xanithofdragons

As you can probably tell, since I didn't post about it last week, I doubt I'll do a post for every White Collar episode, but whenever something happens that I feel like posting about, I'll post.

In retrospect, revealing more about Siegel's backstory could've been seen as foreshadowing for his death. Like how, just before a minor or nameless character you've never been introduced to before dies, they'll reveal things about his family or dreams so you sympathize with him to make his death more dramatic. Siegel's not exactly a minor character (at the very least, he was a pretty major player in the episodes he was there for), but they definitely revealed way more about his backstory all in the second episode, building up to his death.

I guess it could have also been intended as a way for the viewers to get used to him and they showed it all through conversations with Neal, which reminds viewers of Neal's character, too, so the outcome wasn't too obvious. But at the same time, while his death was shocking, it was pretty likely he wasn't going to stay on the show long. Neal and Peter's relationship is such a huge part of what the show's all about that bringing in a new handler and keeping him long term would be a drastic shift. Since there was also the problem of him making Mozzie in the previous episode on top of that, it seemed like it wouldn't work long-term.