What I’m Watching: White Collar (Winter Premiere)

White Collar: Season 1, Episode 8 “Hard Sell” (B+)

What a fantastic return for this show. I got a little concerned at the end of the winter finale when a secret meeting between Peter and Kate was revealed, and it seemed that Peter may just have been the one to take Kate. This episode resolved all that nicely, and put Peter in the unexpected position of defending Neal and trying to watch his back by telling Kate to stop messing with his head. Seeing Peter and Neal go undercover together and both try to out each other as spies to the enemies was a lot of fun, and Matthew Bomer and Tim DeKay are marvelous at playing off of each other. We did get to see more than just goofing off in this episode, however, especially from Bomer, who displayed some unusual fury directed at Peter when he flipped over the chess board and sent some helpless pieces flying. It’s good that he has Mozzie to confide in, but I also like the fact that he went straight to Elizabeth and told her that he thought Peter was holding Kate hostage. That’s something which gets me every time about this show – how intertwined Peter’s personal and professional lives are that the number one criminal he caught is on a first-name basis with his wife. I’m not sure what role Kate ultimately has to play in the grand scheme of this show, but I’m glad that Peter and Neal are firmly back on the same side, and they can pursue this together.