White Collar has its formula and it plays off of it well for its weekly installments, but where it falters, especially in its second season, is in its cheaply derived long-term story. With each new episode comes a new heist or con that Neal (Matt Bomer) and Peter (Tim DeKay) have to solve using a mixture of illicit and legitimate means. The first season ended with an explosion that killed Neal’s love Kate and shook his commitment to working so closely with the FBI.
Now that pursuing Kate is out of the picture, a new fascination has surfaced to divert Neal’s attention from the FBI: a music box. A few people and obstacles stand in his way however, the first and foremost of which is Peter, who’s fully aware of Neal’s objectives. Little does Neal know, Peter and Special Agent Barrigan (Marsha Thomason) have the music box stashed away and are working on figuring out just what is stored inside. When the box’s secrets are revealed, a figure from Neal’s past turns out to be at the center of everything, but not before a hitman, U-boat, and other factors come into play.
***Spoiler Warning***
While the first season lacked enough direction in its overarching plot, the second season chose the wrong direction by opting for one of the most overused sources of MacGuffins in all of television and film history: Nazi Germany. Considering the show is one of the few on TV that gets to deal with really clever, modern ways to steal money, art, and anything else of value, it’s unfortunate to see them resort to sunken Nazi treasure as the season’s big score. The writers could just have easily gone for new technology, electric bonds on a hard drive, or anywhere – but they went back to Nazis. Now that they’ve played that card, and spent an entire season devoted to it, hopefully the show will be more forward-thinking in future seasons.
***End of Spoilers***
Even though the above spoilerific plotpoint ruined the season, White Collar made smart steps with its exploration of Neal’s past while also expanding greatly upon the relationship between Neal, Kate, Peter, and Mozzie. The odd part about exploring the Neal and Kate romance after Kate’s demise is that it feels like time wasted, especially when compared to the evolution of Neal’s relationship with the suits, Mozzie’s reaction to that, and the increase in size of both Agent Jones (Sharif Atkins) and Agent Barrigan’s roles. The complementary agents play a larger part this season, but compared to the amount of screen time given to supporting player Mozzie, it’s still negligible; Mozzie is almost the show’s third main character at this point considering the show seems to be divided between the time Neal spends with either Peter or Mozzie.
On the bright side, the setup for the third season offers lots of hope as the show’s main focus now seems to be the trust game that has been at the root of Neal and Peter’s pairing from the start. In the first and second season this game was subtext every time Peter took the tracking collar off Neal’s leg, but now it’s primed to be the main focus.
The second season could have been a triumph, but the writers spoiled it with an uninspired MacGuffin, though now it could be redeemed by its setup for the relationship-crumbling events of the third season.
DVD Bonus Features
Those who purchased Burn Notice’s fourth season on DVD will notice that Fox has included the “White Collar Roasts Burn Notice” and “Burn Notice Roasts White Collar” featurettes on this set as well, wherein Jeff Eastin (the creator of White Collar) and writers from White Collar exchange jabs and compliments with Matt Nix (the creator of Burn Notice) and writers from Burn Notice. The rest of the extras include deleted scenes, a gag reel, a breakdown of White Collar’s episodic formula, and “Slick Willie”, a featurette on Willie Garson, who plays fan-favorite Mozzie.
"White Collar: Season Two" is on sale June 7, 2011 and is not rated. Comedy, Crime, Drama, Thriller. Directed by John T Kretchmer, Kevin Bray, Michael Smith. Written by Jeff Eastin, Joe Henderson, Jim Campolongo, Mark Goffman. Starring Marsha Thomason, Matt Bomer, Sharif Atkins, Tiffani Thiessen, Tim DeKay, Willie Garson.
