White Collar Season Three Episode Six

White Collar Season Three, Scoot Free

This is one of those extremely well done episodes that makes White Collar worth watching and makes me lust for this kind of excellence each week on White Collar. A nice mix of case of the week, relationships, character and the seasonal story made this a worthy episode. Just well done all around.

First the case of week, which involves a younger version on Neal, aka Robin Hoodie (or Scott, but the bad joke make by Neal that stuck). He is a brash baby thief who steals from the rich and makes a contribution to a charity in their name, and in most cases makes some kind of ironic choice in the charity (stealing a motorcycle and giving a donation to an organ donation charity). Neal feels put out by all the hype around Robin Hoodie and the constant comparisons that are made between the two of them. Neal is slightly impressed, but Neal nails it on the head when it really comes down to it about Robin Hoodie; that the young thief is in way over his head. Neal makes contact and tries to get Robin Hoodie to turn himself in, but there is resentence from Hoodie. So Neal ends up helping his young protégé get the target off his back by returning a stolen diamond incrusted garment. I liked that end the end, Robin Hoodie vanishes into the wind, leaving his story open ended and hopefully the show will revisit him since it gave the show a strange thief family.

On the character side of the episode, a lot more of Neal and Sara’s relationship and the amount the two of them have relations. To put it straight forward, they do it a lot. Like a lot. It’s nice to see a more romantic side to Neal, well one that is sincere rather than the numerous cons he has portrayed, the numerous false identities he has had to use in his life; this is a nice counter balance to the falsities in Neal’s life.  This leads to the next point in the episode, Neal and Mozzie making their escape and living their dream lives.

Mozzie found a guy who has grown identities for years by leaving a paper trail, which would make the perfect identity for Neal and Mozzie’s big escape. Neal was contemplating his future at the end of the episode when Sara showed up and Neal tossed his new passport into his picture safe but Sara found the safe still open and saw Neal’s possible new identity, which will lead to conflicts in the future of their relationship. Neal is going to have to make a choice, between his life of crime and making a life with Sara, something he told Robin Hoodie earlier in the episode. Neal seemed to be tired of always looking over his shoulder, but at the same time he told Peter that he hasn’t hit rock bottom yet in thievery.

Rating: Watch