donutsweeper | White Collar ugh

At one time I *loved* White Collar and I still think its pilot is one of the best out there, but wow this show has fallen. First was the problematic third season and its whole Nazi loot storyline and then was the constant rehashing of the same idea (wherein they have to constantly remind us that Neal is a criminal and Peter is his FBI handler and doesn't trust him) resulting in stagnating character growth.

Kickass lesbian FBI agent Diana Barrigan had always been a high point of the show- snarky, clever and never in need of rescuing- until this season. For some reason they decided to write in the actress' pregnancy (in a rather shoehorned, nonsensical manner) a tactic I tend to think results in issues for the show/character in the long run and there was what they did with her last night? No. Just no.

First she's treated as the stereotypical 'do not cross the crazy pregnant lady' character when at 8/9 months pregnant she spends three days in the conference room working behind the scenes on computers for a case and then she goes off on her own to look into something. Here's where things get ridiculous. She climbs down a ladder from a fake manhole to a bunker/sewer system below, finds the suspect, goes into labor, delivers the baby in the bunker and randomly appears in the hospital later with child where she hides the fact she discovered that suspect = acquaintance and should be arrested.

How many things are wrong with this scenario? One- climbing stairs when in late pregnancy can be hard, but a ladder with no handholds and a very small/constricting opening at the top? Unlikely. Two- the manner of the labor/delivery- yes, sometimes it can be quick, but in this stereotypical OMG it's coming and boom it's here? No. Three- climbing out of there right after labor? Yeah, I don't think so. And four. Ugh, four. Just because suspect/acquaintance didn't abandon her there and delivered the kid she forgives his MASSIVE law breaking and just keeps mum on the whole thing?

Sighs.

I want to like this show. I know I'll never have the squeeful shiny love I had for it in its early days again, but the writing has been ridiculously trite and we're seeing the same back-and-forths over and over with no character development or sense of trust between partners and now this complete... I don't even have words for what they've done to Diana... *sighs and shakes head*

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Okay, I have never seen a single episode of this show, and even I'm appalled at that. That's...ridiculous. Full-term labours have more warnings than that, unless you've had children before. Which presumably she hasn't. And how do you even get down a ladder with a stomach that size? It would hit every rung.

I feel your pain, and I am not even a viewer.

That ladder issue was just so ridiculous. I spent a good five minutes trying to figure out how she was able to feel for each step without being able to see them but never managed to visualize it. *sigh*

Thanks.

+1 to everything you said.

Oh, AWESOME icon. I really just don't know what they were thinking writing this episode.

This kind of nonsensical OOCness is what I was afraid of when they announced in last week's episode that she was pregnant. :-(

Yeah, me too.

Honestly, I just don't understand why they wrote it in. Last week's brief use of Diana could easily have hidden the pregnancy with some creative camera angels as could all of the conference room stuff this week. They could send her off for training/whatever if Marsha needed time off after having the kid.... They didn't write in a pregnancy for El, why do it now?

Whatever they choose, I'm just saddened they took the most typical, overused, pregnancy SLs out there to use for Diana. She deserved better.

She really, really deserves better than this. It would've been so easy to send Diana out of town, or just give her a broken leg or something - she could just have easily multi-geeked this week and still been in the episode without having to be pregnant.

And yeah, what you said about the pregnancy stereotypes. Just so disappointing in every way.

Not looking, not looking, not looking. Though with the way we lag behind, the kid will be in grade school by the time we get to see Diana pregnant.

What season is airing there?

It's not on air at the moment and I'm not actually sure where official tv has ended up; my daughter has only just seen the end of S2, but I know I've seen nearly all of S3. Looking at the episode guide I've somehow managed to totally miss El getting kidnapped, but seen the 2 episodes after that. I've definitely not seen any of S4.

So only a season or so behind then. Could be worse, I suppose. (Or not, considering how this season's writing seems to be going.....)

I'm really tired of Peter not trusting Neal. Neal has proven time and again he'll risk his life for Peter. He took a bullet (thank goodness for Kevlar), he would have suffocated once, he's helped Peter catch a lot of really bad bad guys, and still Peter behaves that way.

Then, Peter turns around and tells Kate that 'Neal is GOOD." He KNOWS Neal is a good guy. What really annoys me is that these FBI guys don't understand that there's a difference between good guys and bad guys, cops and criminals. Look at Fowler. He was an FBI agent but he was a bad guy. Look at Neal. He's an art forger, but he's a good guy.

Ugh yes, THIS. Neal is not OMG TEH EVIL BADDIE. Get over it show and move on.

I'm so sorry! I jumped ship on WC ages ago, but as the person who stayed with House MD to the extremely bitter end, I know how hard it is to let go when the beginning was exceptionally awesome.

Thanks! I've jumped ships on plenty of shows before. I just... can't yet with White Collar, I keep hoping (vainly in this case, I fear) that it'll turn around and be the show it *should* be.

White Collar ugh

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