(no subject)

[cblj_backup]

Good morning! Early morning! I am eating toast. You want some? It's got apple butter!

I don't imagine I'll be able to do this with any regularity, but as I've managed to hit up White Collar early this week it's time for...

Sam's Three Things About White Collar, 2.03: Peter Seems To Enjoy Being Evil

1. Aww, look at Neal grin when he finds out someone's copycatting him. Look at his grin! And then later when he finds out he's being studied! He loves to be loved. (Incidentally, while the majority of the "team meeting" scenes still take place in Peter's office, it's nice to see them all gathering around Neal's desk for the first meeting in the opening sequence, because Neal's good at building community.)

2. Mozzie got a lot of heavy use in this episode, and it's not that I don't love that, but I think they need to be careful not to make Moz the solution to every problem the writers run into. It worked well here but it's going to get tired if it's used too often. On the other hand, Mozzie is always charming in that crazy-uncle kind of way, and the moment in the classroom when Mafia Don Peter is trying not to LOL at Moz over the radio made me crack up laughing.

3. The damsel-in-distress thing worked well with Kate, because what we see is not so much her in distress as someone playing on Neal's conception of himself and how he relates to women. Neal talks a lot about saving and protecting Kate, which sometimes gets in the way of actually listening to Kate. So I bought that setup with Kate because it was more about Neal lying to himself than her power or lack thereof. I have a harder time with Neal rescuing Alex, because Alex has formerly come across as someone who doesn't need a lot of saving. I liked them working together throughout the episode, but the kiss at the end for Peter especially, and to some extent the kiss for Neal, rang a little false to me. Although Neal during that kiss was heartbreaking; he looked sad and very lonely, like he craved it but wouldn't or couldn't take it. I wonder how much of that is him grieving Kate, how much is him not wanting to suck another person into the insanity of his life, and how much is his fidelity to the Bureau.

3a. The art dorkery in this show never fails to make me happy. Never fails. So much art dorkery! As an art dork, I enjoy it.

Comments

[888mph.livejournal.com]

Hey, since your f-list was so awesome with wanting to save the baby swifts, could you tell them that the Ministry of Environment and the Ministry of Culture stepped up and didn't let the wall be teared down, saving them? I'm sure they'll like to know. :)

And thank you once more. ♥

[deepfishy.livejournal.com]

Yay, baby swifts!

[copperbadge.livejournal.com]

I'll put it in the Radio Free Monday update :) Thanks!

[ak-alterego.livejournal.com]

When Neal was talking to Peter about the "I never lied to you" stuff, I thought of your whole spiel on their relationship and it really rang true, except maybe that I was looking for it.

[copperbadge.livejournal.com]

I admit that moment made me go "OH YEAH." :D

[ak-alterego.livejournal.com]

He had a little face of hurt and was a little indignant, it was great. I am very glad you like this show, I like reading your take on it.

[tig-b.livejournal.com]

Your morning toast sounds like it tasted a lot better than mine!

(I had marmalade and garlic http://tig-b.livejournal.com/181687.html)

[copperbadge.livejournal.com]

OMG. I am so sorry. Warm garlic in the morning! D:

[elainasaunt.livejournal.com]

Neal grinning over his criminal fame was the most adorable thing in the world.

I think Alex has an agenda. Maybe she really was in some peril (and remember, her peril is linked with Neal's), but I feel this was somehow at least partly her way to further the search for the music box - or rather, since we know where the box is, the search for what it means and who wants it.

Aidan Quinn has aged rather well - better than I'd thought he might.

Mmmm, apple butter. We don't have it here - but it's easy to make in the microwave! Cut up (but don't pare) some sweet apples (Red Delicious, which I hate for eating, are good for this), just barely cover with water, and microwave on high till mooshy (depends on quantity but won't take long). Let cool a little and pick out cooked peel, then mash with fork or potato masher for chunky or blend for smooth. Spice to taste with any or all of cinnamon, ginger, clove, nutmeg, allspice, maybe a spoonful of dark molasses. Cover loosely (some steam should escape) and microwave again for about 10 min, stir, and repeat till it's as thick as you like it. If it's not sweet enough, add a bit of sugar or honey.

[copperbadge.livejournal.com]

He was so happy! He loves it when people like him.

The thing about Alex is, she had the Music Box and the cherub, and the cherub is visibly a key -- so either she's a tremendous idiot, or she opened the secret hatch, found what was in there, and no longer needs the key. Either way I can't see why she'd need the Box unless whatever's in the secret hatch is stuck in there.

I should make some apple butter -- I hear you can do it in the slow cooker too.

[katikat.livejournal.com]

Either way I can't see why she'd need the Box unless whatever's in the secret hatch is stuck in there.

I don't think that she needs the box because of what's inside. She wanted the box because it belonged to Catherine the Great. As Neal said in S1 when Peter asked him about why people like Neal felt drawn to things like that - because they had a dangerous history. It's not about their secrets, it's about possessing them, owning a piece of a history. The baddies are after the box's secrets, everybody else - Alex included - is after the box itself. Its secrets might be a cherry on top, but not necessary.

[copperbadge.livejournal.com]

IDK. I would think given the people who want the box, she'd have a look inside and nick anything of any value. Why else take it and then give it back? I don't buy that she wanted it for purely aesthetic, value, or covetous purposes. I might buy that she took it just to see if she could, but given she had the key...

I just think it's too much of a coincidence, writing-wise, that she had several hours alone with the box and then gave it back to Neal with a smile. I can't imagine she didn't at least peek inside the hatch. And if she knew what was in there and didn't take it, why not tell Neal? She obviously has issues with his relationship with Kate, but I don't think she wanted Kate dead.

[katikat.livejournal.com]

Why did she bring it back? Because she's head over heels in love with Neal and for once in her life she actually did something selfless - and selfish, as she said, she didn't want the baddies to go after her too.

I think that she didn't realize that it's a key. It's obvious to us that it's a key because we know it now. I think that she didn't even pull it out of her bag, the statue, I mean, when she had the box. And she has had it for so long that she stopped... seeing it, it didn't even occur to her that it might be something else but a pretty piece of the box.

[copperbadge.livejournal.com]

Dude, how can you not realise that cherub is a key? It's pretty fucking keyshaped. :D It's got a tag on the end and everything....

[katikat.livejournal.com]

It is similar to a key but if you don't know that it should open something... If you ever assembled something from IKEA or something similar, they have these screw-like things that you insert into a hole and twist and the piece at the end is there so that the thing doesn't fall out when you turn the whole thing upside down. And Neal never told Alex that there should be something inside the box. She was after the box itself.

It's always easy to make these leaps when you have more information that the characters.

[copperbadge.livejournal.com]

I really don't think anyone of Alex's level of intelligence wouldn't know that's a key. It's shaped, yknow, like a key. :D I don't think this is particularly something you wouldn't notice if you didn't already know, especially since they concealed that part of the cherub from us when they originally showed it.

[katikat.livejournal.com]

I don't know, I prefer not to poke unnecessary holes in the story. If I tried, I would have to say that Neal was dumb that he didn't suspect that the locker would have a hole in it, that Peter was dumb that he didn't figure out that Neal was personally invested when he came up with that coin guy and said he didn't like him, that Diana was dumb that she didn't notice the hole in the box earlier, that the professor was dumb because he didn't know that Neal had a deal with the FBI, that Mozzie was dumb that he let Neal catch him with Alex... It would go on and on. I prefer viewing it with a grain of salt. It's a lot more fun that way *shrugs*

[copperbadge.livejournal.com]

I don't know -- I think in this case it's more entertaining to theorise about whether she opened the box, what she found there if so, why she didn't tell Neal, and why she's given him the key now, when she knows he doesn't have it (and may know it's "in the wind").

[elainasaunt.livejournal.com]

Alex is definitely not an idiot. I have no firm theories, only a vague feeling, but I think it's now less about the box itself and more questions like who was Russell the krugerrand guy talking to on the phone, and, of course, who killed Kate and why. She may be in too much danger to reveal what she knows, but she can help others discover the same thing. Or something like that. Eastin and Co. may not even know for sure at this point in the arc.

I hear you can do it in the slow cooker too
Yeah, the thing about that is ... it's slow. I'm all about instant gratification.

[copperbadge.livejournal.com]

The thing about apple butter in the slow-cooker is, though, that it's not the microwave. :D I don't generally like to cook stuff in the microwave, the texture is always funky.

[keeperofqkeys.livejournal.com]

She didn't have the music box for very long though, and maybe she didn't have the key in the same place as the music box for the short period of time she had both.

[tzikeh.livejournal.com]

I think Alex opened the Music Box, and found *nothing*. I think the secret is something she couldn't get to, or figure out, on her own, and that made giving it back to Neal (w/her story of it's too dangerous, and I like you, etc.) that much easier.

But she obviously kept the Key in hopes that it would be some kind of leverage point in the future with Neal; only when she got into real danger and had to flee the country did she give up on that plan.

Honestly, this is simply my opinion and nothing more. But that's my story and I'm sticking to it (until I'm Jossed).

In other news, Bad-Ass Peter is smokin' hot. Even when he's trying not to laugh at Moz. And Neal's *giddiness* through much of the episode made him as cute as a fluffy bunny. AS A FLUFFY BUNNY, I SAY. And oh man, how his face fell when Peter started shouting at him in the van after discovering that Neal had concocted the plan to get to the professor with Alex at the forefront of his mind and the F.B.I. as the secondary concern.

(But Peter's face when the recording of Neal's day in class got to Neal saying the F.B.I. never actually caught him... *hee*. THAT's gonna bite him in the ass, even if only in fanfiction.)

[copperbadge.livejournal.com]

I think that's probably a sound theory. I'm not sure why she wouldn't just tell Neal "btw the baddie is probably after the thing in the music box and it's X" but Alex does tend to use information as power a lot more deftly than Neal does.

Peter was super-awesome as a Detroit mobster, but I just can't get over the moment where Moz and Neal are bickering and Peter is visibly trying not to crack a smile. D'awww, Peter is my favourite Bad Cop.

[keeperofqkeys.livejournal.com]

And then Neal had that smirk thing at the end when Alex gave him the key thing, like he was planning that all along. Like maybe every single thing we've seen so far has just been one giant con for him to be the one to get the music box in the end, knock out the competition (Alex and Kate both), and use FBI resources to get the job done and make it seem like he wasn't the mastermind behind everything.

[copperbadge.livejournal.com]

That would be genius :D

[thefannishwaldo.livejournal.com]

I didn't like Alex as 'damsel in distress' because she actually *played* it as 'damsel in distress'. If she'd walked up to Neal and said, "Look asshat, I'm in trouble because of my association with you and now I EXPECT you and your little pal to help me sort it," I would have bought it much more.

I'm going to meta post later, but OMG, Neal was so cute over being a 'role model' for the uncommon criminal. The way he LIT UP when Diana asks 'who are they copycatting' and he perks up with "Me!". LOVE. Much LOVE!

And cutting out the article to keep on his desk... It reminded me of the pilot when he's talking to Mozzie and he says, "You know what's the worst thing about being an art forger?" and Neal answers, "You can't take credit for you work." He finally got to take credit for his work!

And thank you for the screen cap. While not an overtly slashy *scene*, out of context, it totally looks like Peter's trying to cop a feel. ;)

[copperbadge.livejournal.com]

That's a good point -- if she'd made Neal accountable for her being in the hot seat, it would have played a lot more like the S1 Alex we got to know.

I loved how excited Neal was about being studied. "Look, I'm SPECIAL! Peter, I'm special! Look at my specialness! It's because I'm awesome!"

There was definitely some....positioning in the art room scene that made it look like Peter was about to literally, physically cockblock Neal. :D

One thing that puzzled me was Peter asking why Neal came to New York instead of going to college. Kiddo, were you not listening when Neal told you he didn't graduate high school?

[tenik.livejournal.com]

If he had wanted to go to college Neal could have forged the high school diploma. :p

[calliope-jones.livejournal.com]

omg, gangster Peter was so hot. And the way he tricked Mozzie into admitting he knew about the Detroit mob was awesome. I love it when the show Peter being smarter. And gleeful Neal was so adorable!

[fleur-de-liz.livejournal.com]

Yeah, my reading skills are not so good today. I keep looking at "art dorkery" and thinking it says "art donkey."

I'm not sure what an art donkey is, but I'm sure it would be fabulous. Maybe it wears a fedora too.

[copperbadge.livejournal.com]

ART DONKEY

[lokifan]

SO. CUTE.

You know who they're studying? ME! Did you hear, Peter? Me! Aren't you proud? I'm so special! *spins around*

Totally agreed on not over-using Moz.

With the damsel-in-distress thing - I noticed it a lot too, especially with Neal saying repeatedly that he'd 'take care' of Alex. But since she came to Moz originally, I tend to take it as her letting Neal's conception of himself as white-knight run in her favour.

[hollyxu.livejournal.com]

Neal thinks he's a white knight on a charger but he's really just a fluffy bunny or lap-sized terrier. The real cavalry is, and always has been, Peter. I don't know what El is, though. Queen?

[copperbadge.livejournal.com]

Undisputably Queen. :D

[nobleroman1.livejournal.com]

SO late to the party, but I can't believe no one has mentioned how kick-ass hot and sexy Peter was during the entire scene at the end when he entered the classroom to arrest the students. Talk about Alpha male! Oh, and let us not forget how wonderfully that casual shirt highlighted the contours of Jones' chest.

[debitha.livejournal.com]

They should really let Peter be evil more often. That was awesome. :o)

Neal was so proud and adorable.

I wonder whether there was any significance in sending Alex to Venice. And, if so, whether it was her plan or Neal's. Or possibly Peter's. He said the tickets to Italy were on Neal's advice, but Peter can be tricky that way. Or it might all be completely meaningless.

Also, I really hope Peter checked his pockets after Alex kissed his cheek. Or was that significant, too. Hmmmm. Welcome to my brain on 'Try to Spot the Plot Twist'. :oP

[copperbadge.livejournal.com]

Peter did seem to enjoy being evil, too :D

In a general sense, the writers are pretty good at telegraphing when something is either a) a lie or b) maybe a lie but definitely important -- I'm guessing Neal and Alex have good memories of Venice, so Neal suggested it.

Funnily enough, in the Exquisite passage for this episode, I wrote:

"Neal said you were the best," she said, which startled him -- and then she kissed him on the cheek, which was even more startling.

As soon as her back was turned, he checked to make sure she hadn't lifted his wallet.

[debitha.livejournal.com]

He enjoys it, he's good at it. Come on, writers. Let Peter get his evil on more often.

Nononono, she's left him a message that relates to whatever Peter's master plan is that involves having Alex in place in Venice... No, you're right. *sigh*