elrhiarhodan | Post Ep Dish - S4.07 - Compromising Positions

It seems that I’m in a rather tetchy mood tonight. My elbow is killing me - arthritis anyone (Hell, I’m too young for that) - and it seemed to have affected my mood earlier tonight. In my usual ramp-up conversation with

jrosemary (of White Collar Fixation fame) before the episode, I was pretty damn down on this episode.

I think my expectations were based on the closing scene in Honor Among Thieves, where Elizabeth asks Peter if he thinks Neal’s been running a long con on him. As

rabidchild67 noted in her Rabid Squee for that episode, it smacked of sloppy writing and poor character development. I was afraid we were in for a full episode of misplaced mistrust and Season 2 and Season 3 bad behavior.

I was wrong.

There was so much that made me happy about this episode, I barely know where to start.

1. We aren’t left hanging for another four seasons about Neal’s real name. It’s Bennett. Neal Bennett. And I’m thinking that at some point, Neal actually had his name legally changed to Caffrey. Of course, I’m reminded of Neal’s comments in On Guard where he tosses his id folder on the table, ostensibly bidding farewell to “Neal Caffrey, my finest creation.”

2. Mozzie telling Neal that he need to trust Peter. “You realize somewhere that pigs are flying now.” “And that is the sound of Hell freezing over.” What a nice change from Mozzie actively working against Peter. And throughout the episode, shades of references to one of the greatest Peter-Mozzie scenes ever - the scavenger hunt from Need to Know. “Plausible deniability, it’s worked for us before.”

And isn’t that the creepiest baby doll ever (Elizabeth’s doll in Pulling Strings wasn’t a baby doll, right) ? The only thing worse could be if it was anatomically correct. I do love Neal’s horrified expression when Moz pulls off the doll’s hand to expose a USB port.

3. Peter testifying. I’ve written fic after fic where Peter has to prep for testimony. And I’ve always felt there was a vacuum on the show about that (me, being a lawyer and all), so it pleased me to no end to see a whole episode wrapped around Peter doing his job as an agent and testifying. And I do adore Neal’s attitude towards testimony - that it’s a con, a two-man con. And that he would love to testify. That seems so very Neal - the endless enthusiasm for his enthusiasms, currently his work with the FBI.

4. The rest of the cast. I need to break this down one by one.

A. Clinton - Scared witless of the lady fixer - Landon Shepard (oy what a name), who discovered during an interview when the arrest was first made, that Clinton has over-achiever daddy-approval issues. Oh, I so want fic about that. Will someone please, please write it for me.

B. Diana - I have the sadz. It seems that there’s no going back for her and Christie. But I did think that her reaction at the end of the interrogation scene was a little over the top, or maybe well played if she was clued in by Peter.

C. Elizabeth - Oh, my dear, dear, DEAR Mrs. Burke, you are back and with a vengeance. Over the last four episodes, your role has been reduced to a minor supporting cast member, your lines have been, for the most part, about propping up your husband (in his quest to have a work-life balance and keep his torrid affair with his handsome CI under wraps). We got a glimmer of the Elizabeth of Olde when she greeted Moz last week. But this week, she’s back and better than ever. (More about this later).

D. Sara - She knocked it out of the park. Look, I know that there are fans of the show who don’t like Sara Ellis, and there are some who have conceived of a hatred of her that borders on pathological, but I challenge anyone to tell me that her role in this episode was neither well played nor organic to the story.

5. Neal risking the operation (and the outcome of the trial) to protect Mozzie. One of the major take-aways from last week was how much of a friend Neal is to Mozzie. His utter shock and near-befuddlement when faced with Shepherd’s threat to expose Moz was heartbreaking. It isn’t often that we see Neal caught with his metaphorical pants down.

6. Neal and Elizabeth Direct a Porno. It’s been four years since we’ve seen ~~Peter Burke’s~~ Tim DeKay’s bare chest on Prime Time (the scene from Power Play that made it onto the extras for the S2 DVDs really doesn’t count). And he’s even more gorgeous that I remember. But let’s back it up a bit. Sara and Elizabeth sitting on the couch, Neal and Peter in the kitchen arguing about who’s going to tell them about their plan. I don’t know which was funnier. I laughed and laughed and laughed - their faces - all of them. It was screwball comedy at its finest.

Not to mention Mrs. Burke looking extremely hot in that white suit, and Sara’s finally wearing something that doesn’t torture her body.

Okay, okay … enough with the wardrobe check.

So - we’ve got the romantic scene - Neal’s apartment. We’ve got the supposed lovers, Sara and Peter, we’ve got Elizabeth watching the proceedings and then there’s Neal with the camera standing outside on the balcony. Except when he’s popping in to give stage directions to the totally uncomfortable Sara and Peter, and then stuffing his face with chocolate covered strawberries. Sublimation, sublimation, sublimation… Seeing his boyfriend macking on his ex-girlfriend with his boyfriend’s wife also giving stage directions has to be highly arousing.

At this point, I’m shouting at the TV - GREATEST EPISODE EVER!!!!!!!!

7. Neal as nerd. He really does look the part as he goes to see Delaney (nice turn as a villain, Mr. Tuturro - not overplayed at all. How refreshing). And then his tour de force as an expert witness. I wanted to stand up and cheer as the ink faded just a few seconds later. (And in a moment of irony, I was watching Pawn Stars earlier this evening and someone brought in a check printing machine, referencing Frank Abagnale and “Catch Me If You Can.” Abagnale was famous for, amongst other crimes, washing checks.

And I had to love Neal deciding that he didn’t like testifying - too much telling of the truth.

8. The Fixer, Shepard. I like her - I like her agency, her attitude, her strange sort of honor. And am I the only one who thinks that she and Sara have more than a bit of a thing going on? According to her conversation with Peter at the warehouse, she knew right away that the photos were a set up. And I don’t think it’s because she’s convinced that Peter would never cheat on his wife. Can I get Sara/Shepard slash? Can anyone say Sara/Shepard slash ten times fast?

I hope she comes back. One that could take on the role that Keller played in S2 and S3 - not so much the villain of the piece, but the worthy adversary. TBH, she actually reminds me very strongly of Irene Adler from the BBC’s Sherlock. Am I off base here?

:::::::::::::::::::::::::::

Of course, there’s something I’m not mentioning in this dish. That’s Sam.

I don’t like him.

I don’t trust him.

And right now, the whole mythology is sort of getting on my nerves.

If I don’t discuss it here on the Dish, it’s never happened, right?

:::::::::::::::::::::::::::

Okay, folks. I’m putting a lid on the Dish. But not before I mention the house rules.

Last week, I loved the episode, and I specifically asked that no one harsh my squee. A polite way of saying, if you didn’t like it, please be considerate and don’t tell me how much you hated it.

Several weeks back, when I did the Dish for S4.04, Parting Shots, I said that no bashing meant NO BASHING, and that I’d delete comments I considered bashing. And of course, people freely commented on how much they disliked Sara’s role in the episode. And I didn’t delete.

But you know what, this is my journal, and I’ve been very careful over the years about not promoting it anywhere. I am thrilled beyond measure that without any signal boosting, fans from all over the world come and park their thoughts about the show here, and hold long and joyous conversations with other fans. I don’t like the idea of deleting comments, warning people about their comments, or banning. I don’t want to flock or block anonymous commenters.

However, I don’t want strictly negative content here. The Dish isn’t meant to be an echo chamber of my own thoughts - and I very much want to hear other people’s considered and balanced opinions. But if pretty much the only thing you have to say is how much you dislike the episode, dislike a character - and let’s call it for what it is - you dislike Sara - please find other venues for your opinions.

One of the amazing things about White Collar is its incredible fan base. For years, I’ve wondered if other USA Network shows have similar fan reactions. They don’t. Check out

usanetworknews - White Collar consistently has multiple entries - more fic, more art, more episode fan reaction posts than any other show. It’s something to be immensely proud of. Check it out tomorrow, you’ll be certain to find a place to park your thoughts if you can’t do so here.

And you should also consider heading over to White Collar Fixation, to read

jrosemary’s “First Thoughts”. J-Ro is a Sara fan (and she has strong hopes for Sara and Neal long term), but WCF is a public blog, too. A distinction from my private journal here on DW and LJ.

I haven’t really gotten around to responding to people’s comments from last week - and I will try to. Identity Crisis is one of my favorite eps of the season and I want to talk about it, too. I just haven’t had a lot of time (RL is killing me, and my White Collar big bang fic is due soon). This means that I’ll probably be a little delayed in responding to this week’s dish, unless there are problems.

:::::::::::::::::::::::::::

Okay, enough with the rules and editorial comments. You know the drill. Thinky thoughts, not-so-thinky thoughts. Squee and reasoned commentary are welcome. Negativity and bashing will result in an unhappy Elr.

And you won’t like me when I’m unhappy.