Quick Thoughts: WHITE COLLAR, "Pulling Strings"

I have to admit that I haven't been feeling White Collar since the stolen treasure arc ended because it's been kind of trying to find something new for the characters to do, but I really did enjoy "Pulling Strings" because it felt fresh even though it was your standard Case-of-the-Week episode.

Out of all of Neal's would-be suitors, Sara's been the most interesting because her line of work directly conflicts with his past. Sure, someone like Alex would make more sense because they have similar occupations, but the fact that Sara and Neal have a somewhat adversarial vibe between them meant that there was a little more heat. I was bummed when he messed things up with her, so I was psyched that she came back for "Pulling Strings," and everything that made me like them before was still there. The case about a stolen violin was decent enough, but it was really just an excuse to get these two crazy kids back together, so I was happy with it when it was all said and done.

I also liked seeing Peter outside of the office, and while his story about not connecting with Elizabeth's father was also not very original, it was fun seeing him outside of his comfort zone. Plus, we got to see Mozzie interact with her folks which worked better than it should have, and I'm always a fan of him and Elizabeth when they're together.

The only part of the episode that I wasn't too fond of was the return of Beau Bridges as Agent Kramer. Bringing him in to investigate Neal's file makes sense, but at this point in the game it felt like a weak attempt at fabricating drama since the season long-arc wrapped up a few weeks ago.

I don't think that "Pulling Strings" added much to the overall White Collar story, but it had enough fun moments to keep me happy, so that's a win in my book.