Fire Has Never Been so Welcomed

Yes, this is about White Collar, and it will probably be seasoned, sprinkled and generously dashed with SPOILERS and all sorts of SLASHY comments, like the could be any other kind of comments regarding this  "Oh dear, I love it so much" series. I mean, I've been checking out Dr. House, and it is catching me, and no little merit on that goes to no other than Hugh Laurie - amazing how good can that man look - and yet still, White Collar... it got me hooked. But then again, you've already knew that.

For WEEKS now I've been hooking on Fox Channel every Tuesday night to peek at Mr.Hot and Mr.Good do what they do best: come up with all kinds of unseeming plots only to repeat every once in a while how Neal will get canned if the suspect isn't (kinda like "there will be an arrest, no matter who, but there will be one"), Peter has some trust issues with Neal, but can't live without him and goes ignoring his wife more than what's healthy (it spells CRUSH with capital letters for me), while Neal keeps rubbing up to him, all smiles and puppy eyes (Sam Winchester would have a thing or two to learn from him), suffers like some maiden locked in a tower (and he is... kinda locked in a tower) everytime Peter doubts him, and does everything in his power - legal, ilegal or borderline - to please him. All this while kept on a leash, which up to this point he seems to enjoy greatly. Then now, as you are eased into the series, things get... warmer. Personal space gets reduced almost to strict bodily occupied space, as they are constantly so on each other's face as if they were trying to physically fit a 15' TV screen. They are often so close to each other that the only way to look into each other's eyes is by crossing them.

Not that I mind.

Then comes "the speech". Subtext is quickly replaced with Neal confessing his absolute and greatest "trust" in Peter... even above Kate. If you are an otaku, a manga reader or a yaoist (or all at once), this particular scene may have taken you back to one so many shojo mangas where the weakened/drugged (yeah, because Puppy-boy was tripping on chill-pills) half confesses his or her love to the Hero or Heroine of the story. All slashers of the world, I'm positive, sneered "Trust... suuuuuuuuuuure". All wholesome, family-centered, Republican, homophobes probably either turned off the TV and sore not to watch that pack of fruit cakes ever again, or performed extreme denial-reasoning procedures on their brains, hoping to convince themselves that Neal is evil and he's so stupid he thinks he can seduce Peter the same way he picks up chicks, and yeah, he's probably Democrat... but this is not a gay scene.

Then comes Peter ruffling up Neal's hair and Neal letting him like the good little boy he is. And Peter chops off a big chunk out of their personal space, and Neal kinda clings to his side, and Peter comes even closer, and then Peter totally ignores Elizabeth, Chuck bless that slasher woman's heart, and Mozzie runs with messages from Neal to Peter, and Neal worries about the words Peter says to him, and Peter can't care less for anything, brushed off his wife, but at the sole mention of Neal, he drops everything and charges ahead.

Plot thickens because in the most classic slasher fashion there is one episode where oh-dear, Peter must go live with Neal. A question comes to my mind: Do they have J.L. Langley on the payroll? Here quoting Bobby Singer from Supernatural "Vegas' money is on Yes".

A lot of moments go by, mostly gestures, attitudes, half words and stuff of the sort, enough to keep up the slasher bonfire, but not so much that would either create so much expectation you would necessarily have to get them in bed and rename the series "Gay Collar". After all, you gara keep the promise to the wide audience, and this is a series about a thief, an conterfeiter working with the FBI.

Then comes the season's last episode, a clear promise of a second season, and boy if I am not waiting for it with great impatience and deep hunger. Loose ends kind of seem to get tied, only to untie others even more twisted, pack the plot with as much questions and potential as it can take, get the box, give the box, say the standard good-byes... ask Elizabeth about who she and Peter... and the question in the mind of all (since Elizabeth answers about how she knows Peter is her one), is whether Neal is questioning is feelings about Kate... and about Peter? Yeah, yeah, blame it all on the slasher eye... whatever, and then in the last scene, Peter catches up with Neal and does his best to convince him to stay. Kick Kate's butt and stay with him. Neal visibly wavers, doubts and his resolution is as firm and set as custard, yet still decides to go. Peter then asks him why is he the only one he didn't say good-bye to.

"Because you're the only one who can change my mind."

I'm sure I have read that in so many yaoi stories... yeah.

A smile, a contented, happy, smile.

"Am I?"

That doesn't go with an answer. Peter tries again, pleads his case, tells him that he has people there, he has a place and Neal walks off, stops and seems truly tortured, thorn between his... love? A matter of Peter or Kate to choose from, and it nearly seems as if he's going to choose Peter, or he would choose Peter but he has decided long ago for Kate, who is the one who got him break out of prison and risk everything for love, when (and here I remember Agent Hendricks from Supernatural, now Wilkes in White Collar) the jet he was about to board, where Kate was waiting for him (and I hope she really was in there!) explodes in a bliss of golden fire. Quite an explotion and quite a mass of flames for such a tiny plane.

Neal screams and goes berserk, Peter holds him from behind, restrains him and keeps him safe, which is quite metaphorical as that's what he always does, that's his role: worry for Neal and so restrain him, keep and eye on him to keep him safe.

If we are all lucky, Kate will go to the roasted-chicken hell or heaven, I don't care, but won't pull a Winchester and will stay dead. If we are lucky we will have another season with Neal and Peter and more of this "closing on each other" thing that's going on. If we are really lucky, Alex will be the next to die, and will do so soon. After all, like I told Carrie today over the phone: "Supernatural hardly has any more women on the cast, but you don't see the fans complaining!". After all, if you wanna see women, watch The L Word.

Really, Tuesday is my favorite day. Today... NCIS: Los Angeles. Time to see Chris O'Donnell and L L Cool J hit it. Odd but there my ultimate favorite, like I've told you before, is Linda Hunt in the role of Hetty Lange. I mean, Chris and LL go out of their way to make slashy remarks and sometimes pull slashy stunts, but still Hetty is there the star. You rock, Girl!