The bottle means goodbye

[lokifan]

WHAT THE FUCK GUYS.

I was cool with it (and enjoying how much fun Peter was having pretending to steal stuff with Neal) and then NOPE.

I thought the money was a con, to frame Keller – because ugh, Keller free, not okay – and. I do still think that, I guess? It makes sense. But Keller dying leaves a bad taste in my mouth. I suppose it was the only way (story-wise, and certainly for Peter) and he certainly brought it on himself, I just cringe at Keller being conned by Neal and ending up dead.

I couldn’t even go with the angst because obviously we knew he wasn’t really dead. Which created massive cognitive dissonance because Mozzie and Peter were breaking down and I was going NEAL WHAT HAVE YOU DONE and then they were having sad-smiles a year on and I was like NEAL YOU LET YOUR BEST FRIENDS BELIEVE YOU WERE DEAD FOR A YEAR, YOU SHITHEAD.

Obviously he was doing it to protect his loved ones from the vengeance of the Pink Panthers (never over that ridiculous name, heh) but. That’s not the only reason. Keller’s whole spiel about how he and Neal are alike, how ultimately he prefers life on the run - and Neal’s line in the van about how “that’s why you have no one” - it applies to Neal too, in the end. It’s validated as far as I can see.

EXCEPT THAT’S NOT TRUE. The jaunty music at the end gave me SUCH cognitive dissonance. Because we’ve seen Neal when he runs from New York, and that was with Mozzie!! HE WAS BUILDING NEW YORK OUT OF SAND AND DOING LATE-NIGHT PHONE CALLS WITH HIS EX. There is no possible way he’s happy! THAT IS NOT A HAPPY ENDING. WHERE ARE MY BLUE SKIES.

I mean, in a tale about a con artist, there’s definitely a place for ‘we don’t see his face, just see him walking off jauntily to continue his life of crime’. As my username attests, I am down for tricksters amoral and immoral. I suppose the security consultant thing means he did change, but... WHY IS IT ALL JAUNTY AND WEIRD WHAT IS GOING ON.

I mean. The Pink Panthers thing gave him a non-terrible reason to run and I get that, but then the ending was all cheery so I just have no idea what I’m meant to think is going on with Neal? Emotions-wise. Given everything we know about him and his relationships, I’d have thought “he’s about to come back and rejoin his life there and somehow avoid prison for the whole faking-his-death thing yay” was the most realistic outcome, but the ending was so walking-into-the-felonious-isolated-sunset that I’m having a hard time believing it.

IDK maybe the idea is that he’s conning the audience at the end - fooling us that he’s happy? But that’s awful. (As china_shop said, like finishing with his con smile instead of a real smile.) And I want to think the bottle was an invitation to Peter, come play a new round of the game - or telling him he wants to come home, if the heat’s died down - but especially in an episode so stuffed with callbacks, the bottle means goodbye.