- Title: White Collar – Dentist of Detroit
- wiki: link
Although this episode gives us a peak into Mozzie’s (Willie Garson) past – including showing us where his nickname came from, I’ve got to say I was a little disappointed in the latest episode of White Collar. It’s not bad, but it’s also not up to the show’s usual standards.
A mobster from Detroit (Al Sapienza) shows up looking for the legendary “Dentist of Detroit” who it turns out was Mozzie years ago before the legend overshadowed the original cons he was involved with as a kid. Against his wishes Neal (Matt Bomer) goes to Peter (Tim DeKay) and the FBI put a plan together to take down the mobster who’s father Mozzie stole a half-million dollars from as a child.
Also on the agenda: saving Mozzie’s friend (Ghostbuster Ernie Hudson) from the mobster and helping Neal’s friend find some closure. Unfortunately the con the team puts together to trap the mobster feels forced (and far less interesting than when Leverage did it a couple of seasons ago).
The answers we get to Mozzie’s past answer very little about his character. We see his beginnings into the criminal world and where he got his love of obscure quotes from, but little else about how he became the man he is today. His scene with Elizabeth (Tiffani Thiessen) where he decides to stand up for himself also feels off, driven solely by the plot of the episode and not of the conversation between two friends leading to a (questionable) decision.
This one has all the feel of a hastily thrown together mid-season filler episode that teases us with answers it has no intention of ever revealing. Let’s hope the show gets back to hitting on all cylinders next week.
