Peter goes undercover to take down a “black widow.”
It’s no secret that the bulk of the success of White Collar comes from the casting, specifically Matt Bomer. All the men want to be him and all the ladies want to be with him. However, if that is an accepted truth then it must also be acknowledged that the casting of Tim Dekay is just as effective. Not only does he have the perfect boyish good looks that offset Bomer’s classic handsomeness but their onscreen chemistry is so perfectly honed that the audience has to constantly be reminded that one of them is a Fed and the other is a felon. I am often confused as to which is which.
This episode is particularly suited for Peter and Neal’s particular relationship. In order to arrest a woman who the FBI thinks her murdered her husbands Peter, Neal, and Jones (Sharif Atkins) are all going undercover as bachelors at a charity auction hoping that she will win one of them and they can learn her secrets, specifically why is she killing these dudes if she isn’t collecting any money after their death.
After the initial nervousness and discussions about how to get the black widow to bid on them, it becomes clear that this is going to be a competition between the three men. The only addition that could make the night more enjoyable would be a great auction host, which is supplied in the form of Jonathan Silverman.
The meet and greet for the bachelors is pretty hilarious with Jones turning his charm meter up to eleven and Neal doing everything he can to turn off every other woman including answering his cell phone and texting during their short visit. Peter is lucky enough to meet The Black Widow (Madchen Amick) later in the evening, so he is able to make a decent impression on her. In the end The Widow wins Peter with a bid of $15,000 while Diana (Marsha Thomason) is forced to buy Neal for a paltry $1,000.
In the meantime, there is a B story about Neal trying to show his commitment level to Sara, the skinniest insurance investigator ever (Hilarie Burton) but that only gets interesting after Peter has to commandeer the romantic night Neal has planned while Neal and Sara watch through two-way glass.
After Neal helps Peter sketch a portrait of The Widow and ask her to marry him, things are in full swing and I was really enjoying the episode. It only got better when they went to see their wedding planner, Peter’s wife, Elizabeth (Tiffani Thiessen).
All in all, this episode is the perfect example of why White Collar is so popular, what with its believable intrigue, entertaining characters and hilarious situations, not the least of which is Peter’s fake bachelor party. It all comes together for another great episode.
Some stats and info about White Collar, ” Veiled Threat”
TV SHOW – White Collar
SEASON/EPISODE – Season 3, Episode 5
AIRED ON – July 5th, 2011
NETWORK/STREAMING SERVICE – USA/Netflix
GENRE – Drama, Crime Dramas
CREATED BY – Jeff Eastin
CAST – Matt Bomer, Tim DeKay, Willie Garson, Tiffani Thiessen, Sharif Atkins, Marsha Thomason
This review originally appeared on TV Geek Army.