White Collar Season Three, Episode Five

White Collar Season Three, Veiled Threat

The Bachelor / Bachelorette + The Hangover + murder equal this week’s episode of White Collar. I’m not sure how a black widow that targets millionaires lands on the desk of the FBI’s white collar division, but in this case it worked just fine. Seeing Peter trying to act in character is always a good laugh, and it was nice to see Peter be sincere with Elizabeth while under the false pretense of being in love with the black widow.

The speed dating phase of the episode was enjoyable, though predictable that Peter would be the one picked by the would be killer. Neal wasn’t horrible as a Texan on the hunt for his perfect woman, though being a jerk to everyone but the target wasn’t the best idea for him. Neal needs to be sophisticated; possibly acting above the intellect of the other women there would have been the better route. Jones was great in this bit; he is really a standout when it comes to humor in the show. White Collar really needs to take advantage of Jones, rather than the lack luster roles that he gets. Peter was trying to be something else; something that obliviously wasn’t working since Elizabeth could tell Peter was trying too hard. But Peter just being Peter was enough to get the widow’s attention. And that tango was extra spicy. Bravo Peter, bravo.

As the episode went on, it became more predictable than the first half (though that was mostly predictable as well). The complicating action between Peter and the widow went up, Peter had to act on his toes and all worked out in the end (Side Note, Neal’s apartment keeps getting better with each episode) It was interesting that there were three couples in the episode: Peter and the widow, Peter and Elizabeth and Neal and Sara. This led to nice coupling between Peter and Elizabeth and Neal and Sara. Peter would go out on his date and Neal realized that he needed to be more romantic with his girlfriend.

The Hangover segment of the episode came when Neal and Peter found out that the widow’s partner in her con turned out to be the organizer of the speed dating events. Neal gave Peter a bachelor to end all bachelor parties (he can really get these things together fast) and needed to get the info out of the target, so Peter and Neal go with the classic “let’s take shots to loosen up but in reality I’m poring them out” bit. After a crazy night, the FBI forces the widow’s hand to find the money and once she and her partner are caught, Peter shows off the pictures from the party Hangover style. Classy.

This episode was more fun than serial killer on the loose, but fun is still fun. Peter is always fun when he tries so hard to be someone else rather than himself, and this episode really hit home with that note. Also the icing on the cake was a lovely wedding reaffirmation between Peter and Elizabeth, with the ordained Mozzie providing over the ceremony.

Rating: Watch