what i love about neal caffrey is how damn smart he is and that he actually has very little formal education. he's a high school drop out and he's an expert in everything he does. he's one of the most skilled artists in the world â he can perfectly replicate any painting or sculpture he looks at, he can sell any story or product you can name. he can read even the most stone-faced people. he's a genius prodigy in like 20 different areas of expertise.
and it's all so fun until you think about it too deeply. until you start thinking about young over-achiever Neal whose mom doesn't notice him no matter how hard he works or how well he does. eighteen year old homeless neal who needs to be good at everything just to get by.
he's so intelligent, and so emotionally intelligent, and it's just like. okay i'm projecting but. it's so neurodivergent abused/neglected kid. intelligence to him is survival. and it's also how he seeks attention and approval.
that point makes his relationship with peter even more sad â at first, Neal rejoices in the attention, Peter chasing him, the fact that he's good enough at what he does to be a wanted man. but, it's still not the kind of attention he actually wants. like. at first, attention is attention, acknowledgment of his skill is acknowledgment of his skill. but. so often when Peter acknowledges how smart neal is or how good he is at doing something, it's with suspicion or accusation. and that makes me so sad lol
