Little Star. Recap: White Collar - “Out Of the Frying Pan”

Season 5, Episode 2

Air Date: Thursday, October 24, 2013, 9/8c on USA

Rating: ★★★★★

“Teddy Winters isn’t an alias Neal.” – Mozzie

WARNING: Spoilers for those who haven’t watched this episode.

What is Neal up to?

Coming into this season, I had some concerns that were fueled by the announcement that White Collar was being cut from 16 episodes to 13 to help the show’s creator Jeff Eastin balance both White Collar and his other show Graceland. As the season premiere grew closer, Eastin, an avid twitter user, was nowhere to be seen, doing little to no press to promote the upcoming season. As a fan, I wondered if White Collar was becoming a burden and more focus was being put on Graceland.

Those concerns were put to rest with “Out Of the Frying Pan” which has to be one of my favorite White Collar episodes ever. To a casual fan this is a fun episode but to longtime fans, there are so many little things that make this episode special, particularly for Mozzie (Willie Garson) fans.

“Out Of the Frying Pan” works on so many levels, the main point being the introduction of Neal’s (Matt Bomer) new handler David Seigel (Warren Kole), a young agent from the Chicago office who looks like he jumped out of an Abercrombie & Fitch ad. What makes adding Kole into the mix so interesting is how he not only affects Neal, but Peter (Tim Dekay) as well. While Neal and Peter’s relationship has evolved into a father/son dynamic, David brings a rival jock feel when it comes to working with Neal as they both try to size each other up and test the boundaries. Peter continues to struggle with how he sees Neal and more importantly how David treats Neal. In one scene, Peter worries if David is tough enough to keep Neal in line but later is taken aback to learn the last convict David worked with was sent back to prison after breaking the rules too many times.

The whole attempting the “Roanoke Praxis” escape plan scene makes me laugh just thinking about it as Neal and David’s first case together involves bringing in Teddy (Theodore) Winters who is part of an online black market. Hilarious chaos ensues as Teddy, unbeknownst to the FBI, turns out to be Mozzie who isn’t going to let David take him in. Mozzie gets away in his typical fashion. This sets up for a touching scene as Mozzie tells Neal about his past and why a man with hundreds of aliases also uses his real name.

Mozzie: “If they have Teddy, they have it all.”

Neal: “Why keep it active after all this time.”

Mozzie: “Just in case my parents came looking.”

Neal: “If you let Teddy die. No one would ever find him.”

Garson has done several PSA’s for adoptions and in 2009 adopted a son of his own, and you feel that love and emotion come through in the scene between Mozzie and Neal.

They decide the only way to get the FBI off of Mozzie’s back is to go through with the “Roanoke Praxis” which involves torching the building and leaving behind some of Mozzies teeth that he has saved in a container — best not to ask. The plan goes off without a hitch as David and Neal witness what appears to be Mozzie’s (aka Teddy) death. With Teddy dead, the case is closed.

I have always enjoyed the love/hate relationship Mozzie has with Jones (Sharif Atkins) and Diana (Marsha Thomason) — it’s a delicate balance they have between being the con and the feds. My heart raced as a pregnant Diana who isn’t convinced Teddy is dead finds Mozzie in the underground lair and attempts to bring him in at the very moment she goes into labor. For a moment, Mozzie is conflicted making you wonder if he will actually leave her. It reminds me of season three’s episode “Checkmate,” where Mozzie being Mozzie should have run with the treasure but shows up at the FBI to help find Elizabeth (Tiffani Thiessen) who had been kidnapped.

While Diana is giving birth, there are two other scenes taking place involving Neal and Peter — Neal trying to destroy the evidence against Hagen (Mark Sheppard) and Peter trying to track Neal down. Instead of dialogue from the characters, the scenes are intertwined as Mozart’s “Madamina il Catalogo e questo” plays for three minutes. The director and editors really pulled it off nicely as the music gives the scenes a unique flow to them in a way we haven’t seen before on White Collar.

The expression on Neal’s face is priceless as he makes his way to Mozzie’s hideout only to discover Mozzie, Diana, and a baby. Later at the hospital, there is a touching scene as the rest of Diana’s White Collar family arrives. Even more surprising is the baby’s name, Theo, short for Theodore. The question is, will the recent events change how Diana sees Mozzie and more importantly will this change the relationship between Diana and Peter?

“Out Of the Frying Pan” is really the perfect White Collar ensemble episode where everyone has something to contribute. We learned a little bit more about each character as well as an introduction to a new character. This episode had the perfect mix of humor and heartfelt moments making this one of my favorite episodes. I’m eager to see where the rest of the season takes us.

On a related note, after the episode aired, I tweeted with actress Marsha Thomason who plays Diana (her twitter handle?). Turns out during “Out Of the Frying Pan” she was very pregnant. After having the baby and returning to work, she shot the scene in the season premiere “At What Price” using a fake belly to establish the pregnancy. She went on to tell me, “That’s Showbiz.”

Tweet me @staffaroadtrip or leave a comment below to let me know what you think about “Out Of the Frying Pan.”

For more on the show, visit the official website at http://www.usanetwork.com/series/whitecollar/.

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Greg Staffa

I provide testosterone to the site. You won’t be reading about how nice a actress looks in a dress or how much of a hunk Matt Bomer is in my reviews. I describe colors using words like brown, not taupe. My twitter name is @staffaroadtrip because I love road trips and have done two different 48-state road trips since 2008. My favorite show is White Collar.