Not me sobbing over small details in WC again…

… Like seasons 1 through 3 were sooooooooo good, and 4 did alright, and then in 5 they fell apart.

But anyway, 2x12 and when Neal specifically says that if it were either Peter’s or his son, Peter would absolutely bend the law for it. He didn’t need to add himself to the equation, that argument would work just by saying that Peter would do it if it was his kid (as evidenced by how much he does it for his kid, Neal), and honestly there’s no extra purpose to it. He just knows that Peter would do that for him, bc he has. I love moments of Neal acknowledging/showing awareness of how much Peter cares about him, bc esp in later seasons, it gets shuffled aside a lot for the sake of Drama™. Like in 3x08 where he knows that Peter is keeping evidence away from the FBI to protect him. There’s something about Neal acknowledging he is loved that just gives me warm fuzzies, esp bc of my analysis of the character. Obviously, I love the vice versa, too, and wish there had been more of it (lost potential of s5 here we gooooooooo), but what was there so good when it was good.

Also just the rest of that scene. This is later s2 where Peter is all but officially Neal’s dad, which this ep is quasi about bc Mozzie told us near the start. Tim DeKay is the reigning king of being ‘so proud of you bc you’re so smart and brave but holy fuck do not/never do this [again]’ aura. Just his entire behaviour in that scene, trying to make it teachable, desperately explaining the risks when Neal fights him on it, and just the way his voice breaks/goes rough when he says he won’t be able to protect him. Bc that’s what’s killing him about it. That’s what’s killing him about all the dumb shit Neal pulls by this point.

(also the way Neal’s attitude deflates after Peter apparently accepts his shut down and walks away—seriously the tacit acting in this show is absolutely phenomenal—and the fact that the first thing he says when Peter turns up outside the consulate sounds like an apology ^^)