White Collar fans, here are our thoughts on Season 3 and a tease of tomorrow night’s finale.
At the start of Season 3, the increasing possibility Neal could turn away from his old life of crime and build a new life with the FBI and insurance investigator Sara Ellis (Hilarie Burton) had us worried the show might lose its edge–the tenuous trust between Peter and Neal.
The disappearance of the U-boat treasure at mid-season had Peter and Neal at odds again, but Neal’s role in recovering the treasure earned him a hearing to decide whether his sentence–the series’ premise–would be commuted. Leading up to the hearing, we’ve enjoyed Beau Bridges’ recurring role as Peter’s mentor, Phil Kramer. Kramer came in as Peter’s friend, but gradually Peter has become as suspicious of him as Neal is, and Bridges’ performance has sneakily turned sinister.
Even with Kramer, it didn’t seem the tide could be turned against Neal. Cleverly, “Judgment Day” is action-driven, punctuated but not consumed by the character witness interviews at Neal’s hearing. With the flair of a great magic trick, the finale raises fine questions for the future.
Be sure to catch WHITE COLLAR Tuesday, February 28 at 10/9C on USA.
Gerald So