tiny, tiny cups of coffee

[aria]

Oh White Collar, how you always get SO AWESOME in the lead-up to hiatus.

In this one, the still-not-nearly-enough-El was made up for by the fact that, holy god, Diana and June had a scene. I mean, it wasn't a particularly significant scene, and I think it was supposed to be a diversion June was making so Moz could sneak around in Diane's bag? but the point remains that two of the regular women on this show actually spoke to each other! and it was kind of about Neal, but mostly about legal documents and not men! It's a bit sad how excited I am about this.

It is possible that all the Star Trek I've been watching has colored my perceptions, though, because my basic reaction to this episode was, "OH MY GOD THE WOMEN WERE GREAT! Also, Neal and Peter are madly in love, like I didn't already know that." But yes: the women were great! I very much appreciated the second week in a row of having the woman of the episode be a Neal parallel instead of Someone Neal Flirts With. IMDb does not want to tell me her name, though, and she looked enough like Lilah from Angel that I am a bit convinced she was, in fact, Lilah. This does not in any way decrease her awesome.

Also, yes: Peter and Neal are madly in love! This episode was rife with Peter-telling-Neal-what-to-do moments, which I pretty much live for; they were great the whole way through, but -- god, that scene near the end when Peter tells Neal to go back for the CEO! I think my favourite look on Neal is wide-eyed tousle-haired anguish,because I'm a horrible person like that.

I flailed SO MUCH when the episode ended with them OPENING THE MUSIC BOX, OH MY GOD. I'm mildly afraid it's going to blow them up or something. I'm also sure something really dramatic has to happen, because that entire last scene, I had that bit of a Tim DeKay interview going through my head, the one where he essentially said that Neal and Peter can't trust each other completely because if they did they'd already be in bed together. I am delighted that this is a show in which, much the same way that Peter and Elizabeth have a healthy marriage by virtue of compromise, understanding, and not leaping to conclusions, so do Peter and Neal conduct a relationship wherein, when called out, they are similarly honest and understanding with each other. But it does mean that something huge is going to have to happen with the music box, because otherwise ... well, otherwise I'll have found the point when they start sleeping together.

I'm fairly sure that the mid-season hiatus cliffhanger isn't going to be about their newfound relationship, though. Alas.

Comments

[yasaman]

It's ridiculous, but my FAVORITE THING about that episode was that when given the information about Diane having the music box, Neal did not immediately go off half-cocked on some ridiculous plan of his own. Instead, he quite sensibly confronted Peter! God, how refreshing is it to not have another stupid, endless mis-communication plot (by which I mean anything that can be avoided by actually talking to each other), they're my least favorite plot contrivance.

And the Covert Affairs was fairly awesome too! I'm feeling very kindly disposed towards USA right now.

[aria]

YES. I hate hate hate Idiot Plots, so having the opposite of one is absolutely wonderful.

[sahiya]

I remarked in my own ep review that had this episode been written by, say, RTD or Joss Whedon, the two of them would have inevitably found some way to Make It Worse. But instead Neal confronted Peter and they talked and then they opened the music box together. And yes, something dramatic has to happen, but it won't be because the characters are being stupid or mean to each other.

. . . I think it's sort of sad how much that surprises me.

[polarisnorth]

I'm a big fan of conflict that doesn't arise from People Being Stupid.

[aria]

YES. <3 Although now of course I'm trying to imagine RTD or Joss Whedon writing White Collar, and ... the mind boggles, really. (I suspect that if it was RTD!White Collar, Kate's death would have been hideously drawn out and we would really ~know Neal's pain~; if it was Whedon!White Collar, Neal would be totally insufferable, but Diana and June and El would get together all the time for witty banter.)

[polarisnorth]

I think I have a dressing kink. (I definitely have a clothes kink.) I kind of flailed with glee when Neal was sitting there watching Peter dress and I definitely squeaked when he did Peter's cufflinks.

I will never stop being amused at Peter's utter discomfiture whenever women flirt with him. And then he goes and is so adorable with El! Skyping! And talking to her picture, which made me melt into a puddle of stupid awwwww.

Oh god, Neal's face when Peter is dying. And then later Peter gets choked up thinking about what he'd be without El and his friends. MY HEART.

I needs to be next week NOW so we can see what's in the music box.

[oliviacirce]

I think I have a dressing kink.

AGREED.

[aria]

Oh jfc that SCENE. It started out all wonderfully domestic anyway, and then all of a sudden Neal is doing Peter's cufflinks and both of them seem to find this PERFECTLY NORMAL and I possibly melted a little.

And a happy resounding YES to everything else you said there. HOW WAS THAT EPISODE SO GREAT.

[bientot]

And the reason they were able to open the music box: Neal had the key and Peter had the keyhole it fit into. :D

Did you read china_shop's Two Sides, One Coin, exploring their reasons for not sharing all the info? Extrapolating from this, it's clear how they would celebrate finally coming clean with each other.

[aria]

And the reason they were able to open the music box: Neal had the key and Peter had the keyhole it fit into. :D

OH GOD THE SUBTEXT. *writhes joyfully*

I do not think I did! I am off to read it now. :)

[mockingbird]

The part in the FBI office where they were first interviewing Rebecca and it becomes clear that Rebecca was in love with the dead guy and has been trying to find out who killed him, and Neal goes quiet, and Peter keeps sneaking sidelong looks at him -- AHHHHHHHHHHHH

[aria]

YES THIS. In fact, just everything about this episode. fskldskjfd.

[oldstarnewshine]

NEEDS MORE JUNE. I didn't realize how much I missed her until we got her back, and just for one scene! But, she spends that scene distracting Diana so Mozzie can do illegal things, so that's at least pretty awesome. I echo what people above me have said-- it's so NICE to have a show where the characters don't stupidly keep secrets from each other especially when they're supposed to be madly in love. On any other show we'd get at least five episodes of "Neal knows Peter has the box and so doesn't trust him anymore" but because White Collar is better than that, they're opening the music box together at the end of the episode. You go, show.

I'm still a bit stunned that they had the Girl Of The Week (who's name I can't remember either) ask Neal about the person he loves the most, and then have the camera pan conspicuously up to Peter. I seriously cannot deal with this show, sometimes.

[aria]

Yes! I love how June always manages to be really wonderful even if we only get her for about a minute. And I also really love how they dealt with the music box this episode instead of dragging it out! Or, well, they started dealing with the music box before the EPISODE ENDED ON US.

I'm still a bit stunned that they had the Girl Of The Week (who's name I can't remember either) ask Neal about the person he loves the most, and then have the camera pan conspicuously up to Peter.

Hah, yes, that did happen, didn't it! Obviously I've been watching too much Star Trek this week, because I thought that was perfectly normal, but oh reflection, goddamn, that's AWESOME.

[oliviacirce]

Yes, yes, and again, yes.

Although actually I am sort of peeved about how the handling of the lack-of-Elizabeth in this episode was SO MUCH BETTER than all the green screen. There was skype! And Peter talking to Elizabeth's photo!

Aside from Not Enough Elizabeth, though, this episode was pretty perfect. June and Diane TALKED TO EACH OTHER. Peter and Neal were completely in love, and then HONEST. Oh, show, I kind of love you a lot.

[aria]

I KNOW RIGHT. Why didn't they just have her Skype from San Francisco instead of doing the hideous green screen? Bah.

Other than that, though, I am fairly sure I can't actually believe how much I love this show right now. IT IS SO WONDERFUL.

(Oh my god, Olivia, the cufflinks. :DDD)

[oliviacirce]

Seriously! The skype was cool!

I know, right? When it is just okay I am like, "I like this show, and it has moments of brilliance," but when it is on, IT IS SO FUCKING ON. Be still my heart.

Oh my god, the cufflinks. And the tie! And the hat! And not!Lillah talking to Neal about the guy she loved and getting revenge, and the camera CUTTING TO PETER. And Peter and Neal opening the music box TOGETHER. Oh, show. I don't know, maybe the mid-season hiatus cliffhanger will be them getting into bed together. *dreams*

[aria]

I don't know, maybe the mid-season hiatus cliffhanger will be them getting into bed together. *dreams*

Not that I ever thought I would utter these words, but oh god, I hope not. I'm seeing my parents next week and I promised that I would catch my mother up on White Collar, which ... basically means we're very likely to see the hiatus cliffhanger episode for the first time TOGETHER. If it ended with Neal and Peter getting into bed together, I would definitely do something embarrassing in front of my mum.

ON THE OTHER HAND, I love that I am ... kind of considering that as a possibility. Um. :D

[oliviacirce]

Ahahahahaha, aw. ♥

I didn't mean they would ACTUALLY GET INTO BED TOGETHER, anyway -- more that maybe we would finally find the place where they could. Not that it being subtext would prevent you from doing something embarrassing in front of your mom, though.

Also I thought we had two more? Do we only have one more? Possibly I cannot count.

[carrieann]

I just saw this episode this evening! Plus several other episodes I hadn't see; yay for White Collar marathons! I was all "noooo!" when the episode ended. But at least that gives me a good excuse to watch it next week.