person and wasn't destined to make the same mistakes.
And for the record? I'm willing to bet that Kramer and his former lover CI didn't clear anywhere near the caseload that Neal & Peter have. 94% is f*cking impossible under most circumstances in modern jurisprudence. IMHO, he wanted to steal Neal because he didn't understand that being able to work like that requires the right people in the right seats on the right bus going in the right direction.
Kramer saw everything that had been going on since Neal's release into FBI custody as Peter being hoodwinked and Neal not being on a tight enough leash. He wants Neal to be working under threat of prison all the time. Peter had it figured out in the first half of S1 that threatening Neal with prison all the time doesn't get you anywhere. To tame this con, you have to love him.
Yes, I did just paraphrase Angelus from Buffy S2. Ep 2x14 - Innocence, for those of you who can't place it. It fits, tho.
Finding out that Neal's father was a dirty cop and that his parents are both still alive isn't all that surprising. I do wish we could spend more time with his father's ex-partner, though. She has my interest. And my love for June Ellington (SQUEE!!!! WE GET HER LAST NAME FINALLY!) grows exponentially every time I see her.
Finding out that Neal's only 28, almost 29? That makes the whole Kate & Adler storyline even more implausible, JE. Seriously; learn from what NUMB3RS screwed up. Canon timelines don't stretch as far as they used to; you already exceeded Neal's in Forging Bonds (2x11) and you're staring to push the limits of Peter's. Less is more, dude.
Tying up the Raphael thing was so... dare I say lazy? I know JE has to include a female love interest for Neal because even though he doesn't even try to hide what he ships he does try to pay lip service to the conservative corporate types whose asses tight up like snare drums at the thought of a prostate exam, much less a functional homosexual relationship or consenting adult threesome. But resolving the Raphael was purely done so that when Neal winds up being able to come back to New York (note this is a when, not an if, because who are we kidding?), he and Sara don't have to have that hanging over their heads anymore and they can have their ridiculous affair without being dogged by an open Sterling Bosch investigation that makes Sara boffing our boy only a complete conflict of interest. There were so many more interesting things that could've been in those letters.
Or JE could've had Neal's gambit fail because Kate actually played true to form & had taken the damned thing. That would've been nice, instead of making her an angel. Not to speak ill of the dead, but she wasn't the same as Neal no matter how white you wash her. Everyone with ears knows that she was gonna take Neal's stash and run when Fowler's crew caught up with her in San Diego. Everybody knows she was pushing for the real location of the whole thing 'cause she was just gonna cut & run & leave Neal hanging. So why was that painting still there? That would've been soooooooo much more interesting if Neal had gone to get it, come up empty-handed, and been able to say he was just visiting an old friend so why was everyone getting so worked up? Yeah, Sara would've been facing an obstruction charge, but sometimes you play the hand you're dealt.
Of course, that would've put an end to the rekindling of their relationship, and that just wouldn't do for the network types. JE needs to slip the handcuffs they put on him and go to work.
But how can you not love Peter at the end? Knowing exactly what Neal would do, knowing that what he was about to say would mean nothing because Neal wouldn't be there to see it come to fruition, he still gave Neal the high sign and let Neal go. There's no question that he had to, but my heart was in my gorram throat watching it. I ached for him, especially with that stone face he was wearing when Diana said the words and made it real.
He knew the only way to protect Neal was to cut him loose and let him fly, and then try to follow where he leads. If that's not love, honest-to-God real love, I don't know what is.
And Neal's faaaaaaace... OMG Neal trying to smile when he's just absolutely dying inside. I can't even... first Dean and now Neal and whyyyyyyyyy are you all torturing my boys? Someone let them live passionately in love with their true loves for the rest of their lives already, huh? Please?
/iz ded
Summer cannot come fast enough.
OMG JEFF EASTIN WHAT DID YOU JUST DO??!?!?!?
I have so many other thoughts, but that sums it up pretty well.
For starters, we just got told in the last ep that Neal Caffrey isn't Neal's real name. (In case anyone missed it, Sara outright asked him if it was and he said "That's a long story" as the scene was transitioning.) As adorable as George is for his middle name, I'm betting his real name and the name we've all grown to love hearing Peter growl only have a couple vowels in common. ~_^
I started out not really trusting Kramer. I now officially hate his MFing a$$. <-- Okay, maybe that's overdoing it a bit, but still. Peter told him not to box Neal in. He warned him that it was the absolute wrong tactic to take with Neal. Kramer is so blinded by his previous big gay affair CI arrangement gone wrong that he refuses to accept the idea that Neal isn't the same person and wasn't destined to make the same mistakes.
And for the record? I'm willing to bet that Kramer and his former lover CI didn't clear anywhere near the caseload that Neal & Peter have. 94% is f*cking impossible under most circumstances in modern jurisprudence. IMHO, he wanted to steal Neal because he didn't understand that being able to work like that requires the right people in the right seats on the right bus going in the right direction.
Kramer saw everything that had been going on since Neal's release into FBI custody as Peter being hoodwinked and Neal not being on a tight enough leash. He wants Neal to be working under threat of prison all the time. Peter had it figured out in the first half of S1 that threatening Neal with prison all the time doesn't get you anywhere. To tame this con, you have to love him.
Yes, I did just paraphrase Angelus from Buffy S2. Ep 2x14 - Innocence, for those of you who can't place it. It fits, tho.
Finding out that Neal's father was a dirty cop and that his parents are both still alive isn't all that surprising. I do wish we could spend more time with his father's ex-partner, though. She has my interest. And my love for June Ellington (SQUEE!!!! WE GET HER LAST NAME FINALLY!) grows exponentially every time I see her.
Finding out that Neal's only 28, almost 29? That makes the whole Kate & Adler storyline even more implausible, JE. Seriously; learn from what NUMB3RS screwed up. Canon timelines don't stretch as far as they used to; you already exceeded Neal's in Forging Bonds (2x11) and you're staring to push the limits of Peter's. Less is more, dude.
Tying up the Raphael thing was so... dare I say lazy? I know JE has to include a female love interest for Neal because even though he doesn't even try to hide what he ships he does try to pay lip service to the conservative corporate types whose asses tight up like snare drums at the thought of a prostate exam, much less a functional homosexual relationship or consenting adult threesome. But resolving the Raphael was purely done so that when Neal winds up being able to come back to New York (note this is a when, not an if, because who are we kidding?), he and Sara don't have to have that hanging over their heads anymore and they can have their ridiculous affair without being dogged by an open Sterling Bosch investigation that makes Sara boffing our boy only a complete conflict of interest. There were so many more interesting things that could've been in those letters.
Or JE could've had Neal's gambit fail because Kate actually played true to form & had taken the damned thing. That would've been nice, instead of making her an angel. Not to speak ill of the dead, but she wasn't the same as Neal no matter how white you wash her. Everyone with ears knows that she was gonna take Neal's stash and run when Fowler's crew caught up with her in San Diego. Everybody knows she was pushing for the real location of the whole thing 'cause she was just gonna cut & run & leave Neal hanging. So why was that painting still there? That would've been soooooooo much more interesting if Neal had gone to get it, come up empty-handed, and been able to say he was just visiting an old friend so why was everyone getting so worked up? Yeah, Sara would've been facing an obstruction charge, but sometimes you play the hand you're dealt.
Of course, that would've put an end to the rekindling of their relationship, and that just wouldn't do for the network types. JE needs to slip the handcuffs they put on him and go to work.
But how can you not love Peter at the end? Knowing exactly what Neal would do, knowing that what he was about to say would mean nothing because Neal wouldn't be there to see it come to fruition, he still gave Neal the high sign and let Neal go. There's no question that he had to, but my heart was in my gorram throat watching it. I ached for him, especially with that stone face he was wearing when Diana said the words and made it real.
He knew the only way to protect Neal was to cut him loose and let him fly, and then try to follow where he leads. If that's not love, honest-to-God real love, I don't know what is.
And Neal's faaaaaaace... OMG Neal trying to smile when he's just absolutely dying inside. I can't even... first Dean and now Neal and whyyyyyyyyy are you all torturing my boys? Someone let them live passionately in love with their true loves for the rest of their lives already, huh? Please?
/iz ded
Summer cannot come fast enough.