Airdate: Tuesdays at 9/8c on USA

Rating: ★★★★★

Which way do you go when your next step could be your last?

Once again, a show selects a title for an episode that’s not just a clever play on words, but houses a deeper meaning with one of the key characters. White Collar’s theme this season has been ‘choice and identity’ and “On the Fence” certainly showcases Neal Caffrey’s (Matt Bomer) struggle with both.

As a con man, Neal is adept at living a lie to elicit a specific result—usually one that benefits him. But because of the treasure, he’s managed to wrap himself in lies to every single person he cares about—even Mozzie (Willie Garson), his one and only partner in crime. It seems Neal has inadvertently stepped into a ‘long con,’ and I want to think his heart is too involved in the lives of these people to let the lies continue to affect them, but I’m honestly not sure at this point.

Mozzie has been pushing to sell the treasure and skip town since the beginning of the season, but he really turns on the heat in “On the Fence.” His near-panic about it has cornered Neal, and is creating a tension between these two friends that we haven’t seen before. Not only is their relationship somewhat strained, Sara (Hilarie Burton) confesses the reason she left is because she knows about the treasure (she saw it on his laptop), pulling yet another support from Neal’s carefully constructed house of cards.

The always devious Keller.

What better way to crank up the tension than to add an old nemesis and a sexy Egyptologist (who also happens to be a skilled fence) to Neal’s already stressed foundation?  The return of Matthew Keller (Ross McCall) is a delight in the way even the mention of his name creates a whiplash reaction of worry in both Neal and Peter (Tim DeKay). Lest we forget, Keller kidnapped Peter last season. And though Peter refers to Keller as Neal’s old partner—which Neal vehemently denies—and Keller himself says he’s an “old friend of Neal’s,” Neal’s biting reply, “We were something, but we were never friends,” gives us all we need to know about this man.

Peter thinks Keller has returned to New York to get the treasure—and that Keller assumes Neal is his ticket to finding it—and though Neal continues to steadfastly deny it, he’s down for using that assumption to trap Keller, a gamble that may ultimately bring the weight of Neal’s lies down on top of him.

Enter Raquel LaRoque (the lovely Eliza Dishku – my husband’s only reason for watching Buffy the Vampire Slayer), the aforementioned sexy Egyptologist who is also known for smuggling valuable antiquities encased in what looks to be “gift store chachkies.” Keller’s theft of an ancient Egyptian amulet triggers the FBI’s involvement, and despite his concern that Neal would be placing himself in very real danger, Peter agrees to have Neal go undercover off anklet to gain Raquel’s trust and trap Keller when he comes for the amulet. The initial meeting between Neal and Raquel has near-visible sparks—with Raquel in her film-noir hat and Neal in his Clark Kent ‘I’m in disguise’ glasses—and their  ‘this isn’t over’ parting kiss is both unexpected and hot.

As usual in any situation where Keller’s involved, things do not go as planned. Devious as usual, Keller is able to extract the IP address to the treasure from Sara (she must have quite a photographic memory…seriously!) while Neal and Peter are busy plotting and scheming on the best way to engage Raquel. I really sympathize with Sara in this episode—she had fallen for a handsome, charming, enigmatic man who is in over his head; she doesn’t want him to drown, but she isn’t strong enough to save them both. Not while he’s tethered to a sunken treasure.

A pair of cons.

But here’s where things get dicey. Mozzie reveals that despite his adorably innocent appearance, he is, in fact, a dangerous con man with friends in low places and he’s not afraid to use them.  Instead of slipping quietly away to one of his many hideouts, Mozzie fights his rising panic about losing the treasure, channeling his anger about Keller killing one of his fence friends and gunning for his best friend, and puts a six million dollar hit on Keller. Which would be sweet and touching if it didn’t basically screw them all in the end.

If there was any doubt as to how much Neal cares about having that treasure, it is erased the moment he falls for Keller’s scam. Luckily, he’s able to realize his mistake and lead Keller to a building where the FBI can find them both and take Keller down—if it weren’t for Raquel looking to cash in on the hit.

I know we’ll see Keller again; it’s always good to have a common foe in your back pocket to give a fractured friendship a chance to repair. And I think after next week’s mid-season finale, there will be more than one fractured friendship. Neal’s anxiety-drenched declaration to Mozzie at the close of the episode is about more than just the treasure and their freedom. I think the answer to the question of ‘Who is Neal Caffrey’ is going to drive everyone’s choices for the near future.

Tune in to White Collar, Tuesdays at 9/8c on the USA Network.

All photos © 2011 USA Network. All rights reserved.

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