elrhiarhodan: (Default)
elrhiarhodan ([personal profile] elrhiarhodan) wrote2013-10-31 11:00 pm

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

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, [livejournal.com profile] 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 [livejournal.com profile] 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, [livejournal.com profile] 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 [livejournal.com profile] 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 [livejournal.com profile] 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?

[identity profile] kerrylang.livejournal.com 2013-11-01 12:19 pm (UTC)(link)
I was a bit spoilered about Siegel. Tim said something about the new handler in an Interview and I knew in an instant that the man won't last long but that he is gonna be killed by Hagen or someone Hagen told to do the deed like in the Pilot, I never would have guessed.

I am really shocked about it and as much as I love Neal I think it's time to come clean because to be honest, it's quite enough now. An agent was killed and yes, Neal is responsible for that.

All in all it was not the best ep for me. The new girl is cute and I want to see her and Neal together without Neal planning a heist. Mozzie was funny and I think they killed Siegel partly for him as well, so he can live along without Siegel being able to recognize him.

So, there is nothing to squee about for me this time. I'm sad that the need to kill of a young man to make Neal realize that he made big mistakes. And I don't know if he really is going to confess to anything in the next ep.

And where was Peter's "I need you to come with me" from the preview? I'll tell ya, I hate those previews because they are nothing than misdirection :(((((.

Have to read some light fanfic to get over this ep.