Peter Burke: AU versus Canon

Through the six seasons of White Collar, Peter seems to morph in the hands of different writing teams. When I read WC fan fiction, often I can tell which version of Peter the author is embracing or reacting against. Someday I may write the story that sometimes swims into my mind featuring a brotherly relationship between Peter and Neal, but for the Caffrey Conversation AU, the father-figure version of Peter won out. Other than consistently feeling like a father toward Neal, how else does AU Peter differ from canon?

Warning for spoilers for stories in the Caffrey Conversation AU, and for season 4 of White Collar.

The obvious difference is that our version of Peter is ten years younger than he was when the show ended. But what does that mean for our stories?

It means he’s at an earlier stage in his career. In Choirboy Caffrey, Peter is promoted to his first managerial role, and he’s well aware that he has much to learn. While he’s confident in his skills as an FBI agent, he’s open to advice and suggestions as a boss. He’s more willing to admit mistakes and to make changes to his approach toward Neal and the rest of the team. This Peter seeks out mentors – not only Reese Hughes, but also OC Thomas Gardiner who appears in By the Book and in early scenes of Caffrey Flashback, and perhaps Peter is learning from the leaders of Winston-Winslow, too.

It means he’s less in control of his emotions than the older version. He’s continually touched by Neal’s trust in him, and he tends to overreact when Neal places himself in danger – the scene where he wants to fire Neal in By the Book being a good example. Even as he becomes aware of this weakness, it’s difficult for him to suppress it. Recently in The Mirror, Peter again has a strong reaction when Neal suggests putting his own life on the line to trap Keller; Peter needs time to cool down before he can approach the issue rationally.

It means he’s more open to crazy schemes (with the exception of the ones that put Neal at risk). In Caffrey Flashback he impersonates Robert, and that’s nothing compared to the lengths he goes to in Silbrith’s stories – my favorite being when he agrees to wear a beard and wild clothes when Neal is undercover so that they can talk and Peter can be sure Neal is okay.

It means he’s more trusting. Sure, it’s easier to trust a younger Neal who willingly confessed, but this Peter is also more willing to work with Mozzie and to support unusual approaches like wearing a costume to a gaming convention in The Woman in Blue, or using fan fiction to lure out a villain in Silbrith’s stories. In my opinion, the Peter of canon would have been too concerned about making a fool of himself to dress as a centurion; he would have delegated that task to someone else. And while canon Peter admitted to checking out everyone who enters Neal’s life, in By the Book he agrees to hold off on looking into Henry Winslow.

And of course this version of Peter knows more about Neal. He doesn't have to wait four seasons to learn that Neal was in WITSEC, for instance. He knows the tragedy of Neal's childhood and has met several members of the Caffrey family. That has even led to a Burke-Caffrey wedding that makes Neal a nephew. Those familial bonds established within a year of meeting mark a significant change between canon and AU.

I don’t wish to leave an impression that the AU Peter is drastically different from canon. He still loves catching the bad guys and prefers black-and-white FBI cases where it’s clear who the bad guy is. He still loves baseball and astronomy and puzzles and his wife. He still works late hours and forgets to pick up the dry cleaning. He’s still the son of a former brick layer. He was a mostly admirable character in canon and we’ve tried to retain the elements that made us love him.

One concern I have is that in our AU he’s being exposed to the dark side of the FBI at a younger age. Canon Peter was shocked at the machinations of Agents Fowler and Kramer. Our version has encountered Agent Hitchum’s betrayal of the team and witnessed Fowler’s perfidy, and is already dismayed at Kramer's actions. Sometimes I wonder if Peter will be able to spend his entire career at the FBI. Will he be inspired to clean up that dark side I mentioned, or will he be driven away to someplace like Win-Win, as Graham predicted in Caffrey Flashback?

Meanwhile, we have yet another version of Peter emerging in Silbrith’s new off-shoot series: the Arkham Files stories that character Diana Berrigan is writing. In this blending of White Collar and Lovecraft’s Cthulhu mythos, I predict we’re going to see a professorial version of Peter acting as a big brother toward Neal. As beta reader I’ve had the pleasure of reading the entirety of the first story and it’s so creative and well-written while grounded in both WC and the AU, I’m almost stamping my feet in eagerness for you all to experience it.