partly

More picspam (this time with words). In honor of "Peter Burke Appreciation Day" (Tim DeKay's birthday) and for

caperland I present:

Peter is a good guy. Nice. Friendly. Honest.

Perfect qualities for an FBI agent.

He inspires confidence in everyone who works with him. So much so that his boss will risk his job to warn him of a problem:

So much so that his coworkers will come in in the middle of the night when they hear he's in trouble:

Even Mozzie will help him out (even if he still calls him "The Man"):

Working with Neal, he often seems in over his head or is forced to play the straight man:

Especially when he has to be the reluctant ladies man:

But he's always faithful to his beautiful, intelligent wife whom he loves and who loves him. (This alone makes him awesome beyond any other male lead on television.)

But don't let the good-looks and easy-going nice guy demeanor fool you:

This is not a man you want to piss off:

Even if he likes you:

You break the law, he'll take you down:

You don't mess with his family or his friends:

He is self-aware and he has a wonderful sardonic sense of humor that you don't expect. Case in point, when in "Front Man" Rice threatens to report his behavior and Peter responds, "You can't tell, but right now deep down I'm petrified."

Even Neal is impressed:

More than that, Peter is prepared to do whatever it takes to do the right thing. In the finale he comes to Diana's aid. First he walks into danger, drawing Fowlers attention to him:

But it's just a distraction to get the gun that Diana has in a back holster:

When Fowler doesn't surrender, Peter shoots him. When Diana asks how he knew Fowler was wearing a vest, Peter admits he didn't.

Then Peter calmly blackmails him into giving up Neal's location:

Now a lot has been written about the relationship between Peter and Neal. Often it is said that Peter, on some level envies Neal and wishes he could be more like him. That's probably true, there's a lot to envy about Neal. I submit to you however that, in the end, the opposite is also true: Neal envies Peter and wishes he could be more like him.

Sure a lot of it could be the relationship that Peter and Elizabeth have and that Neal witnesses first hand is what he wants (but doesn't have) with Kate:

More than that, I think that Neal admires the open, earnestness that is Peter:

In the finale, Peter comes to talk to him. Not as an FBI agent but as a friend.

And even though Kate is waiting on the plane, Neal hesitates. He obviously doesn't really want to leave.

Why would this be? I think it's because Neal recognizes the good that is in Peter. He sees that Peter lives by that old, corny set of values that doesn't even exist in Neal's world. Peter is honesty and integrity and respect. And in the end it's that and not some ankle tracker, that keeps him from disappearing.