White Collar Review: X Marks the Spot

Meet the FBI’s treasure hunting unit: Neal Caffrey and Peter Burke. In a Dan Brown inspired episode, Neal and Peter, with his “astronomical puzzling expertise,” follow clues to find the real will of a deceased eccentric millionaire. The stakes are raised when the millionaire’s granddaughter is kidnapped.

The FBI asks Neal to authenticate multiple wills left behind by millionaire Nathaniel Roland. At the Roland’s mansion, the two brothers, Josh (Christopher Masterson) and James (Danny Masterson) bicker as Neal examines the wills and Peter awkwardly bonds with James’ daughter, Savannah. In the end Neal proclaims that both wills are forgery.

At Neal’s apartment, Mozzie surprises Neal with a “treasure cam” so he can also keep an eye on their fortune. He explains he has a possible buyer for one of the Degas paintings.

The FBI runs some tests to confirm the Roland wills were forged. But as Neal and Peter examine the wills, they discover anagrams and that the stars at the bottom point out streets. They realize that the forged wills are in fact a treasure map.

Peter meets with Agent Melissa Matthews (Anna Chlumsky), who focuses primarily on art crime, to discuss the Nazi treasure. He doesn’t have enough information to open a formal investigation but wants her assistance in looking into the boat’s manifest. Neal observes the meeting and smoothly talks to Agent Matthews to find out who she is.

Back at the Rolands, the brothers refuse to work together or show any interest in searching for their father’s real will. A reluctant Peter, who loves puzzles, allows Neal to follow up on the sundial clue alone while he joins Elizabeth for lunch.

At lunch Peter is very distracted with Neal’s repeated called and texts regarding the treasure hunt. Finally Elizabeth, who has also received a text from Neal, says “Honey, do you want to go grab some mirrors and go play with Neal?” So, Peter and Elizabeth join Mozzie and Neal at the sundial. A joint effort from the foursome reveal the letters B, S and H. However, they are interrupted by a phone call from Jones who delivers the news—Savannah has been kidnapped.

Back at the FBI we learn the kidnapper has set up a website dedicated to Savannah’s abduction and has listed a ransom.

In an interview with Josh Roland, Peter and Neal discover the letters BSH stand for “big sky hunting,” which was what his father termed visits to the planetarium. Josh agrees to help his brother while Neal follows the clues. The planetarium leads them to a specific page of a centuries old book. The problem—the book is set up to turn one page every hour and they are against the clock with Savannah’s ransom.

Mozzie and Neal brainstorm how to break into the book’s case. A Neal frustrated exclaims, “this is a centuries old book written to a man’s dead twin brother donated by an equally eccentric recently deceased modern day Howard Hughes as part of a posthumous treasure hunt.” But the pair have their light bulb moment and need Satchmo’s help.

The FBI also have a breakthrough—they believe the kidnapper is Roland’s security consultant, Brett Gellis (William Sadler), who was having money trouble. They believe he could have Savannah at one of the homes he has recently worked on.

In a classic scene, with Satchmo’s help and Mozzie pretending to be blind, they are able to get the code that opens the case to the book. Their plan hits a snag when the automatic page-turner skips the page they need, so Moz decides to drill a hole in the case, and as air hits the book it is destroyed.

Peter is less than thrilled and chides Neal saying, “somehow you managed to make my dog an accomplice to robbery.” Neal is convinced Nathaniel Roland wanted them to destroy the book to realize it was a forgery. Luckily Peter notices some symbols on the destroyed book, which he recognizes as symbols that are also on Savannah’s anklet (a gift from her grandfather). They decide this must be the next clue to finding the real will.

Neal wants a shot at luring Gellis out into the open to give Peter and the FBI time to rescue Savannah. He makes a phone call to Gellis and explains that the next clue is on Savannah’s anklet. The phone call seems to go badly as Gellis hangs up abruptly and the screen on the Savannah abduction website goes blank. However, Neal’s plan does work—Gellis shows up at the Roland mansion with the anklet – but insists the FBI leave.

The anklet clue leads the Roland brothers to search for a picture of them and their father. Meanwhile, Neal is alone with Gellis and tells him, “the crime isn’t the hard part. The hard part is getting away with it. I hope you learn to sleep with one eye open.” The Roland brothers find the picture, which is cut in half with one piece on either side of a wall. Neal remembers both forged wills ended with, “in the end, there should be nothing between you” and suggests they knock down the wall. At the same time, Peter finds Savannah. Before they knock down the wall, Jones comes in to arrest Gellis.

After being reunited with Savannah, the Roland brothers, who are also now getting along, open the wall to find their father’s real will and centuries old book. Peter observes to Neal that it is “good to be back to normal,” and Neal agrees.

We then observe Neal working on something in his apartment that turns out to be an Interpol badge. Mozzie goes off to sell the Degas painting while Neal works Agent Matthews for information at the hotel bar. She has one too many martinis and lets it slip about the u-boat manifest so Neal calls Mozzie to warn him not to sell the painting and says, “we’ve got a big problem.”

Yes, you do Neal.

This week was a thoroughly enjoyable episode from start to finish with everything one could ask for including terrific guest stars. The episode is definitely an example of White Collar at its finest.  Collars, up next week: a Diana-centric episode.

Season 3, Episode 2 “Where There’s a Will” (original airdate June 14, 2011)

White Collar airs Tuesday nights at 9/8c on the USA Network.

Images courtesy of Barbara Nitke and USA Network.