White Collar - 3x03 "Deadline"

[tj_teejay]

New week, new episode. I was really geared up for this one, and now I'm not sure if it disappointed or not.

See, as soon as I heard pharmaceuticals and FDA, I immediately grew leery. White Collar is not known for its meticulous research when it comes to their storylines – and when I spot blatant mistakes in TV shows and movies, it can ruin things for me. I work for a pharma company, I know my way round clinical research. I have a pretty good idea how drug recalls work, and I know that the FDA is pretty much the be-all-and-end-all when it comes to regulatory bodies in the realm of pharma. I'm telling you, an FDA audit is not fun.

Now, before I go on, don't worry, I'm not gonna harp endlessly on all the things that were wrong with this episode. I'd like like to get the futz ups out of the way first. Though, actually... I thought they did pretty well with the pharma stuff. These weren't hugely improbable ideas. The whole scenario was actually pretty believable (in a TV show kind of way). The only thing (I think) they made up is that FDA officers have an actual badge, much less one that looks like the FBI leather-bound ones. And they don't come prancing into your office unannounced, plowing down every secretary that's in their way. Yes, of course I can see how that was necessary here, but in real life? Not frickin' likely. (Edit: Apparently, there are FDA officers out there who have badges. Oh well, you learn something new every day...)

Now, I must say that what I don't like about it is that it plays into the whole "the pharma industry is deceitful and evil" kind of view that a lot of people have. It's not that I'm a huge protectionist for the pharma industry. Not everything they do is great and wonderful. But, really, covertly trying to cover up a bad batch of drug like that – while clearly within the realm of possibility – is not something you'll readily encounter in the real world. If there's anything that pharma companies hold in the highest regard, it's patient safety. There are whole departments dedicated to drug safety and pharmacovigilance. And a drug recall on a scale like what these guys were doing would never fly. There'd be way too many people involved who have a conscience, who have a responsibility to keeping the patients safe. The one thing that is true, though, is that by the time a drug gets on the market, the company will have spent billions of dollars on its research and development. You wouldn't believe what a single clinical trial costs.

But I digress. I'm gonna cease with delivering my pleading for the pharma industry and come back to the topic at hand.

Diana-centricity: I like. No, I love! Diana needs to kick more ass. I mean, needs to get the chance more often to kick ass. Loved that Marsha got to show off her native accent. I'm a sucker for British English. Heck, I even speak it. Or at least try. Not Mancunian, but British. Probably South England-y. Or at least that's what I've been told. (Though someone once told me I sound Icelandic. Uhm... huh? Well, as long as they don't tell me I sound German, I'm cool.) Anyway...

Us getting to know Christie gets all kinds of love from me. She's wonderful, and she's very deserving of Diana (and vice versa). Well done there, casting and writing staff. Which, thinking about the double-date-at-home scene, brings us to the topic of Sara. (And don't worry, I'm not gonna harp on her either.)

I've been known to admit I'm not a huge Sara fan. But I did say that it wasn't entirely impossible that she could grow on me. And gonna have to concede that that process might actutally be in motion. Now, I'm never going to become a huge Neal/Sara shipper, and she's never going to be my favorite character on the show, but, damn, that was sweet! Maybe I'm gonna have to revoke that statement about them having zero chemistry, though, hm, while there was definitely spark there, it's not like my belly when up in flames when I watched them make out. Let's just say there was more than zero chemistry, but not the kind that makes me go squee. All in all, I'm gonna have to confess that I actually liked the Neal/Sara scenes. Yay for character redemption. Maybe. *wavers a little* (And, swanpride, I hope you're not gonna like me less for having said that.) The one thing I really didn't like about those Neal/Sara scenes were the back and forth cuts between the camera angles. That was distracting.

The threat on the reporter thing. Darn, it's so timely. Because I'm just working on a fanfic where someone receives threatening e-mails. Great. Now everyone's gonna think I stole that. Did not. I was first! Scout's honor. (swanpride can vouch for that.)

So, the loot list. It's gonna be the new music box, isn't it? The thing that Neal and Mozzie are going to hunt down for the rest of the season. Oh well... If the shoe fits. But, hey, why use a German dictionary? Ask me, I'll translate that thing for you before lunch. For free. (And then maybe I get to go to the conference in Miami too.)

Not sure what to think about the new Neal/Peter dynamic. I guess that's what I was thinking of when I said I wasn't sure if the episode disappointed. I'm very on the fence with this. I've been known to like discord, but only if it eventually resolves. (Or doesn't take a season and a half to resolve.) But what I like most of all, is a Neal who endeavors to be good. This new Neal does not. Well, okay, upon closer examination, he never has. I think I've just grown a little too fond and too comfortable with the idea that Neal could learn from Peter that there's more to life than thieving and conning people. Just recently kriadydragon posted an excellent character study on Neal Caffrey, so I'm not gonna go into that whole "con at heart with good intentions" or "good guy at heart with misguided intentions" discussion. Suffice to say, I'm a big defender of the "good guy at heart with misguided intentions" theory. And I have a feeling the constant reminders of Neal being the eternal conman are not something I'm gonna be all that happy about.

You know what struck me the other day? I was looking into one of the mid-season one episodes (can't remember which one now, or why it was "Front Man", and I was doing some research for that Het ficlet I've recently written), but I watched maybe five minutes of it, and then I found myself sighing, thinking, "Ah, those were the days." It was when the Peter/Neal duo was still happy, trusty, friendy and, well, amiable. Until then, I hadn't noticed how much I was going to miss that. *sighs* While so far I'm liking season three well enough, I think I liked the other two seasons better. If that can be said just three episodes in...

Okay, now on to the more mundane things. Some may say the most important things, but let's just pretend I'm not that shallow. *coughs* As rabidchild67 so adequately put it... nipples! Shirtless!Neal! Squee time! And pajama bottoms to boot. I was grinning like a little girl at Christmas. (Okay, I exaggerrate, but you get the drift.) And, yes, of course I watch for the plot. You know that, right? And, shiiiiit, when does The Bomer find the time to work out to be able to have that to show for!? (Anyone have any tips on how to get drool stains out of the couch cover?) :-P....

The splitting of the paper jokes were cute. (Does that really work? I mean, come on, McNally totally made that up, right?)

Plinkety-plink new theme doesn't earn any brownie points the second time around. If anything, I like it even less than last time.

Mozzie walking in on Neal and Sara – kinda cute. Loved how, like any sane, normal guy would have done, he didn't say, "Oh, sorry, I'll come back," and slunk away, but how he pwned those wine glasses and watched Sara walk away. Mozzie, you are just... I have no words. Acting-wise, this episode gets major thumbs ups in all directions.

And to come back to last week's episode real quick: Where's the treasure cam? I wonder how long it'll take for Peter to walk into Neal's loft (seeing how it doesn't have a lock) and find the laptop tuned into treasure cam right smack in the middle of Neal's dining table. Oh, wait.... Yeah. Never.

Random observation: Neal in a light purple shirt with dark purple tie? Yummeh.

The End.

Comments

[virgo-79.livejournal.com]

That Mozzie moment was hilarious. I didn't realize until someone actually mentioned it in a review of last week's ep how socially clueless Mozzie really is. Eccentric? Paranoid? Reclusive? Sure, yep, and yeppers, but dear God, he really just doesn't have a clue. (And I think this scene functioned on another level, outside and above its obvious brilliance, to showcase the bigger picture of that divide between Neal and Mozzie on what constitutes the good life, and further foreshadowing of what I suspect is Mozzie's impending disappointment with Neal's final choice on this whole escape debacle.)

I feel your pain at the lack of that old, sweet bond between Neal and Peter, but there was actually an on-screen moment this week that delivered on the cast and creator's promise that Neal and Peter will be okay: that smirk of Peter's at the end. I loved that, because it was letting Neal know just how smart Peter is, how far from getting away with this Neal is -- but also, and most importantly, there was so much *affection* in it. I don't say this to be squishy happy huggy girl, but because it's genuinely what I see playing out: despite everything that's happening right now between them, Peter's first priority is preventing Neal from doing something that will doom him and destroy his future, and Neal *does not* want to go. He's not enjoying this con, and while he hasn't (yet) taken steps to stop the progress of the whole mess, he isn't running towards that goal with the anticipation that Mozzie is.

[swanpride.livejournal.com]

I'm not so sure if Mozzie is really clueless or tries to sabotage Neal's relationship with Sara deliberatly to make sure that he doesn't bail on him for her.

[tj-teejay.livejournal.com]

I have to say, I agree with swanpride. I don't think Mozzie's that clueless. He's totally doing it on purpose, and making it look like he's not. Yes, he's eccentric, but he's not stupid. :o)

The Peter grin at the end of the episode, I kinda saw that more as a smug smile than redemption of the Neal/Peter relationship. Peter knows Neal is up to something, and he knows he's one step ahead of Neal. It's gonna be the theme for season three, it seems. I do agree, though, that Peter only has Neal's best interests at heart. He'd be seriously hurt, betrayed and disappointed if Neal just up and left with the treasure. Which I think Neal is more reluctant about than he lets on.

[swanpride.livejournal.com]

Well, the smirk certainly sait "Gotcha!" But that was the best part of the ep. I can't wait to see how this plays out.

[swanpride.livejournal.com]

Why should I? Actually, the conversation WAS kind of cute, but it was also a mayor waste of time. (And I'm kind of peeved...I don't know what's worse, Neal using Sara to get informations he needs to leave her forever, or she playing along after she realized that he dragged her to a dinner party to con someone and then docily accepting the lack of explanation...right, what a great base for a relationship).

There are three things I was afraid of for season 3:
1. White Collar becoming an ensemble show (meaning the focus shifts from Neal and Peter to the whole team).
2. White Collar going for the "sex sells" angle. (Not that I complaining about the view, but it was nice to have at least one show who isn't that shallow).
3. The Sara/Neal story becoming an own subplot instead of something which blends into the episode.

This episode is the epitome of all this fears. Although Diana was great and I really loved the ending, overall the episode was medicore.

(And while you are peeved about the medical theme, I'm peeved about the incompetent reporter and the obvious lack of knowledge of the writers about pottery making).

[tj-teejay.livejournal.com]

You know, right now I can't really put my finger on why I'm not too crazy about season three so far, but perhaps those three points you mentioned are part of it. The "sex sells" angle, I don't really get the vibe that White Collar is writing Sara in solely for that purpose, but I grant you that it's a concern. I'm not actually this gloomy about the whole Sara insertion now, so I'm trying to keep an open mind as to where this is going.

Also, I seriously need to rewatch Ghost. It's been, what? 15 years? I totally didn't get what this episode had to do with the movie. The pottery thing at the end? And, yeah, I too frowned at the "it was supposed to be round" thing.

[swanpride.livejournal.com]

Yeah, haven't seen it for a while either, so I didn't caught on until the second viewing.

1. Demi Moore was a potter in the movie, and there is this famos scene in which she tries to create a vase and Patrik Swayzy (Sam)comes from behind, and follows the working of her hands erotically.
2. Neal says "ditto" to Diana causing her to complain about having all the "Ghost jokes" already. In the Movie, Sam never said "I love you", just "ditto".
3. Well, and there is this scene when he finally learns how to move objects, and he moves a penny up a wall and finally through the air to prove that he is there.
4. Neal quotes the last farewell of Sam, that he takes the love in him into heaven.

Those references are sometimes difficult...one of the reasons I prefer White Collar slightly over Psych is that I have an easier time to get the jokes. I know more about literature than american pop culture after all.

[swanpride.livejournal.com]

Das mit dem Töpfern war vor allem auch deswegen dämlich, weil ich absolut niemanden kenne der seine selbstgetöpferten Sachen auch tatsächlich als Geschirr benutzt. Allein schon, weil die Sachen nicht unbedingt Spülmaschienenfest sind, und du kannst dir nie hundertprozentig sicher sein, was in den Glasuren drin ist (nicht wenige davon sind bleihaltig). Deswegen töpfern die meisten Leute auch Figuren und vasen und kein Geschirr.

[tj-teejay.livejournal.com]

Yes, I remember the pottery scene from Ghost. But that's about the only thing I remember, other than the basic premise and that Patrick Swayze and Whoopie Goldberg were in it.

I know nothing about literature, sadly. Well, other than what you learn in school and through the media, that is. I have a feeling I know more about American pop culture than literature, even though I'm German. ;o)

And the thing about self-made pottery, yeah, I get where you're coming from. I have a big self-made bowl (more like a huge plate) in my kitchen that we did in art class in, oh, 10th grade? 11th? I don't remember. But I don't eat from it, I use it as a fruit bowl.