White Collar 3.01: En Guarde
Jun. 13th, 2011 09:27 am![[personal profile]](https://www.dreamwidth.org/img/silk/identity/user.png){kind=small}
ariadnes_stringOkay—let’s get the superficial stuff about White Collar 3.01 out of the way first, shall we?
You can probably imagine how excited I was to see Neal fencing , and to learn that one of his identities is “a world class fencer.” The “Gramercy Fencing Club” was pretty exciting too, wasn’t it? What with its floor-to-ceiling windows and bookcases. Our fencing club is in a basement under a coffee shop, and there’s nary a book or a window to be seen. I saw the scene and cursed the lack of a “blades” square on my kink bingo card.
For a cooler eye, though, I called in the expert in the family—my nine-year-old son, who not only fences three times a week, but will also happily watch fencing matches on youtube for hours. Realistic? asked I, showing him the scene.
Yes, he said. They were fencing with actual sabers, and the blade work was pretty good, according to him, and they pretty much followed the rules (though you can’t swap sides like that in a real bout). The only unrealistic thing is that real fencing sabers—for practice or competition—would never be sharp enough to cut off someone’s tie in that mark-of-zorro kind of way.
Still, you don’t have to be Dr. Freud to appreciate the lovely symbolism of the severed tie—and Neal and Peter’s struggle over it. I can see why JE couldn’t resist it.
On a more serious note, I have to say that I was more upset to see Neal lying to Peter and manipulating El than I was about Rachel and Danny sleeping together in the H50 finale. It wasn’t because I thought it was out of character, and wasn't because I don’t want to see what happens next. I can see why the show wanted to resurrect Neal’s latent criminality. It was just upsetting, y’know? Because they love each other. But the show has always been interested in the difference between love and trust, so I’m willing to go with it.
You can probably imagine how excited I was to see Neal fencing , and to learn that one of his identities is “a world class fencer.” The “Gramercy Fencing Club” was pretty exciting too, wasn’t it? What with its floor-to-ceiling windows and bookcases. Our fencing club is in a basement under a coffee shop, and there’s nary a book or a window to be seen. I saw the scene and cursed the lack of a “blades” square on my kink bingo card.
For a cooler eye, though, I called in the expert in the family—my nine-year-old son, who not only fences three times a week, but will also happily watch fencing matches on youtube for hours. Realistic? asked I, showing him the scene.
Yes, he said. They were fencing with actual sabers, and the blade work was pretty good, according to him, and they pretty much followed the rules (though you can’t swap sides like that in a real bout). The only unrealistic thing is that real fencing sabers—for practice or competition—would never be sharp enough to cut off someone’s tie in that mark-of-zorro kind of way.
Still, you don’t have to be Dr. Freud to appreciate the lovely symbolism of the severed tie—and Neal and Peter’s struggle over it. I can see why JE couldn’t resist it.
On a more serious note, I have to say that I was more upset to see Neal lying to Peter and manipulating El than I was about Rachel and Danny sleeping together in the H50 finale. It wasn’t because I thought it was out of character, and wasn't because I don’t want to see what happens next. I can see why the show wanted to resurrect Neal’s latent criminality. It was just upsetting, y’know? Because they love each other. But the show has always been interested in the difference between love and trust, so I’m willing to go with it.
