It may sound a bit unexpected, but I found last night’s season two finale of White Collar to be rather funny. It wasn’t so much the writing as some of the circumstances; I just couldn’t help but laugh.
Take Sara and Neal as an example. Last week they kissed against all common sense and story thread. This week they were stretching their wings as a couple, dealing with old flames, jealousy, and finding their place in the … wait, what? Their stalled attempt at discussing their library kiss at the beginning of the episode made it clear that nothing had happened between them since then, so we weren’t missing anything. The need to discuss their getting together was understandable, but what was everything else that was going on?
And what was up with Sara’s jealousy of Neal and Alex, and then her awkwardness with Alex? Alex telling Neal she could tell that there was something serious between him and Sara was the funniest part of all; talk about showing versus telling in a script.
Anyway, I thought that was all really funny … because of how ludicrous it was. Also funny for its absurdity was this sincere line by Alex regarding the art collection found on the U-boat: “The Nazis collected the most beautiful things in the world.” Yeah, they hunted far and wide, spending a small fortune to accumulate a beautiful collection of priceless treasures. Because that’s exactly how it happened.
Speaking of the U-boat and the booty, I was kind of sad that this was the grand return of Vincent Adler (Andrew McCarthy). I understand how Alex led Neal to the music box which was the key to the U-boat, but as the prize the grand Ponzi schemer was hunting, the treasure was rather anticlimactic. And did I understand correctly that Adler hadn’t been pursuing Alex, that he didn’t even know that she was who she was? So why’d he kidnap her, just to lure Neal out? Did he know that she was the one who tried to con him all those years back?
The best part of the episode for me was Mozzie. It was hilarious when he ran from Peter and the FBI when they “busted” Neal and the fence; I thought Mozzie would just keep on running. Did Peter let him keep the money in the end? And Mozzie in the FBI surveillance truck with Jonesy and Diana was lots of fun, too. I loved his griping about being abducted.
Is this the second time in three weeks that Peter’s been kidnapped? I’ll be honest, it doesn’t do a lot for confidence in the people who are supposed to be keeping us safe if a senior FBI agent can get snatched off the street so easily. Maybe it’s just me, but I feel like, if he can’t stay safe….
The end of the episode was “exciting,” but this half of the season I was finally getting comfortable with what I perceived as Peter’s full embrace of his trust in Neal. I used to wonder a lot about how easily Peter would gain and lose his trust in Neal, but it hasn’t been an issue for a while. I’m sorry to say that it seems I put that question to bed way too early — accuse him, but if Neal says he didn’t do it, how can Peter not believe him yet still let him run around the streets of New York with nothing more than an ankle bracelet to keep him in check?
And do we care who stole the stolen treasure from Adler? Is that the season-ending cliffhanger? For some reason I don’t see it making me eagerly anticipate the third season. What’s the suspense, who dun it? Um, Sara?
Am I alone in thinking she’s been in this for the long con?
Clacked by Aryeh S.
on Mar 09, 2011 @ 14:00 EST5EDT
