White Collar - Bad Judgment

Network: USA
Time: Tuesdays, 10:00-11:00pm
Cast: Matt Bomer, Tim DeKay, Willie Garson, Natalie Morales, Tiffani Thiessen, Sharif Atkins

Summary:  Peter and Neal find a connection between Fowler and a corrupt judge, and they devise a plan to take down both of them.

Review: After being only mildly impressed by White Collar's fall premiere, I watched last week's episode with a bit of trepidation.  Fortunately, whatever small kinks were in the first episode were gone by this time, and I have nothing but rave reviews for this most recent episode.

Peter and Neal are back in action, and I'm glad they're not at odds with each other anymore.  Oh, sure, there's always going to be a smidgen of distrust between them, but they're back to being as close as an FBI agent and an ex-con can be.  And, more importantly, this episode marked the return of the wonderful Elizabeth/Neal relationship.

I need to say this now and have it in writing in case something goes horribly wrong with the future of this show: I love Elizabeth's character.  In so many crime shows, the wife of the agent doesn't seem to understand her husband's job.  She whines that he's not home enough or that he doesn't pay enough attention to her or that he puts his works first.  Elizabeth does none of those things.  She takes everything in stride, whether it's waking up to find a minion of FBI agents in her house or finding out her phone is bugged.  Instead of getting mad at Peter, she rolls her eyes good-naturedly, gets up, and makes a pot of coffee.

In this episode, Peter thinks that Fowler may have bugged his house... again.  So he calls in a Cleaner.  And guess who waltzes in the door--Mozzie.  Mozzie is a true criminal at heart, and Peter leaves Jones there to make sure nothing gets stolen in his house.  He needn't have worried though.  By the end of the episode, Elizabeth and Moz are the best of friends (and what is with Elizabeth becoming buddies with all the criminals?).

There was a lot of Mozzie in this episode, actually.  Between his new relationship with Peter and Elizabeth (or, as he says, Suit and Mrs. Suit), the chemistry between him and Neal just gets better with each passing show.  Mozzie doesn't get that Neal isn't the same criminal he used to be, but he's not mad at the change in his friend, he's amused.  Which leads to some really funny conversations.

My only complaint about this episode is the same complaint I always have--the last two minutes.  I don't know why, but the last scene of each episode just annoys me.  It usually shows Neal learning new information that he plans on dealing with himself.  This episode was no different, except my reaction changed.  Instead of worry that this would somehow taint the Peter/Neal relationship, I rolled my eyes and said, "Neal, you always wind up telling Peter everything anyway.  Why are you bothering to try and hide?"  I don't know how much longer the writers think they can use that trick as a cliffhanger, but, by this point, I don't expect Nealto keep any secrets from Peter for longer than half an episode.

So, great episode.  I'm glad to see the banter between the characters return to the witty repartee I've come to expect from this show.  I'm not quite ready to give this a 5/5 yet, but it's well on its way.  I can't wait for more.



Favorite Lines
Neal: You're uncomfortable around a six-year-old.
Peter: I don't speak that language.
Neal: Oh, and I do?
Peter: Yeah, you do, Peter Pan.

Peter (to Neal): My wife's inviting you to lunch.  Good thing is, I get to come along too.

Peter: Then we'll get her disrobed.  You know what I meant.

Peter: You're going to stay here.  The last time you were in a judge's chamber, you jumped out the window.

Peter: She's taking advantage of the system.
Neal: I hate when people do that.  You know, now that I work for the system.

Peter: Oh, look, telling the truth.  Did it hurt?
Neal: A little bit.

Rating:
[5] Excellent
[4] Good
[3] Average
[2] OK
[1] Bad

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