Review - White Collar Season 1 Episode 5 The Portrait

I'm not sure there's much to say about White Collar. It's a fun show with fun characters. The plots are fairly simple and wrap up conveniently. There really isn't anything that catches my eye about the show. Overall everything is solid and there really isn't a weak part of the show which is why the scores of the show remain pretty high. If there is something that is done exceptionally well, the show could easily reach the upper echelon of scores each week.

The story for this particular episode was enjoyable but not mindblowing. I liked how Neal is a nice guy and gave the painting back to the original owner. It was interesting to see Deanna Russo who isn't a particularly talented actress which is probably why she was only in the first half of the episode. Her character was referenced, but never showed up again which is sad since her eyes are so stunning.

I was surprised how fast Neal and Kate reconnected. After instantly finding the note (at Grand Central Station no less!), he cracks the code, picks up the phone, looks over, and actually sees Kate. Right now, we know that Kate still loves, but needs Neal's secret stash, so the man with the ring will stay away from her. Neal doesn't give it to her since it's all he has, and maybe because he's still not completely trusting of her. After seeing Kate run off, surely there's some doubt in his mind to her motivations.

Peter's wife Elizabeth continues to make many appearances in the show, and I'm still not sure how she fits in. She serves as foil to Peter to show that he's not devoid of emotional connection to anyone, but she barely has any relevance. Work and home life usually has a huge detachment, but Peter tries to talk about his cases with Elizabeth, and more often than not, the scenes don't work. I don't think it's Tiffani Thiessen fault; her character is just misplaced.

Score: 9.0/10