White Collar is back for the last half of its premiere season, and it opens with a home run! When we last left convicted felon Neal Caffrey (Matt Bomer) and FBI Agent Peter Burke (Tim DeKay), they solved the theft of a really large pink diamond ("Free Fall"). However, there was also a major bombshell. Was Pete the guy who took Kate (Alexandra Daddario), Neal's longtime girlfriend, and forced her to make Neal give up his ill-gotten gains? I'll get to that a little later.
Of all the cases Neal could be asked to participate in, one would think a boiler room scheme would never make the list. The crime is insider trading. The FBI has an employee who supplies the list of who the victims are, but Pete and company need proof of wrongdoing first. One small snag — Neal is badly needed. Considering Neal has an ankle tracking device due to securities fraud, no wonder the Feds are just a bit leery. Even the Dallas bureau agent who talks to Pete questions the idea. However, a roomful of "junior Gordon Geckos" (nice line) needs someone who understands how to play the game.
I assume the reason Neal plays Christopher Halden again is due to the case being similar to a high stakes poker game. Yep, the same alias from the Chinese poker session where hands are formed by combinations of dominoes ("All In"). Both DeKay and Bomer step up their acting abilities big time. It works. While these two do their jobs, it's easy to understand the hidden implications of several lines.
Trust is the main problem for Burke and Caffrey. Pete is never quite sure Neal will stay on the right side of the law, and gets proof of his suspicions time after time. For his part, Neal realizes Pete could easily put him back in prison if he so chooses.
More than likely, Bomer and DeKay are perfectly nice once the camera gets turned off. To have these two performers be pleasant characters, though, would take away what makes the show work. The constant sandpaper rubbing against one another is electric. Of course, it doesn't hurt to have Tiffani Thiessen and Willie Garson on hand to settle things down occasionally,
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