What I’m Watching: White Collar

White Collar: Season 2, Episode 6 “In the Red” (B+)

Let’s have a round of applause for non-distracting celebrity guest star use. John Laroquette didn’t actually have much of a chance to do anything besides lie and bumble his way into the hands of the FBI, but the character served as a great anchor for the episode, and especially as a way to get everyone, even the mobsters, mad at him for exploiting Chechnyan children. While magnificently unrealistic, it was pretty hilarious that the mobsters ended up wearing a wire in order to catch the adoption lawyer red-handed and on tape. I’m loving the parallel plotline with Sara and her doggedness in retrieving the stolen envelope and inserting herself into Neal’s affairs because he roped her into his by having the package mailed to her apartment. His willingness to take a polygraph and his outright lie about not having the package in his apartment moments before they found it were both equally amusing. Mozzie detailing his exploits breaking into Sara’s apartment was very funny, and I enjoy how flashbacks to the actual events as they happen are shown for little reason other than their entertainment value. Watching Mozzie prepare to commit some petty crime is just so damn fun. The same goes for Neal; it’s just that the bald guy has been up to much more in terms of shenanigans lately. The opening of the package at the end doesn’t indicate anything concrete, and any mention of Peter is likely a red herring like the final scene of the first half-season of this show involving Peter and Kate. It’s still interesting, though, and it’s good to have a recurring plotline in which Sara will soon likely play an integral part.