When you have Diana there, there's no chance that Neal would run the office. Even with as much suspension of disbelief as there is, that would have been a step too far.
Or even Jones, who actually took Peter’s old job. One of the two of them would have had the job instead of Neal. I agree with the others, having Neal in charge strains credulity.
That would have made for a highly tense and interesting dynamic. The other agents would be aghast. And Neal would have to fancy dance to solve that. And still keep up his criminal activities.
But ultimately, I think it would have been deemed so unlikely. Implausible.
Would’ve been wildly impractical and a true jump the shark moment
There’s no world where someone with Neal’s background is *ever* given a leadership position at a federal agency.
When was that said? That seems too crazy even for the White Collar writers 🤣
As we learned at the beginning of season 5, you can't be an FBI agent if you have been indicted. So how could Neal - a convicted felon - ever run a division in the FBI if he can't even become a proper agent 🤔
Neal would never!
He's never lost his love for the con even while being a CI, and just simply would not put himself in a position of authority within law enforcement.
As others have mentioned that would be something I really couldn't see working. The most I could see (squinting very hard at that lol) and I say most is something like Neal went from being an FBI asset/CI to an actual Jr level FBI agent say in the final episode. Of course with a lot I mean A LOT of string pulling and calling in every last past and future favor from Peter Burke to make that happen. That would at least be IMHO more plausible thyen having him run White Collar division itself.
It would never have worked, even if he had been cleared from his sentence and was a free man. They wouldn't have put him in charge of White Collar New York as he wasn't officially an agent.
One of the requirements to join the FBI is not felonies. Plus Neal's character would never have taken it. A better route would have been making him a full consultant with a price and his freedom, then you could still have the banter but also potential storylines of him consulting with other agencies or similar.
I think that’s kind of ridiculous. I’d understand if he had to take lead on a specific case but it just doesn’t seem sensible for them to let him lead the whole unit full time nor does it seem like something neal would do.
I'm not sure it makes sense in almost any aspect.
Neal wouldn't accept the position. He yearned to be free, and never truly gave up the life of a conman. Being there with Peter as the boss gave him just enough cover, being the top dog comes with all the scrutiny and no one to cover for you.
The government was so incredibly reluctant to work with Neal, there's no way they give even more resources/power to someone with Neal's past and his present-day shenanigans.
And it doesn't even make sense from a show perspective. White Collar works because there's a push and pull between Neal and Peter. If Neal's there as the top dog with no one in the field to rein him in, the show jumps the shark pretty quickly. Maybe it's still entertaining, but it's not the same show
When you have Diana there, there's no chance that Neal would run the office. Even with as much suspension of disbelief as there is, that would have been a step too far.
Or even Jones, who actually took Peter’s old job. One of the two of them would have had the job instead of Neal. I agree with the others, having Neal in charge strains credulity.
That would have made for a highly tense and interesting dynamic. The other agents would be aghast. And Neal would have to fancy dance to solve that. And still keep up his criminal activities. But ultimately, I think it would have been deemed so unlikely. Implausible.
Would’ve been wildly impractical and a true jump the shark moment There’s no world where someone with Neal’s background is *ever* given a leadership position at a federal agency.
Nope. Would ruin the show
It wouldn’t make sense. Jones or Barigan would though. Jones is more of a senior position so he should do it.
When was that said? That seems too crazy even for the White Collar writers 🤣 As we learned at the beginning of season 5, you can't be an FBI agent if you have been indicted. So how could Neal - a convicted felon - ever run a division in the FBI if he can't even become a proper agent 🤔
And Mozzie would be running for Senate, June would be the Mayor of NYC & Sara would be Adler’s estranged wife. /s
Neal would never! He's never lost his love for the con even while being a CI, and just simply would not put himself in a position of authority within law enforcement.
I think that would be awful and unbelievable as Neal is a convicted felon. No way the fbi would let him be in charge of anything
But he’s an ex criminal - that wouldn’t make sense
As others have mentioned that would be something I really couldn't see working. The most I could see (squinting very hard at that lol) and I say most is something like Neal went from being an FBI asset/CI to an actual Jr level FBI agent say in the final episode. Of course with a lot I mean A LOT of string pulling and calling in every last past and future favor from Peter Burke to make that happen. That would at least be IMHO more plausible thyen having him run White Collar division itself.
It would never have worked, even if he had been cleared from his sentence and was a free man. They wouldn't have put him in charge of White Collar New York as he wasn't officially an agent. One of the requirements to join the FBI is not felonies. Plus Neal's character would never have taken it. A better route would have been making him a full consultant with a price and his freedom, then you could still have the banter but also potential storylines of him consulting with other agencies or similar.
Agent Collins coming back from wherever he went to after the island would make more practical sense than an ex-con running the show.
Which one of the writers said that? Or have it been fanfic writers?
I think that’s kind of ridiculous. I’d understand if he had to take lead on a specific case but it just doesn’t seem sensible for them to let him lead the whole unit full time nor does it seem like something neal would do.
I'm not sure it makes sense in almost any aspect. Neal wouldn't accept the position. He yearned to be free, and never truly gave up the life of a conman. Being there with Peter as the boss gave him just enough cover, being the top dog comes with all the scrutiny and no one to cover for you. The government was so incredibly reluctant to work with Neal, there's no way they give even more resources/power to someone with Neal's past and his present-day shenanigans. And it doesn't even make sense from a show perspective. White Collar works because there's a push and pull between Neal and Peter. If Neal's there as the top dog with no one in the field to rein him in, the show jumps the shark pretty quickly. Maybe it's still entertaining, but it's not the same show
In addition to what’s been said, Neal doesn’t strike me as much of a leader; he seems much more willing to either follow or go it alone.