Post Ep Dish - S4.10 - Vested Interest
Sep. 18th, 2012 11:01 pm![[personal profile]](https://www.dreamwidth.org/img/silk/identity/user.png){kind=small}
elrhiarhodanSigh … seems like Season 4 just started, and now it's on break until some time in January. If it starts up again in the second week of the new year, we're looking at about 120 days without White Collar. At least it's better than the 200-plus days that we were left hanging about El last year.
Thank you all to your contributions to the Dish-less Dish last week. I've read them all, and time permitting, I'll respond to them soon-ish.
Because last week was so crazy, I've gone into this episode pretty unspoiled, but with high-ish hopes. Not only for a resolution of Neal's anger with Peter, but at being Kripked. One of the very first fics I wrote involved the industry that Peter and Neal are investigating. Of course, Peter and Neal and Elizabeth aren't involved in a polyamorous relationship and it wasn't Peter's twin sister who brought the case to their attention, but it does involve (okay - won't say, since it's above the cut).
And now - the DISH!
Of the four mid-season finales, I'm going to rate this one ...
As meh. It falls somewhere around the level of (possibly) Evil Peter saying "Hello, Kate."
But I come here not to trash Vested Interest, but to praise it.
My overall thought is this - the first half of the season should have ended with last week's episode. It had the dramatic ending filled with questions on where the primary relationship was going. This episode felt more like it should have started out the back half of the season. Which is why it rates just a meh for me.
And yet, there were a lot of things to adore here, a lot of small emotional moments that could have made this such a stand-out episode, if it wasn't the mid-season finale.
1 - Peter used the word "love." Yes, the context was sarcastic, even a touch bitter - but maybe that context added depth and poignancy to the moment when Neal, still bitterly angry at Peter, flashes the perfect con man's grin, selling it for all the world. "There's the Neal Caffrey I know and love." (Okay, I'm not sure if Peter said "I" or "we" but I'm still struggling with the new DVR so I don't want to waste time and go back to it yet - I'll pick it up on the rewatch).
2 - Peter trying to reconcile with Neal over coffee. Office coffee. But on the other hand, am I the only one who found the segue between Angry Neal and The Ink Spots singing "The Java Jive" a little jarring? Look, I know this is White Collar, and even when the girl gets blown up, everyone's all smiles in the next episode, but a few bits of emotional anguish wouldn't have gone amiss.
And on the OTHER hand, Neal's rebuff hurt, and hurt hard. So maybe this was about the quiet moments, the understated plays.
3 - The no-drama reconciliation. As![[livejournal.com profile]](https://www.dreamwidth.org/img/external/lj-userinfo.gif)
jrosemary has pointed out in White Collar Fixation (in tonight's First Thoughts and in comments back to Season One), the rocky patches in Peter and Neal's relationship have handled without a long, drawn-out story arc. Jeff Eastin very wisely leaves the long narrative to the show's mythology, not to the relationships within the show. Season One, Hard Sell - need I say more?
This episode was as much about the reconciliation between Peter and Neal as it was about the caper of the week (ho-hum) and Sam's real identity (ho-hum to the infinite power). And that's what redeemed it.
There was the moment in the hallway at the Bureau, when Peter flat out tells Neal that he took him up on his offer because he liked him. I'm not 100% sure that Peter wasn't indulging in a little social engineering there (shades of Neal admitting that he didn't want to run anymore in Withdrawal). But what he told Neal was the utter truth - and he's also not more than a little embarrassed by that confession.
And then the information he imparts to Neal at the water's edge (am I the only one who found that symbolic?) about Sam not being Sam. At first thought, I was shocked that Peter just gave him the information and then walked away. But in retrospect, it was another perfect moment of healing between them. Neal had accused Peter of trying to run his life - and to a great extent, that's true. But in doing this and walking away - he's giving Neal back the power of choice. He's not treating Neal like he's an irresponsible child, but as an adult that can and should make his own decisions.
And from there, Neal does make a choice - the right one.
Of course, the shining moment of the episode is when Peter and Neal complete their panel interview, talking about - what else - the moments in Avery Philips' comic book vault (from Hard Sell) and the trust they have in each other. And even when there isn't trust, there is always faith between them.
If that's not a declaration of love, I don't know what is.
And now for the 600 pound gorilla in the room. Sam Phelps.
Or as we now know him to be, James Bennett.
Sigh. We all saw it coming, we all hoped it wasn't to be. But it was. Sam leaves me cold, I don't care about him. He's totally uninteresting and uninspiring as a character and that he's revealed to be Neal's father is really rather pointless.
You know what, I don't even want to talk about it. The promos said that the finale would change everything for Neal, and in our pre-episode chat,jrosemary and I came up with a few possibilities that were (in retrospect, far more exciting). Here are a few, and please feel free to add your own:
Jro: Neal runs off with Elizabeth
Elr: Sam is Peter's long lost uncle/cousin/brother
Jro: Sam is Mozzie's father
Elr: Sam killed Neal's father
Jro: Peter wants to adopt Neal
Elr: Sam is Byron's half-brother (Elr gets into the cracky ideas)
Jro: El could be preggers
Elr: Sam is Vincent Adler's half-brother (do we detect a theme here?)
Jro: Neal is preggers with Michael Weston's baby
Elr: Peter is preggers, and the daddy is Jones
Jro: That would really devastate the Neal/Jones shippers, unless Peter was their surrogate.
Elr: Sam is really Kate in disguise
Jro: Neal is pregnant, and Jack Harkness is the baby-daddy (for the WIN, you've got to admit).
'kay - this is perhaps the strangest Dish I've done. I just find myself with not a lot to say at the moment. Maybe I need to rewatch and revisit. Besides, I’m exhausted. Not from the moving and unpacking, but I went back to work today and had to take an unexpected trip to another state that included six hours on four different trains.
Hard to believe, but this is it until January, 2013. Let's get the conversation started. You know the drill. Thinky thoughts, not-so-thinky thoughts. Squee and not-squee away.
Thank you all to your contributions to the Dish-less Dish last week. I've read them all, and time permitting, I'll respond to them soon-ish.
Because last week was so crazy, I've gone into this episode pretty unspoiled, but with high-ish hopes. Not only for a resolution of Neal's anger with Peter, but at being Kripked. One of the very first fics I wrote involved the industry that Peter and Neal are investigating. Of course, Peter and Neal and Elizabeth aren't involved in a polyamorous relationship and it wasn't Peter's twin sister who brought the case to their attention, but it does involve (okay - won't say, since it's above the cut).
And now - the DISH!
Of the four mid-season finales, I'm going to rate this one ...
As meh. It falls somewhere around the level of (possibly) Evil Peter saying "Hello, Kate."
But I come here not to trash Vested Interest, but to praise it.
My overall thought is this - the first half of the season should have ended with last week's episode. It had the dramatic ending filled with questions on where the primary relationship was going. This episode felt more like it should have started out the back half of the season. Which is why it rates just a meh for me.
And yet, there were a lot of things to adore here, a lot of small emotional moments that could have made this such a stand-out episode, if it wasn't the mid-season finale.
1 - Peter used the word "love." Yes, the context was sarcastic, even a touch bitter - but maybe that context added depth and poignancy to the moment when Neal, still bitterly angry at Peter, flashes the perfect con man's grin, selling it for all the world. "There's the Neal Caffrey I know and love." (Okay, I'm not sure if Peter said "I" or "we" but I'm still struggling with the new DVR so I don't want to waste time and go back to it yet - I'll pick it up on the rewatch).
2 - Peter trying to reconcile with Neal over coffee. Office coffee. But on the other hand, am I the only one who found the segue between Angry Neal and The Ink Spots singing "The Java Jive" a little jarring? Look, I know this is White Collar, and even when the girl gets blown up, everyone's all smiles in the next episode, but a few bits of emotional anguish wouldn't have gone amiss.
And on the OTHER hand, Neal's rebuff hurt, and hurt hard. So maybe this was about the quiet moments, the understated plays.
3 - The no-drama reconciliation. As
jrosemary has pointed out in White Collar Fixation (in tonight's First Thoughts and in comments back to Season One), the rocky patches in Peter and Neal's relationship have handled without a long, drawn-out story arc. Jeff Eastin very wisely leaves the long narrative to the show's mythology, not to the relationships within the show. Season One, Hard Sell - need I say more?This episode was as much about the reconciliation between Peter and Neal as it was about the caper of the week (ho-hum) and Sam's real identity (ho-hum to the infinite power). And that's what redeemed it.
There was the moment in the hallway at the Bureau, when Peter flat out tells Neal that he took him up on his offer because he liked him. I'm not 100% sure that Peter wasn't indulging in a little social engineering there (shades of Neal admitting that he didn't want to run anymore in Withdrawal). But what he told Neal was the utter truth - and he's also not more than a little embarrassed by that confession.
And then the information he imparts to Neal at the water's edge (am I the only one who found that symbolic?) about Sam not being Sam. At first thought, I was shocked that Peter just gave him the information and then walked away. But in retrospect, it was another perfect moment of healing between them. Neal had accused Peter of trying to run his life - and to a great extent, that's true. But in doing this and walking away - he's giving Neal back the power of choice. He's not treating Neal like he's an irresponsible child, but as an adult that can and should make his own decisions.
And from there, Neal does make a choice - the right one.
Of course, the shining moment of the episode is when Peter and Neal complete their panel interview, talking about - what else - the moments in Avery Philips' comic book vault (from Hard Sell) and the trust they have in each other. And even when there isn't trust, there is always faith between them.
If that's not a declaration of love, I don't know what is.
And now for the 600 pound gorilla in the room. Sam Phelps.
Or as we now know him to be, James Bennett.
Sigh. We all saw it coming, we all hoped it wasn't to be. But it was. Sam leaves me cold, I don't care about him. He's totally uninteresting and uninspiring as a character and that he's revealed to be Neal's father is really rather pointless.
You know what, I don't even want to talk about it. The promos said that the finale would change everything for Neal, and in our pre-episode chat,
jrosemary and I came up with a few possibilities that were (in retrospect, far more exciting). Here are a few, and please feel free to add your own:Jro: Neal runs off with Elizabeth
Elr: Sam is Peter's long lost uncle/cousin/brother
Jro: Sam is Mozzie's father
Elr: Sam killed Neal's father
Jro: Peter wants to adopt Neal
Elr: Sam is Byron's half-brother (Elr gets into the cracky ideas)
Jro: El could be preggers
Elr: Sam is Vincent Adler's half-brother (do we detect a theme here?)
Jro: Neal is preggers with Michael Weston's baby
Elr: Peter is preggers, and the daddy is Jones
Jro: That would really devastate the Neal/Jones shippers, unless Peter was their surrogate.
Elr: Sam is really Kate in disguise
Jro: Neal is pregnant, and Jack Harkness is the baby-daddy (for the WIN, you've got to admit).
'kay - this is perhaps the strangest Dish I've done. I just find myself with not a lot to say at the moment. Maybe I need to rewatch and revisit. Besides, I’m exhausted. Not from the moving and unpacking, but I went back to work today and had to take an unexpected trip to another state that included six hours on four different trains.
Hard to believe, but this is it until January, 2013. Let's get the conversation started. You know the drill. Thinky thoughts, not-so-thinky thoughts. Squee and not-squee away.
no subject
Date: 2012-09-19 11:14 am (UTC)And once again I agree with everything you have said... oh we do thing alike :P Just a few thoughts...
Even though I tried to remain fairly optimistic, there was a part of me that was afraid they were gonna end this half with Peter and Neal at odds. I know this would have been killing me for the next 16 weeks so I am one happy camper that it didn't happen \o/ I loved the second part of the panel, the declarations, the vows... I think saying those lines about trust and faith was epic, it wasn't maybe a huge discovery but saying it out loud was definitely something new and good for them. YAY :D I just loved seeing them walking to that second half of the panel, truly together this time... huge relief, really :D Awwww, boys ♥
But man, Neal can be cold when he means it :P The first 10 minutes all I wanted to do was hold Peter close and pet his head. I only wish the anger and hurt on Neal's side weren't reduced to refusing coffee and acting the way he acted during the first half of the panel. In these moments I found myself thinking of the Danger Verse and how your hurt and angry Neal was so, soooooo much better :P
Before the ep I've been telling people that I wanted Peter to end up wearing the vest, without Neal knowing, and then get shot in the vest... so that Neal would freak out a bit... Heeee, well, I got my wish, only the roles were reversed. And, of course, this is White Collar so the epic whump potential was once again ignored. They could have at least made Neal a little bit out of it after the fall... but we could see how relieved Peter was when he saw the vest, so there is that :D
And now the Sam thing - well, I knew about about Sam being James roughly since May... and even then the whole revelation was meh to me. I can't bring myself to care. Neal already has a father figure in his life, a mentor, a friend, a family closer and stronger than any blood ties. I hope in the second part of the season we will have Neal thinking about it and realizing how true it is ♥
Also, this whole safehouse thing with Sam, how he went there alone to protect them and then got jumped by a guy and beaten, and how the bad guy conveniently went to wash his hands so that Neal could drag Sam out of that room - oh, please. This was sooooo a nicely executed performance. And Sam's explanation when he was sitting on the stairs and Neal was wiping the blood out of his face - it all sounded so fake. I don't know. At this point I don't know if James is a good guy with a secret agenda or if he's one of the bad guys - I don't know but I sure as hell don't trust him and he is definitely hiding something. I think the s4 finale might be about answering that - that is just my guess.
But all in all, it was a good episode, lots of great moments and no cliffie that would make me hit my head against a wall \o/ I also agree that if they had left us with 4x09 as the finale, that would have been so, soooooo much more nerve-wrecking and sad and it would guarantee a heartache for a few weeks.
And I just have to say that it is a great season so far, with a few ups and downs, I am very satisfied with what they have given us this year. I will be eagerly awaiting the second half :D
no subject
Date: 2012-09-20 01:46 pm (UTC)And as I've said above, I find I'm a lot happier without four months of tension and angst to resolve. Yeah, that does make for good fic, but it doesn't leave a lot of room for the OT3 or the slash.
This is the first time the mid-season finale has ended with Peter and Neal being on the same page, emotionally. They have their faith and now, a whole lot of trust. That means, for me, plenty of sexitiems ahead. The OT3 can set sail in smooth waters. No false drama, no real drama.