WHITE COLLAR Season Premiere: Withdrawal
July 15, 2010 by Team GMMR
Hellooooo, GMMR Readers, Mary here! I am so excited to join you for the second season of White Collar. (Almost as excited as I am to have Matthew Bomer’s blue eyes back on my screen!)
Tuesday night’s season premiere picked up shortly after the finale’s explosive ending (yes, that pun was intended), with Peter being questioned and Neal back in jail. Thanks to USA’s nonstop promos over the past month – and the entire premise of the show – I wasn’t too worried that our main characters would be kept apart for long.
So it wasn’t surprising when Neal rejoined Peter in attempting to prevent a bank heist. Within a few minutes, life was back to normal.
As normal as it gets with a tracking device on your ankle, that is.
I loved seeing Neal and Peter work together again, and this episode presented a worthy opponent in Tim Matheson’s character. (Did you know that Matheson also directed the season premiere?) He was cocky enough to get under both Neal and Peter’s skin, which – unfortunately for him – only motivated them more than usual. Of course, knowing that they’re on a short leash and under the watch of internal affairs probably didn’t hurt, either.
A few other thoughts on the return of WHITE COLLAR:
- Neal and Peter just might have the cutest bromance going right now. I can’t decide which scene I liked more: their initial banter in jail (“Coffee? Instant.”), Neal’s confession that he didn’t want to run anymore or their fake fight in the bank’s vault before taking down the security chick/bad guy.
- What do you think about Peter and Mozzie’s tentative alliance on Neal’s behalf? They’ve both come a long way in trusting someone from “the other side,” but I think their willingness to work together shows really just how much they each care about Neal.
- As I was watching last night, I couldn’t help thinking, “What is UP with Kelly Kapowski Tiffani Thiessen??” But I just read that due to her pregnancy, her scene was shot in front of a green screen. That does explain why she looked so weird . . . but it’s still weird.
- So Diana (Marsha Thomason) is back on Peter’s team now. I was a big fan of The Middleman, so I’ll miss Natalie Morales, but I suppose Thomason is okay, too. Do you think she’s a bad guy in the music box situation? Why does she have it in her personal safe? And does Peter know what’s going on?
- How long do you think we’ll have to wait for Alex to return to the scene?
- And the million dollar question: do you think Kate is really dead? (For the record – and not to sound morbid – I hope so. I’m ready for them to move on from the Kate storyline.)
Okay, White Collar fans. What did you think about the way Season Two started?
Mary is a soon-to-be PR freelancer, a wife and a mom to a toddler who she describes as “VERY two.” And while you might think her busy life would get in the way of an ambitious TV schedule, she’s way more organized [AHEM, addicted, AHEM] than that. Also, a clean house is overrated. Mary blogs about an imperfect life at Giving Up on Perfect, writing about family, faith, books, food, celebrity look-alikes and chick flicks. You know, the important stuff.
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Nice recap, Mary. I love this show for its blend of drama and humor. Moz is one of my favorite characters so his exaggerated spy-v-spy schtich struck my funnybone. I think we could all use a Moz in our lives to do deep cover for us. So good to have Neal’s blue eyes and Sinatra-swagger back on my screen.
Yeah, Moz just tickled me in this episode. I love his combination of criminal skills and endearing personality. And oh yes, the Sinatra swagger is a good thing. 🙂
Welcome Mary! I’ve enjoyed your “Getting Up on Perfect” blog, too. Thanks for the recap. I totally agree with you that the Kate plot-point is so now annoyingly overdone. I honestly could care less, and also wouldn’t mind if she were dead. She kind of holds Neal back. Not that he’s not above flirting with any other woman while still pining for her, which I suppose is good for us, but still…I really liked the rival thief from last season. i can’t remember her name now, but she was a better match for Neal.
And I also liked Natalie Morales a lot too, but I liked Diana from the pilot/beginning of season one, so I’m pleased to see her back as well. White Collar is such a fun show.
And Tim Matheson is one of those guys I think I’ll always have a crush on. I don’t care that he’s over 30 years older than me, haha.
I love this show too, and am so glad it is back. The interaction between Neal and Peter is what makes it work, but Moz and Elizabeth really soften the edges of both of the guys.
Personally, I was surprised that Diana has the music box (I thought it was Alex when I first looked at that scene, but since she had not been in anything else I took a second look). I don’t think this is a red herring (like seeing Kate with Peter at the end of the first half of S1) but rather she is in cahoots with Fowler. I hate to say it, but the actress is just better at being undercover bad (see her stint on LOST as evidence).
BTW, I also think that Kate is probably not dead (bummer, I know, I wish she were gone for good and I think she holds Neal back but they call that “pacing” in writing for TV), but I also DO think she is related to Elizabeth. They just look too darned similar for it to be a coincidence, and if there is anything we can believe about the able and competent writing for this show, it is nothing is a coincidence…
I forgot to include that I LOVE Tim Matheson too. He might not be 30 years my senior, but I love his skill on the screen and behind the scenes. He also directed this week’s Covert Affairs, which I liked less than I wanted to. It really seemed like a James Patterson book – You love it, you get hooked, and finish reading it quickly, then you forget about it 30 minutes later (like Chinese food). Sad but true.
Something needs to be shaken up there. It was just too flat. Peter Gallagher and Kari Matchett are clearly mismatched (I think she is the problem) and they are supposed to be in charge of the DPD. I get that personal problems can plague a department or a company, but it was just an odd thing to introduce in the first ep of a new show. What about the character development with Annie? I know we got a few crumbs but they wasted Anne Dudek and we are not invested in anyone yet. Why not make the first ep an hour and half, give us some real meat and setup, then up the ante in the final 30-45 minutes to get on the edge of our seat. Even USA Network fans are not going stick around if the characters are stick figures.
I so missed this show more than I thought I would. After spending my entire Monday off in front of the TV watching the marathon and seeing the premiere, I went out at 9:15 to Target and bought my very first blue ray DVD – S1 of White Collar! (and will watch all 14 episodes this weekend)
I really liked that they jumped right back into things. I am glad Moz and Peter are working together to help Neal get over that hag Kate. Dead or not, she is bad news.
I really hope that Diana is not a bad guy. I don’t want everyone other than Peter, Neal, Moz and Jones to be bad! that’s too many! Maybe she has the box because nobody would think she would have it. I can hope!
Best line “Neal Caffrey on paper? Not so great!” Loved it.
Great recap Mary. Glad to have you on board!
Thanks for the welcome, you all!
@Seels, I think you’re right. Alex (that’s the rival thief, right?) was a good match for Neal. It was hard to care about Kate at all, because we never really saw them interact. And with the way that guy flirts and riffs, that interaction is completely necessary to buy a connection. Does that make sense?
@Debbie, I love your perspective that Moz is Neal’s Elizabeth. 🙂 And I have a feeling you’re right about Diana. Her return right when things came to a head with Fowler seems pretty coincidental, doesn’t it? Then again, didn’t Peter call her for help? (It’s hard to remember way back to last season!)
@Patty, “that hag Kate” – ha! I agree – we can’t have every new character be a bad guy. That seems to be a challenge for a lot of procedurals; here’s hoping White Collar can avoid the trap!
@Debbie, just wanted to say that I agree about Peter Gallagher and Kari Matchett’s characters on Covert Affairs. They were the only part I didn’t really like.
I don’t want to forget Tim M. either. I never catch opening credits as I FF on DVR but for some reason I saw his directorial cred. and said ‘hot damn’ and then he was a guest star…I flove him even when he plays an arrogant SOB.
Mary – your baby is beautiful!
Great recap, Mary!
Peter+Neal = Best Bromance on TV right now
I loved their fake fight in the vault 🙂
@Lisa – Thank you! (She’s actually almost 3 now…but I don’t often like how I look in pics, so it stays!) And OH yeah, TM does arrogant SO well!
@SaraK – Thanks! That fake fight was funny, but also showed how well they know each other and work together. Love it!