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Last week on White Collar, Neal lied to Peter to protect him, but the FBI agent was wise to Neal’s deceit. Each man is still on the hunt for the cityscape the key Ellen left behind reveals, but in “Empire City,” the search takes a backseat when a new case is brought to the duo.
[SPOILERS AHEAD]
The episode begins with Mozzie driving a yellow cab. It turns out that he has a legitimate business as a cab driver or as legitimate as the business can be with a fake name. Mozzie likes to talk to the people who get in his cab and he learns things from them that he can use in his everyday cons. He gives Neal a ride to his latest clue and as he does, he spots another cab with the same medallion number as him, which means that someone is running a scam and reselling medallions.
Mozzie’s reaction is not pretty and Neal is forced to call Peter to get Mozzie out of a jam. The investigation leads them to the Taxi and Limousine Commission and Peter poses as a different kind of agent while Neal and Mozzie try to find clues their way. They figure out how the scheme is running pretty quickly, but they still need to prove it. Their next stop is a famous Harlem jazz club, the Cotton Club.
The club is owned by two brothers and Neal and Peter speak to one while Mozzie happens to get the other one in his cab. They get some proof, but not enough to arrest the brothers or the man running the scheme with them so they have to put together an undercover mission that includes June, Elizabeth, Diana and Jones all working together.
Other tidbits from the episode:
-We get to hear June sing more than once and she is every bit as flawless as one would expect her to be.
-Diana has to wear a costume as part of her undercover assignment.
-Elizabeth is still worried about Peter getting too involved in Neal’s search.
-The atmosphere in the episode is light and humorous and it’s a lot of fun to watch.
White Collar airs Tuesday, Feb. 5 at 10 p.m. on USA Network.
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