Leave it to Matthew Keller to ruin a good party. Okay, it was a party of one. But after witnessing Neal Caffery (Matt Bomer) pull off the impossible, we shouldn’t have expected any less than a mean and lean finale from White Collar creator Jeff Eastin who wrote “Countdown” with Channing Powell. A distinct mark of some of the best Eastin-written episodes is when Peter (Tim DeKay) and Neal are at odds with each other, when that trust is tested by Peter’s tenacity pursuit of doing the right thing and Neal’s self-preservation under pressure. Kudos for DeKay and Bomer, after 3.5 seasons in, they sold that friction and tension.
Viewers were left numb when Peter raced home to find that his wife Elizabeth (Tiffani Thiessen) was kidnapped from their home. Keller (Ross McCall) must have felt that he already kidnapped Peter (in season two) and look where that got him, El might produce more fruitful results. A dazed and confused Peter looked around, only to wake out of his funk when Neal called out his name. Peter specifically used the words, “He took my wife.”
After ten episodes of putting a full court press on Neal about the art from the Nazi sub, Peter wasn’t going to let it go nor should he. We get the impression that he wasn’t as convinced as his mentor Agent Kramer (Beau Bridges) that Neal’s hands weren’t completely clean of the Degas painting surfacing on the black market only to find an excellent forgery instead. He’s witnessed Neal do the impossible too many times.
Keller played his last card by threatening Peter with El’s life. Peter is in no other position but to be aggressive with Neal when White Collar returns from the hiatus. Keller confirmed seeing the treasure and hung Neal out to dry.
Keller: Your boy, Caffery’s got it.
Will be believe Keller? He doesn’t have much choice now that El’s become collateral damage. The one person that Peter values more than anyone was ripped away from him as a result of Neal (and Mozzie’s) dirty work. The one person he swore up and down he’d protect and reassured time and time again that Keller was under control. And while many of us do enjoy El being involved in Peter’s work, this is exactly the reason he doesn’t want her involved in any White Collar work. This is a situation where Peter’s trademark pursed-lipped exhale isn’t going to calm him down.
In Peter’s final swirling moment of the night, he must have been thinking that he let his guard down, that he was too obsessed with Neal that he should have been by El’s side, that the most important thing in his life is in harm’s way and that he is directly responsible. Why? Because that’s the good man that Peter Burke is.
Now of course he has to confront Neal with what Keller told him. Neal must navigate through this mess and for El’s safety tell the truth to Peter about Mozzie (Willie Garson) and the art, doesn’t he? Notice I said, “Mozzie and the art”. Nowhere did I mention that he’d be part of the story. But let’s back up just a bit and replay the final and bitter scene between Neal and Mozzie.
Mozzie: I’ve been really patient, but it’s time for you to make a choice. Do you want to leave or not?
Neal: No. There are things about this life I’m not ready to give up.
Mozzie: Do you even know what this life is anymore? You’re on a leash. You’re still in prison. You have Stockholm syndrome.
Neal: I can always walk out that door, Moz. I can never walk back in.
Mozzie: Well then, you made your choice. I always thought our ending would be a happy ending.
Neal: If you want a happy ending it depends–
Mozzie: On where you stop the story. Yeah. Orson Wells. I’ll see you around, Neal… You’re fooling yourself if you think this is who you really are.
Neal finally chose his side, to be Cop and Robber, with Moz giving one last jab before the door closed. If this is Garson’s last scene for a while, then he should be given a standing ovation for showing us his muscle and fangs this season and making us believe that Mozzie is more than just a loveable, paranoid, and comedic sidekick. He can be stone cold ruthless when he wants to be. We’re talking about the Dentist of Detroit here!
But is he right? Is Neal fooling himself? There wasn’t too much doubt that his decision would be with Peter. If Neal became a fugitive, it’d be a completely different show. But how brave is it that Eastin and Co. would leave us hanging with both Peter and Neal stripped of their best friends and Neal needing to test out his newfound loyalty to the White Collar Division? Most importantly he must test his honor to Peter because any attempt to withhold information could cost Elizabeth her life.
The problem is if Mozzie is good on his word, he should be long gone with the art to some remote island in the Mediterranean. He had a full day to pack up the art and never be seen again. So the hunt for Keller begins before anything major can happen to El.
And this is why it was important for Elizabeth to have been the fallout of the art heist. She is the one person that Mozzie ever felt a connection to in Neal’s faux world (as Mozzie would describe it). He was connected with El, respected her, and was even angered that she would defend Peter’s suspicion in the season three premiere. But was his bond with her on the same level as that of his fellow cons? He was willing to put a hit out on Keller, he put his own life on the line for Mr. Jeffries. What is he willing to do for Elizabeth Burke?
I know White Collar makes it a point to never dragging out things too far, but wouldn’t it be brave to take a break with Mozzie? It doesn’t have to be clean. He can (should?) help Elizabeth get home safely but I think if Neal is to make that next step in going straight, he needs some real distance from Mozzie, and that thought hurts Mozzie fans, me being one, but I do think it’d give a true portrayal of the character.
Lost in all of this peril was the incredible con that Neal and Mozzie pulled off to make the Degas switch. To be able to come up with a parachute and a hollowed out military-grade bazooka with extra hiding spots makes Mozzie a resourceful wonder. And for Neal to be able to counterfeit a Degas to near perfection and improperly age it in under 18 hours should crown him as the greatest con man ever. It was the final act between jedis. Neal and his mentor Mozzie vs. Peter and his mentor Agent Kramer. With a dramatic leap off a skyscraper so high that I actually gulped and whispered, “Oh shit,” when Neal climbed over the edge, the dark side won this battle.
For those of you who were angry at Mozzie’s cold and callous attitude towards Neal’s life, the opening scene addressed that. This wasn’t about Neal growing up and Mozzie being a petulant child. This was about one person being true to themselves, and the other contemplating real change and an appreciation for the second chance he’d been given at life. It’s also a matter of perspective. One is free, the other is technically behind bars with a chance at life outside. It seemed like another argument between old friends but this time we see a much further divide.
Neal: I have a life here–
Mozzie: We had a dream.
Neal: Well, dreams change. Have you ever thought we might not whiling away on a Mediterranean island?
Mozzie: Then we sell our island and come back.
Neal: No. You can come back, I can’t. I run on this and New York is just a memory for me.
Mozzie: C’mon Neal, this was the one. The perfect last score. I knew you were dragging your feet.
Neal: You went behind my back and fenced the Degas.
Mozzie: I did it to protect us
Neal: By putting a hit on Keller? Doing something that rash was exactly what will put us in trouble.
The gambler in Mozzie put all of his chips in. He was still committed to his plan, he wanted revenge for Hale’s murder, and he knew if Keller wasn’t killed, then he would come after Neal’s circle. I agree with Keller, Moz made the ruthless moves that Neal wouldn’t, but with the biggest “perfect” last con, he was careless. From selling the Degas, to not making sure the explosion couldn’t be tied back to Neal, (and wearing a bright red shirt when he’s meeting his fence), not making sure that Keller was dead was the latest act that would jeopardize their big plan.
Mozzie’s ultimatum was his first selfish act of the season and is sure to disrupt the chemistry of the show. I maintain that the characters blazed honest paths the entire season, in every single episode; the third season of White Collar is its best yet and there’s still six more episodes to go. How do they top this? Is it 2012 yet?
[Deep Breath]
Yeah, that pursed-lipped breathing isn’t working for me either.
Loose Buttons
• Peter got his two-finger point-and-summon from Kramer.
• Agent Kramer’s paraphrasing of Socrates, “The greatest way honorably is to be what we pretend to be” captures Neal’s journey in season three.
• Peter’s nickname in Washington is The Archaeologist because he can’t stop digging.
• The irony of the scene where Neal enters Peter’s office to run smack on Kramer is one of the best scenes of Peter and Neal’s conflict this season. Peter throws the jab of equipment malfunctions to Neal because he’s had that done to him often this season.
Neal: He’s the devil on your shoulder.
Peter: No. He’s reminding me of why I’m here.
In reality Mozzie’s been the devil on Neal’s shoulder and has been trying to remind Neal that he’s a thief.
• Poor Agent Matthews (Anna Chlumsky) was Neal’s whipping girl again as he turned her all around again pretending to be undercover. Remember Neal’s advice to a young con earlier this season?
Neal: I’m sorry I brought you into this…
Agent Matthews: You really are Neal Caffery.
Neal: Welcome to White Collar.
White Collar returns with new episodes in the winter in January 2012 on USA. In the meantime, stay tuned to BuzzFocus for continuing coverage during the fall.
You’ve heard what I’ve had to say about the Season 3 summer finale, let’s hear what you have to say!
