(Some unpopular opinions about) Neal Caffrey.
Neal Caffrey is a con artist, and therefore inherently slippery and difficult to pin down, but while I get the impression that there are some pretty diverse interpretations of Neal out there, not to mention portrayals in fan fiction, most of the time I just feel like the odd one out, the killjoy who insists on seeing Neal as the thief - the
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He can trust Peter, but he'd never trust the law as an institution. His instincts and reflexes are all honed toward deception.
Yes, that is exactly it. I miss seeing more of that side of Neal, which must be there if we're to believe he's such a good con man: his opportunism, his ability to twist himself into whatever will make the other person like him. Semper gumby. Always flexible.
Like, I don't judge him for it, and I think it's completely devoid of mean-spiritedness, but I think Neal is totally playing June (and even Peter and El, to a lesser extent). Neal before meeting June in the op-shop was basically a blank slate - we see him in the process of shedding one disguise for another. Rather than reading his bumping into June as a coincidence - what are the chances? - I think it's much more believable to accept it as a con, one that June is not an unwilling participant in.
Neal the opportunist has been letting the Devore wear him, knowing that it would make June happy. The appearance of the mid-century con-man, the hat tricks and the thin ties, has to be seen as partly a facade that allows him to both fit in, and to distinguish himself in his unfamiliar new working environment. Remember Peter's first reaction to his new outfits: "Who are you supposed to be?" Peter, who's been chasing Neal for years, and knows how he works, accepts appearances as opaque when it comes to Neal.
I think the problem comes where I don't think the show is portraying that tension the right way, hence this dissonance.
Yes, yes. YES.
Neal seems to operate under some kind of amnesia, the way he is able to trust his collegues. Remember, Neal, it was the FBI (or someone high up in it) that wrangled Kate into running, who manipulated you onto Peter's team, who wanted you to steal for them, and who KILLED you girlfriend!
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