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May 27, 2012

'White Collar' - 'Home Invasion' Recap

by Bob Sassone, posted Feb 10th 2010 1:45AM

White Collar
(S01E11) "You turned Fed?" - Alex
"I was force Fed." - Neal

I'm happy to see Diahann Carroll with a larger role in 'White Collar.' I don't know if it's going to be a regular thing (probably not), but there were many episodes where we either didn't see her at all or in just a quick cameo, so having her actually be part of the case (such as last week with Neal helping her in the case involving a relative) is welcome.

I know I've said this before, but I'll say it again: Neal's apartment is great. I don't want to turn this into some HGTV blog about paint colors and furniture choices and all that, but he's got a really nice place. Even when he gets to leave his penthouse apartment, like he did tonight when Peter came in all sweaty and drinking beer and turning on the ballgame, he gets to go to the rest of June's mansion. That's pretty cool, no?

OK, there were other things in this episode I liked, even though there wasn't any Moz (or Elizabeth). There were a lot of good lines, including the Fed one above and Peter's "Su casa isn't even su casa" line to Neal about his, well, casa. And while we didn't have Neal's old friend Moz, we did have Neal's old friend Alex. I like how Neal used the yellow paper flower as his calling card when she lifted the guy's wallet on the street. Not sure how Neal did that (and I'm still not sure what the significance of that yellow paper flower - Kate left one for Neal at the grave a couple of episodes ago), but it was a nice scene.

This was a very FBI team-heavy episode, but that's a good thing. 'White Collar' can feel a little like a buddy show lots of times (which is fine). Good to see Jones and Cruz have a bigger role. But beyond the FBI cases, I like how this show isn't exactly cookie cutter. Just when you think it's going to settle into the predictable route of having Neal and Peter not trust each other and then something happens where they do (which happened a few episodes ago in the air-tight comic room), this throws another "trust" issue into the mix. Peter finds out about Neal's search for the music box and wonders if he's after the jade too.

I'm sure at some point, this show will settle into a place where Peter and Neal completely, utterly, and without question trust each other 100%, like Starsky and Hutch or Kate and Allie (in fact, I hope they do - how many times can Peter think that Neal is going to run off only to have Neal prove his loyalty?), but until then, I like the tension along with the banter.

More thoughts:

- The eccentric antiques collector guy was a great character. Odd, quirky, but actually likable. The way he wanted to emulate Neal, the way he was eager to show Neal and Peter his four floors of expensive collectibles. I'd like to see him on the show again.

- If Alex knows where the music box is, you'd think Neal would have tried a little bit harder to keep her around at the end. But that probably means we'll see her again.

- Peter figured out that the ankle sounds were Morse code rather quickly and easily, didn't he? Give me a break.

[Watch episodes of 'White Collar' and other shows at SlashControl.]

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abdussamad

They should have called this show japanese invasion

March 10 2010 at 3:18 PM Report abuse rate up rate down Reply
y

I CAUGHT THAT TOO!

http://dukeyellowpages.wordpress.com/2010/02/10/white-collar-confusion/

February 16 2010 at 12:04 AM Report abuse rate up rate down Reply
Jean

Okay, I finished watching the show and it has been bugging me ever since. Did no one else wonder just how Alex found out that the FBI had run her prints??? So far as I know, the FBI does not notify people when they run their prints, so how did she find out and from whom....

February 14 2010 at 3:37 AM Report abuse rate up rate down Reply
1 reply to Jean's comment
Bill

Someone did say in the episode that she had "powerful friends". And it's been an "accepted fact" in many TV shows and movies that certain sets of fingerprints can be "flagged". Sometimes TV shows show the prints coming back as "restricted" with no ID shown, while others show the ID of the person who was printed but also show a warning about "flagged - FBI notified" or "wanted by Interpol" or whatever. Obviously, her prints have been "flagged" and one of her "powerful friends" is on the list of people notified when her prints are run. And then that powerful friend called Alex and let her know that the FBI ran her prints (since when flagged prints are run, it tells the "notify list" who ran the search on those prints).

February 15 2010 at 5:46 AM Report abuse rate up rate down Reply
Jean

Sorry, Diana, but I agree with Mike, George and Andrew. The Japanese were never mentioned in connection with the gifts, and from what Neal said, each ambassador ( who were "from all over the world") was given one as a gift. The only way all five could have been in the possession of the Japanese when they were stolen was if the Japanese government had somehow managed to "acquire" them all before the theft mentioned by Peter (perhaps the Japanese had acquired them from previous thieves--I don't know--this was never discussed in the show). Either way, no way could all five of the elephants have much (if anything) to do with the Japanese heritage nor would Japan be bringing them "home" (to quote the gentleman from the Japanese embassy). I agree, pretty sloppy writing on someone's part.

February 14 2010 at 2:23 AM Report abuse rate up rate down Reply
1 reply to Jean's comment
austxjak

Pretty big screw up, unless it was intentional. Might be an interesting story if the FBI got conned, but unlikely.

March 12 2012 at 1:20 PM Report abuse rate up rate down Reply
Andrew

No Diana you are wrong. This was a blatant screw up.

The jade pieces were given to leaders from all over the world per Neal. It was not made clear if they were stolen before or after being given to the leaders. However that is immaterial, how five jade pieces could be made in China and given to leaders from "all over the world" could somehow be treasures to Japan makes no sense. Not only were they not all given to Japan it is not even said that one of the five was given to Japan.

February 11 2010 at 8:47 PM Report abuse rate up rate down Reply
1 reply to Andrew's comment
Becky

Again, the elephants were a single gift. Peter clearly says that they were given, then they were stolen, then they were separated and sold. They can't have been separated if they weren't a group in the first place. All five elephants went to the Japanese, and the other ambassadors got other, non-plot point gifts.

This isn't that complicated, really. It's pretty damned clear in the scene.

February 13 2010 at 10:10 PM Report abuse rate up rate down Reply
Mike

Diane,
That's just not true. I even re-recorded the showing last night to rewatch that sequence to confirm if you were right. You're not.

The jades were said to have been made for the Emperor in commemoration of the opening of the Forbidden City in 1421. The jades were to be given to 5 different countries and their leaders. The jades were lost before being given.

Within the same conversation, not 3 minutes later, the Japanese ambassador shows up.

I fail to see how I got that wrong........

February 11 2010 at 11:59 AM Report abuse rate up rate down Reply
1 reply to Mike's comment
Becky

They were stolen after being given.

Neal- "Upon leaving, the Chinese Emperor Zhu Di gifted them each with a treasure."

Peter- "They were subsequently stolen..." etc.

After. The elephants had already been in Japanese hands when they were stolen. It starts at about 25:25; check your copy again.

February 11 2010 at 4:18 PM Report abuse rate up rate down Reply
Bryan

I loved the opening to the show. Things like Neal out-pickpocketing the pickpocket really sell his master con artist persona (way better than getting the cops to open someone else's car for him)

I thought this episode got back to the interesting catches and unique plotlines that make the show great. Like, the Vitals episode I didn't really find all that interesting...Neal didn't really come off as slick or clever, Peter didn't come off as sincere or determined, there was no mention of Kate or the music box...the show is at it's best when it really goes all out on the characters and ties the story in with the bigger story of Neal.

Also, I hope Natalie makes more regular appearances. I think her character does a lot to balance out the "boys club" feel of Peter's team, and adds more personality to the show.

February 10 2010 at 5:49 PM Report abuse rate up rate down Reply
George

@Mike, I suspect I'm one of many viewers who logged at least a passing "Hey, that's not right" at the mention of the Japanese ambassador, etc.

Most TV shows won't let reality get in the way of a good story, but there's usually a limit. This seems almost too sloppy to be a legitimate mistake.

February 10 2010 at 10:43 AM Report abuse rate up rate down Reply
Mary

Agreed with the fact finding. Last week there was a glaring typo on initiative on their paperwork - looked like inititavie or somesuch error. I find that very sloppy work. As much as I like the show I am getting very tired of Peter trusts Neal and then doesn't - it is so inconsistent.

February 10 2010 at 10:30 AM Report abuse rate up rate down Reply
Mike

Someone should be fired for this episode. I'm sure they have researchers and people that are supposed to watch over the script for really glaring errors.

Then again... your review didn't mention the problem with the episode... in fact, you may not have noticed at all......

The Forbidden City and Emperor directly referenced for the 1421 date are Chinese. The Jades were Chinese.

So, why then, does the Japanese Ambassador show up at all?

This is pretty elementary stuff, and pretty insulting... Hey, we don't care which asian culture we're centering this episode around... one slope looks like another, right?

As I said, someone should lose their job for this episode.

February 10 2010 at 10:06 AM Report abuse rate up rate down Reply
2 replies to Mike's comment
Becky

Indeed, the Forbidden City and the Chinese Emperor were directly referenced... as having given the jades to the Japanese as a gift. There were a number of mistakes in this episode, but that wasn't one of them.

February 10 2010 at 7:53 PM Report abuse rate up rate down Reply

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