White Collar

Front Man

Season 1, Episode 13, Aired 3/2/10

Episode Summary

Agent Kimberly Rice asks for Neal's help in a kidnapping case because of his connection to the suspect Ryan Wilkes, but Wilkes lures Neal right into a trap.

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Cast & Crew

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Willie Garson

Mozzie
Tim DeKay

FBI Agent Peter Burke
Matthew Bomer

Neal Caffrey

Fan Episode Reviews (2)

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Each time Neal's life is risked, he should get a sentence reduction.

8.5

"Great"

By bearcatjb, Mar 06, 2010 Report Abuse

I don't understand why every time Neal risks his life for the FBI, he doesn't get a reduction to his sentence. I don't understand why Neal doesn't insist on it.

His role is supposed to be that of a consultant, yet he is often used as bait, sometimes (as with this episode) without his consent. Other times, he has been asked before-hand and given a choice. It is during these times, that logically, I would expect him to say something like, "If I do this, in return I want ... you know that 3 year sentence/commitment I have working with the FBI ..."

Neal is smart enough to know that when the FBI need him to go undercover, they actually need him him and no-one but him- so he's smart enough to remind them that his three year commitment isn't supposed to include him putting his life at risk. And if he was to do so, perhaps something should be coming his way, as a reward/payment for his co-operation, making the point that being in jail to serve out the remainder of his three years whilst not preferable, is infinitely better than being dead.

I'm looking forward to future episode where Neal is free and actually working with Peter and the FBI out of choice, and he is unencumbered by the leg-tag, free to do his own thing.

Both Peter and Neal, when it comes down to it, do the right thing by each other anyway, even though they don't always tell each other the truth, so this artificial tension of:
Will Neal run if he has a chance?
Can Peter be trusted to look after Neal's best interests?
Can they real work well together?
Etc.
is just artificial and forced.

Other than making it more difficult for Neal to find his lost love, there is no real reason to have him in the leg-tag, which is basically taken off him nearly every episode, anyway.

I want to see stories with Neal unfettered, unleashed, because then he and Peter, as a team would be unstoppable, and the storyline would be more exciting.moreless

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Neal is trying to make a deal with Alex, but an Agent Rice with a kidnapping case gets in the way. An old "friend" of Neal's who had tried to kill him before requests that Neal meet with him in exchange for the girl. Rice sets Neal up!moreless

9.0

"Superb"

By jyarter, Mar 05, 2010 Report Abuse

An entertaining episode which is well written with a number of new unlikable characters. Agent Kimberly Rice played by Diane Neal comes across a little like finger nails on a chalk board. At least she is not after Burke like the last agent we met, but she s not a team player and looks at and treats Neal like an underling who is to be bossed around and tells him not to speak unless spoken too. Basically "he's a tool in her tool belt" and that is all. The other is the short lived partner who Neal had ripped off for half a million and wanted him dead. A lovely man named Ryan Wilkes played by Charles Malik Whitfield. If Rice is finger nails, Wilkes is more like glass! He sooner kill you than look at you, especially when it comes to Neal! So you now know the new players.

A young woman is kidnapped. It just happens to be the daughter of the man Neal got thrown in jail for because of copying his stolen bonds. So Rice finds out from Wilkes, the kidnapper, that if she can get him Caffrey she can have the girl. Of course none of this plays out the way anyone plans and Neal is on his own to get out of it.

Meanwhile Neal is trying to convince Alex to tell him where the music box is so he can help Kate. He uses his relationship and the case to fulfill Alex's conditions. Mozzie and Peter both play big parts in the case and helping Neal. Of course Peter suspects, but doesn't really know what is going on. Personally I think Peter should just help Neal steal the box and get it over with!

A nice plot with some little holes, but for the most part very entertaining when the characters weren't getting on my nerves. The good guys all win in the end and everyone is friendly. Next weeks finale looks like a barn burner. I'm looking forward to it! Thanks for reading...moreless

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Trivia, Notes, Quotes and Allusions

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Trivia
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Notes
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- International Episode Titles: Czech Republic: Figurka (Front Man) Edit
- Original International Air Dates:
  Latin America - June 1, 2010 on FOX
  United Kingdom - July 14, 2010 on Bravo
  Czech Republic - December 16, 2010 on Prima
  Bulgaria - June 14, 2011 on bTV Cinema
  Germany - December 6, 2011 on RTL
  Edit
- Natalie Morales is credited but doesn't appear. Edit
Quotes
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- (Referring to Agent Rice) Mozzie: You're letting the pantsuit use you as bait to catch Wilkes? Edit
- Peter: (to Neal) You know, you can either go back to wearing an orange jumpsuit and pining for the girl that got away or you can stay here and do something good with your life. Your choice. Edit
- Peter: Who's there? Elizabeth: Mozzie, and he's pretty worked up. Peter: That's his normal state. Edit
Allusions
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- About 27 minutes in, as the airport scene opens, we see an airline pilot walking away from camera, arm in arm with two stewardesses. This may be a direct reference to a scene in Catch Me If You Can, starring Leonardo DiCaprio as Frank Abagnale, a notorious confidence trickster whose story (and relationship with the FBI agent who tracked and eventually caught him) is undeniably a strong influence on this show. Edit