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elrhiarhodanNormally, I reserve reaction posts for season finales, and let the Dish do my talking during the season. With Taking Account I find myself scratching my head (and not because of any skin problems), and quite a few things that got left out of the Dish that I want to take the time to explore in more detail.
When I turned off the television last night, my first thought was - a solid "B+" episode. Not as good as Dentist of Detroit or Veiled Threat, but definitely better than Scott Free. Now, I am not so sure. I'll revisit at the end.
The problem I had with Scott Free was that Neal was unhappy through almost the entire episode, whether it was professional jealousy or that he was seeing something unpleasant in Scott that reminded him of his own past. And that unhappiness communicated itself to me, and I was unhappy. With Taking Account, the unhappiness was less organic, but deeper in a way. And it all boils down to relationships.
Peter & Neal
This is a "broken bromance" episode - not in the way that On Guard was, though. Here, the problems here came mostly from Peter. It's sort of a running gag now how much he behaves like a 12-year old when it comes to Neal and Sara (the dinner double date aside) - but it's getting old. Next episode I expect to hear him chanting "Neal and Sara, sitting in a tree, K-I-S-S-I-N-G." He definitely approves of the relationship, but the teasing is not helping, and it's grating for a show that has (until now) done such an excellent job of showing mature relationships.
Peter's joke about taking off Neal's anklet and throwing him back in jail wasn't even worthy of Season 1. For the record, Peter never canonically joked about that - he certainly told Neal that the deal was on thin ice a few times (The Portrait, Hard Sell, come to mind. The conversation at the end Front Man was of a different sort). Most of Season Two, they worked together like hand and glove, even when Neal was trying to get at the music box. Now, they don't seem to be working together as much as in parallel, and that doesn't make me happy at all.
One of the worst moments for me was when Neal had asked Peter about how he was on to him during his stay in "paradise" in Rome (can't recall the name of the hotel). Peter was downright gleeful at telling Neal he bluffed. It wasn't out of character, but it made for a difficult moment. Neal's pain was obvious and while Peter certainly was well within his rights to feel smug about getting one over on Neal, it seemed a little over the top at this late date. (Though I am pleased that rather than miscast Interpol as an investigative police force, they've invented "Europol" as a substitute. Someone's doing their research, finally).
Perhaps this direction was deliberate - to make it easier for Neal to decide to throw in with Mozzie (for the moment).
Neal & Sara
I'm on record for really liking their relationship. Not because I think it's a perfect pairing, but I like the aesthetics of two sexy people doing sexy things with each other. I don't know if it's true love - and I until Neal started sounded Sara out about coming away with him, I don't think that Neal thought so either. I think that he was caught up in the moment - having everything at his fingertips - the endorphin rush - and I think by the end of the episode, he pulled back from that ("what are we now - the 'what time will you be home' type").
A lot has been made of the June and Sara conversation in other reaction posts. I have to say I need to watch that again, several times. The only thing I managed to understand was the Byron served time for having counterfeit casino chips (hmmm - New York's a long way from Vegas, and I have a feeling that that happened before legalized casino gambling was in Atlantic City) and that he build the mansion. That last was a bit of WTF - because the real mansion was built in 1909 and is a wonderful example of Beaux Arts design if ever there was one. And there's no way that Byron and June are quite that old (this isn't Vampire Diaries or True Blood).
The whole thing about federal agents and arms length and Mozzie went completely over my head. Even though I like Sara, I am still surprised that June is willing to accept her - given how she brought the police into her home in In the Red.
As upset as I am about Sara discovering the treasure, I'm not upset that she snooped. Not last week, not this week. First of all - Moz all but hung out a big neon sign that said "look here for secret stuff". And then Neal, clearly looking at something on the computer, asks her if she'd run away to paradise with him. She knows there's something there - and didn't Neal ask her to alibi him in On Guard? She's a professional snoop - "Insurance Investigator Barbie" (grrr - I hate that appellation) - it doesn't surprise me in the least that she'd look.
I am upset that she's discovered the treasure because it now drives a huge rift between her and Neal. If she doesn't report it, she's an accomplice after the fact, if she does report it - well, that's a really big kiss of death to any relationship. And where does it put Neal? Squarely in the bad guy category.
Just where I don't want him to be.
Neal & Mozzie
I used to really love Moz. I loved how he helped Neal stay grounded when he was looking for Kate. I loved how he kept Neal sane throughout S2 and the hunt for Kate's killer. I *smished* him when he did the right thing by calling Peter when he discovered Neal had a gun and was going to kill Fowler. I even adored him when he stood up to DeLuca in D/o/D so Peter wouldn't get hurt.
But Mozzie and Neal - toxic like waste. I know I'm repeating myself from comments made on other people's reaction posts, but while Neal has every reason to trust Moz, Moz is not looking out for Neal's best interests at all.
The speil he gave Neal in On Guard - "their white whale" and "the score of a lifetime" and "retiring to a private island in the Caribbean" - it was the exact same things he said to Neal when he induced him to be the front man in the Adler con (and look at how well THAT turned out).
Neal trusts Moz - probably more than he trusts Peter at this point (despite the assertion that Peter is the only person he really trusts). And Moz is pouring out all his own fantasies and desires out on Neal in a desperate attempt not to have to spend the rest of his life alone.
I've come to realize, Moz isn't a loner. He's the opposite of a loner. He is desperately needy and disguises his fear of disappointment with the guise of an urban hermit. As depicted this season, his relationship with Neal is not unlike a tick and a deer. He's sucking the life out of Neal. It's unhealthy for both of them.
Yeah - I'm happy he got lucky. Very happy. So happy that I wish he'd settle down with Sali, and start breeding little prodigies. Beet and Brah and Bake. No need to be Uncle Mozzie, when you can be Daddy.
So where does this leave me with this episode. It's still a B+, or even an A. If just because it really made me think about the story and the relationships.
When I turned off the television last night, my first thought was - a solid "B+" episode. Not as good as Dentist of Detroit or Veiled Threat, but definitely better than Scott Free. Now, I am not so sure. I'll revisit at the end.
The problem I had with Scott Free was that Neal was unhappy through almost the entire episode, whether it was professional jealousy or that he was seeing something unpleasant in Scott that reminded him of his own past. And that unhappiness communicated itself to me, and I was unhappy. With Taking Account, the unhappiness was less organic, but deeper in a way. And it all boils down to relationships.
Peter & Neal
This is a "broken bromance" episode - not in the way that On Guard was, though. Here, the problems here came mostly from Peter. It's sort of a running gag now how much he behaves like a 12-year old when it comes to Neal and Sara (the dinner double date aside) - but it's getting old. Next episode I expect to hear him chanting "Neal and Sara, sitting in a tree, K-I-S-S-I-N-G." He definitely approves of the relationship, but the teasing is not helping, and it's grating for a show that has (until now) done such an excellent job of showing mature relationships.
Peter's joke about taking off Neal's anklet and throwing him back in jail wasn't even worthy of Season 1. For the record, Peter never canonically joked about that - he certainly told Neal that the deal was on thin ice a few times (The Portrait, Hard Sell, come to mind. The conversation at the end Front Man was of a different sort). Most of Season Two, they worked together like hand and glove, even when Neal was trying to get at the music box. Now, they don't seem to be working together as much as in parallel, and that doesn't make me happy at all.
One of the worst moments for me was when Neal had asked Peter about how he was on to him during his stay in "paradise" in Rome (can't recall the name of the hotel). Peter was downright gleeful at telling Neal he bluffed. It wasn't out of character, but it made for a difficult moment. Neal's pain was obvious and while Peter certainly was well within his rights to feel smug about getting one over on Neal, it seemed a little over the top at this late date. (Though I am pleased that rather than miscast Interpol as an investigative police force, they've invented "Europol" as a substitute. Someone's doing their research, finally).
Perhaps this direction was deliberate - to make it easier for Neal to decide to throw in with Mozzie (for the moment).
Neal & Sara
I'm on record for really liking their relationship. Not because I think it's a perfect pairing, but I like the aesthetics of two sexy people doing sexy things with each other. I don't know if it's true love - and I until Neal started sounded Sara out about coming away with him, I don't think that Neal thought so either. I think that he was caught up in the moment - having everything at his fingertips - the endorphin rush - and I think by the end of the episode, he pulled back from that ("what are we now - the 'what time will you be home' type").
A lot has been made of the June and Sara conversation in other reaction posts. I have to say I need to watch that again, several times. The only thing I managed to understand was the Byron served time for having counterfeit casino chips (hmmm - New York's a long way from Vegas, and I have a feeling that that happened before legalized casino gambling was in Atlantic City) and that he build the mansion. That last was a bit of WTF - because the real mansion was built in 1909 and is a wonderful example of Beaux Arts design if ever there was one. And there's no way that Byron and June are quite that old (this isn't Vampire Diaries or True Blood).
The whole thing about federal agents and arms length and Mozzie went completely over my head. Even though I like Sara, I am still surprised that June is willing to accept her - given how she brought the police into her home in In the Red.
As upset as I am about Sara discovering the treasure, I'm not upset that she snooped. Not last week, not this week. First of all - Moz all but hung out a big neon sign that said "look here for secret stuff". And then Neal, clearly looking at something on the computer, asks her if she'd run away to paradise with him. She knows there's something there - and didn't Neal ask her to alibi him in On Guard? She's a professional snoop - "Insurance Investigator Barbie" (grrr - I hate that appellation) - it doesn't surprise me in the least that she'd look.
I am upset that she's discovered the treasure because it now drives a huge rift between her and Neal. If she doesn't report it, she's an accomplice after the fact, if she does report it - well, that's a really big kiss of death to any relationship. And where does it put Neal? Squarely in the bad guy category.
Just where I don't want him to be.
Neal & Mozzie
I used to really love Moz. I loved how he helped Neal stay grounded when he was looking for Kate. I loved how he kept Neal sane throughout S2 and the hunt for Kate's killer. I *smished* him when he did the right thing by calling Peter when he discovered Neal had a gun and was going to kill Fowler. I even adored him when he stood up to DeLuca in D/o/D so Peter wouldn't get hurt.
But Mozzie and Neal - toxic like waste. I know I'm repeating myself from comments made on other people's reaction posts, but while Neal has every reason to trust Moz, Moz is not looking out for Neal's best interests at all.
The speil he gave Neal in On Guard - "their white whale" and "the score of a lifetime" and "retiring to a private island in the Caribbean" - it was the exact same things he said to Neal when he induced him to be the front man in the Adler con (and look at how well THAT turned out).
Neal trusts Moz - probably more than he trusts Peter at this point (despite the assertion that Peter is the only person he really trusts). And Moz is pouring out all his own fantasies and desires out on Neal in a desperate attempt not to have to spend the rest of his life alone.
I've come to realize, Moz isn't a loner. He's the opposite of a loner. He is desperately needy and disguises his fear of disappointment with the guise of an urban hermit. As depicted this season, his relationship with Neal is not unlike a tick and a deer. He's sucking the life out of Neal. It's unhealthy for both of them.
Yeah - I'm happy he got lucky. Very happy. So happy that I wish he'd settle down with Sali, and start breeding little prodigies. Beet and Brah and Bake. No need to be Uncle Mozzie, when you can be Daddy.
So where does this leave me with this episode. It's still a B+, or even an A. If just because it really made me think about the story and the relationships.
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Date: 2011-07-20 11:43 pm (UTC)(This is me being speechless since you said everything I want to say about Season 3 in general) :-)