I was recently able to check out the first two episodes of White Collar‘s second season. Despite not having seen any of the first season, I felt comfortable going into the season after experiencing a similar situation with Royal Pains a few weeks ago. Having reported on White Collar news from time to time, I certainly felt even steadier with the show than I did with Royal Pains, which might explain why I liked this premiere better.
White Collar is a show, if you don’t know already, that doesn’t exactly have the most original premise. Criminal joins cops to dodge prison time and catches other criminals by using his knowledge of the “business.” That describes so many other, older shows, but White Collar really executes that premise well. Stars Matt Bomer (Chuck) and Tim DeKay (Carnivale) really seem to be having a lot of fun with their roles.
The premiere episode, “Withdrawal,” is about Neal and Peter trying to thwart bank robbers. The episode would have been boring if not for a few little homages to heist films — most notably the soundtrack. “7-29-04 the Day Of” is a song that you’ve probably heard, yet don’t know by name. It’s the main theme for Ocean’s Twelve, and it’s the horn-fueled caper theme that really sets the tone. The rest of the episode, including the final twist, is really sort of mediocre. It’s entertaining, don’t get me wrong, but it’s nowhere near as strongly written as the heist films it pays tribute to.
Then there’s the second episode of the season, “Need to Know.” That episode is exponentially better than “Withdrawal,” and features a more engrossing storyline: politics. Neal goes undercover to take down a corrupt politician, with some help from Agent Diana Lansing (Marsha Thomason, LOST) who I’m happy to see on the show as a regular. Despite the fact that the character Lansing is a lesbian, she shares real chemistry with Bomer’s Neal. Not necessarily sexual chemistry, but the two play off each other incredibly well. The episode is a lot more fun, and it might teach you a little bit about hotel rooms. You’ll also get to see Neal do an impression of Mario (the video game plumber) toward the end of this episode, and it’s totally hilarious.
There are also some story arcs carried over from last season in addition to the main cases. I can’t say that the “Previously on” segment really helped my understanding, but the elements were mentioned so rarely that it didn’t really affect my viewing that much. There aren’t a lot of revelations about plot arcs that carried over, either, but again, as a first-time viewer, I was pleased with the episodes regardless of any resolution they may not have had. Together, these episodes make me want to go back and pre-order season one on DVD
Episode 2.01 “Withdrawal” B-
Episode 2.02 “Need to Know” A
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