White Collar, One Last Stakeout Review

(New Episode Spoilers)

White Collar's 5th season premiered a few weeks ago and now it's three episodes in. I had hoped to see the "six weeks" Peter spent in jail and a little more angst from Neal (since it was mostly his fault) before that got resolved because that would have been a really fresh turn for the show to take. It would also be easy to say that White Collar may be unwilling to move on from the initial dynamic they created with these characters -- the lawman and the con, who can be friends but can never truly trust each other because they're from different worlds. They've played this routine again and again with Neal needing to keep secrets from Peter, from finding Kate, getting revenge for her death, a secret treasure, and uncovering the truth about Neal's father and now with Neal under Hagen's thumb for doing what he had to do to get Peter free.  So I understand where someone could come from in saying that it's the same old thing and perhaps tiring of it.

That being said, for me, this show is still

SO MUCH FUN.

Just because it's following a  pattern and sort of resets the dynamic a lot, it doesn't hinder my enjoyment of the show at all. This season, Peter's been promoted and a new handler has been brought in. Peter and Neal are drifting apart as the new guy, Siegel, inserts himself into his role. Neal gets to play a con again, even if it isn't of his own free will and the stakes are getting higher now that he may not have leeway Peter used to be able to give him as his handler.

In the third episode, One Last Stakeout, Neal's been coerced into stealing a chapter from an old book in a museum (don't get on me about specifics, that's not why I watch this show) and had to orchestrate another robbery by someone else to get his opportunity in. This takes place during a stakeout with Siegel, but Neal manages to give him the slip. And is thwarted unknowingly by Peter.  Was this a bit predictable? Yes. Did it stop me from getting excited about that turn of events and eager to see how Neal would get his way out of it? Not at all.

The next big moment came right after that -- Neal harshly tells Peter that this isn't his life anymore, that they are no longer partners and Peter should not be honing in on their stakeouts so that Peter would leave before Neal ran out of time to make his move. I don't think we've ever seen this amount of harshness between these two, save for the time Elizabeth was kidnapped as a consequence of some of Neal's actions. We have certainly never seen this coldness from Neal to Peter (even if he didn't mean it) and it was a pretty painful thing to behold. It might as well have been Old Yeller getting shot down. But still, it was powerful, a new addition to their history and proof that they can't always be best friends.  Sometimes they have to play different sides, even if it's to ultimately help each other. I loved it.

The next exciting moment was when the FBI realizes the missing thief may have had an accomplice -- the woman Neal scammed and flirted with in order to steal her museum security card.  Having her brought in for questioning once again upped the stakes, putting Neal a hair's breadth away from getting uncovered.  Well, he gets out of that one just fine too, only for Peter to feel responsible for distracting Neal while on the stakeout and thus inserting himself even more into the case just to fix it. I loved all these twists and turns and especially the added one that Siegel sees Neal make the drop to Hagen. I thought for sure he'd take on Peter's role for the next episodes and try to prove Neal's guilt but be unable to.

Ultimately, Neal gets the job done with no real consequences. Or so we think, until we get some very interesting shots of Neal walking into the FBI. Everyone looks at him and it's all in slow motion. Something is very, very wrong and the entire office is silent. Peter sees him, doesn't say a word, and Neal follows him out. We head outside to stormy New York; rain splatters on the camera, making a very cool effect. And the reveal.

Here's the biggest spoiler of them all: Siegel's dead body found in the location where Neal made the exchange with Hagen.

Poor Siegel. We hardly knew you and I liked you, but getting between Peter and Neal was never going to turn out well for you.

I don't say this lightly at all considering how much television I watch, but White Collar is one of the best things on television right now. Even when it takes turns that should be predictable or has what appears to be easy resolutions, it always turns out more complicated than that. The dynamic between Peter and Neal is the heart of the show and it's constantly being tested and that makes it compelling. You really want these characters to win, even if you don't always know what that means for them.

Bring on next week's episode, please.