White Collar - 3x01 "On Guard"

[tj_teejay]

Nice word play there. Did you notice? The fencing? En garde? Anyway...

So what do I have to say about "On Guard"? It usually takes a while for me to let the first episode after a long hiatus sink in. Mainly that's because there's been so much excitement that's been building up for a long time. And then I'm all deflated, once I've seen the episode.

My initial reaction was actually very positive, which may be due to the fact that I'm such a sucker for angsty discord. And if there ever was a WhiCo episode that explored that, it was this one. I mean, it was crystal clear after the season 2 finale that there would be all this treacherous "trust issues" ground Peter and Neal would be treading on, so that wasn't exactly a surprise. And I'm glad they didn't resolve it in the first 15 minutes, because that one of my concerns with this whole setup.

I thought it was so interesting to see Neal go back to his old conman routine, and I have a love/hate relationship with that.

The hate part is because, dammit, I don't want him to be a bad guy! I don't want him to turn his back on Peter and El and his new life without a second thought. Which he did. Yes, he wasn't exactly buddy-buddy with Peter at the time, but, man, you guys have been building a friendship for how long now? A year, surely. Neal, you trusted Peter. More than anyone. You've never lied to him. And you're just throwing that away without looking back? You love Elizabeth for the sweet, bubbly, caring person she is. Of course she'd be on Peter's side -- I mean, what did you expect? So what do we see? The one person Neal wants to say goodbye to is... June? TeeJay does not approve.

The love part was that I liked the reminder that deep down, Neal is a conman. I think we've all been getting a little too comfortable with the fact that he's been turned into the law abiding citizen that Peter wanted to transform him into. Every now and then, I enjoy seeing Neal's deceitful dark side. But I think the hate part outweighs the love part in this love/hate relationship.

The McPunisher in me loved the Neal/Peter discord, of course. Angst, angst, gimme more angst! The interrogation scene was great. The quiet (or not so quiet) resentment on Peter's part was great. Not too fond of Neal's smug smiles, though. Would Neal seriously be so blasé about the fact that he has the ink of Peter's "insidious thief" stamp all over him? I guess that goes hand in hand with what I said about him all too readily leaving his Neal Caffrey persona behind. (At least they're being consistent...)

So, Mozzie stole the treasure and gave Neal the card, huh? Didn't really see that coming. Well, I can't say it hasn't crossed my mind, but somehow I was expecting something a little more convoluted. But, hey, I'm okay with it.

The fencing scene... Nice! Is there anything Neal can't do? I also liked the little jibe with Peter when he fished Neal's cut off tie from the trash can.

Hate Diana's (or rather Marsha's) bangs. Doesn't suit her. Like, at all.

I liked what they did when suddenly Neal was faced with the Jones conundrum. At least that showed that, while Neal seems to be indifferent enough to leave behind his FBI-tethered life, he still doesn't want to see a good person killed. And he even gave up his big escape plan, his long con, to save Jones. That redeems him a little bit. But just a little.

The Peter/Neal make-up scene of sorts at the end? I liked it, but then I didn't. I can't even really say why. I mean, it was such an obvious setup to have Peter go there on his own to discover the Chrysler building painting. Plot device or Neal's intention? I didn't like the fact to begin with that Neal forged his own painting. Here we go again with the open, fully intentional deceit. It doesn't become you, Neal. Especially not if it's about or towards Peter. What I loved a lot about it was the unresolved tension (and I don't mean in a slashy kind of way). Peter is truly apologizing, yet the looks they share clearly spell out that trust is far away in the distance, with a long, narrow, winding road to take them there.

Different topic: The Burke's kitchen! I like it, but tell me, with everything that was going on, when did the Burkes have time to remodel half their ground floor? Where'd the door to the kitchen go? Oh, wait, you're telling me they have a life outside of work? Excuse me, how presumtuous of me to think they didn't. :-P

Was Neal seriously wearing blue jeans, a polo shirt and a zip-up sweater when he saw El? What happened??! Yes, I'm loving it, but that is so not Neal.

But, thank you, Elizabeth, for mentioning that Neal almost shot Fowler. It was so wrong to gloss over that without even another mention after the 2010 winter hiatus.

So let's talk about the Nazi loot. I will need to mention this, even though I'm almost ashamed to admit it. I am German, and it never even occurred to me that any profit made from selling the stolen treasure is blood money. There is holocaust victims written all over the artwork, and Neal even considering to make off with it has all these implications that I never even considered until I read tzikeh's rant about the episode. And shockingly so, she's right. Suddenly I like the episode (and Neal and Mozzie) a whole lot less than I initially thought. Because the idea of Neal unhesitatingly picking which piece of artwork to sell first just seems so callous. The initial excitement about the episode is making way for something more along the lines of resentment.

And that is not a good thing. Not a good thing at all when all of a sudden, I'm feeling malevolence towards the one character I like most about this show, the one character that (I will admit) is my main reason for watching. For the past few months, I've enjoyed the hell out of writing White Collar fanfic. If this is the Neal Caffrey we're stuck with from now on, I'm not sure I want to keep writing. And that is worse than bad.

So, what happened to the compassionate, hopeless romantic in Neal? What's more romantic and rewarding than giving back works of art long believed forever lost back to holocaust victims or their families? Did Neal check in his emotional streak at the door when he entered that warehouse? I'm not liking what I'm seeing.

That said, let me just quickly clarify that I'm not personally identifying with Nazi Germany. I'm of a younger generation that has not been in direct contact with World War II. I don't feel ashamed for being German. Yes, that chapter is a dark, terrible part of our history, but that's what it is to me: history. I don't have a problem with Jeff Eastin using the Nazis for this storyline per se, but I do have a problem with the sheer stereotypicality of it. Because I can just hear the conversation in the writers' room: "Hey, we need someone we can peg as the bad guys for this. Oh, gee, why don't we take.... hmm... Oh! I got it, the Nazis?" Yeah, real original there, Mr. Eastin.

Random, last minute thought: I love me some Neal in a dark blue shirt.

End of disconnected thoughts about the season three premiere. Now carry on.

Comments

[ktrn-lucas88.livejournal.com]

I mostly agree with you, especially on the Nazi loot thingy and the use of Nazis in TV shows (I'm another German White Collar fan), but I thought that from what was said in season two, you could conclude that the stuff was looted from various museums (that could have been my imagination though) and one of the writers apparently confirmed that. That still makes it treasure stolen in a genocidal war but doesn't have the whole taken from people who afterwards were sent to gas chambers attached to it.
And I really, really feel the need to defend Neal a bit here. He didn't seem to be thrilled about the whole thing either and I can imagine that the shine of the treasure will wear off after a while. If I am honest with myself, then it would probably take me a while to get off the high of having found a treasure that big and really think about where it came from and what the ramifications of selling that treasure are.

So, yeah, I think we should really wait and reserve judgment until we have seen where they are going with it. And if they are doing what I think they are doing then I just might love the show a bit more than I already do!

Pheww, I am SOOO glad I'm not the only one who is annoyed by the constant layout changes of people's places. In the pilot the Burke's had an open kitchen, in Free Fall the kitchen door was essential to the plot and now we are back to the open kitchen thing? Wasn't there a kitchen door in Under the Radar? Do they think no one will notice???

[swanpride.livejournal.com]

I admit, I'm beginning to get a little bit annoyed by all the nazi-discussion. I wanted to read the meta listed at the round up this week, and nearly all of them were about the issue, none about the actual apisode.

As another German, I'm actually happy about the way they handled the issue so far. In most TV shows, you get the impression that every German to the time was bad, that German soldiers were believing Nazi's by definition aso. I rather have a TV-show ignoring the issue as much as possible than simplifying it into the normal "Big, bad Nazi" trope.

People complaining about Alex talking about her Grandfather in a romantic way "although he was a Nazi", but they never said in the show that he was one, just that he was a German soldier. And even if he were: I strongly suspect that one of my Grandfathers was part of the party too, had at least similiar ideas, but that doesn't change the fact that he was my beloved Grandfather, and while I have my own doubts about him, I want to remember him this way. There is nothing wrong in Alex remembering his Grandfather as her Grandfather first and foremost.

Well...bottom line for me is: If they adress the issue, I would prefer them to do it properly, in an episode which is solely about the question how much blood was spilled for the treasure, or not at all. I certainly don't want a throwaway line somewhere in an episode, and I don't want the issue rushed.

[tjs-whatnot.livejournal.com]

Yeah, watching Neal be all CONMAN wasn't as enjoyable as I thought it would be especially when directed at Peter and El. Not at all.

But, if I may. I don't think they chose Nazis because they make good villians--even if, well...they do. But I think, if you want a treasure that large, that almost mythical, well, it doesn't get bigger.

This whole thing with the loot and the Peter/Neal trust issues are things that they need to develop over a whole season (or two) of course they're going to give us it in bits.

Also, you have to be really careful to listen to what Neal actually says... it's always very misleading. When Mozzie asks what piece they should sell first, he doesn't answer. I wouldn't be surprised if Neal finds some other treasures laying around to sell under the guise of the bits from the boat being to hot. Remember, he has treasures... he pulls them out in the most interesting times... I think he'll try bidding his time for a long while, but also, I think he feels he owes Mozzie.

But of course, these are my thoughts for now. I'm sure they'll change with every new rumination. I'll say one thing, it's going to be a very, very interesting season. :))

[swanpride.livejournal.com]

Loved the ep, too. The only thing which irritated was that I didn't understand the rush. Why does Mozzie insist on fleeing immediatly? Why not laying low a while, preferable until the anklet is off?

About Neal wanting to say goodbye to June only, I cite myself from a discussion at TWOP:

It's true that Neal uses the people around him. But it's also true that the people around him, lie to him and use him.

There is his mother who told him the big lie about his hero father.
There is Mozzie, who strikes a friendship with him, because he "needs an upgrate".
There is Kate, who fells in love with "Nick Haldon" but stays with "Neal Caffrey" because he taught her to survive...he basically takes care of her after she lost everything.
There is Adler, the man he wasn't able to con in the end, but who betrayed him.
There is Alex, who needed him to get to the music box.
And there is Peter, who has done a lot for him, but from the very first moment Neal's position with the FBI was connected to his usefulness. It's an angoing theme in season 1 and parts of season 2 that Neal has to prove himself, or he is back in and Peter wouldn't be able to protect him. Not to mention all the time, Peter kept secrets from him. Neal was honestly hurt about Peter's lie in "Need to Know".
There is Elizabeth, who demands from him to protect her husband - twice.

The only person in Neal's life who never lied to him and who never demanded anything from him is June - and logically that's the only person he really thinks about in "On Guard".

[swanpride.livejournal.com]

My favourite part of the episode was the tie, especially the scene in the office afterwards. (Ha has Backup-ties in his drawer! What a way to expand on an old joke).

The worst part was the one minute with Sara...I'm still stumped that they managed to make this short appearance THAT nauseating.

[swanpride.livejournal.com]

Oh, and I nearly forgot: I think it was time to remind the audience that Neal is a conman, one who stole enough to end up behind bars for good. As adorable he is, he has a darker side, and while I don't want this side to win in the end, he wouldn't be Neal without it.

[ladyrose42.livejournal.com]

I,too, did not understand the rush for Mozzie and Neal to get away now!! A long con involves patience and it would make sense to let things (Peter) cool down a bit. Although in the flashbacks w/ Mozzie- wants to retire to an island after the long con, 6 months, with Alder.So maybe Neal is just going with Moz's dream and not his own, especially in light of Peter's mistrust. The last encounter with Keller hinted that Neal is out of funds, but there has been no indication of him selling his cache. And Copycat Caffrey supposedly stole over $10 billion,not million. Even selling at pennies on the dollars, it's still a lot of pennies. Just a twist, I like to see Neal re-create one of the painting they saw in the sub whether to annoy Peter or testing the market.

[hai-di.livejournal.com]

It's really good to have White Collar back!! :D I agree with you on most parts. I wanted it to be a little harder for Mozzie and Neal to leave so sudden. I love/hate the trust issues. I was okay with most of it, but that Neal did another Crysler painting and could look Peter in the eye while he was apologizing - yep, a reminder that he indeed is a conman (still one with a good heart of course! :)

I loved the tie-thing *lol* And I have to admit I wasn't that aware of the the Nazi loot issues. Hope that the defender of Neal in the first comment is right.