White collar crime has high stakes, as Neal Caffrey and Peter Burke have come to realize over the last three and a half seasons of the USA Network hit show, White Collar. Never seen the show before? Tired of watching a nitty-gritty procedural but still want the high-stakes, thrilling action and dialogue that comes with it? Then you should definitely give this show a shot.
Fast-paced and smart, most episodes revolve around “white collar” crime – multi-million dollar art pieces stolen or foraged, priceless treasure disappearances and recoveries – this is no place for nasty murders under the dark of night.
The premise is basic: a famous criminal – Neal Caffrey (Matt Bomer) – bargains a deal with the FBI to get less jail time. But once you peel back the layers of the story you realize he is no ordinary criminal. Smart as a whip, devilishly handsome, Neal has been at large, on the run, forging millions of dollars, for years, with his girlfriend Kate. We will go more in-depth about the evolution of the show on page two of this article.
The Characters:
Neal Caffrey
One of the best con-artists, Neal’s character development over four seasons has been outstanding. He struggles with finding a balance between being loyal to Peter and the FBI and wanting to go back to his criminal ways. When released from prison in the pilot episode, an anklet is attached to him, giving the FBI knowledge about his whereabouts… most of the time (he has been know to talk his way out of it once or twice over the seasons).
Neal is incredibly clever, smart and devilishly handsome (though that one’s mostly Matt Bomer), a winning combination that has gotten him far in life, as he is able to talk himself into high-society events, but can turn around and talk himself out of trouble.
Peter Burke
Initially a by-the-books agent, Peter (Tim DeKay) spent years chasing Neal and was finally the one to put him behind bars.
However, when it was realized that he could be of value to the FBI, they brokered a deal – Neal’s “freedom” (he still has to wear the anklet) in exchange for his assistance on crime cases. Peters dedication to the force and high ethical morals commonly make him Neal’s antithesis, even if he does bend the rules a few times to catch the culprit of the week.
Mozzie
Neal’s right-hand man, and best friend – most of the time. We didn’t know much about Mozzie (Willie Garson), that isn’t even his real name, until a certain episode in season three that revealed he was orphaned when young and grew up on the streets in Philadelphia, his schemes and cons growing bigger through his childhood and teenage years. Always superstitious and somewhat paranoid, he works with the FBI only under special circumstances, but has a good relationship with Elizabeth, something that sometimes bothers “The Suit” (Mozzie’s name for Peter.) While he’s loyal to Neal, we have seen him act in an “everyman for himself” mindset.
Elizabeth Burke
An increasingly important character with every passing season, Elizabeth, played by the gorgeous Tiffani Thiessen, is Peter’s wife, confidant, and occasionally the devil on his shoulder. She chooses to try to see the good in Neal and Mozzie after they screw up and Peter begins to question their loyalty, and doesn’t mind helping them plan and plot during cases.
Diana Berrigan and Clinton Jones
Special agents at the FBI, they are constantly wary of Neal’s antics and while they try to believe he’s good, the slightest inkling otherwise sends them into disbelief. Diana (Marsha Thomason) has more of a tendency to be questionable and wary of Neal’s actions while Clinton (Sharif Atkins) usually chooses to believe in him until proven otherwise.
June Ellington
A woman who needs more screen time, June (Diahann Carroll) is pretty awesome. After taking Neal in in the first season, she is totally cool with just about anything Neal throws at her. It isn’t until we learn about her deceased con-artist of a husband why she hasn’t kicked Neal out after countless cons and schemes, and we love her for it.
Ellen and James
Introduced in late season three, we learn Ellen (Judith Ivey) was Neal’s father’s partner and was hiding some of her own secrets from Neal. James, originally introduced as an old friend of Neal’s family, more is revealed about him in the season four mid-season finale, and because they contain spoilers, this information is on page two.
If you’d like to get caught up before the winter premiere of White Collar, check out page two! While seasons one, two and three have been out for over a year, we will mark certain spoilers for season four if you choose to catch up on your own.
White Collar is a captivating show, the many moving plot points and story lines are what make it so addicting and entertaining, however, those same plot points are also what make it hard to distill four seasons down to short summaries and an understandable working knowledge of the show. So forgive us if we forget to mention a small detail that is crucial to the overall story line. If you have any questions about this please email the writer at kristina@hypable.com.
Synopsis: Season one
The first season of White Collar is largely centered around Neal’s inner conflict between wanting to stay loyal to the men (well, man – he’s shown he holds Peter to a higher regard than he does the FBI as a whole) who freed him from jail and wanting to find his girlfriend, Kate. After a complex scavenger hunt of sorts, he realizes she is being held captive by baddie ex-government agent Garrett Fower. When Neal finds her in an airplane jet, waiting to take off, he realizes that he could run away from the FBI. As he turns to say goodbye to Peter, Kate’s jet explodes behind him.
Synopsis: Season two
Still reeling from Kate’s death, Neal spends much of the second season trying to fit the pieces of the puzzle together, which ultimately leads to the uncovering that Fowler was not Kate’s killer, he was merely being used by Vincent Adler (Andrew McCarthy) Kate’s former boss and a conman himself. This was cleverly revealed once Neal secures the location of a mysterious and very valuable music box – a relic from Neal and Kate’s con days.
Much like season one, White Collar’s season two ends not with a fizzle, but with a bang. A face off between Adler and Peter and Neal results in Adler shooting Neal, and Peter shooting, and eventually killing Adler.
Synopsis: Season three
Building on the first two seasons, the show moves away from Neal’s past and focuses on his present and future. This season, Peter and Neal are forced to go up against Agent Kramer (Beau Bridges), a D.C. FBI agent who is an expert at art. While Neal’s anklet could be legally removed after a hearing about it and he could walk free, Kramer wishes to transfer him to D.C. and keep him for himself, with the anklet on him. Peter learns of this and warns Neal, as they both know Neal cannot be under Kramer’s constant watch.
The ultimate question during this finale was whether or not Neal would run, leave Peter and his life in New York City behind, and return to his criminal and financially lucrative ways. Instead of an explosive finale, this season’s final moments put Neal to the ultimate morality test. While the verdict reveals that the anklet can be legally removed, viewers see the tracker lying on a table in his apartment, forcibly removed, something that would have major repercussions should he be caught.
Synopsis: Season four (so far)
Season four opens with Neal and Mozzie living comfortably on Cape Verde, six weeks removed from the season three finale. Through a new character, Agent Kyle Collins (Mekhi Phifer) viewers learn that the FBI is searching high and low for Neal, who is once again a criminal on the FBI’s Most Wanted list. With a $500,000 bounty on Neal’s head, Peter attempts to send a message to him to go deeper into hiding, however eventually both Peter and Collins end up on Cape Verde, both looking to get Neal back to New York before the other does. Peter is eventually the one who is able to bring him back, but not without repercussions (he is reassigned to the lowly Evidence room).
This season introduces Ellen Parker (Judith Ivey) who was a longtime partner of Neal’s father, until she was the one to arrest him when it’s realized he was a “dirty cop.” She then enters the witness protection program with Neal’s mother and ultimately raised Neal. She is shot and killed before being able to reveal key pieces of information, namely that James Bennett (Treat Williams), a former cop, is really Sam Phelps, Neal’s biological father.
White Collar premieres Tuesday, January 22, at 10PM Est. on USA Network.
If you want to watch the previous seasons, Netflix has the first three seasons available on Instant Streaming, and you can find season four on sites such as iTunes and Amazon.