White Collar, S3, E15: “Stealing Home”

Airdate: Tuesday, February 21, 2012,10/9c on USA

Rating: ★★★★★

Director DeKay hits a home run.

What do you get when you mix a popular, careful, smart criminal with a con artist like Neal Caffrey (Matt Bomer), then stir in an undercover, FBI-sanctioned sting operation and add a pinch of Yankee Stadium? Magic. Tim DeKay’s directorial debut with “Stealing Home” not only adds emotional resonance to the weekly crime caper, but moves the story of Neal’s pending commutation hearing along with the easy pacing of a seasoned director.

Growing up in Indiana, I have always been a basketball fan; it’s practically a state requirement. But there’s something about baseball that stirs the soul, even if you don’t follow the sport. As Brad Pitt’s Billy Beane said in Moneyball, “How can you not get romantic about baseball?” The moment Peter (Tim DeKay) starts talking about the sport I fell a little bit in love. But I’m getting ahead of myself.

First, there’s Gordon Taylor (Hal Ozsan)—that popular, careful, smart criminal the FBI has spied in town. They know the only reason he’s here and not in his Mediterranean villa is because he’s doing a job. Taylor is a gentleman criminal with the motto, “Nobody gets caught, everybody gets paid,” a slogan that endears him to the other cons and criminals he pulls together to pull off his heists. Nobody wants to turn him in.

But Peter wants to catch him and, thanks to Mozzie (Willie Garson) being recruited as part of the latest crew, Neal has an in. The mark this time is none other than The House That Ruth Built—Yankee Stadium. *cue angelic choir* I love the scenes when Neal and Peter coordinate with the head of security at the stadium to prepare for Taylor’s heist. DeKay couldn’t have orchestrated a more pitch-perfect (no pun intended) scene with the stadium and ball diamond laid out under a perfect blue sky.

Plotting inside The House That Ruth Built.

The conversation between Neal and Peter inside the stadium’s museum about what constitutes a work of art (DiMaggio’s bat or Pollock’s paintings) is one of those moments that perfectly encapsulate two characters whom viewers have grown to admire and appreciate both for their similarities and their differences. I admit I was sighing with a bit of childhood nostalgia when Peter talks about watching games on the porch with his dad, and playing catch during commercials. The look of wistfulness that crosses Neal’s face as he listens to Peter talk about his father wasn’t lost on me.

Before he can stop Peter’s cathedral from being victimized, Neal has to audition to be part of Taylor’s crew. Using June’s (Diahann Carroll) late husband’s pool cue, Neal becomes “Fast Eddie” to Taylor’s “Minnesota Fats” and plays a mean game of 8-ball to gain Taylor’s respect and entrance onto the crew. Meanwhile, Peter is working angles to help Neal at his commutation hearing next week, trying to combat Agent Kramer’s (Beau Bridges) investigation by asking Sara (Hilarie Burton) to testify on Neal’s behalf.

But first, Sara has to come to terms with why their relationship ended—which she does via a surprise visit to Neal’s apartment, wine bottle in hand, for a night of ‘talking.’ *wink* The morning-after smiles when Neal arrives at Peter and Elle’s (Tiffani Thiessen) house to plan their next steps indicate he isn’t the only one who’s had a good night. I love that added layer of realism, grounding the story in more than just the heist.

It’s then we find out that Peter had actually been in ‘The Big Show’ – playing for the Minnesota Twins until he tore his rotator cuff. He could have gone back after surgery, but, as he tells Neal, “I would have destroyed my arm and never would have passed the FBI physical…and I wouldn’t have caught you.”  The look the two characters share at that ‘what if’ scenario tells more than dialogue ever could about how much their lives have changed since they met.

Taylor and Mozzie watch the heist going down.

“Stealing Home” culminates in the theft of Babe Ruth’s first homerun ball – stolen for a hotel mogul hot for baseball memorabilia. When Neal’s bugged watch is taken, he and Mozzie have to find another way to get a message to Peter – writing it inside the ringer baseball they are creating to temporarily throw security off their trail. The subtle touch of Mozzie putting two red stitches in a row when the ball should be sewn together with an alternating pattern of red and blue was a nice nod to Peter’s artistic specialty.

The final moments of the episode are where DeKey’s directing really shines. Perhaps due to appreciating the layers of his friend he sees throughout this case, or maybe because of his pending commutation and the possibility of not being connected to Peter any longer, Neal arranges for a game of catch…from the pitcher’s mound in Yankee Stadium.

It’s one of those classic moments that draws a grin across my face and has me regretting that next week is this season’s finale where Neal’s fate will be decided. The commutation end-game is far from decided and regardless of the outcome, this partnership will change.

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