Boy is White Collar’s Neal one trusting conman

I was reading something about White Collar recently that seemed to echo exactly what I’d been thinking about the show for the last week or two. Great leading character camaraderie, but where are the scintillating crime stories that we’ve come to expect after the first episode or two?

But just as soon as I read that, the thought occurred to me that White Collar is not alone in its less than top-notch weekly mysteries. How good are Psych’s cases? Or Burn Notice’s clients? When evaluated on that level, White Collar is doing what every USA Network show has done before it: merely trying to give its great characters something to do on a weekly basis.

And remembering that put me in a completely different frame of mind about this week’s episode. To be clear, I’ve yet to find myself not enjoying the show, but I was beginning to wonder if the writers had run out of creativity. But the show’s not about this week’s criminal; it’s about Caffrey and Burke. Period. Work is what brings them together, but it’s hardly a major component of what the creators of White Collar are trying to give to us.

This week Caffrey resurrected an old alias of his, Nicholas Halden, in order to infiltrate the high-stakes world of Pai Gow. It was interesting to think about just how many layers there are to this guy, and to imagine that, if he wanted to, he could disappear behind one of his fabricated facades … that is, if he could just get rid of his monitoring anklet.

But even as the mystery was thin, there were still interesting weaves to it. The police raid on the Pai Gow game and Neal’s cool escape, Burke and the little girl, and Meilin and Interpol zagging onto the scene in possession of information about Kate. I will say that I was surprised that we were even given the impression that Caffrey was willing to trade on his good faith with Burke for the hint of intel on Kate. Would he really be willing to risk his freedom, and therefore the opportunity to find Kate, for some mention of information from someone he barely knows, let alone trusts?

As risk tolerant as Caffrey is, I’m not sure he really would be ready to do that, when weighing what going back to prison would do to his ability to track and find his love. And I’m not even arguing loyalty to Burke on this one, just straight self-interest. It’s one thing for Caffrey to risk his freedom based on his own bets or risk taking, but on the word of some stranger? I was also surprised we didn’t hear any fallout from Caffrey screwing the FBI on the account transfer, even if losing the watch in the game was a better move. What was Neal thinking?

My regular issue with “catch this guy or we’re through” cropped up yet again, a rather frustrating plot device that continues to appear week after week. Even if that’s the case, do we need to keep on hearing it repeated? And, would the FBI really invest so much — including its reputation — by letting Caffrey out, only to end it all if he fails to help catch a single target? It’s a point of tension that just falls flat for me. Especially in repeats.

The news that an FBI agent is holding Kate didn’t do anything for me, either. And I think the intended suspense was undercut by the shots of Caffrey focusing in on the four nearest people that he knew, none of whom are likely anywhere near guilty on this one. It’s probably a dirty agent that we’ve yet to come across who wants to steal something Neal has and retire, or — a shocking possibility — Meilin has no idea what she’s talking about or is lying. Hasn’t Caffrey checked out Burn Notice yet?

It was good to see Jones (Sharif Atkins) and June (Diahann Carroll) back this week, even just briefly. Definitely two people who shouldn’t be kept away — they’re great characters as well, and as we know, that’s what it’s all about.

Clacked by Aryeh S.
on Nov 29, 2009 @ 10:11 EST5EDT