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'White Collar' returns: The Nazi treasure storyline is finally over (we hope)
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"White Collar" kicked off the back half of its third season Tuesday (Jan. 17), picking up right where it left off last summer - Keller has taken Elizabeth and he wants the treasure or she's dead.We were not in love in with the back half premiere. It was kind of anti-climactic and had no real tension (we'll get to that). But it succeeded in wrapping up the treasure storyline and getting Peter and Neal back on track to being friends again, so at least there's that.
We never really liked the treasure storyline to begin with. It seemed to paint the show into a corner, and Keller and Deus Ex Russians swooping in to "save the day" was convenient. It makes sense that Keller would want to take credit for pulling off such a big heist, but it really just seemed too pat.
As for the episode itself, it lacked suspense and tension for us. First of all because Keller isn't a satisfying villain and we finally put our finger on why. There's a "West Wing" episode titled "20 Hours in L.A." where Toby Ziegler tells the slimy Al Kiefer he's figured out who Kiefer is. Kiefer says it's Satan. And Toby says, "No, you're the guy that runs into the 7-11 to get Satan a pack of cigarettes."
That's Keller. He's not an intimidating villain. He's a small, whiny-voiced guy who seems like he should be running scams in Atlantic City. The stakes aren't high enough when it seems like Elizabeth Burke could probably beat the snot out of the supposed bad guy.
Secondly, there was never any question that Elizabeth would come home safe and sound. There just wasn't. This is "White Collar," not "24." It's "Ocean's Eleven," not "Panic Room." There was no way the show could kill off Elizabeth. Peter would never recover, he'd never forgive Neal, Neal would never forgive himself and the show would be over.
If Keller had gotten his hands on Diana or Jones, then we would've actually been wondering if they were in danger. The show could kill one of them off and it'd be sad and emotional without completely wrecking the series. But not Elizabeth. So the entire wrap up just felt very anti-climactic.
That's not to say there weren't good moments. Burke going undercover was hilarious. It was nice to see Elizabeth escaping on her own - she's no damsel in distress, thank you. Burke's hand-to-hand combat was great and Neal's shot was even better. And it was awesome that Neal was going to turn himself in at the end before he knew about Keller. Rebuilding that trust.
But as a whole, we're just glad the treasure storyline is over. We've seen the next two episodes and they're both really fun. It's back to the "White Collar" we knew and loved. And we're excited to see how the season plays out.
What did you think, "White Collar" fans?
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Photo/Video credit: USA
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