Smart show!

[sholio]

One of the reasons why I like White Collar is because it usually plays fair on the cons. Like with murder mysteries, one of my criteria for a good con/heist story is that all the clues are there on the screen, even if the viewer's eye is cleverly misdirected away from them so that you don't notice them except in retrospect.

Comments

[kanarek13]

Oooh, I have to watch that bit again, I noticed the part when Neal slipped the diamond to Peter but the bit with Rachel I have to watch again \o/ :D

[sholio]

I love that every time I go back to look for this stuff, it's actually there! \o/ The show is so good with those little details.

[aragarna]

Same as Kanarek, I noticed he gave the diamond to Peter (And loved Peter's smile there) but not the switch. That's great! Will have to watch again.
"Nothing says I love you like a brick" LOL

[sholio]

Oh yes, I loved Peter's smile in that scene! (I may be a little too fond of smug, confident Peter.) And I also like clever, sneaky Neal -- especially when he's being clever and sneaky for a good cause.

Rewatching the scene in which Neal palms the diamond made me notice Peter's expression when Rachel is rummaging in his back pocket for his handcuffs. He clearly thinks she's getting a little too personal ...

[aragarna]

Ah yes, gotta love smug confident Peter and Neal too! :-)

Yep, Peter definitely didn't appreciate the pat down... Too bad it was cut too soon, I'm sure he had great pleasure putting cuffs on Rebecca later!

(sorry for the edit! stupid typo! /o\)

[veleda_k]

He clearly thinks she's getting a little too personal ...

This bit here made me think of the way Rachel treats Neal in this scene. She's searching him for practical reasons, yes, but she's still running her hand up and down his leg, and he's incredibly uncomfortable with it. And when he expresses this discomfort, Rachel makes a comment about their sexual history, a history which is now fucked up for so many reasons. It's super creepy, and it's also violatingAnd it got me thinking about Neal and how much vulnerability he has. The show has been honest from the start about the fact that Neal being a criminal puts him at a disadvantage at the FBI. In the second episode of the show, Ruiz makes a comment about how it's not a big deal if Neal gets shot. Rice at least ended up facing a disciplinary hearing, but Kramer faced no repercussions for his petty vendetta against Neal because he couched it in official business, and Collins shot Neal in the damn leg and got career boost out of it. And of course, the head of the FBI who denied Neal

[lov_pb]

I'm definitely going to check this out. I'm excited to dig in deeper ... :)

[sholio]

I love those little details that reward going back and looking closer! :)

[leesa_perrie]

I shall have to watch for everything you mention (thank you, btw), I missed ALL of it the first time!! Which is what they wanted! Good that it's all there to see when you know about it - as you say, clever show! :D

[sholio]

Yes! I didn't notice any of that the first time around; even when it was kind of obvious -- like Neal reaching out to Peter when he gives him the diamond -- there was a clever redirect so that you think you're seeing something other than what you're actually seeing. Smart show!

[sheron]

[dieastra]

I didn't even see him taking any rock. I saw him reaching inside the hole and, having watched too much MacGyver obviously, I assumed he had grabbed some loose dirt to throw it into Rebecca's eyes, to distract her and be able to flee.

So I kept waiting for this to happen but it never came. And I kept wondering why the camera had lingered to show us this little bit. But the brick instead of the diamond came totally out of left field for me! (and how convenient that it was lying around in that hole LOL - speaking of, why were there hammers hanging in that glass vitrine, does anyone know? Also very convenient...)

sholio, you are awesome. Thank you so much! (and thank you to saphirablue for directing me over here) It bothered me that I obviously was the only one not understanding it, as nobody asked about it at IMDB. But I had not time to rewatch again until now. I kept looking now for all your little clues and my, they have misdirected us well. When Neal said he wants to give her a reason to stay, of course we all thought he meant himself, and he tried

[sholio]

I'm glad this was helpful! :) Yeah, I had wondered about the details myself, which was why I went back to rewatch and try to figure out exactly when the exchange took place. I love that it actually is there; it's just subtle enough that it isn't at all noticeable on the first viewing.

Even the title "Diamond exchange" shines in a totally new light now!

I know; I thought about that while writing the above post, too. :D Clever show!

[sholio]

I saw him take the rock, but then I kind of forgot about it; I got swept up in the plot and didn't think about it 'til she took the rock out of the bag. I love how all the places where you might have caught onto what Neal was doing, the show found ways to distract you or make it look like there was something else going on.