I do not like this White Collar turn. It throws so much of the past episodes into the trash, so I hope it shows the strain within the next episode.
I just caught up with a marathon viewing of all the episodes of the new season yesterday and have been thinking about ita's comment since then.
I think this discordance actually fits in with where Neal is at - he's losing his damn mind. Close to shutting down completely due to overwhelming emotional stress and hyperanxiety.
I mean, think about it: he lost his only known family when Ellen died (violently); he found his father; went through the insane emotions about learning about him, and his own past; discovered that his father is a coward who basically framed the only person he ever trusted; he sold his soul to save that person out of tortured guilt; he continues to have to commit crimes in order to keep himself and Peter (and Mozz) safe; the person that he's sacrificed his own integrity for doesn't trust him; his new handler is murdered, and he feels responsible; and then a psycho-pharmacological mindfuck by an academic whose theories include that the guiltier a criminal feels, the more likely he is to lapse.
I think he just doesn't want to deal anymore. He's increasingly resentful of having to take care of people, and is building a wall so he can stop feeling all this horrible guilt. I think that this will be the emotional arc of the season, and the only one that can save Neal is Neal. Which I think is kind of cool, rather than another iteration of Peter saving Neal or Neal saving Peter. Or Mozz saving Neal.
He just seemed so vulnerable and tortured during the recreation of the drug induced psychiatrist thing. The fact that he went back to his childhood when confessing to Peter was telling, too - he just wants to go back to when he felt safer. Maybe even make different choices all the way back then.
Also, I think the redhead museum lady is totally playing him.
I don't know. Am I giving too much credit for emotional depth for an eye candy show?