WHITE COLLAR: What’s Coming Up After the Season Finale Cliffhanger

Warning: Spoilers Ahead!

If you haven’t watched the summer season finale of White Collar, stop reading and go watch!

The battle of wits between Neal and Peter heated up in the midseason finale when word about the sale of the Degas reached FBI ears. Peter’s team, along with DC Art Crimes Agent Kramer, puts a plan in motion to not only snag the painting and its buyer, but also prove that the U-boat treasure exists and that Neal has it. Meanwhile, Neal and Mozzie race against time to switch out the Degas with a forgery to protect their secret. It’s a taut episode as Peter seems to be closing in on Neal and struggles with how to handle this con man-turned-friend. The stakes grow infinitely higher when Keller returns, though.

Stealing the treasure from Neal & Mozzie was unsuccessful, so this time Keller contacts Peter and reveals that he has seen the treasure in Neal’s possession. Peter is visibly upset to find out that Neal has been lying to him, but the worst is still to come: Keller has abducted Elizabeth.

White Collar returns this Winter – likely in January – and picks up where they left off, with Peter desperate to find his wife and Neal’s secret apparently the only way to rescue her. Can Neal give up his dream of freedom to save someone he loves? It’s a complicated situation with the pressure on Neal to do the right thing and Mozzie equally torn between his dreams and his emotional attachment to Mrs. Suit.

In the end, a deal is made, a con goes down, and Elizabeth is returned. Don’t expect things to be back the way they were, though. Not only does Neal and Peter’s relationship get put through the wringer, Elizabeth ponders a career change and gets more involved in the cases her husband is working on, even cracking one herself! Also coming up: Joe Manganiello guest stars in the second episode of the Winter season, going from sexy neighbor to dangerous neighbor very quickly; we meet Elizabeth’s parents, and her father isn’t terribly fond of Peter; Neal encounters Sara while on a case; a threat at Yankees Stadium releases Peter’s inner child; and a hearing to commute Neal’s sentence reveals his past even as he grasps for a new future.

White Collar returns to USA Network this Winter with an additional six episodes.