As Promised

Any of my regular readers should know that I have a pretty unhealthy love affair going with USA's Tuesday night drama, White Collar. Generally speaking, I tend to take the "This Show Can Do No Wrong" approach when I watch it, more often than not because it doesn't. The only times I ever see fit to really question the genius minds behind White Collar are always in regards to casting choices. 

It's never the men. Tim DeKay and Matt Bomer (Peter and Neal respectively) are perfect together. The two have a natural chemistry that makes them fun and easy to watch week after week as they hatch schemes and right wrongs. Willie Garson (Mozzie) takes a note out of his character's playbook and steals every scene he's in with comedic flair that it's hard to find in a good drama. No, the men are as close to perfect as human actors can come.

The women on the other hand... There must be a shortage of talented actresses in Hollywood right now because the women never seem to be on par with the men. Now, there are exceptions to every rule. So far, Marsha Thomason (Diana) and Gloria Votsis (Alex) have done nothing to make me question their roles on the show, but they may be the only female semi-regulars who haven't. Actually, that's an exaggeration, Diahann Carroll (June) is pretty solid as well.

First, there's Alexandra Daddario (Kate). I get into discussions about this particular actress and her talent on a fairly regular basis. I am always quick to defend her, but that's mainly because she has the naturally piercing blue eyes that they artificially give Neal in all the promotions materials. Every time she's on screen I forget that she's supposed to be acting or telling the story and just lose myself in her eyes. That in itself is a bit of a problem with the actress, she's so beautiful that it's distracting, but I figure that has to be how most of the female Collars (fans of the show) feel every time Matt Bomer is on the screen, so I'll let it go. But her acting has some issues too. Alexandra delivers every line she is given in a passionless monotone. The thing is, and why I'm quick to defend her, is that passionless monotone may have worked really well in "Forging Bonds." If I'm right and Kate is in on Adler's quest for the music box from the beginning then Kate is conning Neal, but not a natural con-artist. Imagine yourself thrust into that role. That sort of awkward emotionlessness is exactly how she would sound when she was supposed to sound "lovey-dovey." So I hold out hope that maybe her distractingly dull acting is a conscious choice. If it's not though... I have often speculated with friends that when Jeff Eastin was originally developing White Collar, Kate was meant to have a much larger role in the plot arc of the show, but he was forced to scale back after the show runner realized that the actress just didn't fit the world. Of course, given that she was never signed as a series regular in the first place, only a recurring character, that theory is pretty groundless. If Kate doesn't turn out to still be alive and part of Adler's long-con on Neal in the end, though, I'm willing to bet that Alexandra's performance might be a significant reason why. 

Of course, now that we are "assuming" Kate's death is permanent and Neal is moving on with his life, the writers have introduced Hilarie Burton (Sara) as our favorite con-man's new gal. There's been a little flirting here and there between the two of them since the insurance agent came on the scene early in season 2, but I've never really felt a strong romantic connection between the two until this episode. I'm still holding out hope that they've rushed Sara and Neal's love story through to give Neal a "tough" choice to make when Kate shows up next week, alive and well. We'll see though. Anyway. There has been a lot of internet criticism of Hilarie Burton from people who weren't fans of her earlier work in One Tree Hill. I, however, am a huge fan of her on White Collar, generally speaking. I think Sara fits in with the Neal/Peter boys club in a natural way that Dianna can't because of her subordinate relationship to Peter, and a major part of Sara's natural ease and charm comes from Burton's portrayal of the character. My only qualm with Burton is related to my earlier comment about Sara's romance with Caffrey feeling forced. Watching Sara interact with Neal in this week's episode, I was struck by how awkwardly Burton played Sara's scenes with Neal leading up to the awkward moments. Did that make absolutely no sense? Let me elaborate. Essentially, the moments between the two characters when they said good bye and then awkwardly continued walking together was perfectly natural and seemed incredibly realistic. The awkwardness in the hall of records after Mozzie catches Neal with his pants down (almost literally) was tremendous. No complaints. But both of the scenes leading up to those two, when Burton seems to be trying to infuse her dialogue with the supposed-to-be-building romantic tension, those seem forced and more than a little off-putting. It's when Sara is being awkward before there's a reason to be awkward that things are awkward. There, did it make more sense that time?

Then there is Peter's love interest. Before I start complaining, I should admit that Tiffani Thiessen (Elizabeth) has gotten much less distracting in Season 2, or maybe I've just become more acclimated to her style. But there's something about her acting that jars with the rest of the show and pulls me out of the story temporarily whenever she's on the screen. Every time I watch her, I can't help but think that maybe she's still stuck acting in an early 90s sitcom. Seriously, I challenge you to watch Season 1 of White Collar side by side with any episode of Saved by the Bell. Tiffani Thiessen (who played Zack Morris' love interest, Kelly) was great on that show, because the style of acting required was entirely different for that style of show. She still acts exactly the same way, so I can't say that she's a bad actress. The problem is, now, on White Collar, a show that has very real and dynamic characters, every line she delivers seems too overstated and fake, which makes her stand out from her peers. Kind of the opposite of why Alexandra stands out. 

Which brings us to this week's episode and the jump-start of it's collusion plot, which came in the form of whistle-blower Brooke Argyle. The actress who plays her (she's not listed on IMDB as being billed for this episode so I don't know who she was) has a line delivery so thoroughly lacking in nuance that it makes Alexandra's Kate sound like Morgan Freeman. It was astonishing to me that the show had cast this particular actress in such a vital (albeit small) role. Watching the opening scene between Brooke and Elizabeth was like an exercise in patience. I never once considered changing the channel, but I did struggle not to block my ears at times. 

Thankfully, Brooke's role was small enough that we didn't have to deal with her very much, and the rest of the episode flowed forward as one of the smoothest and most comedically entertaining episodes we've seen in a while. 

Notable show moments included: Peter and Neal switched places, with each pretending to be the other for the purpose of relaxing and soothing our frightened whistle-blower (who I never once believed was actually frightened.... or a living person for that matter). From the moment Neal announces himself as Elizabeth's husband, the laughs just don't stop coming. Particularly, a moment right after Peter has agreed to the switch, both men go out onto the balcony of the Bureau and Neal casually mimics Peter's gestures while the latter announces their new plan to snickers from the agents. As Peter finishes his announcement and Neal assumes his role, Neal does the infamous double finger point, calling an agent up to his office which prompts Peter's confused and exhasperated "What are you... You don't even need him." I rewound my DVR and replayed this moment twice more before moving on with the rest of the episode.

Another wonderful physical bit comes at the end of the show, and just goes to show how the actors have bought into the subtlety of the writing style. Both Matt Bomer and Tim DeKay have realized that it's the little things that make their show great, and they strive to get the details right. After an early prompting from Elizabeth reminding her husband that Neal "doesn't put his hands on his hips," Peter and Neal spend the entire episode in reversed postures. Until the very end of the episode. During Peter and Neal's final exchange regarding Neal's forging of an FBI Badge, Neal tells Peter he needed it because he "was an FBI Agent." Peter calls him out on it. "Was?" He asks pointedly and Neal agrees, "was." At that exact instant, when Neal has officially relinquished Peter's life and position back to him, both men reverse their postures. It's a fantastic visual moment. 

Cliffhangar: Then of course, there's the final moment of the episode, revealing that Adler is after Alex, who "supposedly" has known what the music box leads to the entire time. 

Downside - It may render my theory that Alex has been working for Adler void. If Adler already had Alex in his pocket then the entirety of his con on Neal becomes pointless. Or so it would seem. Before admitting defeat though, I would also argue that if Alex knew what the music box has led to the entire time, then she also had no reason to help Neal "try" to find it. After all, we have to remember from "Forging Bonds" that she's the one who put Caffrey onto the music box in the first place. Either she would keep him away like she would be trying to keep away Adler, or if she needs Neal's help for some reason, she would just ask him for help directly, rather than through the music box quest. So, I'm still holding onto my theory that Alex doesn't realize what she knows and has been working for Adler, who only just realized (just before Mozzie) who she is and what her family connections link her to. Now, thinking he's been betrayed, Adler is subversively going after Alex (via the tail we see at the end) and whatever the fractal antennae leads to. For all we know, it's Alder on the phone with Alex at the end. 

Upside - Even if I'm blatantly wrong about everything including Alex and Kate, it only serves to show exactly why I love this show so much. The writers can manage to out think me at every turn. 

So here's to expecting that the season finale blows my mind, and here's hoping it ends with Alexandra Daddario's Kate stepping from the shadows with a villainous "Hello, Neal."