White Collar 3.07: "As You Were"

[aelfgyfu_mead]

Finally, a Clinton Jones episode! (Now if only I had a Clinton Jones icon!)

I really like Jones. He's reliable and loyal and very much a straight arrow, but not staid: he has fun going undercover, whether pretending to be muscle threatening Neal and Mozzie or pretending to be Diana's wife. I started screaming at the screen when he almost kissed Jimmy's wife, "NO! Please let someone's moral compass still be working!" I cheered when he pushed her away. Even (somewhat) drunk, Clinton does the right thing.

Also, Jones looks outstanding in those dress whites.

Complaining follows. If you don't want me to harsh your squee, skip to my prediction below.

What the heck is up with Sara? She knows that Neal knows where the treasure is. It bothers her enough to break up with him and refuse his phone calls, but it doesn't bother her enough to take any positive steps? I can even understand if she doesn't want to turn him in to Peter, but isn't it at least worth trying to suggest to Neal that he do the right thing? This woman's whole career is based on returning valuable items to the rightful owners. She may cross the line, but knowing what she does, she's an accessory now, even if she just walks away. I am not impressed, writers.

I am angry at Mozzie and Neal for betraying Peter and especially Elizabeth. Elizabeth deserves better form them. They violated her trust. I am glad they are showing signs of guilt, and I hope they continue to feel it, more and more strongly! I really don't like this subplot. Maybe if it were something other than Nazi loot stolen from people the Nazis murdered and countries the Nazis conquered, I would find it more tolerable. I've tried to treat it all as a Macguffin, as friendshipper said somewhere, but I keep coming back to the fact that it's not just a pile of gold or a plate for forged bills. It's art that should be seen, not mouldering in a storage unit, and most importantly, it's art that belonged to people who suffered horribly. If heirs can be found, they deserve it; if owners cannot be identified or heirs located, the art should be returned to the countries from which it was stolen as best the authorities can.

Prediction
I finally posted, on back on July 18, the idea that I've been entertaining for a while: the way out is Keller.

Why else spring Keller at the end of last season? They need Keller in play to resolve this season's mess. What I want to see happen, and what I hope the writers will do, is this:
Neal and Mozzie finally listen to their weak, little, underdeveloped consciences and realize that they are violating the trust of people they care about and hurting others and themselves. They don't really want to leave New York. Neal doesn't want to leave the Burkes, the White Collar unit, and Sara. Mozzie has become unaccountably fond of the Burkes and has a new relationship with Vulture (even if I thought that was just gratuitous, okay?).

Once Neal and Mozzie decide they can't or won't go through with liquidating the Nazi loot, they need to pin the theft on someone else. Keller is ideal. He was out of jail before the whole sub affair occurred, so he could have done it. He hates and has a rivalry with Neal, so it's plausible that he would have been tracking Neal during the investigation and could have found Adler's hiding place first. It's even plausible that he would manufacture evidence to incriminate Neal!

Best of all, Keller has already been convicted of murder and will face additional charges related to kidnapping Peter and breaking out of jail. If Neal and Mozzie can arrange to pin the loot on Keller, no one will even need or want a full trial for those charges. Peter can close the case and pretend Neal didn't do anything suspicious. Keller can blow steam all he wants, but there's no point in mounting a defense against these charges. Peter may always suspect, and maybe some year in the future Neal will drop hints about what he allegedly did and how he allegedly got out of it. Peter wants to protect him: "I was an admiral once," Neal said. "Nobody heard that. Pencils down!" Peter ordered.

It's a great solution, is it not?




Spoilers from the previews for next week?



Sadly, after I'd formulated the whole thing, we saw next week's previews. Keller is back, and he wants the loot. Brilliant Husband said, "Look! They're doing what you said!"

I had to say, "I don't think they're going to wrap up the season's conflict right before the mid-season break." I'm afraid either they'll put away Keller (thereby not making him the solution), or possibly let Keller get away with some or all of the loot. Then they can spend the second half of the season chasing Keller. I'm not sure how satisfying that would be.