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

[sheenianni.livejournal.com]

Hmmm. I liked this episode. Not as much as the previous one, but I liked it.

When Mozzie and Neal said that they would have to solve Hagan's puzzle to outplay him, I thought "uh-uh - that sounds way too easy. There'll be a catch." However I did not expect Siegel to be shot. I'd been waiting for bad things to come from Hagan - he had that book dealer killed in Season 1 just because he might possibly talk - but this didn't even occur to me. It's the first time in a long while that the show caught me completely by surprise, and I like it - except I want Siegel back!!!

I was surprised how much Siegel's death shook me. I couldn't really read him last episode, but now I was truly starting to like him - as you said, he was smart, he had respect for Neal... He has won me over in this one, and I want him back! I liked the way he was starting to connect with Neal but more than that, I want him apartment hunting and getting that new start. The guy deserved so much more more than being shot in an alley. I want Hagan to pay - and not just being shot as the show loves to do with their villains, I want him locked up for the rest of his life: a) because the guy's a psychopath, b) because he had a chance to start anew (not that he would - he's Hagan - but Neal gave him that chance) and instead went to commit another murder - in this case, karma should be a bitch.

I really like the direction the show is going so far. Neal has made the deal with the devil - and now he has to play, but can he win? And eventually it might not matter, because people are already getting hurt - Rebecca. Siegel. Who's next?

Also, as for Rebecca, being a huge Neal/Sara fan, I thought that I would dislike her - but I don't. She definitely connects with Neal in a different way than Sara, but maybe it's not a bad thing. Not making any hasty judgments yet but I'm willing to give her a chance.

Mozzie and his wigs were hilarious :D Also, more criminal!Neal was fun to watch.

And Neal FINALLY admits that he's been sloppy lately. The coin heist? So many mistakes I wanted to scream at the screen who is this that possessed our Neal Caffrey.

What will happen now between Neal and Peter? I guess this is the point where they both admit that the calls they've made don't make them happy. But... what now? Siegel is dead and Neal is responsible for setting Hagan free.

This isn't just someone losing their job or being conned - Siegel died. It's exactly the reason why making a deal with someone like Hagan is a really bad idea. Was it worth it to set Peter free - to save his job? And Neal might have made that call, but he certainly had help - most notably from El, but there's been others who suggested that certain boundraries should be blurred when friends/family are involved - including Peter.

It's an interesting moral dilemma.

This was a very strong episode that moved us forward with the mythology. I'm curious to see what's next.

[swanpride.livejournal.com]

Pretty much my reaction...I just started to like him and then he is suddenly dead? Need Fanfic! Now!

On the other hand....a twist I didn't see coming! Yeah! all the ramifications! Yeah! And the big riddle...who killed him? My money is on Rebecca - either that or it was Hagen and Siegel was more dirty than he let on. After all...he was playing Neal.