#Adopt a Felon 101

[firebirdsdaughter]

So here’s a question…

… How did Bancroft know about the art exhibit? I don’t see Neal just walking up to the boss’s boss and telling him about it himself (esp bc he’s surprised when Bancroft brings it up). Presuming Neal asked more than just Diana and Jones (he seems to be friendly w/ the whole office), could be one of the other agents told him… But I do kinda like the idea that Peter told him.

[firebirdsdaughter]

Bc it’s what I do…

… Going back over s1 again and. I just. Forever love the way they came swinging w/ the found family right out of the gate. That whole sequence in 1x04 where Peter is sending Neal to get files, and then he walks in on Peter and El disagreeing, trying to run away, only to get dragged in and have both of them trying to make him side w/ them… That is soooo getting caught up in your parents disagreements. It’s one of the many times he gets the bug eyed, panicked look of a teenager interrupting his parents.

[firebirdsdaughter]

Bc I’m so obsessive…

… I present, analysis of Peter and Neal’s age difference for no purpose other than my own justification.

Basically, Neal is the closest to having a confirmed age. He goes into witness protection at about three, runs away at the age of eighteen, he shows up in NY eight years before the plot, and in s4, Mozzie says that Ellen made the tape thirty years ago. This makes sense, bc presumably Neal would need some time to forge those bonds and get to NY after running away, so it puts him at about twenty eight to twenty nine at the start of the series (yes, it does mean Matt Bomer was playing younger than his age, but he’s one of those people who can get away w/ that).

Meanwhile, Peter has been in the FBI for at least ten years, married to El for twelve. We know he first met her when her when he was fairly new to the field. Presumably they dated for at least year before he proposed, and then there was some time before the actual wedding. We know he has a BA in accounting at least, but from the way they talk, it’s a good guess that he’s got a Master’s, too (you need more than a BA to work for a Fortune 500 company). I can’t remember if they said it was his first case that he met El on, but we may need a little bit of padding for that, too, and there may have been other pauses in between these events. You have to be at least twenty three and at most thirty six to apply for the FBI. Assuming he went to all that school, he probably wasn’t twenty three… We also know he spent time as a baseball player, which I don’t think they give dates for, and probably wasn’t while he was in the FBI, and if he was minor league enough to have a card made, it would have been fairly serious… And when Peter has to go undercover as Neal’s father, he acknowledges that he’s ‘much older,’ which I doubt he’d say if they were only five years apart or something. It still makes sense to me to interpret Peter as being somewhere in his mid forties at the start of the series, and not just bc that’s how old Tim was.

As a result, that put him as at least ten years older than Neal, probably a bit more. No, it’s not enough for them to be biologically related, but they’re not that close, and even if it’s not as common as babies, older kids are adopted all the time by parents not technically ““““old enough”””” all the time. Especially given Neal’s unconventional history, it’s definitely enough for there to be an experience/maturity gap.

[firebirdsdaughter]

Also cannot get over…

… Peter literally being like ‘can I put a tiny tracking anklet on the baby bc Neal’s is very comforting.’ I loved that.

[firebirdsdaughter]

I wish the banana knife had come back

[firebirdsdaughter]

Something else that gets me…

… About s1 is during the Poor Communication Kills ep, when Neal (somehow?) only just notices the ring photo and gets convinced the person who ‘‘‘‘‘kidnapped’’’’’ Kate (I’ll eat my photoboard if she was actually as kidnapped as he thought she was—like I’m sure Adler was pressuring her a bit in some way, I don’t think she was a monster, but I highly doubt she was the poor helpless victim acting under threat, she was another agent of Adler’s, she proves that by calling him later, she just used Neal’s blind devotion to her to play him)… You can tell he’s particularly shaken up (him losing control of his emotions and physically lashing out is usually reserved for Kate in s1, but this is only indirectly related) and then Mozzie genuinely tells him he’s sorry. No immediate ‘ha ha said you couldn��t trust suits.’ Genuinely tells him he’s sorry. And even when Mozzie does go back to the anti government rhetoric, it’s much more gentle and not proud or ‘I told you so.’ Mozzie knows just how painful this apparent discovery is for Neal, and he’s taking it absolutely seriously. I don’t feel like he’d do that if it were anyone else. Notably, he also never collected a file on Peter, even though Neal said ‘everyone’ so he went and got Lauren and Jones (that pic was clearly not Jones).

I feel like you see/get a lot more evidence of Peter’s fondness stretching back before he caught Neal, but this like a small moment of seeing that the same is true for Neal, in a way. He’s been a lost kid, a run away, all his life, running w/ other run aways. Somehow, and some point, something in Peter’s investigation of him turned into something else? I think Neal was projecting a father figure onto Peter for far longer than he strictly realised—their dynamic shifted from just Peter trying to arrest him to something more friendly. And what’s an all but orphan to feel about someone who cares where he is all the time, who gives him respect and thinks he’s smart/praises his abilities but also scolds and tries to get him to stop running wild? He sent him birthday cards and cookies (apparently??? I dunno when, but apparently). Postcards. That’s the kinda thing a kid overseas sends to their parents. I think you also see it a little in the flashback ep in s2, where Neal is all excited about being ‘at the top of the pile’ of files. He’s all like ‘but I was your favourite, right, right???’ Seriously, how did Matt Bomer nail the human embodiment of a puppy??? I do think pre actually working/spending time together it was completely subconscious, like that Marco Polo thing from Bones where she talks about how much it meant to have someone care where you were at any given time. For all he’s gotten good at living on his own, Neal missed family and I think a part of him latched onto Peter to fill that void w/out his even realising (completely understandable, when written in character, Peter is an extremely fatherly dude). He may not have totally realised it, but he felt a bond w/ Peter. And Mozzie presumably witnessed that.

It just feels like it’s too soon for Mozzie to be accepting Neal’s feelings about Peter w/ such sincerity if it’s just based on since his release from prison, bc he sees Peter/the FBI as still controlling Neal. The first ep makes it already so clear how familiar Peter and Neal are w/ each other, and since Neal and Mozzie clearly at least stayed in touch, Mozzie presumably at least knew Neal’s side of it. He’s not rubbing it in his face bc this is an apparent betrayal that he knows Neal would never have thought possible, and that must go further back than a couple of months. And tbh, going by Mozzie’s earnestness, I don’t think he thought it’d happen, either.

I dunno if any of that made sense, but it’s just. Interesting to me how they don’t really focus on it, it’s a tiny moment, but they make it very clear just how upsetting this apparent discovery is to Neal, w/ Mozzie’s reaction making it even deeper.

[firebirdsdaughter]

Also just bc I think it’s sweet…

… Neal when showboating/knowing he’s on tape: The FBI took credit but I pretty much turned myself in.

Neal when being earnest to a frightened teenage hostage/when he’s not on tape: So this guy is literally the best agent in the entire Bureau and he will find you/us.

[firebirdsdaughter]

While I’m thinking about it…

… You know what I think would’ve been a better s5 arc? Dealing w/ Keller’s whole ‘we hurt everyone around us’ thing. You have the perfect set up for it. Instead of trying to force Neal and Peter into being at odds, just… Have Neal realise that Peter’s fighting a losing battle for him and is taking most of the hits? He starts trying to take matters into his own hands not to be a brat bc Peter can’t just do what he wants, but bc he realises he can’t. I’d rather see a plot about Neal falling back into old habits to protect people he cares about bc he realises his actions have far reaching consequences, Neal being more self aware and considerate, in a Neal kinda way. Not Neal being whiny and waxing on about how he just wants to take stuff. Neal’s idea of taking responsibility, bc he sees how his actions have effected the lives of everyone around him, and between Hagen and the Bureau itself and everything, he’s not registering that these people are willing to deal w/ the trouble out of love for him. Feels like it’d make sense from the s4 plot, honestly, w/ Pratt targeting the people around him and then James leaving Peter to be charged w/ murder. Follow that up w/ Hagen blackmailing him and getting played by Rachel (but nix the icky love plot) etc etc. You have a set up for Neal starting to feel like he’s contaminating and harming the lives of the people around him, that he’d absolutely fall for Keller’s spiel and not realise that those people are willing to weather through things bc they’d rather have him around—but not quite totally falling for it. Just feels  like it’d make more sense.

And we still get moments like Peter shoving Neal to safety when a shot goes off (the way he held onto him after Hagen was shot, plus reacted to Neal getting shot gives me life).

[firebirdsdaughter]

But I do love this family so much…

… The acting in the whole series is stellar, but Checkmate really deserved some awards all ‘round.

Neal’s not just terrified for El, he’s also having to go through the torture of watching Peter suffer like this, and the show doesn’t cut around that. The way it cuts to him being like ‘I need to go hyperventilate in a corner of the yard’ when he hears Peter say ‘hon,’ bc he knows what that means. Matt Bomer has very expressive eyes and you can just see the agony in them through the whole thing. He’s looking down the barrel of losing what have become two of the most important people in his entire life in different ways, partially bc of his own actions, and that shatters him. Half of this is his fault, and he knows it. It’s heartbreaking to me that even in that moment, he desperately still wants Peter to know he didn’t steal the treasure. He knows he’s at fault but he needs Peter to know he didn’t do that, at least didn’t betray him like that. Ultimately, it’s not a huge comfort, but I don’t think he’s trying to dodge blame, I think he just wants Peter to know he really didn’t do that to him.

Meanwhile, obviously Peter is completely wrecked. Tim DeKay became a master of stoicism over in the show and it’s on full display. When Peter lashes out it’s serious, and the anger and pain are palpable. One of the people he loves most is in danger and he’s absolutely livid at the other bc it’s partially his fault. His son got his wife kidnapped. On top of his son lying to him for months and finding out that his son was thinking about leaving. The anger is perfectly understandable, but I do feel like you still feel his feelings for Neal through it. He snaps, quite understandably, but he’s not completely tearing into Neal and accusing him of not caring or anything, he trusts Neal’s help and ultimately reassures Mozzie, the person ultimately responsible for a lot of his pain this season, that it was Keller’s choice to kidnap El. He cuts off the pointed accusations about leaving when Neal tells him he didn’t want to, and doesn’t accuse Neal of trying to get out of things. Neal saying he didn’t want to leave clearly means something. Peter can be absolutely terrifying when he wants to be, as evidenced by how ready he is to just tear Keller apart. I feel like it shows a lot about his care of Neal that he’s comparatively restrained with him and lets him help. Peter is careful with what he tells Neal if he doesn’t trust him. The appearance of the most emotionally wrought ‘damnit Neal’ ever. Peter trying to shut Keller down when he’s taunting Neal about lying about the treasure, sounding downright protective. And like how Neal’s consequences aren’t just having El be endangered but also having to watch Peter go through this, Peter in pain both bc El is in danger and it’s partially Neal’s fault (and Neal was lying to him). He’s both panicked and betrayed. Someone he loves is in danger bc someone else he loves lied to him. The way he’s still worried about Neal when they lose contact and forgoes immediately rushing to El to go rescue him.

Meanwhile El is a queen. The sheer nerve of being told not to pass messages and then blatantly passing one (also Satchmo for best boy). She also has no doubt that Neal will help rescue her rather than run away, and despite being very frightened holds herself together with aplomb. She’s smart enough to get out of the building with allows the FBI to find her (for someone as allegedly smart as Keller, not checking her jewellery for diamonds is hilarious—maybe he just didn’t think she’d know that/be bale to get to the window). She immediately tells Peter to go get Neal first (w/ all the intensity of ‘go get our boy, dear’).

While I’m generally annoyed w/ Mozzie for any number of reasons, he’s also great. He talks shit but he cares about the Burkes, not just bc Neal does, and sees them as separate from The Establishment. He immediately comes back when he learns what happened (I really wanna know what Neal wrote, was it just ‘WE GOT EL KIDNAPPED BY KELLER’ in bright red capital letters???), and walks right into the FBI. I think it’s also a consequences moment for Mozzie, albeit one that doesn’t really stick, bc he’s the one who taught Neal how to be this self centred, he’s never cared about the effects his actions have on others in the past—partially bc he’s never been in so deep, or pissed off anyone as violent as Keller. He’s also one degree removed—like sure, he cares about the Burkes, but it’s a different relationship than Neal has w/ them. He probably didn’t even consider that Keller would focus on/suspect Neal and by extension them. Mozzie also thinks overly highly of criminal life—he’s got the whole ‘gentleman thief’ illusion. The idea of Keller involving a civilian may never have crossed his mind, bc he projected an ‘honourable battle’ sort of thing onto the situation. He would never involve an innocent civilian, so he doesn’t think that Keller might.

Also if we’re giving acting chops, he’s not family, but I gotta hand them to Keller’s actor, too. That guy does an excellent down played menacing. Definitely much more frightening than his hired muscle.

[firebirdsdaughter]

Guess what I’m rewatching again?…

… And it just occurred to me… I know it’s Neal being fresh, but him initially dismissing the idea of Peter being a ‘bad cop’ is kinda sweet, in a way, actually esp bc he follows it up by saying Peter’s done ‘mildly irritated cop.’

Bc of course Neal’s never seen Peter do bad cop, bc Peter’s never been ‘bad cop’ towards him. He’s definitely been annoyed cop, bc Neal is annoying, but even before he ended up adopting him, I highly doubt he ever got scary serious at Neal. So of course he can’t imagine it.

[firebirdsdaughter]

I do gotta say…

… I think Peter’s ‘remain silent, please’ was good advice, bc Neal mouthing off to Fowler wouldn’t have gone well.

[firebirdsdaughter]

Something I wish…

… Was that we had had a villain exclusive to Peter. Adler, Keller, James, Pratt, even Hagen and Rachel, their focus is on Neal, their connections are to Neal. Sure, we had Kramer, but he was more of an antagonist than an outright villain. Never tried to kill anyone, at least. Maybe if they hadn’t been cancelled they would have gotten around to it, but I’d’ve loved an arc villain who was more focused on Peter than Neal, or only focused on Neal bc of Peter. Some old case, some enemy from the past. Peter had a life outside for Neal, and he’s good, I’m sure he made some enemies of his own. Woulda been nice to have the plot flipped or even just have the target be Peter himself for once.

[firebirdsdaughter]

Actually…

… This is gonna bother me… Anyone remember/can tell me what is going on at the end there? The impression I originally got was that they just. Sent Neal right back to the start bc fuck s3 and all the people who care about him, he likes stealing too much, which for me is ugh. Guys, I’m here for the found family??? Esp bc some of the lines I know he says to Peter there are really sucky if he’s just going right back to lying to people.

But was also reading something that implied that’s not it? That he does it bc of the gang or whatever? Which is a much better reason and showcases what should be Neal’s character development from only a blind and unjustified devotion to Kate to having a family and friends and a life and something to lose. Having Neal revert not for his own enjoyment but for the sake of others is so much better than his initial selfishness.

So now I’m confused, bc I was really mad about the ending bc I thought it was the former, but is it the latter? Bc that’s much better. I do get the impression they forced Peter to be overly jerky, which I presumed was to justify Neal suddenly reverting bc ‘ooo look how mean and restrictive he is,’ and probably still is to cause Drama (which I’m like… why, I’m genuinely much more interested in Peter and Neal caring about each other and being protective of each other in their own ways), but if they at least don’t try to end it like that, I can just ignore it.

Sooo… Anyone wanna tell me which it is?

[firebirdsdaughter]

Hmmm…

… Saw someone say Peter got played into stealing the security footage, and… I just don’t think so. Between Neal’s little kid ‘you stole that for me???’ and Peter’s exasperated reaction, I don’t think Neal was with it enough for an actual full play (boy couldn’t even walk) and even if it was, Peter saw through it and decided to go along. Like Neal totally meant it and there is affection there (the one and only time Peter pats Neal’s hair, my beloved), but the rest of his reaction is more ‘fine, if you want it that bad’ to me. One thing that’s consistent through the show is that Peter does not easily fall for Neal’s plays—as a consequence he’s over suspicious, but he’s not easy to play. Yes, it’s out of affection for the adorable dumbass who got himself into this, but I refuse think of it as a ‘play,’ esp after the ‘sympathy card’ conversation in the previous ep. If anything, I feel like his thought process was more ‘there’s a fifty percent chance he’s quilt tripping me but ugh fine you big baby.’

[firebirdsdaughter]

I dunno…

… I think it’s the romantic in me… But I just love the idea of Neal’s one legal identity being… Well, being adopted by the Burkes. I guess they’ve got files from his arrest and stuff, but like… How Mozzie tied all his cons to his birth name, I guess? The most legit thing, his one real identity. I just like it. It’s soft.

[firebirdsdaughter]

Okay, but…

… In 2x11, Neal keeps periodically complaining about the cheap wine Peter brought, but he also still drinks it.

Bc refusing or getting something else might hurt dad’s feelings.