Mastermind Enemies: WHITE COLLAR

After a few weeks of writing on Once Upon a Time, it is time to dive into some other shows for a little while. I used to watch a TV series on the USA Network called White Collar starring Matt Bomer and Tim DeKay. The series ran for six seasons. In the show, Matt Bomer plays a con man named Neal Caffrey who is captured by Agent Peter Burke (Tim DeKay), the FBI agent who had been seeking him out for years for art forgery and theft. Caffrey is released into the FBI's custody under Burke to become a criminal consultant for the white collar division under supervision of a tracking anklet. Together, Burke and Caffrey solve white collar crimes.

Though the series only ran for six seasons, White Collar was quite a thrilling show to watch. Bomer and DeKay had excellent team-up chemistry in the series with a lot of fun, witty banter to match. The cast was lined up beautifully as well with Tiffani Thiesen as Agent Burke's wife, Elizabeth, Willie Garson as Neal's trusted sideman, Mozzie, and other members of the FBI team, Sharif Atkins and Marsha Thomason as Agent Jones and Agent Barrigan. 
 
An important concept in a long show such as White Collar is always changing up the story arc by developing Mastermind Enemies. Though Neal starts off as the enemy of the FBI, there is no doubt that his character transformation becomes an important point of the story throughout as he works alongside Peter. He forms an alliance to the character and can be seen through the series every time either one of them are willing to go the distance in order to protect each other. What makes a great show like this in this particular case are creating villains that are fun to watch. 

We've ranked the Top 5 Mastermind Enemies throughout the series and why they worked on the show for great story arcs. 

5. Detective Fowler










Fowler was brought into the series within season one and made appearances in season two as well. He was working alongside the FBI, also in search of the infamous music box Neal was trying to find thinking it would help him reunite with Kate. When Peter decided to help Neal take down Fowler, it cost Kate's life in the process when she dies in a plane explosion. Neal decides to try and take down Fowler himself with his own personal vendetta, almost costing him his freedom. Fowler informs there was a bigger person in play behind Kate's death, so Neal and Peter had to figure out who orchestrated Kate's death from the start.

It's true, Fowler was more of a tolerable enemy of Caffrey and Burke, but he worked out phenomenally well in the first part of the series as an admirable foe. Going into a show's first season, it's safe to always start the playing field off easy so other foes who come in are able to make a big splash as an even bigger foe. Fowler was a simple nemesis compared to most of the foes on the series, but he started the show off right.

4. Rebecca Lowe/Rachel Turner

It's important for a man like Neal Caffrey to be partnered up with women who challenge him like Sara and Alex. In Season Five, the writers invited a very sexy nemesis into Neal's bed by the name of Rebecca Lowe, an ex MI5 agent who conned her way into Neal's life. She essentially followed him for a long time, gaining intel on him and his personal relationships, then took on the perfect role for Neal to fall in love with her. She was chasing after the twin of the hope diamond and used Neal to help retrieve it. For White Collar, she was certainly a beautiful nemesis for Caffrey. It was also a nice turn for the show to put a female as the villain in season five to change up the pace. 


3. Vincent Adler

What makes a villain typically work if you don't know the villain is by bringing them early on the show and develop a dialogue between them and the leads. If that isn't able to be done, then the second best option for a nemesis is by involving someone from a main character's past. Since Neal Caffrey was a con man prior to aiding the FBI, he has a history with a lot of dangerous people. In this case, our number 3 is Vincent Adler played by the well-known Andrew McCarthy. Vincent Adler was a friend of Neal's who essentially took him in and mentored him. Adler was where Neal met Kate and how Neal fell into the role of being a suave con man. Adler was responsible for a major insurance fraud scam. When Adler falls back onto Caffrey and Burke's radar after Caffrey discovers Adler was the reason Kate died, Caffrey decides to go after Adler with Burke's help to take him down. Adler is after a hidden treasure from a German Uboat and he needs Caffrey's help to do it. Adler worked out well as a nemesis since he played a role in Neal's past, which aids in embedding the character into the story arc for season three. 


2.CURTIS HAGEN aka THE DUTCHMAN

In Season One, the pilot episode introduced Curtis Hagen as the Dutchman, a famous bond forger and art restorer. Peter caught Hagen thanks to Neal breaking into Hagen's headquarters and forcing Peter to chase down his asset into the building. It was Neal and Peter's first official case together. 

You may recognize this lovely face from television everywhere. If there is one actor who has made a great name for himself as a villain on television it's Mark Sheppard. He's the master of mastermind enemies naturally. Mark Sheppard has starred in TNT's Leverage as Sterling, an old colleague of Nate's as well as now the CW's Supernatural as the King of Hell himself, Crowley, a character fans have come to love for the last five seasons. Mark Sheppard is phenomenal on delivery and while he only made one appearance in the beginning of the season, the writers were kind enough to resurrect the beloved Sheppard as Curtis Hagen again in season five. To aid Peter Burke's release after Peter is accused of murdering a senator, Curtis asks Neal to help him so he can have Peter released. In return, Neal becomes trapped in a deal with Hagen that causes Neal to have to go search for the twin to the hope diamond by having Mozzie help him solve a bunch of puzzles along the way. Unfortunately, Hagen ends up shot by Rebecca Lowe, but for the first half of the season, watching the dynamic between Bomer and Sheppard was absolutely entertaining. Sheppard always delivers on wit and charm.


1. MATTHEW KELLER

Then there are those Mastermind Enemies that really just get under your skin. Those are the great ones. At number 1, Matthew Keller, Neal's competitor in the conning business. Perhaps it's the crooked smirk that helps sell the role or that Brooklyn-like dialect, but Keller is one nemesis of Caffrey's that came into the show and destroyed everything he touched. Keller had been Caffrey's foe for years before working for the FBI and they conned as if it were a sport. Keller knew Caffrey well, including his love for Kate. Caffrey and Keller were similar in con ways, but in order to give the protagonist a true nemesis, the character had to have a flaw that Caffrey struggled with. Murder. Keller was willing to do whatever it takes in a con to get the job done and wasn't ever afraid to pull the trigger. That particular character trait was a nice challenge for Neal because in times where Keller tested him, fans got to see a side of Neal that was a bit darker. Neal was almost willing to take the extra mile the more Keller interfered in his life. Keller came back throughout the series in different spots. In one particular moment, Keller kidnapped Peter's wife, Elizabeth, and wanted Neal to show him the Uboat treasure that Neal stole.

A character like Keller is fun to put in because he plays alongside not just Caffrey, but the entire cast. They eventually put Keller in prison, but it isn't until the final season where Keller is released under Interpol and strikes a deal similar to Neal's FBI sentence. Keller and Caffrey are forced to team up one last time in the final season in order to take down a dangerous group of thieves called the Pink Panthers. Now while foes like Fowler, Hagen, and Lowe work out in an average nemesis sense, meaning they are introduced into the show as brand new characters, but given a length amount of time to grow, characters like Adler and Keller work out exceptionally because of their history with the protagonist. Keller worked out the best out of all of them because not only was he a part of Neal's past, the writers kept Keller in for a longer amount of time in order for him to embed himself into the lives of the entire cast. It was because Keller affected people like Peter by kidnapping Elizabeth or destroying Neal's life by always sabotaging it in some way that fans can feel as if Keller was their own nemesis. He always made the story arc compelling because he was a true adversary good enough to test the dark parts of our heroes, Caffrey and Burke. 

Eventually, Keller got what was coming to him and Burke shot him. It was Neal's moment in the underground area with him where Neal could've shot him and was tempted to do so, but Neal refused because no matter how much Keller tried to convince Neal that he was like him, Neal spent six seasons trying to change for the better and that's what made the ending work out so well. 

A character transformation like Neal Caffrey's is important because in season six and partly in the end of season five, the writers were already putting Neal around people that basically kept reminding him he was a criminal and he would never change. He would never be free. Keller was essentially that final moment for Neal to decide to what he wanted and who he wanted to be. A true adversary tests the protagonist at their darkest moments. 

Some honorable mentions go to Gordon Taylor played by the talented Hal Ozsan. 

Gordon Taylor was known for his expert heists and when they brought him into the series, he orchestrated a team to steal a signed Babe Ruth baseball from Yankee Stadium. Neal Caffrey got to be a part of that team with Mozzie. Gordon got away with it thanks to Mozzie, so if the show had prolonged in some way, there was hope of bringing back this fabulous nemesis. 

In the world of elegant crimes, the minds behind them have to be masterful. Gordon Taylor was no exception to that rule. 

Senator Pratt's story arc didn't last entirely that long in season four, but he did cause a lot of trouble for Neal and Peter. Pratt was involved in government destruction and he inevitably became the wedge that separated Neal from his father, James Bennett. James killed Pratt and left Peter at the scene so he took the fall for the death. While Neal tried to convince his father to confess to protect Peter, James left. If the show had continued longer, perhaps the writers would've helped tie up the loose end of what happened to James Bennett and if he would've ever returned to Neal. 




Mastermind Enemies are tricky. If a series doesn't give enough time for the fans to welcome in a nemesis, the foes won't seem worthy to the protagonist. In most stories, there are two types of ways to bring them in. Bring the villains in as a fresh face into the series and then embed them in for some time to have them interact with the characters or bring someone from the main characters' past to make the nemesis already pivotal to the storyline. White Collar is all about the con and having masterminds of their own throughout the series, so most of the adversaries had to live up to the standards of Neal Caffrey and Peter Burke.