Quick Thoughts: WHITE COLLAR, "Deadline"

This week's White Collar was supposed to be the big "Diana Episode" since she took center stage, and honestly "Deadline" was somewhat lackluster. I think my waning interest levels had to do with the fact that I've never found Diana all that compelling (although she's way better than Natalie Morales' character). Add to that a ho-hum Case of the Week, and "Deadline" wasn't up to snuff.

Having an agent go undercover to protect a journalist should have been right up my alley, but again I couldn't muster much care since that agent was Diana. I get that she's Peter's right hand, and deserves the spotlight every once in a while, but she really hasn't done anything to date to warrant such attention. Heck, a Jones-centric episode would've been more interesting, but I digress. It was fun watching her interact with her girlfriend, especially with Neal poking around.

Speaking of Neal, the side mission involving a corrupt pharmaceutical company also should have been better than it was. Maybe it's because I've seen this story line done better by Leverage and other, but for some reason this case just didn't do it for me. It just seemed like another run-of-the-mill procedural case.

The only real saving grace of "Deadline" was the continued cat-and-mouse between Neal and Peter. Seeing Neal try to schmooze his way into Diana's home in order to get the U-boat manifest just to miss it was good stuff. I even liked the fact that Neal just could not win one over on his partner, which adds to the tension and will make their ultimate showdown even better.

Ultimately, "Deadline" wasn't a bad episode of White Collar, but it really wasn't a special one either. I don't mind supporting characters getting their chance to shine. I just wanted them to get better treatment than this. I'm just glad we got some good Mozzie moments, and some decent one-liners to hold me over until next week.