White Collar never gets my blood pumping like I do with other shows in the same genre, but "Unfinished Business" went a smidgen beyond the usual fun, entering another level of quality.
The episode took an interesting turn when Neal, posing as someone who the FBI thinks is a bond currier, is actually given a gun and a target: insurance investigator Sara Ellis (Hilarie Burton), who had testified against Neal in an unsuccessful trial, and helped the FBI earlier in the day. There are some tense moments in between and crisp dialogue between Neal and Sara before the typical criminal catching ending. The subplot of Neal investigating Kate's death was well on its way with the black box recording going to Sara's office and eventually her house, but the ending threw me off. Neal had plenty of opportunities to take the envelope and clearly could have, right up until the end. Why didn't he? If the writers are going for the angle that Sara affected Neal so much through the course of the episode that he'd give up the search, I'm not buying it. But it's probably something else... maybe.
From what I've read, the internet is up in arms about Hilarie Burton. There are a vocal bunch of haters, mostly for her OTH work (which was on par as far as WB shows went) and her media behavior after being knocked up by Jeffrey Dean Morgan, and a supporters here and there, though not as fervent in expressing their opinions. Sara Ellis, undoubtedly, gets good writing--from creator Jeff Eastin--and Hilarie Burton isn't bad, nor is she particularly good. I was fine with her, but the bigger point is that guests--even recurring characters--will never change the makeup of the show. I doubt Sara will be poking her head in every week, so overexposure shouldn't be a problem, and her appearances should act a jolt to the series.
Once again, Elizabeth was stuck into the episode awkwardly. Either have her do something meaningful or don't feature her at all. Plunking Tiffani Thiessen in front of a blue/green screen, having a useless exchange with Peter over the phone has zero--or negative--impact on the episode. Hopefully, it's something contractual and not a lack of tact on the part of the producers.
Score: 9.0/10
