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You know, the difficult part about watching a show like White Collar is that you have two characters meant to be the good guys, but by default of poor life choices, one of them is "technically" a bad guy. And I emphasize technically, as in he's not a bad person, he's just done a lot of bad things. But the real difficulty is when your favorite character happens to be the good "technically" bad guy.
Though I enjoy the fandom to bits (except for the times when I don't, like *cough* today... I think some of you may know what I'm talking about) I honestly think that if I weren't part of fandom I wouldn't even notice. But I am a part of fandom, and in fandom it's painfully easy to view Peter as the beacon of absolute right and Neal the screw-up who is in constant need of being put in his place. And you can't blame anyone for narrowing their focus on Peter the good and Neal the not-so-good, because it's kind of canon. Neal lies, steals... don't know if he cheats but I wouldn't put it past him to be a card counter. And Peter... well, Peter doesn't lie, cheat and steal.
But that's the black and white about it, and what I love about the show is that it's not black and white. But what it really all comes down to is how you view the characters.
Maybe it's just me but it seems like there are two ways to view Neal - the good guy who will always be a con at heart, or the con who is a good guy at heart. My view, if you haven't already guessed, is the latter.
To understand my view I must first confess that I happen to among those who feels Neal came from a less than ideal background. Not abuse as I feel that's a bit much, but either a life that left him wanting or a life that forced him early on to fend for himself. In forging Bonds, when he talks about teaching Kate to live the life of a thief, he refers to it as "teaching her how to survive." A rather elaborate way to survive, yes, but, to me, it makes sense. There's just this... sense of adaptation I get from Neal, that most of what he knows about the White Collar world he learned for the sake of a con or a theft. And being an artist and an art forger, he no doubt is a bit of a perfectionist, so he wouldn't just learn something but get as good as he possibly could with it. Neal's a survivor.
But why art forgery, bond forgery, and conning the rich? Why not just steal from banks or rob jewelry stores? There's probably a whole story behind that yet to be revealed, but I think what makes up part of it is Neal's intelligence and skills. He has the art skills, he has the people skills, he has the smarts, and he's going to use them. As to whether or not someone taught him these skills or he taught himself... well, I'm waiting to see what the show has to say before going into that.
So which is Neal, the good guy who's a con, or the con who's a good guy? Well, Neal doesn't hesitate to help people (ex. in vital Signs he helps June, in threads he's protective of the Russian girl, in the Portrait he returns the painting to its rightful owner rather than fence it, in Front Man everything he does is to keep the girl alive), he hates violence, and we've heard Neal talk about wanting to live the simple "PTA" life - white picket fence, the woman he loves and eventually kids. We know in Forging Bonds a lot of what he did he did for Kate. At the same time, the reason Kate left him was his obsession with the music box, but we must also consider the reason behind that obsession. To him, the music box was the ultimate piece that would finally give them the good life they wanted. See a theme here? It's the good life, the stable life, the happy life he'd prefer.
So does that make Neal the misunderstood woobie who actually doesn't have a greedy or egotistical bone in his body? Um, no. Because with his smarts and abilities, he could have easily gotten that happy life the legal way. Which makes me all kinds of curious as to how he got himself into a life of crime in the first place. But, again, I want to see what the show has to say.
I think Neal does enjoy doing what he does, not so much for the gain as for the challenge, of being able to prove himself skill-wise and smarts-wise. I think he does love the thrill, and does love being able to hold in his hands the priceless things he steals. But that he was willing to give it all up to settle down with Kate means that it isn't the be all end all of his life. He hadn't planned on being a thief forever.
But neither is it going to be easy for him to give it up. Because of the thrill of it? Mmmm... not so much, and this is what I find interesting about the show, and also what's difficult about it. Basically we have two men and two methods - Peters' way and Neal's way, ways which work for them and have always worked for them, ways they are familiar with, comfortable with. But because Peter's way is the legal way, and Neal's way is the illegal way that requires a lot of dishonesty, trickery and moral ambiguity, it's a lot easier to side with Peter than it is with Neal.
So how is it so easy for me to like Neal when he does all these illegal and dishonest things? I don't look at it as legal vs. illegal, I look at it as Peter's way and Neal's way. Thieving and conning is Neal's world. As I said, it's how he "survives": it's what he's used to, what he's comfortable with, what has always worked for him and what he falls back on especially when, in his opinion, the legal way isn't working. It's not just what he knows, it's what he trusts. Does this mean I completely excuse what Neal does? No, but I understand why he does it and why it's so hard for him to give up.
And what's interesting, as has been pointed out to me recently, is that working for the FBI isn't really helping. This is also where we see Peter as less than the beacon of right. The FBI and Peter are quite happy to use Neal's skills at lying, conning, etc for their own ends, but will reprimand him when those same skills are used without being sanctioned. In other words, they're sending him mixed messages - "I want you on the straight and narrow... except when I need your skills to solve a case."
Please don't get me wrong. I don't think Peter is really aware of this. He wants to show Neal how good it feels to do what's right and help others, but at the same time Neal is still using those thieving and conning abilities of his as a means to a quicker end. He may be using those skills for the other team, but he's still relying on them, still needs them. He's not really being shown that there's a better way. Which is why I sometimes bristle when Peter reprimands Neal. It's not that I don't think Peter isn't justified in his frustrations, but I can't help but think, "Really, Peter, what did you expect?" It's why I was happy that Neal didn't get a chewing out for what he did in Point Blank. That Peter knows Neal doesn't automatically equal him knowing what's best for Neal. He kept the music box investigation from Neal, and we all know how that turned out. But when Peter was honest with Neal, sharing what he knew with him in Burke's Seven, things were actually accomplished without anyone going behind anyone else's back. Same thing in the season finale.
And I do apologize for picking on Peter but, as I said, it's easy to put Peter on a pedestal, and it put me in the mood to pick on his faults a little. What is Peter's biggest failing, you ask? Good question. Personally I would say hypocrisy. As mentioned above, he's okay with using Neal's less-than-legal skills but wants Neal to live a legal life. He's also quick to blame Neal but, well, he does have a reason for that. After all, Peter is caught between a rock and a hard place with Neal, wanting to trust him but also needing to be careful.
Now on to the Nazi loot and Neal more than ready to run. There's been a lot of "Oh, noes, Neal is taking loot stolen from people the Nazis killed! Skeevi!" Except, from the pieces that have been mentioned thus far, it sounds more like loot stolen from museums, not individuals. Which isn't justification, and I could be wrong, But Neal's a thief, after all, so he can't really throw stones except for where killing people is concerned. Besides A) I'm thinking his desire to run with the loot was more a knee-jerk reaction to Peter's accusations. Trust was forming, and just like that, it was gone, and Neal didn't even know why. He's upset, he's annoyed and he's ready to go and B) deep down inside, he doesn't want to go. Rather than go into the reasons why I think this I'll just point you to this post and the comments, especially the comments. Warning for spoilers.
Okay, so I know this sounds less like a character study and more like I'm defending Neal. It is, in a way, since Neal is my favorite, but it's also a character study according to my personal views of him. I'm not one of the obsessive fans who thinks their favorite can do know wrong. Neal's a thief, a con and has done some naughty things. But between him being a con and heart or him being a good guy at heart, my vote is good guy. You don't have to agree with me since we all see a character in our own way, this is just how I see him.
Though I enjoy the fandom to bits (except for the times when I don't, like *cough* today... I think some of you may know what I'm talking about) I honestly think that if I weren't part of fandom I wouldn't even notice. But I am a part of fandom, and in fandom it's painfully easy to view Peter as the beacon of absolute right and Neal the screw-up who is in constant need of being put in his place. And you can't blame anyone for narrowing their focus on Peter the good and Neal the not-so-good, because it's kind of canon. Neal lies, steals... don't know if he cheats but I wouldn't put it past him to be a card counter. And Peter... well, Peter doesn't lie, cheat and steal.
But that's the black and white about it, and what I love about the show is that it's not black and white. But what it really all comes down to is how you view the characters.
Maybe it's just me but it seems like there are two ways to view Neal - the good guy who will always be a con at heart, or the con who is a good guy at heart. My view, if you haven't already guessed, is the latter.
To understand my view I must first confess that I happen to among those who feels Neal came from a less than ideal background. Not abuse as I feel that's a bit much, but either a life that left him wanting or a life that forced him early on to fend for himself. In forging Bonds, when he talks about teaching Kate to live the life of a thief, he refers to it as "teaching her how to survive." A rather elaborate way to survive, yes, but, to me, it makes sense. There's just this... sense of adaptation I get from Neal, that most of what he knows about the White Collar world he learned for the sake of a con or a theft. And being an artist and an art forger, he no doubt is a bit of a perfectionist, so he wouldn't just learn something but get as good as he possibly could with it. Neal's a survivor.
But why art forgery, bond forgery, and conning the rich? Why not just steal from banks or rob jewelry stores? There's probably a whole story behind that yet to be revealed, but I think what makes up part of it is Neal's intelligence and skills. He has the art skills, he has the people skills, he has the smarts, and he's going to use them. As to whether or not someone taught him these skills or he taught himself... well, I'm waiting to see what the show has to say before going into that.
So which is Neal, the good guy who's a con, or the con who's a good guy? Well, Neal doesn't hesitate to help people (ex. in vital Signs he helps June, in threads he's protective of the Russian girl, in the Portrait he returns the painting to its rightful owner rather than fence it, in Front Man everything he does is to keep the girl alive), he hates violence, and we've heard Neal talk about wanting to live the simple "PTA" life - white picket fence, the woman he loves and eventually kids. We know in Forging Bonds a lot of what he did he did for Kate. At the same time, the reason Kate left him was his obsession with the music box, but we must also consider the reason behind that obsession. To him, the music box was the ultimate piece that would finally give them the good life they wanted. See a theme here? It's the good life, the stable life, the happy life he'd prefer.
So does that make Neal the misunderstood woobie who actually doesn't have a greedy or egotistical bone in his body? Um, no. Because with his smarts and abilities, he could have easily gotten that happy life the legal way. Which makes me all kinds of curious as to how he got himself into a life of crime in the first place. But, again, I want to see what the show has to say.
I think Neal does enjoy doing what he does, not so much for the gain as for the challenge, of being able to prove himself skill-wise and smarts-wise. I think he does love the thrill, and does love being able to hold in his hands the priceless things he steals. But that he was willing to give it all up to settle down with Kate means that it isn't the be all end all of his life. He hadn't planned on being a thief forever.
But neither is it going to be easy for him to give it up. Because of the thrill of it? Mmmm... not so much, and this is what I find interesting about the show, and also what's difficult about it. Basically we have two men and two methods - Peters' way and Neal's way, ways which work for them and have always worked for them, ways they are familiar with, comfortable with. But because Peter's way is the legal way, and Neal's way is the illegal way that requires a lot of dishonesty, trickery and moral ambiguity, it's a lot easier to side with Peter than it is with Neal.
So how is it so easy for me to like Neal when he does all these illegal and dishonest things? I don't look at it as legal vs. illegal, I look at it as Peter's way and Neal's way. Thieving and conning is Neal's world. As I said, it's how he "survives": it's what he's used to, what he's comfortable with, what has always worked for him and what he falls back on especially when, in his opinion, the legal way isn't working. It's not just what he knows, it's what he trusts. Does this mean I completely excuse what Neal does? No, but I understand why he does it and why it's so hard for him to give up.
And what's interesting, as has been pointed out to me recently, is that working for the FBI isn't really helping. This is also where we see Peter as less than the beacon of right. The FBI and Peter are quite happy to use Neal's skills at lying, conning, etc for their own ends, but will reprimand him when those same skills are used without being sanctioned. In other words, they're sending him mixed messages - "I want you on the straight and narrow... except when I need your skills to solve a case."
Please don't get me wrong. I don't think Peter is really aware of this. He wants to show Neal how good it feels to do what's right and help others, but at the same time Neal is still using those thieving and conning abilities of his as a means to a quicker end. He may be using those skills for the other team, but he's still relying on them, still needs them. He's not really being shown that there's a better way. Which is why I sometimes bristle when Peter reprimands Neal. It's not that I don't think Peter isn't justified in his frustrations, but I can't help but think, "Really, Peter, what did you expect?" It's why I was happy that Neal didn't get a chewing out for what he did in Point Blank. That Peter knows Neal doesn't automatically equal him knowing what's best for Neal. He kept the music box investigation from Neal, and we all know how that turned out. But when Peter was honest with Neal, sharing what he knew with him in Burke's Seven, things were actually accomplished without anyone going behind anyone else's back. Same thing in the season finale.
And I do apologize for picking on Peter but, as I said, it's easy to put Peter on a pedestal, and it put me in the mood to pick on his faults a little. What is Peter's biggest failing, you ask? Good question. Personally I would say hypocrisy. As mentioned above, he's okay with using Neal's less-than-legal skills but wants Neal to live a legal life. He's also quick to blame Neal but, well, he does have a reason for that. After all, Peter is caught between a rock and a hard place with Neal, wanting to trust him but also needing to be careful.
Now on to the Nazi loot and Neal more than ready to run. There's been a lot of "Oh, noes, Neal is taking loot stolen from people the Nazis killed! Skeevi!" Except, from the pieces that have been mentioned thus far, it sounds more like loot stolen from museums, not individuals. Which isn't justification, and I could be wrong, But Neal's a thief, after all, so he can't really throw stones except for where killing people is concerned. Besides A) I'm thinking his desire to run with the loot was more a knee-jerk reaction to Peter's accusations. Trust was forming, and just like that, it was gone, and Neal didn't even know why. He's upset, he's annoyed and he's ready to go and B) deep down inside, he doesn't want to go. Rather than go into the reasons why I think this I'll just point you to this post and the comments, especially the comments. Warning for spoilers.
Okay, so I know this sounds less like a character study and more like I'm defending Neal. It is, in a way, since Neal is my favorite, but it's also a character study according to my personal views of him. I'm not one of the obsessive fans who thinks their favorite can do know wrong. Neal's a thief, a con and has done some naughty things. But between him being a con and heart or him being a good guy at heart, my vote is good guy. You don't have to agree with me since we all see a character in our own way, this is just how I see him.
