Stars Dish on Tonight's "Explosive" White Collar Cliffhanger and Season Three Twists

What could happen in the last 15 seconds to change the trajectory of the show?

By Jenna Mullins, Christina Dowling Mar 08, 2011 6:19 PMTags

If you count yourself as one of the fans of a certain beautiful blue-eyed con man with a heart of gold, take note: The season finale of White Collar is going to be explosive!

Wait. What? Last time a White Collar season ended with an explosion, Neal had to watch his girlfriend go boom. So what evil cliffhanger does this finale bring and what can we look forward to next season?

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White Collar lead Tim DeKay dishes on the finale, saying, "[It's] explosive literally and figuratively. It's amazing. Watch it all the way to the end. All of your questions will be answered about the music box and what it leads you to, and then in the last 15 seconds you will see something extraordinarily new and realize what the third season gives you."

Wow, we're sold, but if you still need more convincing, coexecutive producer Mark Goffman says, "We really wanted to end the season and take the show in a direction nobody expected, including the characters. I will never forget the final scene of this episode—every time I see it, and I've seen it a lot, it shocks me. I hope it rivets fans as much as it did us because it allows us to really complete a lot of the storylines we've been telling for the last two years, bring them to a head and then launch the show in a whole new direction for season three."

And good news fans, the relaunch of White Collar that is set up by the finale starts right now. Marsha Thomason (who plays Special Agent Diana Barrigan) says, "We just got the first script—it's [set] the very next day after the season finale, so we start right off from there which is great…I was very excited about the script. It's a good one."

Things are also getting twisty for our boy Mozzie. Willie Garson (love him!) tells us, "I know they're working [another] Mozzie flashback episode...[and] I think we're going to play with how much Mozzie is willing to accept that he's part of the machine now. It's his battle-cry the whole time that 'the more time you spend with them you're going to become them'! But he has a real respect and admiration for Peter, Peter has a real respect and admiration for Mozzie, now what? So that'll be interesting to play with."

Oh, and speaking of relationships with trust issues, Goffman tells us, "Neal and Peter's relationship is at the heart of every episode and so we always look for ways in which we can further the dynamic between them. That's where our stories start, and that's always at the heart of what we're doing."

That said, as much as we want the show to only be about the feelings shared by Neal and Peter, sometimes they do need alone time with ladyfriends. Someone as pretty as Neal Caffrey shouldn't be crying over Kate forever—that boy needs to find some love!—and Willie Garson agrees: "I don't know how much longer we can talk about Kate," he laughs. "Especially as we're developing new love interests for Neal."

With two women now vying for Neal's attention, how will he choose? Goffman tells us the women represent the two possible directions of Neal's life: returning to his past as a con man or moving into the future as a law man. Goffman says, "That's the temptation with Alex: They did cons together, so is that the world that he wants to go back into? Or does he want to try to go forward and have the white picket fence? He looks at Peter as a model for having a terrific relationship and a very honest relationship. Can you have both? Who is the right person for Neal? It's a question that comes up a lot."

With Hilarie Burton signed on as a series regular for season three, expect the love triangle to heat up, that is assuming everyone survives this explosive season finale. Who should Neal choose? And what could happen in the last 15 seconds to change the trajectory of the show?

Hit the comments and be sure to watch the season-two finale of White Collar tonight at 10 p.m. on USA.

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