Post-Ep Dish - S5.03 - One Last Stakeout

[elrhiarhodan]

Okay folks, time for this edition of the Post Ep Dish. I’m going to apologize in advance. Had a crappy night followed by a crappy day following by an equally crappy evening and came into this with a bad frame of mind. So, the squee of consciousness got a little dismal at points and please don’t take it as squee-harshing, just my own bad, bad mood.

At least I'm co-watching with my dear friend, theatregirl7299, who's doing her very best to ignore the funk of negativity that I've been wallowing in.



And it's another beautiful day in fantasy-land New York, where the weather's always 80 degrees, there's no humidity, the sky is a perfect blue and there are no homeless people around to interfere with Michael Bloomberg's vision of NYC as the home for the wealthy and corrupt. /end editorial and go vote DeBlasio

It’s time for a bunch of interesting David Siegel factoids. He’s recently divorced - phantom ring. Doesn’t like ironic eyeware? That rules out Williamsburg - most definitely. But when money’s no object, how about Greenwich Village. Yeah, ONLY when money’s no object.

So, we’re really supposed to believe that Siegel’s secretly rich? Huh? Don’t buy it for an instant. Something tells me he’s blowing a lot more smoke up Neal’s ass. (Or maybe not?)

I find myself actually liking the guy. He’s smart, but not THAT smart and he treats Neal with respect. I don’t want him to hang around for more than another two eps though. Get thee back to the midwest.

Great line, Neal: “Give a conman a secret - you live a dangerous life.”

Peter’s surprisingly copasetic about Hagen’s release. I guess he’s moved on already. Already scoping out townhouses in Georgetown, Assistant Director Burke???

Nah, prison didn’t change him - of course not.

Hagen’s fucking insane. He only needs Chapter 13? But Hagen is, probably, the best villain of the series since Keller.

And so we meet The New Love Interest. She’s cute and another Ginger, but no Sara. A little to sweet and fluttery. And I need to point everyone to the totally awesome meta, by veleda_k, which only makes me miss Sara that much more.

Just realized that Rebecca reminds me a bit - mostly mannerisms - of Edward Walker's assistant from Withdrawal. She was a ginger too - gotta say that the casting directors have as much of a type as Peter.

Gotta love Neal’s playful side - going to coffee trucks outside of ATMs just to taunt his new handler.

And JONES IS PROMOTED!!!!! Finally. But I’m sad that Neal didn’t go join the celebration. It’s like he’s punishing himself.

"Suit the Sequel" Very cute, Moz.

Got to love the dialogue in this episode - a treasure trove of really great lines. Very snappy, very fresh.

"There are some lies not even I can stop." Of course if Moz stops drinking, the show has to end.

Zev!!!!! I’ve used that name in a character. Not quite in the same way. Gotta love that Moz has a literal enemies list.

Okay, the fake combover on Moz is revoltingly adorable.

Neal in vest - always worth watching. And he’s running a rig on Siegel… Brilliant. But he should be doing that with Peter.

And the slightly sad look on Peter’s face, and in truth he’s not REALLY all that sad, is he? Guess he needs time to shop for a historic center hall colonial in Alexandria.

Baked parchment, just like mamma used to make. Mozzie - hate to tell you that you don’t know if your mamma baked or not.

Boy, Neal can sell it. And then, not? You really see how he switched the charm on and off.

Interesting that the Ford plate is now blacked out. I guess when you’re no longer a sponsor, you get wiped away!

Elevator button fortune. Cute. Okay, so maybe the fortune’s real.

“Neal - stay put.” What is he, a dog?

And Peter shows! Do I have to remind you Neal that the best laid plans…

Oooh, it’s Neal’s turn to be cruel. And boy did that hurt. Neal, Peter and ME. That wasn’t a bandaid being ripped off, it was a knife in my heart.

Mozzie without glasses is almost unrecognizable. I keep forgetting he’s got baby blue eyes.

Apparently Zev’s better than Moz thought.

And what the FUCK is with Elizabeth? Last week, it’s all “oh, you need to talk to Neal. This week, it’s “Just cut the damn cords and forget about him.” Dear friend and fellow squee-er, theatregirl7299 , suggests that maybe El's getting seduced by all the goodies that are coming with Peter's promotion.

Rutroh! - Neal’s going to get fingered by Rebecca. But not unless he does some fingering first

Hmmm, Peter’s taking the blame? Because he distracted Neal? Furrows brow, trying to buy it.

“Do what you and Peter always do. Solve it.” Cute, Mozzie. If only it was that easy. And apparently it was. Peter and Neal together again, one last time. And it doesn't take them 10 mins to figure it out.

And another Rutroh! Neal was really sweating that one. But Peter inadvertently rescued him. Hmmmm. Next time.

"Knockoff Suit". The MacGuyver references. FLAILS - DIES The banter between Neal and Moz is some of the best of the series. And I love how Neal recognizes that he's off his game, making mistakes. As theatregirl7299 wisely pointed out, Neal is scattered without peter so he's making mistakes.

And holy shit, Siegel's been tracking Neal - because that's what he does. And what he's supposed to do.

Now comes Elr's big mistake. She thought the ep was over and didn't want to see anything to do with Covert Affairs. Thank goodness that theatregirl7299 screamed at her to watch the very end.

I AM SHOCKED. Seriously, utterly and completely shocked. And in a good way.

Nothing bad ever happens in White Collar land. Come on - Moz gets shot and survives without so much as a scar. Neal gets shot and climbs a tree 12 hours later. Elizabeth is kidnapped - TWICE.

And they kill off an EFF BEE EYE agent. Just like that. Someone that wasn't a baddie. Someone who was likable and decent and someone I was prepared to tolerate for a few more episodes until he decided to get back together with his wife and settle down in the San Francisco field office.

I found myself rethinking my less than complimentary thoughts about the ep - that it was too much. Too fast paced. Too hard to bear - sort of like what happened in As You Were. It couldn't imagine how they were going to recover the relationship. I've been left feeling that way a lot by White Collar over the seasons, and if there's one thing I keep forgetting - it's that they never let the bitterness between the boys go on too long. And watching the Next Week on White Collar, it seems that Neal's going to come clean.

I'm also reminded that we were warned that Peter and Neal wouldn't be "in the same room" for a while in Season 5. I thought that they meant that literally. And I know that our show runner is notorious for his misdirection, and after Peter was released early in At What Price, I just discarded it as a bit of JE's slight of hand. But not, apparently. Peter and Neal really haven't been in the same room - and hopefully with the next episode, that will change.

The only thing I'm sorry about is that this means the end of Mozzie's wonderful wigs and hairpieces.

One final thought. What happens when Peter checks Neal's tracking data and sees that he was at the very location where Siegel was shot not a few hours before?



Anyway - this is the Dish, Season Five, Episode Three - One Last Stakeout. Share your thinky and not-so-thinky thoughts. Where you as blown away as I was?

Comments

[ultracape.livejournal.com]

Except for the feel of Neal's house of cards about to fall each and every episode, I've been enjoying them all.

I was getting to like Segal. He was like Peter in that he gave Neal a lot of respect, which was real, and he was no fool, despite the fact that Neal was playing him. I think he accepted that Neal was playing him on principle, not on any specific thing and so he kept close tabs on him on principle. I also liked his back story. He actually was very like Neal as well, he lost everything for the sake of what he thought was right. Neal and Peter could both end up back in prison with what's going on, both for the sake of what they think is right.

El, I just can't figure out anymore unless it's all about control. She wants control over Neal so that he'll do her bidding and she's using Peter's friendship with him like a carrot to control both of them. She'll let Peter out to play just enough to keep the bond going but then she'll reel Peter back in when they are slipping the leash.

One thing should be clear though, everytime Peter does not follow his instincts, something goes wrong, in this case, the museum heist. Really, if Peter was there and Neal could not go through with the heist, there wasn't anything Hagen could do if he didn't want to lose his golden goose.

Okay, Segal's murder, could be Hagen, could be somebody from his family or who he arrested, or, and this is a long shot here, it could be Mozzie.

Mozzie had no problem putting a hit out on Keller so the idea of having someone murdered is not out of the question for him.

Because of Segal, Mozzie lost everything and Segal could make Mozzie. If he did, Peter would know Neal was covering for Mozzie, well he knows that already. But there might not be anything he could do to protect Neal as it's Segal who saw him. Let's say that while it's doubtful, I wouldn't be surprised if it was Mozzie who was behind it.

Also, I'm thrilled that they switch to Thursday so I can finally see this when it's broadcast instead of having to wait. However, next week really looks like a good one and it's my birthday as well, but do I get to sit home and enjoy the show. NO, I have to work. Darn. Well, there's always Optonline and Amazon.

[maiac.livejournal.com]

Mozzie had no problem putting a hit out on Keller so the idea of having someone murdered is not out of the question for him.

I think Mozzie put the hit out on Keller out of desperation, and could do it because Keller was a homicidal psychopath. At least, I don't want to think that Mozzie is so amoral he could wish death on someone who wasn't evil. Anyway, if he's going to whack somebody, why not Hagen? Hagen's the bigger threat.