nico

Reunion, anyone? http://www.huffingtonpost.com/entry/sports-night-reunion-peter-krause_us_56f314d9e4b04c4c37613497?ir=TV&section=us_tv&utm_hp_ref=tv

Hillary Clinton is scheduled to appear on Jimmy Kimmel's show on Thursday, March 24th. Peter Krause is also scheduled to be a guest on the show that night. Why do I have a feeling Casey has received a barrage of texts and calls from Danny, begging his buddy to somehow explain away that secular/non-secular silliness and to make sure that Hillary understands that his co-anchor is not an idiot?

I tend to think that the best episode titles refer not only to that particular episode but to some broader aspect of the series. If the episode is well-written, the title suggests another dimension by which you can view the characters and the series itself. To me, Jimmy is the series' palimpsest -- and in a much deeper, more complex way than those who chose body modification. I also thought it was interesting that Jilly chose to keep her tattoos -- she was changed by the experience and wanted to keep the "scars", the reminders of what happened to her, what she learned about herself. So in that way, she is the palimpsest, too. I like that Jilly's name is almost a "twin" of Jimmy's, leading me to see her situation as a reflection of his. A good story changes the main character (and perhaps others) in some way. I need to see this episode again to consider Jimmy in light of that title.

"No more lies." Fathers, sons. A dad named James who might have been a dirty cop. Boxing. A hanger at an airport. When Duval reminded Jimmy that of course he knew how to set a perimeter -- after all, he was an FBI agent -- I laughed, remembering how many times the perimeters Peter Burke ordered his FBI agents to set proved to be full of holes. Grace is beginning to remind me of Elizabeth: the steady, smart, calming love of Duval/Peter's life. Strange little Otto doesn't actually make me think of Mozzie, but by the time I finish an episode of this show, my mind just naturally goes there. Some people like this kind of thing, but for me it doesn't work. The White Collar comparisons are distracting, so that I can never really see the new show on its own terms. Not that it matters, I suppose, since Second Chance seems doomed. It's comforting to see Tim/Peter again, love of this fan's life, but I wonder a little at his choice of this role.

That's one of the things I dislike most about finales. They try to do too many things at once and so nothing gets done really well. This series was best when the writing and direction allowed for scenes to play themselves out to their natural end. Too many scenes in this finale ended abruptly, not leaving time or space for nuance or grace or texture -- no time for the quiet moments that were so much a part of why I loved this show. So much of what is meaningful to us in literature or television or film is transmitted in the spaces between words, between actions. The best of White Collar, for me anyway, were the tender moments, the times when the characters had a chance to reflect, to be quiet together, to finish the moment. We weren't allowed that in this finale and I guess that isn't surprising -- we haven't been allowed in close for a long time. Care has not been taken on a consistent basis. I especially missed Peter and Neal's hands in the finale. The series was so much about hands (handler, handshake, handcuffs, magic hands, picking pockets, sleight-of-hand, fingers lifting a filament or hair off a shoulder, Neal demonstrating so many delicate tricks of his trade, a hand on a shoulder or arm, a hug). Just the way Peter and Neal walked to work or stood talking together told us something about how they were learning to trust, or failing to trust, how they depended on each other.. Peter handcuffing Neal (or taking the handcuffs off) was never just routine. Those were significant moments -- sometimes quiet ones, painful or stressful for the characters -- but the way it was done, the way the camera made sure to capture it, (and the intensity with which many of us watched it) told us something about that relationship. But it only worked when care was taken, when there was time to linger a moment.

I tried to rewatch the finale on USA this morning (a very slightly abbreviated version -- no discussion of Italian roast, for instance -- to keep it at an hour). I say "try" because for some time now I find myself unable to watch directly, straight on, continuously -- instead, I watch from an oblique angle, out of the corner of my eyes, and when I find my attention wandering, I'll pick up a magazine or get up to walk into another room, and of course when I get there I won't understand why I'm there except that for some reason I needed to walk away from that show for a moment. In the end I conclude that I was anticipating incompetence and was desperate not to see that. I used to tune out everything else for this show, but they lost my trust somewhere along the way so I stopped my obsessive note-taking and my habit of watching each episode multiple times. But there were a few things in this one that I needed to see again: As they viewed Neal in the body bag, I liked that the scene ended with Peter -- tentatively at first, but then more firmly, perhaps because he needed to reach out to someone as well -- putting his hand on Mozzie's back. I loved that they conjured up the spirit of "Vital Signs" (never more vital than when Neal is dying) and "Out of the Box" (Neal finally out of his box; Peter discovering the truth in one big box). But also, Neal's words from both of those episodes . . . "You're the only one I trust" "You're the only one who could make me change my mind" "You're the only one who saw good in me." When he said those words in the finale, was Peter's hand on his head, as it was in "Vital Signs"? I thought it was, but they didn't make it clear to me -- and if he did have his hand there, why didn't they make it clear to me? See, this is why I can't watch sometimes -- and why I'll never invest time, attention or my heart in an Eastin show again. Does he purposely set out to tease us, to madden us? At those moments I'd swear he's laughing at how silly we are for caring so much. (Mozzie's not the only one with conspiracy theories.) And of course there was Neal doing what he did in "Out of the Box", saying goodbye to everyone, except in the earlier show he was going to avoid saying goodbye to Peter. This time he made sure they had a moment together. "You're the only one . . . You're my best friend." Given how far this show had fallen, I consider us lucky we were given a decent ending. Maybe one reason I can't watch it too closely is that I have this sense that I wanted more -- something deeper, something finer, and we didn't get that. For me the series was always about Neal and Peter and so I needed more from their scenes, and I know if I looked too closely I'd see we didn't get that -- nothing even close to the quality of that scene on the tarmac in "Out of the Box" or Neal and Peter's scene in Kate's apartment in the pilot episode-- which is why I'm not going to see this episode again, not for a long while anyway. Once I'd have made a detailed list of every item in that big box, but I already know what was there, or what should have been there, and I'd rather not know if they missed something essential to me. It should have been great -- not only the finale, but the entire series -- and it kept missing somehow. I get frustrated with Eastin for not taking better care of this show. He created a treasure and then didn't seem to know (or care?) how to develop it, deepen it, didn't know how to let it soar. Instead, he kept dragging it down to earth. So the ending doesn't satisfy, but at least puts an end to the nagging worry of what awful things they were going to do next to the Peter-Neal relationship, how far out of character they were going to twist those two guys, how lazy and sloppy the writing was going to be in the next "could have been great" scene. If only . . . how many times did I use those words in discussing this show? Now, finally, we're free of all that. No more. No next episode. Done. Fin. And it feels nice, like I've been let out of a box or something. Vital signs much better now.

I personally hope Neal is exploring his own artistic vision. He told his father he was never able to do that because he didn't know who he was. Maybe now he does, or is finding out. I hope he hasn't taken up the criminal life again -- unless he's in some way running his cons strictly to help others, or to right wrongs. Maybe he and Peter will be able to have a few of those late night phone calls like they did so long ago, or perhaps they can meet on a vacation somewhere. I think it would be nice if Neal could meet his namesake. I was a little disappointed to see Neal in Paris wearing his suit and hat -- I know it's what he's known for, but he has a different life now. I think I wanted to see him in a more relaxed mode, more comfortable clothes, his hair longer -- like he was on the island. He very deliberately shaved the beard and put on the suit and hat on the morning he returned to work at the FBI. I don't understand whether Mozzie was supposed to have figured out that Neal was alive, but I hope he doesn't. I hope Peter doesn't tell him. If Neal wants to do so, that's fine, but I hope Peter leaves it up to Neal to decide. I don't want Mozzie chasing Neal down and trying to lure him back to his old life. Mozzie's having a harder time getting over Neal because Neal was his life. He had moved in with him and never really considered what Neal wanted or needed He never listened to Neal. During that time when Mozzie was plotting to get them to the island, Neal was going through such emotional turmoil and Mozzie never saw it or, if he did, chose to ignore it. Neal's feelings didn't matter to him. The night they broke into the Burkes' home, Neal was so torn by what they were doing and Mozzie didn't care about that -- he also didn't mind using his friend Elizabeth for his purposes. Seeing him in the park running his old con game brought to mind the little boy that he was using to run errands for him on the day he met Neal, bringing that child into the life of a con, too. There's probably some other kid in that park now who is lost and looking for someone to teach him how to survive -- Mozzie will never find another Neal but I'm sure there are others he can lure into that life to use for his purposes.. Neal left him enough money to get a new start -- a pay-off in a way. I thought it was very significant that Neal made sure to tell Peter he was his best friend -- the only one who believed "there was good in me." I don't think Neal wants to see Mozzie again -- at least not until he is strong enough and secure enough in his new life to resist Mozzie's attempts to pull him backwards. As for what Eastin thinks, I wouldn't pay much attention to that . . . not after what he allowed to happen to his characters in S5.

I liked the ending. I just wish we hadn't had to put up with the previous five episodes to get there. The finale seemed to fit with the spirit and energy of the beginning of the series. Of course, it leaves a lot of unanswered questions, but WC episodes always do, for me anyway. The events of the last five minutes were a little rushed for me -- I didn't always understand what Peter was discovering or what he was thinking. I suppose someday I'll watch it again, but right now I'm just glad it's over. They ended it in a way that pleased me, and I'd like to leave it at that. I don't understand why Peter would go after Neal again. There's no reason for it, unless just to show him he could, to have a reunion. Peter has a life he's happy with now. He's not going to leave Elizabeth and his son and the job he loves to run off chasing Neal, unless of course Neal steals something the FBI would need to chase him for, and I have a feeling Neal will not do that. Neal gave Peter time to grieve and to become a father and settle into life post-Neal, and now he's gently letting him know the truth, that he's alive and okay and thinking of him. I think he trusts Peter not to pick up the chase again. Neal's settled things in America, knows that Peter and Mozzie will be all right, and he needs to build his own life without revisiting the past. He's always been too much about the past -- now he gets to work on his future. He's his own man now, and that's all I really wanted for him.

Tim talks about Peter, Neal and the finale: (mildly spoilerish) http://www.tvguide.com/News/White-Collar-Series-Finale-Preview-Tim-DeKay-1091055.aspx

Tim and Matt talk about ending the series: (the mildest of spoilers) http://tvline.com/2014/12/17/white-collar-series-finale-spoilers-cliffhanger-ending-movie/

Neal has to get away from Mozzie -- he needs to build a life for himself and he doesn't need Mozzie always harping on their next big score and how Neal will always be a con. Mozzie is the devil on his shoulder, a negative voice. Maybe later they can be in touch again, but only after Neal has a chance to get out on his own. They need to go back to the scene on the sidewalk in "Out of the Box" and say goodbye -- at least for awhile. Mozzie has to give up on Neal being his partner in crime and I'm not sure he can do that. I know he loves Neal but he doesn't love him enough to let him go. Every time Neal comes close to getting free, there is Mozzie, letting him know he can't go straight, can't live "happily every after". I really do believe (and there have been hints of this since he said it in S5) that when Neal declared he was going to "cut ties" he wasn't just talking about Peter and the FBI. He meant Mozzie, too. Neal is an addict who needs to go cold turkey -- he needs to change his life -- and Mozzie reminding him he'll never be anything but a con is the drug talking, luring him backwards. Working for the FBI has been that, too, in a way, by allowing him to be involved with crime, continuing to use his talent and addiction for criminal behavior. He needs to break the cycle. He needs to be on his own. Maybe later after he has had a chance to become whatever he's going to become he can get in touch with Mozzie again. Peter, too. Maybe by then he'll be strong enough so that he doesn't hear the devil's voice (or the voice of the "angel", Peter). His own voice will be the one he hears and he'll be able to be his own man, not Peter's C.I. (the dot on his computer screen) and not Mozzie's number one asset in crime (the tool in his belt). Neal's life needs to be about Neal. When Peter told him at the end of S5 that he was about to be free, I was surprised that Neal seemed a little lost talking about it with Mozzie -- he really had no idea what he wanted to do. And there was Mozzie the devil pulling him backwards, discouraging him from thinking about changing his life. I wanted to kick him. He's like the drug dealer afraid to lose his best customer. Neal talked about going to Paris but Mozzie made him consider Paris without money, as if that would be beneath them somehow. But it sounded romantic to me -- sort of like some of Neal's memories of the time when he and Kate were young and in love and had nothing but each other and their dreams. Those were sweet times for him. He needs time to consider all that. The son has to grow up and find his own path. The fathers have to love him enough to let him go.

If Peter takes even a dollar of the billions, I'd be extremely disappointed in him. What a legacy for his child -- to be brought up on money stolen from the U. S. government. No matter how disillusioned Peter is with the FBI, he'd be abandoning all those principles of responsibility, right and wrong, and family he has tried to reinforce in Neal (values Neal already has in that good heart but doesn't always act on). And what would Peter taking a cut of the money say to Neal, whose future is still hanging in the balance? The only way there's a victory here is if Neal turns down all that money, too. I want Neal (whether as "Neal" or as some newly invented person) to walk away from all this clean. If he takes even a dollar of the money then he isn't. He's still who he was to start with, a desperate con on the run, not able to settle anywhere, not able to trust anyone, just like his real father -- bad blood after all. It's been so disheartening for me during this sixth season to watch Peter and Neal do the same things they've always done -- banter in that friendly, almost affectionate way they have, then turn away with looks on their faces that tell you they don't trust each other for a minute. I so hoped to see them get beyond that. I so hoped there would be sparkling, brilliant writing for these last episodes -- something transforming, illuminating, thrilling, touching -- but I don't see how they can pull that off now. Ah, well, it was a breezy, pretty little series with some memorable moments (though damned few lately), lovable characters, a great city on display -- but they never seemed to get anywhere. They just kept running in circles. Maybe that's true to life -- we repeat the same patterns over and over, nobody changes, once a con always a con -- but I hoped for more, longed for it. Isn't that why we tune in to a show like this, hoping for it to show us the way, to give us hope? For me, a lot still depends on how Neal comes out of this. I'm so hoping that by now he has sense enough, heart enough, peace enough -- to walk away free and clear. And perhaps that would be tribute enough to his friendship with Peter. Later, if he finds he just can't resist the shiny stuff and has to steal -- okay, some fans seem to want that -- but the show will be over and I won't have to know about it and I won't have to watch that. For a single day, I want him free, clear -- clean, on his own, breathing fresh air, not having to look back over his shoulder. And I want Peter to know that's how it is for him -- that Neal has that. Then Peter will be able to let him go and walk away (he'll be free and clear, too) to devote his life to Elizabeth and their son.

I think Mozzie's main focus in life has been to make sure he doesn't lose his partnership with Neal. He will do anything, say anything, use all his skills as a con artist to keep Neal from changing his life. even if that might be best for Neal, even if it's what Neal really wants. In a way, he's exactly like the directors of the FBI. who keep changing the rules to prolong Neal's sentence. Neal is the goose that lays the golden eggs and neither Moz nor the FBI can let go of him. Mozzie's been angry with Neal at times, but he's backed away and readjusted and made concessions in order not to lose him. Working with Peter and the FBI, being friends with Elizabeth, getting along with Sara and Rebecca and other women who have been important to Neal -- these are some of the concessions he's made. Some of his relationship with Neal is based on affection, but Mozzie is first and always all about the next big score and Neal is his best asset (the best tool in his belt?) when it comes to achieving his goals. Neal is also valuable in that he is willing to take the fall if the two of them get in trouble. Mozzie needs Neal's good heart to protect him and get the FBI involved if he has a problem. Elizabeth is also useful in that way. I think he's fond of Elizabeth, but I don't think he gave her a thought once he and Neal got to their island. Mozzie's a user, and a much darker character than he'd like everyone to think, including Neal. One of the reasons I have so much trouble with Mozzie's cuddly, cute persona is that I don't believe it for a minute. Sometimes it's interesting to watch how he uses it to play everyone, to see how stupid they are about trusting him. And I include Neal in that, Neal who ought to know Mozzie well enough to know when he's being played. But there have been other times when Neal has been conned, so perhaps it shouldn't surprise. The good heart, the romantic spirit, gets in the way. No matter what Neal is feeling, no matter whether Neal is worried about Peter or when Neal is torn between his loyalty to Peter and the temptation of running a con, Mozzie can be counted on to use Neal's vulnerability to drive a wedge between him and Peter. Sometimes it has seemed cruel to me, his lack of sensitivity at those moments -- but it's true to his character. He's a con artist -- he sees vulnerability and he zeroes in on it to get what he wants. He's rather relentless in that way. And, yes, I realize a lot of this might be said of Peter -- but Peter has shown more sensitivity to Neal's feelings, and I still believe cares more about Neal's future, wants something better for him than a life on the run. There's no doubt having Neal on the team has greatly enhanced Peter's career, but he's also risked his career for Neal, foolishly perhaps. "Foolishly" is something you can't accuse Mozzie of -- he seldom makes decisions based on some foolish notion like affection. Even when he seems to it is often part of the long con he's been running since Neal got out of prison to get him free of the FBI and back to work as his partner. A wife would have been a burden to Mozzie, someone he'd have had to discard anyway when Neal is finally free and the two of them can get back to conning full-time.. Sure, she'd be useful in their cons, but the other responsibilities of a marriage would only distract him from his quest for the big score. Plus, she's a con -- could he ever trust her?

I was hoping that before the series ends they'd find a way to bring back some of the magic of the pilot episode -- that Neal and Peter, not the pale, twisted out of shape, gutted imitations we have now. Remember when they felt like substantial, flesh-and-blood human beings? Now they're just two guys spouting lines. There was a time when there was a struggle going on inside Neal -- who to be, how to change, how to find his own artistic vision instead of only stealing from others. He's just a con artist now. Once a con, always a con, no happily ever after. Heading for the life of June's old pal, Ford -- an old con still looking for that one big score. Half a billion dollars in unmarked bills. Wow -- sounds about as meaningless and soulless as the twin to the Hope Diamond or the Nazi treasure -- or, for that matter, the island where they could live out their lives in splendor. They never quite managed to hold onto any of those things for very long -- when they finally got their hands on them, they only managed to let them slip away -- or gave them up to save someone they cared about, which should have taught them something about what was important, but somehow it hasn't. This seems to have been a journey to nowhere. Nothing gained, nothing learned, just kind of sad and pathetic. Peter was always my favorite -- I was so relieved when I saw the first season and realized that though he had a ways to go, he was learning and changing, too. He wasn't just your stereotypical agent: he had potential, he was a match for Neal, and he and Neal had this relationship that grew and seemed to mean something to both of them. They lost all that somewhere, mostly in the need of the so-called writers to use Peter to do and say stupid, heartless things so he and Neal could be "at odds". They destroyed that character for me. And last night they used him to hurt Neal again -- all that stuff about how he'll lose his job if Neal doesn't get the Panthers -- such lazy, ham-fisted writing, They should have left Peter on the steps of his house: Neal gone, Elizabeth gone, his career gone. Neal and Mozzie are criminals and always will be; let them go off on their pathetic path, once again in pursuit of the big score. I don't know how it will end and at this point don't much care. It won't be a perfect bookend to the great pilot episode. I wish that Peter and Neal could come back for a few scenes, though I think they'd seem like aliens from a parallel universe. It would be nice to see them, though.

I was hoping the Elizabeth/baby scenes would satisfy Eastin's passion for cutesy filler crap, but apparently not. Wow - an entire episode of the stuff. Could someone tell me if Mozzie's flashback nuptials fulfilled the requirement for a wedding in the last days of a series? Baby, wedding . . . I'm checking them off the list. What's left? Ah, yes, "surprise return of former true love." I'm hoping it's Kate and not the awful Sara, but anyone will do so long as I can check her off the list. We wouldn't want to miss even one of these precious cliches.