White Collar 4x12 Episode Thoughts!
Feb. 4th, 2013 07:34 pm![[personal profile]](https://www.dreamwidth.org/img/silk/identity/user.png){kind=small}
cookiegirlI finally watched White Collar 4x12. Yay, right?
Um, no.
There were some really great moments, but overall, this was the first episode of WC that I actively disliked and that upset me. So fair warning, this entry will have some less-than-positive thoughts alongside the mini-squees. I don’t want to harsh anyone’s vibe so if you loved the ep, this probably isn’t for you!
Firstly, Neal doesn’t make any attempt to comfort or touch her even when she’s crying. Secondly, I’m not sure why El was told by a stranger that Peter had been in an accident when Diana and Neal were on the phone with him as it happened, and surely would have thought to call El themselves?! Thirdly, El tells Neal to lie to Peter and to keep him away from the investigations with the key, even though she knows he’ll carry on going after Pratt. I don’t see how staying away from the key helps AT ALL. This is a major plot hole for me and totally threw me out of the episode.
I know a lot of people are upset with how El acts here. She’s irrational and also fairly unpleasant to Neal. It feels extremely OOC (and painful) to me, but I can kind of see where she’s coming from. Peter’s been in danger one too many times, often because of Neal, and this time he could have died. So she has every right to be pissed off, scared, and angry at Neal. When Peter’s been in danger before she’s dealt with it entirely differently – and dealt with Neal entirely differently – but still, everyone is entitled to have a bad day or to reach a breaking point. (I think this would have been easier to understand if we’d seen her getting the news about Peter’s accident and thinking it was worse than it is - which would also have ramped up the tension and made a great scene - and the fact that we didn’t makes it harder to grasp why she’s suddenly snapped now rather than any of the previous times. It also makes me annoyed that as a female character she’s being dismissed and used as a plot point rather than granted her own emotions.)
Even so, I hated this scene :( El and Neal just didn’t seem to be acting like people who love each other, in any sense, family or OT3. And whilst Tiffani was great, it didn’t feel like I was watching El at all. If the writers wanted to use El to drive the boys apart, I think they could have done that without making her seem like she’d had a personality transplant. This idea could actually have been quite good (and made sense, because like I say, El has valid reasons to be annoyed), but it’s just so poorly executed.
Neal lies to his face and it’s horrible and I hate it and Peter can tell, and he hates it too, and noooo.
The thing that makes least sense about the entire episode though, is that once Neal’s gone, and Peter’s told El that he knows Neal lied, El doesn’t own up. She must know that Peter’s not going to let it go – he never has when he thinks Neal’s lied about something – so obviously he’ll still be investigating the key, just by himself. This helps EVEN LESS than her original plan – it’s positively counterproductive as not sharing intel will just put the boys in more danger. I just…I don’t get it.
So, to round things up...
Good stuff: Mozzie! Hughes! Diana! A great villain! Peter looking gorgeous at the end.
Bad stuff: Gaping plot holes, wasted opportunities, Neal lacking emotion, Ellll.
I think what most upset me about this episode is that I’ve grown to adore the characters and to love their relationships, both within canon and within the fandom/fanfic, and this felt like one of those horrible moments when you think you know someone and then they turn around and act completely differently.
WOE.
In the next few episodes I really hope the El situation doesn’t get pushed under the carpet, but that it comes to a head, gets discussed between Peter and El and Neal, and gets worked through. (And maybe Neal has some sort of moment when he tells Peter how freaking terrified he was that Peter was going to die).
I also hope they get some better writers in for next season, or at least someone to proof read the scripts! These plot holes wouldn’t get past any average fanfic beta!
*finishes entry by hugging everyone else who found the episode sad (and well, if you liked it, you can have hugs too!), and then going off to anxiously await the next one*
Um, no.
There were some really great moments, but overall, this was the first episode of WC that I actively disliked and that upset me. So fair warning, this entry will have some less-than-positive thoughts alongside the mini-squees. I don’t want to harsh anyone’s vibe so if you loved the ep, this probably isn’t for you!
- We start off with Peter doing a little exposition, telling Neal things that he already knows and that have already been on the previouslies, so even new viewers will know them too. I’m fairly sure Neal won’t have forgotten that Flynn’s dead, so there’s no need to reiterate it. Anyway, moving swiftly on.
- Neal finds the much-anticipated key, and gives it to Mozzie to ‘work on’, which is wonderful because then we get a Mozzie-Clinton team-up! Peter remains deliciously in charge of them when giving his orders to work together ♥
- (I’m not really sure why Clinton had to be involved at this stage, and why Peter wouldn’t trust Mozzie with finding things out about the key alone. Obviously Moz would share his findings with Neal, and Neal appears to be sharing all his intel with Peter, so I don’t see the problem. Never mind!)
- We get to meet Senator Pratt, and I actually like him. Not in a want-to-be-friends-and-do-each-other’s-nails way, but in the way that he’s a plausible, intelligent, powerful, somewhat-chilling villain who should prove an impressive adversary for the boys. I love-to-hate him straight away \o/
- Neal’s oddly bitchy towards the senator, which isn’t the most subtle or sensible thing to do, and Peter gives him various ‘what the hell, Neal’ looks before sending him away. We know Neal can control himself better than this, but at least he is Having Emotions at this stage. Which is nice, and doesn’t last much longer.
- We get a mini-con with Neal and the senator’s assistant! I always love the mini-cons and all the tiny ways Neal manipulates situations :-)
- The team decides to plant a bug on Pratt at the hair salon, which leads to an adorable convo where Peter asserts he only spends $200 a year on grooming and Neal looks a mixture of appalled and desperate to give him one of the proper shaves which he then describes in an oddly aroused tone of voice. \o/
- They send Diana in undercover, because she’s better than Sweeney Todd with a straight razor. WHAT? When did she learn this? Is it standard for diplomat’s daughters to have that skill?! Never mind. The scene at the salon is fun and Diana is awesome. Plus, Mozzie gets to talk to Pratt on the phone and he is EPIC. Neal’s expressions during the convo are also of the awesome.
- We meet Mozzie’s friend the Keymaster. This is…weird. It’s fun and entertaining but all the guy really ends up doing is putting the key in a solution (which looks like a glass of coke, though I’m guessing it’s more advanced than that) to get the rust off. I don’t believe Mozzie couldn’t have done this by himself, considering everything else he manages, but never mind (again).
- And then we have Peter’s car accident, which was no surprise to anyone who’d seen the trailer. I was surprised that Peter didn’t even blow his horn or anything. He was oddly passive. Maybe he knew his accident was essential to the plot and had come to terms with it in advance.
- AND THEN WE GET THE FIRST SCENE OF HORROR /o\
Firstly, Neal doesn’t make any attempt to comfort or touch her even when she’s crying. Secondly, I’m not sure why El was told by a stranger that Peter had been in an accident when Diana and Neal were on the phone with him as it happened, and surely would have thought to call El themselves?! Thirdly, El tells Neal to lie to Peter and to keep him away from the investigations with the key, even though she knows he’ll carry on going after Pratt. I don’t see how staying away from the key helps AT ALL. This is a major plot hole for me and totally threw me out of the episode.
I know a lot of people are upset with how El acts here. She’s irrational and also fairly unpleasant to Neal. It feels extremely OOC (and painful) to me, but I can kind of see where she’s coming from. Peter’s been in danger one too many times, often because of Neal, and this time he could have died. So she has every right to be pissed off, scared, and angry at Neal. When Peter’s been in danger before she’s dealt with it entirely differently – and dealt with Neal entirely differently – but still, everyone is entitled to have a bad day or to reach a breaking point. (I think this would have been easier to understand if we’d seen her getting the news about Peter’s accident and thinking it was worse than it is - which would also have ramped up the tension and made a great scene - and the fact that we didn’t makes it harder to grasp why she’s suddenly snapped now rather than any of the previous times. It also makes me annoyed that as a female character she’s being dismissed and used as a plot point rather than granted her own emotions.)
Even so, I hated this scene :( El and Neal just didn’t seem to be acting like people who love each other, in any sense, family or OT3. And whilst Tiffani was great, it didn’t feel like I was watching El at all. If the writers wanted to use El to drive the boys apart, I think they could have done that without making her seem like she’d had a personality transplant. This idea could actually have been quite good (and made sense, because like I say, El has valid reasons to be annoyed), but it’s just so poorly executed.
- ALSO, where was the Neal angst? He seems pretty unaffected by Peter being in the hospital, especially in the following scenes. This could have been an awesome opportunity for angst, guilt, hurt/comfort, etc. Instead we don’t get anything and it feels like a huge waste. Peter can’t have very many life-threatening accidents, so to throw one away like this without any real emotionally affecting scenes between the two seems insane. *cries*
- After the hospital there’s major cuteness when Mozzie volunteers to donate his spleen to Peter (somewhat unnecessarily) and Neal makes some sort of case-related breakthrough by sticking his fingers in Diana’s drink. There’s also a great tiny scene with Hughes and Neal (which I loved, having recently read some excellent Hughes and Neal fic…and, I admit, even some Hughes/Neal fic!)
- Oh, and Neal pretends to be an architect in a con that feels a bit rushed but gets results (and includes a tense almost-getting-discovered-by-Pratt-in-an-elevator moment where I was genuinely on the edge of my seat).
- Hospital again. Peter’s awake, Neal’s back and El’s still sticking to her weird plan. At least we get a sweet moment where Neal tells Peter he looks good and gives him a membership to a beer club \o/ And also an arm in a box, though that’s from Mozzie.
- Then Peter asks about the progress with the key and Neal…
Neal lies to his face and it’s horrible and I hate it and Peter can tell, and he hates it too, and noooo.
The thing that makes least sense about the entire episode though, is that once Neal’s gone, and Peter’s told El that he knows Neal lied, El doesn’t own up. She must know that Peter’s not going to let it go – he never has when he thinks Neal’s lied about something – so obviously he’ll still be investigating the key, just by himself. This helps EVEN LESS than her original plan – it’s positively counterproductive as not sharing intel will just put the boys in more danger. I just…I don’t get it.
- I got even more confused when Neal then went and antagonised Pratt for no reason that I can think of. How is that helping?! HAS EVERYONE GONE INSANE?!
- And then we hear the news about Hughes. Hughes! I can’t believe it, he was such a solid fixture and I thought he’d always be there. I love the way he leaves though, so sad but dignified and impressive and just awesome. I liked his conversation with Neal too.
- We end on a tense, sad moment with Neal and Peter and then scenes of them working separately on the key thing and argh. NO.
So, to round things up...
Good stuff: Mozzie! Hughes! Diana! A great villain! Peter looking gorgeous at the end.
Bad stuff: Gaping plot holes, wasted opportunities, Neal lacking emotion, Ellll.
I think what most upset me about this episode is that I’ve grown to adore the characters and to love their relationships, both within canon and within the fandom/fanfic, and this felt like one of those horrible moments when you think you know someone and then they turn around and act completely differently.
WOE.
In the next few episodes I really hope the El situation doesn’t get pushed under the carpet, but that it comes to a head, gets discussed between Peter and El and Neal, and gets worked through. (And maybe Neal has some sort of moment when he tells Peter how freaking terrified he was that Peter was going to die).
I also hope they get some better writers in for next season, or at least someone to proof read the scripts! These plot holes wouldn’t get past any average fanfic beta!
*finishes entry by hugging everyone else who found the episode sad (and well, if you liked it, you can have hugs too!), and then going off to anxiously await the next one*
no subject
Date: 2013-02-05 04:11 am (UTC)But no, you're right, this probably isn't the post for you...although you really should watch White Collar ;)
no subject
Date: 2013-02-05 04:41 am (UTC)