elrhiarhodan (![[personal profile]](https://www.dreamwidth.org/img/silk/identity/user.png)
elrhiarhodan) wrote2013-02-20 12:54 am
elrhiarhodan) wrote2013-02-20 12:54 am
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Post Ep Dish - S4.14 - Shoot the Moon
Post-Ep Dish - 4.14 - Shoot the Moon
After two less-than-stellar episodes (though both were better on re-watch than when originally aired), I was beginning to have my doubts about the direction of White Collar. Elizabeth was no longer behaving like a Stepford Wife, thank goodness, but she was definitely channeling something equally unwholesome and out of character. The trust issues driving Peter and Neal apart felt weirdly fabricated and it was more like these guys really didn't care about each other (no spending hours at the hospital bedside was definitely a lost opportunity) than they were good friends who'd do anything for each other.
But I have to say, after watching Shoot the Moon, my faith in White Collar has been restored. So, here we go, my friends, after a week's hiatus, it's time for the Post-Ep Dish.
The opening scene was a delightful bit of subliminal b-roll - we're treated to a few seconds of people lounging on what looks to be the Great Lawn in Central Park (it isn't), and then we're taken to a shot of Neal and Sara walking in front of a fountain and a giant globe. Raise your hand if you know what this is.
(It's the Unisphere, built in Flushing Meadows - Corona Park in Queens for the 1963 World's Fair.)
It's not in Neal's radius, whether June's place is uptown on the West Side, or Tudor City, by the Chrysler Building (see my comment to the Empire City Dish). Corona Park is at least 13 miles from Riverside and almost 10 miles from the Midtown area. No fudging here. I can only suppose that since Neal is being legitimately employed by Sara as a security consultant, he's giving an extension of his radius.
Anyway, I love the idea of Neal and Sara as amis amour (and my French-speaking friends, please correct my spelling) - which is a more romantic turn of phrase for friends with benefits. Sexy, but casual. Yum…
(And I am sure that I'm not only one who's glad to see that the color casting on this scene as shown in the Season 4 music video was off. Sara's definitely still a ginger!)
The scene shifts to Peter and Elizabeth, who are sneaking away for a little R&R - I guess they need it after everything that's happened. I love how casually romantic they are together - it feels like the couple I fell in love with in Pilot, except that Peter's a lot more self-assured here. But he's still an FBI agent, a professional paranoid, who takes his gun with him on vacation.
And is he so totally hot in the open collar shirt and well-tailored black pants (I think I recognize those from Power Play, yes?). And that line about having the upper body strength of a Norse God, GUH!!!!!!!!!
Cue the knock on the door, and it's Jones … and Peter's not fooling anyone. At least not El.
And now the caper of the week begins.
I have to confess, when I saw the promos for this ep, I was a little dismayed. As someone funnier than I am pointed out, this ep was supposed to be all about Peter and Elizabeth's favorite pastime - getting taken hostage. (I think at one point I figured out that over 30% of all White Collar episodes featured kidnapping as a plot device.)
But you know what, it worked. The tension was there, the scene where the two thieves take Peter and El hostage had me on the edge of my seat. I was cheering Elizabeth on for being smart and dropping her earring (and hoping that some passerby wouldn't pick it up).
And how awesome were Sara and Neal? (Although I do have to wonder, did they call 911 before heading into the gallery?)
While I loved this episode, it wouldn't be an episode of White Collar if it didn't have a few scenes that strained my credulity. These crazy-ass thieves in Venetian carnival masks who go around waving guns and kidnapping people (and threatening to kill them) are suddenly sharing clothes and confidences and letting El out of her zip tie handcuffs so she can chop onions with a great big chef's knife?
Okay - so maybe the bad guy isn't really so bad - just misunderstood.
Anyway, willing suspension of disbelief aside, there was much to love about this whole middle scene - Peter and Elizabeth and their nerves of steel, their complete trust and their ability to communicate. I was completely swept into their understated panic when Peter's ID was partially exposed (I think, though, had they not called attention to it, they might have gotten away clean. They may communicate impeccable, but their execution was a little flawed).
One of the interesting themes of this episode was how everyone's timing was off.
Peter goes to get El a hot chocolate and because he takes a moment to be courteous, he and El are carjacked. Neal and Moz go to the Burkes to pick up Satchmo and just miss the call from the B&B where the Burkes were heading. Diana calls the Science Museum to warn them, but the kidnappers/thieves arrive just as the phone rings.
And one has to wonder about the timing of Neal and Sara - since the perfume bottle was recovered and available for display, does that mean that the two of them are destined to be forever amis amour? (And even though the Marshals are turning a blind eye to Neal's jaunts into Queens, I think they'd be a little non-plussed if he went to London for a little weekend nookie).
I've gone a thousand words into this Dish and I've barely scratched the surface. So let's go to best moments:
Diana and Jones stepping all over each other at the operations meeting. "Ladies first… Why not guys first…" And Diana just steps out, anyway. (And speaking of Diana - that hair is absolutely MAGNIFICENT).
Neal telling Moz not to snoop while he's giving Satchmo a really good belly rub. Maybe he's still feeling guilty for breaking in last season.
Neal taking out an "ad" in Mugshot Monthly, and getting carpel tunnel syndrome from all the letters he wrote.
When Elizabeth and Peter almost reminisce about being kidnapped - "at least we're together this time."
Neal going all out for Peter and Elizabeth - that's the Neal I know and love and have missed for the last few weeks.
Peter talking Osborne down - the moment reminded me of Peter talking Neal down at the end of Point Blank. Maybe Peter's in the wrong line of work - maybe he should be in hostage negotiations?
And of course, absolutely of course, without a doubt of course, Elizabeth finally coming clean to Peter. That scene between them, quiet and without any fanfare, was as perfect as I hoped and needed it to be. And this: "Neal and I will always have secrets…" Note, Peter didn't say that they's always have trust issues. Secrets are good, mistrust at this point is just lazy scriptwriting.
A few honorable mentions:
Scruffy Peter at the end of the episode.
Not showing how the take down went, just Oz handing Peter his gun.
Not telling us about Sara's fate, just Neal going as her no-strings plus-one
And the most honorable mention of them all, Devious Peter manipulating Neal into going to the house and finding the IRS paperwork. Bravo, Agent Burke, bravo!!!
Okay, flisties and other peoples, this is the Dish - the place to park the thinky and no-so-thinky thoughts. It's also on my journal and I expect people to be well behaved and remember that I like Sara Ellis. I like her with Neal. I like her without Neal. And I will not hesitate to delete comments I find disrespectful. Full stop.
After two less-than-stellar episodes (though both were better on re-watch than when originally aired), I was beginning to have my doubts about the direction of White Collar. Elizabeth was no longer behaving like a Stepford Wife, thank goodness, but she was definitely channeling something equally unwholesome and out of character. The trust issues driving Peter and Neal apart felt weirdly fabricated and it was more like these guys really didn't care about each other (no spending hours at the hospital bedside was definitely a lost opportunity) than they were good friends who'd do anything for each other.
But I have to say, after watching Shoot the Moon, my faith in White Collar has been restored. So, here we go, my friends, after a week's hiatus, it's time for the Post-Ep Dish.
The opening scene was a delightful bit of subliminal b-roll - we're treated to a few seconds of people lounging on what looks to be the Great Lawn in Central Park (it isn't), and then we're taken to a shot of Neal and Sara walking in front of a fountain and a giant globe. Raise your hand if you know what this is.
(It's the Unisphere, built in Flushing Meadows - Corona Park in Queens for the 1963 World's Fair.)
It's not in Neal's radius, whether June's place is uptown on the West Side, or Tudor City, by the Chrysler Building (see my comment to the Empire City Dish). Corona Park is at least 13 miles from Riverside and almost 10 miles from the Midtown area. No fudging here. I can only suppose that since Neal is being legitimately employed by Sara as a security consultant, he's giving an extension of his radius.
Anyway, I love the idea of Neal and Sara as amis amour (and my French-speaking friends, please correct my spelling) - which is a more romantic turn of phrase for friends with benefits. Sexy, but casual. Yum…
(And I am sure that I'm not only one who's glad to see that the color casting on this scene as shown in the Season 4 music video was off. Sara's definitely still a ginger!)
The scene shifts to Peter and Elizabeth, who are sneaking away for a little R&R - I guess they need it after everything that's happened. I love how casually romantic they are together - it feels like the couple I fell in love with in Pilot, except that Peter's a lot more self-assured here. But he's still an FBI agent, a professional paranoid, who takes his gun with him on vacation.
And is he so totally hot in the open collar shirt and well-tailored black pants (I think I recognize those from Power Play, yes?). And that line about having the upper body strength of a Norse God, GUH!!!!!!!!!
Cue the knock on the door, and it's Jones … and Peter's not fooling anyone. At least not El.
And now the caper of the week begins.
I have to confess, when I saw the promos for this ep, I was a little dismayed. As someone funnier than I am pointed out, this ep was supposed to be all about Peter and Elizabeth's favorite pastime - getting taken hostage. (I think at one point I figured out that over 30% of all White Collar episodes featured kidnapping as a plot device.)
But you know what, it worked. The tension was there, the scene where the two thieves take Peter and El hostage had me on the edge of my seat. I was cheering Elizabeth on for being smart and dropping her earring (and hoping that some passerby wouldn't pick it up).
And how awesome were Sara and Neal? (Although I do have to wonder, did they call 911 before heading into the gallery?)
While I loved this episode, it wouldn't be an episode of White Collar if it didn't have a few scenes that strained my credulity. These crazy-ass thieves in Venetian carnival masks who go around waving guns and kidnapping people (and threatening to kill them) are suddenly sharing clothes and confidences and letting El out of her zip tie handcuffs so she can chop onions with a great big chef's knife?
Okay - so maybe the bad guy isn't really so bad - just misunderstood.
Anyway, willing suspension of disbelief aside, there was much to love about this whole middle scene - Peter and Elizabeth and their nerves of steel, their complete trust and their ability to communicate. I was completely swept into their understated panic when Peter's ID was partially exposed (I think, though, had they not called attention to it, they might have gotten away clean. They may communicate impeccable, but their execution was a little flawed).
One of the interesting themes of this episode was how everyone's timing was off.
Peter goes to get El a hot chocolate and because he takes a moment to be courteous, he and El are carjacked. Neal and Moz go to the Burkes to pick up Satchmo and just miss the call from the B&B where the Burkes were heading. Diana calls the Science Museum to warn them, but the kidnappers/thieves arrive just as the phone rings.
And one has to wonder about the timing of Neal and Sara - since the perfume bottle was recovered and available for display, does that mean that the two of them are destined to be forever amis amour? (And even though the Marshals are turning a blind eye to Neal's jaunts into Queens, I think they'd be a little non-plussed if he went to London for a little weekend nookie).
I've gone a thousand words into this Dish and I've barely scratched the surface. So let's go to best moments:
Diana and Jones stepping all over each other at the operations meeting. "Ladies first… Why not guys first…" And Diana just steps out, anyway. (And speaking of Diana - that hair is absolutely MAGNIFICENT).
Neal telling Moz not to snoop while he's giving Satchmo a really good belly rub. Maybe he's still feeling guilty for breaking in last season.
Neal taking out an "ad" in Mugshot Monthly, and getting carpel tunnel syndrome from all the letters he wrote.
When Elizabeth and Peter almost reminisce about being kidnapped - "at least we're together this time."
Neal going all out for Peter and Elizabeth - that's the Neal I know and love and have missed for the last few weeks.
Peter talking Osborne down - the moment reminded me of Peter talking Neal down at the end of Point Blank. Maybe Peter's in the wrong line of work - maybe he should be in hostage negotiations?
And of course, absolutely of course, without a doubt of course, Elizabeth finally coming clean to Peter. That scene between them, quiet and without any fanfare, was as perfect as I hoped and needed it to be. And this: "Neal and I will always have secrets…" Note, Peter didn't say that they's always have trust issues. Secrets are good, mistrust at this point is just lazy scriptwriting.
A few honorable mentions:
Scruffy Peter at the end of the episode.
Not showing how the take down went, just Oz handing Peter his gun.
Not telling us about Sara's fate, just Neal going as her no-strings plus-one
And the most honorable mention of them all, Devious Peter manipulating Neal into going to the house and finding the IRS paperwork. Bravo, Agent Burke, bravo!!!
Okay, flisties and other peoples, this is the Dish - the place to park the thinky and no-so-thinky thoughts. It's also on my journal and I expect people to be well behaved and remember that I like Sara Ellis. I like her with Neal. I like her without Neal. And I will not hesitate to delete comments I find disrespectful. Full stop.