WHITE COLLAR Recap: Countermeasures

After two weeks of intense looks into Neal’s history and motivations, it was time for an episode focused on someone else. This week, we got a peek into June’s past . . . which naturally raised a lot of questions about Neal’s future.

Let’s get to it!

The Case of the Week

An old friend of June’s is released from jail and shows up. Neal is suspicious of the man’s motives and convinces Diana to look into him. A simple fingerprint check turns into a full-blown counterfeit case, making me wonder again how these cases just fall into Peter and Neal’s laps – and why they weren’t already buried under a dozen cases!

Nevertheless, they drop everything to investigate June’s friend, Ford, who – as it turns out – is running a con with his former cellmate, Joseph Ganz. After a dinner party turned covert operation reveals a few clues into Ford’s past and his plans, the man disappears with a counterfeit printing plate that Neal discovered in June’s house.

Ford eventually agrees to work with the FBI and go undercover with Neal, but later flips back to being a bad guy. He tells Ganz where to find Neal, who they know to be an expert forger. Ganz kidnaps Neal and forces him to print the fake money. Ford attempts to get away with the money himself, but ends up walking away with nothing but a briefcase full of newspaper. The strangely plastic-faced Ganz is arrested, and Neal is left to ponder his own future as a con . . . or not.

The Music Box Mystery

Everyone’s [least] favorite arc was missing yet again this week. To be honest, with so much back story and character development, I haven’t missed it one bit. But I read today that Hilarie Burton, who plays Sara Ellis, will be back next season as a series regular. Since we last saw her volunteering to track down the box, I imagine that will come back into play very soon.

WHITE COLLAR Ramblings…

• I loved how easily Neal got around Peter’s refusal to bring his wife to a dinner party for the sake of an investigation. Almost as much as I loved the shot of Peter’s face as Elizabeth talked to Neal on the phone about joining June’s dinner party.

• I also loved the teamwork from Peter and Elizabeth when Ford tried to hide the photo album at June’s house. They really are adorable.

• Peter acts so weird sometimes when Neal is doing something impressive. When Ganz tested Neal with the fake IDs, Peter was like a proud father. (“Watch this!”)

• Speaking of Peter and his [recently noted] patriarchal relationship with Neal, he really gave off the dad vibe when he said a person can either be a con or a man, but not both. The interesting thing to me is that Neal doesn’t seem to mind taking his advice.

• I’m all for hearing Matt Bomer sing, but he sounded weird in his scene with June. I much prefer something like this: Bomer and DeKay sing “Carry On Wayward Son”.

• Favorite quote of the night: “Really? You’re not comfortable? I’ve got the Men in Black bobsled team breathing down my neck.”

• Neal really seemed to be contemplating his future and his life as a con man in this episode. He’s extremely loyal to his friends, which says to me that some part of him longs for a more settled down life. But could he ever walk way from the thrill of one more score? I’m not sure.

What do you think, White Collar fans? Will Neal be able to resist the temptation of a last big score? Who wants to see Peter salsa? (Or sing something from Pippin?) And are you surprised that Mozzie and June have an exclusive book club? And lastly, is it just me, or were we lacking in snappy banter this week?

Mary is embracing her new life as a stay-at-home mom, staying up late to rewatch the second season of Veronica Mars and catching up on How I Met Your Mother during [her daughter’s] naptime. Mary blogs about living 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.