Post Ep Dish - S5.11 - Shot Through the Heart

[elrhiarhodan]

This one's going to be painfully, but hopefully there will be a light at the end of this long, dark tunnel for Peter and Neal and their dying friendship. However, like with the renewal, I'm now afraid to hope.

My apologies for the somewhat delayed and slightly truncated edition of this Dish...I'm too engaged in the episode to take notes as it's airing. I will need to do a complete rewatch to give a complete analysis.



Initial reactions:

A - From the promos, it seemed that Peter was extremely cold about "Rebecca's" betrayal (which was really hurting my heart), but I always forget how they tweak those - whether it's a carefully dropped line or a misleading reaction shot - nothing is quite what it seems.

B - Can I say that if all this turns out to be for the "twin" to the Hope Diamond, I'm going to be seriously pissed. How many times does the season mythology have to be about some precious treasure? Or maybe it will always be about treasure of some kind.

Okay - onto the episode.

1 - I honestly don't think I have anything negative to say about this episode. Nothing. The pacing was perfect, the characters (and the relationships between them) were definitely going in the right direction, and for once, they seemed to have gotten the geography right.

(Okay - I take that back. Rebecca's apartment was three blocks from where Siegel was shot. Siegel was shot a few blocks from where Neal met Hagen to hand over the chapter from the Codex. They make a big deal about how the apartment is out of Neal's radius. So how did he get to the place to deliver the Codex chapter without tripping his anklet?)

2 - It seemed that Neal wasn't going to be able to carry off his date with Rebecca - he looked nervous and unsteady. But it was interesting to see how he managed to use that - that he was worried about her, that he felt guilty about leaving her alone...and then the big reveal, that he "loved her". (Collars - do you think it was real or was he just telling himself that it was?)

(On a side note, I thought she might be bringing Neal a few cronuts.)

3 - The healing bromance. It was fascinating to see Peter start losing his anger, to see them working together to a common goal. Very much shades of early S2. This is the show I know and love.

4 - Rebecca's backstory. Or should we call her Rachel now? I was wondering how they were going to explain the how she managed to gather all that intel, but if she was MI-5, it makes perfect sense. MI-5 is the British equivalent of the NSA, and we know what the NSA does, right?

Do we believe her that she doesn't have a copy of the blackmail evidence?

Do we think she's actually batshit insane?

5 - Okay, another slight niggle with the story. You mean to tell me that the tech labs couldn't figure out a way to work around Rebecca/Rachel's alarm without setting it off? Didn't Mythbusters do a whole special on that? Well, I guess not if they wanted to show off Peter's smarts with the Chinese takeout menu.

And also - Neal getting "shot" - the scene with the ambulance, but Peter and Jones so nonchalant was perfection. And Neal being pissed off about his jacket. I have a feeling that this is foreshadowing something major for the finale. One can only hope.

6 - Speaking of Peter's smarts - I do love how he figured out where the gun was. ladyrose42 suggested that the cement would have been corrosive, but I don't think so - because steel/iron rebar is placed in cement to stabilize it and give it tensile strength and having dealt with construction contracts, I can tell you that that iron rebar doesn't corrode. So, I don't think the gun would have been damaged, especially not so quickly.

Though I was disappointed that she was so careless to get a print on a bullet. Amateur!

7 - El and Peter are really going to DC??? Well, I guess if the series is ending, that would make for a nice way to end it. She's already got a job at the National Gallery! Resourceful Elizabeth is resourceful. And I do have to say that this is the Elizabeth I know and love - especially in that earlier scene with Peter.

Question - how many of you thought that El was about to tell Peter she was pregnant? I know I did, and I was actually a little sick at that. It's always been a special joy for me that these two mature adults don't feel the need to have children to complete their lives.

8 - Peter telling Neal about his promotion. This was done a lot better than was expecting. There were moments last week when I was thinking that Peter was no better than James. That he'd take off without telling Neal, and that would be that - shades of wee!Neal losing his daddy again.

And I'm glad (at least in the context of the angst from last week's ep) that he's giving Neal's keeping over to Jones.

9 - One more thought about Neal and Rachel/Rebecca - how perfect was that final scene with Neal getting the cuffs on her, her shooting them off and then escaping, just as Neal had planned. It was nice to see Neal having the upper hand there. Especially after the scene in R/R's apartment with all the self-loathing.

Lots and lots of other thoughts, but these are the big ones dominating my brain. On a scale of 1-10, I'd give this a very solid 9.825 (the Russian judge marked them down for the inconsistencies with the radius).

After four years of the Dish, you know the drill - let's share those thinky and not-so-thoughts. Only two episodes left for the season and possibly the series.

Comments

[doctor-fangeek.livejournal.com]

He was being interviewed at the Golden Globes Derby Preparty, and when asked about what he's working on he said that WC Season 5 is on now and that they'll start filming Season 6 pretty soon, in 8-12 weeks. Then some people tweeted him, asking about what he'd said in that interview, and he backpedaled, said he misspoke, and that they don't know about S6 yet.

[virgo-79.livejournal.com]

Yeah, see, that makes me think that they *know* they're coming back, but that they've been told not to say anything.

[doctor-fangeek.livejournal.com]

I hear what you're saying - the whole thing gave me the same feeling. "Misspeak," to me, is when you accidentally get a word or phrase wrong (I do it sometimes when I'm lecturing), or getting the time-frame wrong, or something like that. But accidentally saying you'll be filming *and* giving a time-frame for when it will happen?

Then again, I could be completely wrong. IDK.

[virgo-79.livejournal.com]

Exactly. That sounds like he got a slap on the wrist for saying something before he had permission to.

[elrhiarhodan]

I am not 100% sure I see it this way - and I don't know if it's just my intense pessimism. But watching Willie speak in that vid, I got the feeling he wasn't convinced about what he was saying.

But your point is very plausible - that wasn't a Freudian slip or a simple misstatement, Willie was pretty damn specific and detailed. He could have said, "Of course, there's White Collar - we're still in negotiations for renewal. When that happens, filming will start ..."

[bluegreen-17.livejournal.com]

Not to encourage your pessimism, but when asked what he liked about White Collar, he touched his nose. That's a common tell for a lie or for discomfort (obviously not 100% reliable, but the odds go up).

I only just now watched this episode (Monday morning). I loved it too! Also had the "pregnant" thought when El said she had something to tell Peter, but then realized she was holding a glass of champagne as if she were fully intending to drink it. Whew!

[swanpride.livejournal.com]

Well, they have to talk with the actors early enough for scheduling - but a season is not green-lighted before the Network says it is. Happens with Sherlock all the time, there is always someone accidentally confirming early that the plans are already in motion, but as long as the network doesn't confirm, nothing is set in stone. So I hope that WG happened to speak too soon, but there at least already plans for more. Which is a good sign.