White Collar (TV series)

White Collar (2009–present) follows the adventures of a con man out of prison on work release assisting the FBI's White Collar Crime Unit.

Season 1

Pilot [1.01]

Peter: [speaking to the prison warden] I know I spent three years of my life chasing him, and you let him walk out the front door.

---

Peter: I work hard. I do my job well. And I don't have a ten million dollar view of Manhattan that I share with a 22 year old art student while we sip espresso!

Neal: Why not?

Peter: Why not?! Because I'm not supposed to. The amount of work I do equals certain things in the real world. Not cappuccino in the clouds.

Neal: Look, I will find out where June buys her coffee if it's that important.

Peter: It's not about the coffee.

Neal: I think it is.

Peter: No it's not. [pause] This is what gets you into trouble. This is the start of those something-for-nothing schemes that lead to the frauds that got you locked up.

Neal: I think it's some sort of Italian roast.

Peter: Get in the car.

---

[Neal is trying to help Peter with plans for his anniversary.]

Peter: No, you don't get to lecture me about relationships. My wife didn't change her identity and flee the country to get away from me. [Neal looks stricken.] That was harsh, I didn't mean that.

Neal: Yeah you did. [Peter doesn't argue.] Did she really flee the country?

Peter: I don't know.

Neal: France, did she go to France?

Peter: I don't know!

---

Neal: You only know the guys that get caught. They're the second best criminals.

Peter: What's that say about you?

Neal: It says that there's an exception to every rule.

Threads [1.02]

Neal: No, Peter, menacing. You look like someone whose kid just struck out.

Neal: (After putting sunglasses on Peter) Now say, 'I'll be back'

Peter: No.

Book of Hours [1.03]

[a known criminal knocks on the door of a FBI stake-out van]

Man: Are you the FBI?

Jones: Yes?

Flip of the Coin [1.04]

[Peter is meeting Mozzie for the first time]

Peter: I thought you would be taller.

Mozzie: Me too.

The Portrait [1.05]

[Neal shows up at Peter's house in the middle of the night]

Peter: This had better be good.

Neal: I took the painting. [Peter glares at him] I wasn't gonna... [Peter holds up his hand] I did it for... [Peter stops him again] We can use it to catch Dorsette, he doesn't know I work for you.

Peter: We'll set it up tomorrow. Now get the hell out of my house.

Neal: [leaving] Goodnight, Elizabeth.

Elle: Goodnight, Neal. [walks over to Peter] Well, he told you the truth about the painting.

Peter: Because they threatened Trayn.

Elle: It's a step.

Peter: Yeah, it's a step.

All In [1.06]

[Neal and Peter are looking through a warehouse]

Neal: I think I just saw the Ark of the Covenant back there.

Peter: If my face melts, let me know.

---

[Peter is pacing angrily]

Neal: I never lied to Peter.

Elle: You did leave a few things out.

Neal: You don't understand; I have to find Kate.

Elle: My husband desperately wants to trust you and you keep giving him reasons not to. You're on your own on this one, Neal.

Neal: No, wait, please don't go. [Elle stands up and leaves]

Neal: [to Peter] Now what?

Peter: Now I wouldn't take you off this case if I could.

Free Fall [1.07]

Neal: [about his mugshot] I never liked this picture.

Peter: It's not that bad.

Neal: It's better than my driver's license.

Peter: Which one? You have several. [Neal looks at him] Okay, one crime at a time.

---

Peter: Hello, Kate.

Kate: Hello, Peter. [turns on light]

Peter: We need to talk about Neal.

Hard Sell [1.08]

[Neal and Mozzie are playing chess and Mozzie compares Neal's life to the chess game with Kate as the queen and Neal as a pawn]

Mozzie: I'm the bishop in case you were wondering.

Neal: I wasn't.

Mozzie: Ok.

Bad Judgment [1.09]

Neal: Aw, you're not comfortable around the six year old.

Peter: I don't speak their language.

Neal: I do?

Peter: Yeah, you do. Come on, Peter Pan.

---

Peter: Ok, we stop the judge from taking the Sullivan home. Then we get her disrobed. [Neal raises his eyebrows] You know what I meant... If we lean on her hard enough, she'll flip on Fowler. [Neal smirks and walks away] You know what I meant! ...That's not what I meant...

---

[Neal forges Peter's signature perfectly]

Peter: How did you do that?

Neal: Well, your hand is programmed over years to write letters a certain way. Try to mimic someone else's, and your style will always creep in. But, turn the signature upside down and it becomes nothing more than a drawing, all you have to do is copy the lines. The preconceptions about letters go away and you have a perfect signature.

Peter: That's a neat trick. Don't ever copy mine again.

Neal: Never again.

Peter: You have copied my signature.

Neal: Let's... focus on the crime at hand.

---

Elizabeth: I don't think he bugged the dog.

Moz: Amateur.

---

Peter: She's taking advantage of the system.

Neal: I hate when people take advantage of the system. Now... that I work for the system, of course.

Vital Signs [1.10]

Mozzie: A New Yorker who does not take the subway is not a New Yorker you can trust.

Neal: I don't take the subway.

Mozzie: Precisely.

---

Neal: You do realize you have to flirt with her for the rest of the afternoon now, right? Should be a fun story to tell Elizabeth over breakfast.

---

Elizabeth: Honey?

Peter: Yeah?

Elizabeth: What is this?

Peter: I was going to talk to you about that... That is part of an undercover job I was working. And part of the cover was that I had to talk to another woman.

Elizabeth: Must have been quite the conversationalist.

Peter: I had to flirt with her so Neal could get closer to the target.

Elizabeth: Isn't it usually the other way around?

Peter: She chose me.

Elizabeth: You had to seduce another woman?

Peter: No! No! I just had drinks with her. Nothing happened El, I swear! Are you laughing? You're laughing.

Elizabeth: You had to flirt? You hate flirting!

---

Neal: Out of all the people in my life—Mozzie, even Kate, you know—you're the only one.

Peter: "The only one," what?

Neal: The only person in my life I trust.

---

[Peter has a surveillance tape of Neal sneaking into a building]

Neal: [drugged and loopy] You stole that for me?

Peter: Yeah. It's a regular Kodak moment.

Home Invasion [1.11]

[Neal has indicated that Peter is no longer a welcome house guest]

Peter: Is this because I ran prints on Alex?

Neal: It's for so many reasons.

Bottlenecked [1.12]

Peter: Manuel Campos just died in ICU. His wife's a mess. Says she didn't see the driver. NYPD's out of leads. Tell me who's responsible for this.

Neal: His name's Matthew Keller. He's the blue-collar version of me.

Out of the Box [1.14]

[Peter arrives at Neal's apartment to find Alex and Mozzie there too]

Peter: Look at this, all the usual suspects in the same place; makes my job much easier. What are you kids up to?

Alex: We were just leaving.

Peter: I'm sure you were.

[Mozzie and Alex leave]

Peter: You met with Fowler and now Alex and your little buddy are here: you've got your whole crew together to steal the box. Tell me I'm wrong.

Neal: [shrugs] You're wrong?

Peter: I don't understand you. I gave you something good here and you're about to blow it. I gave you a shot at a better life.

Neal: It's not the life I want.

Peter: We all have our weaknesses. Kate's yours.

---

Mozzie: "We feel free when we escape—even if it be but from the frying pan into the fire." [Cuts Neal's anklet] No sirens.

Neal: Into the fire then.

---

Peter: You said good-bye to everyone but me. Why?

Neal: I don't know.

Peter: Yeah, you do. Tell me.

Neal: I don't know, Peter.

Peter: Why?

Neal: You know why!

Peter: Tell me!

Neal: Because you're the only one that could change my mind!

[A beat passes. Tears are tracking down Neal's face. Peter's eyes are bright with them as well.]

Peter: Did I?

[After a moment glancing between Kate, who is waiting on the plane, and Peter, a visibly distraught Neal turns & walks away. After a few steps, he takes a hard breath and turns back to face Peter.]

Neal: Peter...

[The plane behind Neal explodes.]

Season 2

Withdrawal [2.01]

Neal: Hell hath no fury like a fed scorned.

By the Book [2.04]

Peter: Where's the little guy?

Neal: Mozz!

[Mozzie walks up to stand next to Neal]

Peter: You two can fill me in from the beginning back at the Bureau! [walks away angrily]

Mozzie: He wants me to go to the Bureau?

Neal: Yeah, Mozz, if you want the FBI's help you have to go to the Bureau.

Mozzie: Do you know what they do to guys like me at the Bureau?

Neal: [pulls up his pant leg to show his tracking anklet] Yeah, Mozz, I do.

Unfinished Business [2.05]

Sara: Nothing’s changed. I’m dead. And the city looks the same.

Neal: As far as the world knows, you’re no longer in it, but it keeps turning

---

Sara: What do you want from me, Caffrey?

Neal: Who says I want anything?

Sara: I do. You’re a con man. You smile for a living. And you’re smiling at me right now, so I know that you want something.

Neal: All right. I would love… For you to pass me that fortune cookie. You first.

Sara: Apparently excitement and intrigue follow me. How about you?

Neal: I make delicious soups.

=== In the Red [2.06] ===¨ Peter Burke- speaks in the first part

Point Blank [2.09]

Peter: [to Neal] You're a liability, you're benched.

Neal: You can't pull me off this, Peter.

Peter: I can do whatever I want with you.

---

Mozzie: We all grow up.

Mozzie's contact: All children [looks at Neal] 'cept one.

What Happens In Burma... [2.12]

Neal: You just burned a perfectly good alias!

Peter: And you named me after my dog.

Neal: Touché

Countermeasures [2.13]

Peter: I'm not comfortable with this.

Neal: You're not comfortable? I've got the Men In Black bobsled team breathing down my neck.

Under The Radar [2.16]

Neal: Peter... in case we don't make it, I just want you to know...

Peter: I know. Me, too.

Season Three

Veiled Threat [3.05]

Sara: What’s the grand prize on this?

Neal: I get to take a very lovely, very dangerous woman out on a date.

Sara: It’s nothing you can’t handle.

Neal: Thanks to you.

Sara: Ah, we actually have never been on a date.

Neal: Peter and Elizabeth’s house.

Sara: Dinner date, not date-date.

Neal: Define date-date.

Sara: One on one.

Neal: What about lunches?

Sara: Lunch is not romantic, lunch is lunch!

Neal: …we’ve never been on a real date.

---

Taking Account[3.07]

[Peter, Neal & Mozzie are all in Peter's car waiting for contact from the superhacker, "Vulture". Vulture contacts them by text messages, which are read aloud by Peter's car's Bluetooth device.]

Vulture: Send out the handsome one.

[Peter & Neal both shrug. Neal starts to get out.]

Vulture: The one in the back.

Mozzie: Consider that a lesson in modesty.

---

Sara: My apartment is fully under construction so until I pull my next commission check…

Neal: You could stay with me. You know, until this is cleared up.

Sara: Uh — At June’s? You sure that’s a good idea?

Neal: Well, it’s not the Four Seasons, but… I can bring you food on a little cart.

Sara: Okay.

Peter: I remember when Elizabeth moved in.

Neal: No. No. This is temporary.

Peter: Yep. So was El.

---

Neal: These past few days ,they reminded me of the Palazzo Sasso, they have been perfect.

Sara: You´re really hung up on that hotel

Neal: It wasn´t just the hotel, it was a time of my life when I had everything I was looking for, freedom, excitement, comfort, and the right people to share it with.

Sara: You think this may be one of those moments?

Neal: What if I told you that we could keep living like this?

---

As You Were[3.08]

Neal: Cryptic postcards from old friends mean trouble. [Peter looks sharply at Neal.] In my experience.

---

Clinton Jones: So... I gotta ask: what does "having all" mean to Neal Caffrey?

Neal: Never having to worry about money. Doing something meaningful with people I respect.

Jones: [chuckling] Screw you.

Neal: Screw me?

Jones: Yeah... screw you. You're already living the dream.

Neal: No, I'm not-!

Jones: Yes! Yes, you are. You are the damn dream with a tracking anklet.

Neal: Yeah... well, screw you, too, then. 'Cause you've got the same things I do.

---

Neal: How'd you get a warrant?

Peter: I have a friend in the U.S. Attorney's office... and I bought a boatload of her kid's band candy.

Neal: You can never have too much band candy.

Peter: Yeah... I just wish they had something besides those damn chocolate bars.

---

[Sara found out about Neal’s treasure]

Neal: What’s going on? Are you leaving?

Sara: The renovations on my apartment are far enough along, that I can move back in.

Neal: Doesn’t mean you have to head out right this second.

Sara: Neal. I’m leaving, Done.

Neal: A few hours ago, we were fine. And now you’re walking out? What Happened?

Sara: Well, the inevitable happened, Neal. I mean, we didn’t think this was gonna last.

Neal: I didn’t know we were a fait accompli.

Sara: Come on. This was fun .. But we’re two very different people.

Neal: Oh, come on, Sara, you’ve always known who I am.

Sara: Yeah, you’re right.

Neal: Okay .. I guess you figured out everything I have to offer. We could be good together.

Sara: [sighs] I know … Neal, you live in the clouds… And I live on West 69th.

Neal: I never promised you anything else.

Sara: I know.

Neal: Well, you found your way out.

Sara: I’ll figure out the rest of my things.

Neal: Yeah.

Sara: Caffrey, please take care of yourself.

---

[Satchmo comes into the Burkes' bedroom, where Neal is attempting to crack Peter's wall safe, and whines at him.]

Neal: Don't look at me like that.

Countdown

(Neal opens a door and Peter reaches into his pocket and takes out a set of lock picks)

Peter: What are you planning on using these for?

Neal: (smiles) Always be prepared right?

Peter: Yeah (grabs Neal by the arm and pulls him inside with him and talks to security) I have a hostile witness on my hands, do you have a holding room or office I can leave him while I conduct my business upstairs?

Guard: Yeah, right here.

Neal: Come one, Peter, you cannot lock me in here-

Peter: (closes and locks the door on a still-protesting Neal) Watch me.

Cast

• Matt Bomer - Neal Caffrey
• Tim DeKay - Special Agent Peter Burke

External links

• Official website