Thursday, December 18, 2014

My Favorite White Collar Episodes Ever Made



Looks like the last con goes down tonight. All the watching from 2009 ends today. Out with a bang? Or up in smoke? Tonight we find out about it all.  This is one of the best and longest running shows that USA has put together. It's pretty solid and available on Netflix if you care to watch.

As you maybe know, this show is based off the amazing movie 'Catch Me If You Can". So the hype for this one was high for me. It lived up to that and more. I don't want to ruin the movie for you, so I leave the spoiler at the bottom.  (Read the end of the post if you want to know this and the movie connects.) Anyways, let's get to my favorite episodes. Be sure to tell me yours in the comment section. 




Season One. Ep. One "Pilot"
Con artist, master forger, and criminal extraordinaire Neal Caffrey (Matt Bomer) escapes from prison to find Kate Moreau (Alexandra Daddario), the woman he loves, only to end up behind bars again. He strikes up a deal with Federal Agent Peter Burke (Tim DeKay), the FBI agent who put him there, and together they take an unconventional route in tracking down a criminal known as "The Dutchman" (Mark Sheppard). Also introduced is Neal's trusted friend and partner in crime, Mozzie (Willie Garson), a fellow conman with extensive knowledge about everything. Neal uses his new position in the FBI to find clues that will eventually lead him to Kate, the man with the ring, and the truth.

Season One Ep. 14 'Out Of The Box'
After discovering the music box in Manhattan, Neal and his friends plan a party heist to steal it. Things come to a head as Fowler and Peter square off, while Neal demands Kate in exchange for the box. Peter makes it to the airstrip before Neal takes off with Kate, and tries to stop him. Neal turns around and admits that Peter is the only one who can change his mind. Before he can join Kate, Neal looks back at Peter, and the jet explodes.



Season Three  Ep.7 "Taking Account"
When an expert hacker drains a prominent New York bank, Neal assumes the criminal's identity in order to spend the pilfered fortune and draw him out of hiding. Mozzie finds himself in an unfamiliar situation when the hacker's former accomplice (Lena Headey) switches sides. Meanwhile, Sara temporarily moves in with Neal and discovers the surveillance camera footage of Neal and Mozzie's treasure.


Season Three Ep.15 "Stealing Home"
Neal goes undercover with a gang of cons in order to steal valuable memorabilia from Yankee stadium.


Season Four Ep. 2 "Most Wanted'
Collins holds Neal prisoner on Dobbs' estate, and shoots Neal in the leg when he discovers Neal has broken loose from his restraints. Peter and Mozzie covertly help Neal get away from Collins, and upon planning their escape, discover Dobbs is really one of the FBI's most wanted men. Together, they set up a con for Neal to help capture Dobbs and return to New York under his original deal. In the end Peter gets reassigned.


Season Four Ep.11 "Family Business"
Neal's father James explains how as a young cop he began working for a gangster named Dennis Flynn, now deceased. When he tried to end his employment Flynn framed him for the murder of his superior, and he confessed when some unknown person with high law enforcement connections threatened his wife, Neal, and Ellen. Believing him guilty, Neal's mother refused further contact. In the present, Neal and Peter infiltrate the operations of Flynn's son, also named Dennis. They pose as the maker and potential buyer, respectively, of counterfeit whisky, and are able to prove that the younger Dennis killed Ellen. But Dennis is killed in custody, showing that the law enforcement conspiracy is still in operation. James is sent to a safe house while Neal and Peter plan their next move.



Season Five Ep.1 'At What Price'
Peter is about to be prosecuted for murder, which could end his FBI career even if he were acquitted. Elizabeth urges Neal to save him at any cost. Neal is contacted by the Dutchman, Curtis Hagan (Mark Sheppard), the man he helped Peter convict of forgery in their first case together. Hagan has influence over Peter's prosecutor, and can get the charges dismissed if Neal can make a convincing fake audio confession from James. Neal and Mozzie do this and learn Hagan's price: Neal must steal a collection of gold coins from a secure building. Neal does this with the aid of a device Mozzie has built to spoof the anklet's signal to make him appear to be at home. Neal then learns that the Dutchman has filmed the heist and plans to blackmail him into committing further crimes for him. Peter is promoted to be head of the NYC White Collar Crime office. He gives Neal a new anklet and promises him a new handler from outside the office. Their last case together is to investigate the coin robbery.




Season Five Ep.3 "One Last Stakeout"
Hagan is free, and he gives Neal 48 hours to steal one chapter of a mysterious book on display at a museum. Neal and Mozzie plan to fool another criminal, Zev, into breaking into the museum to steal a painting, with Neal taking the book chapter at the same time and then catching Zev. To get access, he befriends a museum worker named Rebecca (Bridget Regan) and steals her key. Neal tells Siegel he has heard chatter indicating that the museum is about to be robbed, and Peter authorizes a stakeout. Mozzie disables the security cameras of the museum and Zev enters. Neal is delayed when Peter, nostalgic about his former partnership, joins the stakeout. However, he is able to enter the building and replace the chapter with a forgery Mozzie has created. Zev trips the alarms but still escapes; Neal leaves prints behind when he escapes himself. Neal and Peter find Zev's prints at the crime scene, allowing the FBI to arrest Zev and recover the painting. Neal gives the book chapter to Hagan after making a copy; he and Mozzie will try to figure out why Hagan wanted it. Siegel secretly witnesses the meeting between Neal and Hagan. Rebecca is fired for the security breach, after learning that Neal works with the FBI. Siegel is found murdered on the street.

Season Five Ep.7 "Quantico Closure'
Peter's anniversary dinner with Elizabeth is interrupted by an attractive woman named Jill (Kim Dickens), his ex-girlfriend and former classmate at the FBI academy. Jill now works for a secretive division of the FBI and wants Peter's help in buying a computer chip, potentially of great use to enemy nations, from a hacker now living in Manhattan. Jill insists that no one else know anything about the mission, which makes Elizabeth suspicious and later interferes with Peter's efforts to conduct the buy safely. Peter and Jill notice and identify two mercenaries that are also following the hacker, but when they go to the hotel room for the buy, they are unaware that the mercenaries have evaded Jones' surveillance. Elizabeth and Neal come to the same hotel at the same time, suspecting Jill's intentions toward Peter. When the mercenaries capture everyone, only Elizabeth and Neal's initiative saves the day. Meanwhile, Neal and Jones recover Siegel's gun and FBI badge; though the petty criminal who was using them in carjackings appears to be a dead end, but Peter finds a possible clue in the badge. Also, Neal and Rebecca are able to decipher a picture of a stained glass window from the book chapter, and Rebecca believes the window might be in New York, where Mosconi briefly lived in 1886. Later, he is able to show her the window, and they kiss.

Season Six Ep. 5 "Whack A Mole'
Woodford does not know who the mole is, but he is sure it is not Neal since a spy bug was found before Neal joined the group. Neal refuses to help find the mole, making Woodford trust him even more and reveal the plan to steal the cash from the airport via a massive armed assault. Peter finds that the spy bug was planted by Luc to spy on Keller, and he asks Luc to pull Keller off of the operation. Peter, Mozzie and Neal brainstorm ways the Panthers could steal the cash less dangerously, until Peter hits on the idea of using pneumatic tubes built decades ago to move mail out of the airport. Luc finds out Neal is hiding something and decides to disobey Peter and leave Keller on the operation. Keller kills Luc and puts his own tracking chip on Woodford's deputy, who is then killed by Woodford. The FBI and Interpol agree to keep the operation going so Luc's death won't be in vain. Peter misses the appointment with Elizabeth to view the first sonogram of their son, and vows to her that he will never let anything else be a priority. Mozzie begs Neal to be introduced to the Pink Panthers, but Neal refuses, telling him it's not the right time. Since the Panthers are now one man short, Neal brings Peter to the meeting stating he's the one who's been helping him. Woodford responds by aiming his gun at Peter.


Okay, back to what I was talking about in the opening. I feel like 'White Collar' is the sequel to "Catch me if you can'. Again, I won't ruin it for you. I'll just say if you watch the movie until the end, you will get it.   

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