White Collar 5x13
Folks, that may have been the very last episode of White Collar ever. Hang on, I'm sorry, I, uh, have something in my eye, yeah.
I have a couple of little quibbles, but over all I'm feeling awash with squee, joy, and love with for this show.
I'll admit, the justification for why Mozzie didn't just go to the hospital was a little iffy. I mean, Mozzie not wanting to go to the hospital, that part I totally believe. But the whole, "We don't have time for tests!" thing was weird. He's been poisoned by an unknown toxin. You don't have time not to do tests. But it gave us the Peter&Neal&Mozzie team WORKING AGAINST TIME, so that was good.
The weakest part of the episode was Neal and Peter running around the base hunting for the diamond. It interrupts the excellent character stuff so Peter and Neal can simply run from point A to point B.
But these are minor quibbles, and I loved this episode so much, and I am so full of feelings, and oh my god.
I really liked all the parallels between Rebecca's escape and Neal's. Not just the walking out in a guard uniform, but the closeup of Rebecca cutting her hair and its similarity to the opening shot of the Pilot, and other stuff too. Also, "Skills of a trained agent and the instincts of a criminal," anyone?
I've really enjoyed the Neal and Rebecca interaction since they all laid their cards on the table. I don't ship it--not only is it a terribly unhealthy dynamic for Neal, he's shown he's genuinely not into the real Rebecca/Rachel--but it is really interesting to watch.
The scariest Rebecca moment was at the end of her ransom phone call to Neal when she tells him it's nice to hear his voice. Because she means it! She's making a deal for his best friend's life, but it's so nice to talk! She's my brand of creepy. But then there's that fascinating bit between them after Rebecca's helicopter leaves and they're waiting for the cops. The way they just stand side by side. Rebecca still murdered Siegel. Their relationship is still founded on lies and manipulation (on both sides). But there's that little moment of quiet camaraderie.
Neal confronted Rebecca once again, on his own, with no protection. With slightly different writing, or if Bomer played the character slightly differently, this could come of as arrogance, as Neal being so certain that Rebecca won't hurt him. But it's not like that at all. With Neal, it comes off as recklessness and a lack of self preservation. Oh, Neal, you have such issues. (My notes read, "do not taunt happy fun assassin.")
I really want some Rebecca and Rebecca/Neal icons, specifically from the end of "Shot Through the Heart" and their moment in this episode. However, so far I have seen ZERO Rebecca icons. Like, I thought it was hard finding Kate icons. This is even worse.
But the highlight of the episode was the Neal&Peter relationship. It was wonderful! So full of friendship, teamwork, and love. Heh, in lj comments for my last episode reaction post, I told aragarna that my dream for the finale was for Neal to bring Peter in on the diamond hunt. I didn't think it would happen, and I wouldn't have thought it would happen like this, but YAY.
What conflict there was between Neal and Peter felt genuine and sympathetic to both. It was completely unfair of Neal to accuse Peter of not caring about Mozzie, but I can understand why he might lash out in fear. And it makes sense that Peter wants to bring in backup. He thinks that's best. But it also makes sense that Neal would consider it safer to go it alone. But he trusted Peter with the diamond!
That last scene in the FBI was so wonderfully sweet. The hugging! Oh, I love these boys so much.
My mom and I were watching together, and we noted that if you turned off the show right after Neal and Peter parted at the FBI, you'd have a lovely series finale with nice closure. BUT NO OF COURSE NOT. THINGS CAN'T BE OKAY.
The reason for Neal's freedom being denied felt very real to me. I'm not glad to see Neal (and Peter) sad, but I am glad that the show goes to these places. And it continues this season's theme that Peter is moving on, while Neal is stuck in place. Just because the FBI is on the right side of the law doesn't mean it's always fair. And it feeds perfectly into Peter's characterization. He's never liked bureaucracy. I've withheld judgement on Peter's new job, because I know he has ambitions, and his career is important to him. But it would be everything he hates.
But Elizabeth is going to DC! If this means less Elizabeth in currently-and-tortuously-hypothetical season six, then I'm sad, but I love this attention to Elizabeth's career, and this respect for her wants. No matter how people belittle her, Elizabeth is not a stepford wife. And as hard as this will be on Peter, he respects and loves her, and he wants what's best for her.
After two and a half seasons of pretending to be okay with Neal slipping away from the criminal lifestyle, Mozzie slipped. I think it was one thing dealing with the idea of Neal getting off the anklet and living crime-free, and another to be actually confronted with the reality. Mozzie panicked. And he really does want what's best for Neal. Plus, while Mozzie should be a good friend and not pressure Neal, Neal has to learn to deal with that kind of pressure.
And Neal's really going to give it a shot! I've been worrying, but he seems very serious. As I've said, I don't think Neal's likely to ever going 100% straight, but mostly legitimate, no heists or cons for profit? Yeah, I think he could do it. Until he got all of his hard work thrown back in his face, and reacted strongly.
Finally, OMG THAT CLIFFHANGER. I think it's the most evil one yet. There's more mystery here than ever. Season one: Yes, "Who killed Kate?" but we knew Fowler was involved, and we knew it centered around the music box. Season two ended with the mystery of who stole the treasure and involved Neal, but there were only so many suspects, and there's only so much nail biting to be wrung from that situation. Seasons three and four certainly were major cliffhangers, but at least we understood what was going on. But this one? Who is that guy? What does he want? AND OH MY GOD, EVERYONE'S JUST GOING TO ASSUME THAT NEAL RAN. EXCEPT MOZZIE, HOPEFULLY. AND HOPEFULLY MOZZIE WILL BE ABLE TO CONVINCE PETER. AND WHAT IF WE DON'T GET SEASON SIX? EXCUSE ME, I HAVE TO GO DIE.
This entry was originally posted at http://veleda-k.dreamwidth.org/359349.html. Please consider commenting there.
I have a couple of little quibbles, but over all I'm feeling awash with squee, joy, and love with for this show.
I'll admit, the justification for why Mozzie didn't just go to the hospital was a little iffy. I mean, Mozzie not wanting to go to the hospital, that part I totally believe. But the whole, "We don't have time for tests!" thing was weird. He's been poisoned by an unknown toxin. You don't have time not to do tests. But it gave us the Peter&Neal&Mozzie team WORKING AGAINST TIME, so that was good.
The weakest part of the episode was Neal and Peter running around the base hunting for the diamond. It interrupts the excellent character stuff so Peter and Neal can simply run from point A to point B.
But these are minor quibbles, and I loved this episode so much, and I am so full of feelings, and oh my god.
I really liked all the parallels between Rebecca's escape and Neal's. Not just the walking out in a guard uniform, but the closeup of Rebecca cutting her hair and its similarity to the opening shot of the Pilot, and other stuff too. Also, "Skills of a trained agent and the instincts of a criminal," anyone?
I've really enjoyed the Neal and Rebecca interaction since they all laid their cards on the table. I don't ship it--not only is it a terribly unhealthy dynamic for Neal, he's shown he's genuinely not into the real Rebecca/Rachel--but it is really interesting to watch.
The scariest Rebecca moment was at the end of her ransom phone call to Neal when she tells him it's nice to hear his voice. Because she means it! She's making a deal for his best friend's life, but it's so nice to talk! She's my brand of creepy. But then there's that fascinating bit between them after Rebecca's helicopter leaves and they're waiting for the cops. The way they just stand side by side. Rebecca still murdered Siegel. Their relationship is still founded on lies and manipulation (on both sides). But there's that little moment of quiet camaraderie.
Neal confronted Rebecca once again, on his own, with no protection. With slightly different writing, or if Bomer played the character slightly differently, this could come of as arrogance, as Neal being so certain that Rebecca won't hurt him. But it's not like that at all. With Neal, it comes off as recklessness and a lack of self preservation. Oh, Neal, you have such issues. (My notes read, "do not taunt happy fun assassin.")
I really want some Rebecca and Rebecca/Neal icons, specifically from the end of "Shot Through the Heart" and their moment in this episode. However, so far I have seen ZERO Rebecca icons. Like, I thought it was hard finding Kate icons. This is even worse.
But the highlight of the episode was the Neal&Peter relationship. It was wonderful! So full of friendship, teamwork, and love. Heh, in lj comments for my last episode reaction post, I told aragarna that my dream for the finale was for Neal to bring Peter in on the diamond hunt. I didn't think it would happen, and I wouldn't have thought it would happen like this, but YAY.
What conflict there was between Neal and Peter felt genuine and sympathetic to both. It was completely unfair of Neal to accuse Peter of not caring about Mozzie, but I can understand why he might lash out in fear. And it makes sense that Peter wants to bring in backup. He thinks that's best. But it also makes sense that Neal would consider it safer to go it alone. But he trusted Peter with the diamond!
That last scene in the FBI was so wonderfully sweet. The hugging! Oh, I love these boys so much.
My mom and I were watching together, and we noted that if you turned off the show right after Neal and Peter parted at the FBI, you'd have a lovely series finale with nice closure. BUT NO OF COURSE NOT. THINGS CAN'T BE OKAY.
The reason for Neal's freedom being denied felt very real to me. I'm not glad to see Neal (and Peter) sad, but I am glad that the show goes to these places. And it continues this season's theme that Peter is moving on, while Neal is stuck in place. Just because the FBI is on the right side of the law doesn't mean it's always fair. And it feeds perfectly into Peter's characterization. He's never liked bureaucracy. I've withheld judgement on Peter's new job, because I know he has ambitions, and his career is important to him. But it would be everything he hates.
But Elizabeth is going to DC! If this means less Elizabeth in currently-and-tortuously-hypothetical season six, then I'm sad, but I love this attention to Elizabeth's career, and this respect for her wants. No matter how people belittle her, Elizabeth is not a stepford wife. And as hard as this will be on Peter, he respects and loves her, and he wants what's best for her.
After two and a half seasons of pretending to be okay with Neal slipping away from the criminal lifestyle, Mozzie slipped. I think it was one thing dealing with the idea of Neal getting off the anklet and living crime-free, and another to be actually confronted with the reality. Mozzie panicked. And he really does want what's best for Neal. Plus, while Mozzie should be a good friend and not pressure Neal, Neal has to learn to deal with that kind of pressure.
And Neal's really going to give it a shot! I've been worrying, but he seems very serious. As I've said, I don't think Neal's likely to ever going 100% straight, but mostly legitimate, no heists or cons for profit? Yeah, I think he could do it. Until he got all of his hard work thrown back in his face, and reacted strongly.
Finally, OMG THAT CLIFFHANGER. I think it's the most evil one yet. There's more mystery here than ever. Season one: Yes, "Who killed Kate?" but we knew Fowler was involved, and we knew it centered around the music box. Season two ended with the mystery of who stole the treasure and involved Neal, but there were only so many suspects, and there's only so much nail biting to be wrung from that situation. Seasons three and four certainly were major cliffhangers, but at least we understood what was going on. But this one? Who is that guy? What does he want? AND OH MY GOD, EVERYONE'S JUST GOING TO ASSUME THAT NEAL RAN. EXCEPT MOZZIE, HOPEFULLY. AND HOPEFULLY MOZZIE WILL BE ABLE TO CONVINCE PETER. AND WHAT IF WE DON'T GET SEASON SIX? EXCUSE ME, I HAVE TO GO DIE.
This entry was originally posted at http://veleda-k.dreamwidth.org/359349.html. Please consider commenting there.