White Collar's Keller and the Archetype Villain

While series regular Mozzie is both Neal Caffrey’s one-time mentor, confidant and friend, Matthew Keller can best be described as a true nemesis on the series. Keller inevitably sees himself engaged in a complex game of chess with Caffrey that is filled with human pawns, elaborate deceptions, manipulative strategies and unseen endgames. With a seemingly superior intellect, charismatic demeanor and willingness to eliminate obstacles with brute force, Keller is the Dr. No to Neal Caffrey’s James Bond, the Joker to his Batman and the Lex Luther of the White Collar universe. In short, Matthew Keller is nothing short of a true supervillain and a genuine classic “bad guy” of the small screen.

Swiss psychiatrist Carl Jung theorized that humans have a collective consciousness, which he described as “deposits of the constantly repeated experiences of humanity, a kind of readiness to reproduce over and over again the same or similar mythical ideas.” Joseph Campbell incorporated that concept into his own book The Hero with a Thousand Faces, where he outlined the basic narrative structure that appears throughout the mythic tales from around the world. Author Tami Cowden, meanwhile, has studied the persona of the “villain” and likewise found a finite number of archetypes that comprise the antagonist of any well told story. Collected in her book Fallen Heroes: Sixteen Master Villain Archetypes (Fey Cow Productions, 2011), the majority of those specifically geared toward the male version are traits embodied in the persona of Matthew Keller: Evil Genius, Tyrant, Sadist, Devil and Outcast.

“The Evil Genius: the malevolent mastermind, he loves to show off his superior intelligence. Elaborate puzzles and experiments are his trademark. Don’t let him pull your strings—the game is always rigged in his favor.”

The plots designed by Matthew Keller inevitably begin innocuously enough, including the theft of antique cork duck decoys and French soil samples from the Museum of Natural History, information on a passport forger in exchange for not being transferred to a maximum security prison and the smuggling of an Egyptian amulet taken from a Cairo exhibition. In reality, however, the ultimate endgame of each transgression is hidden from view in much the same way that a grandmaster chess player keeps his strategy concealed until the moment of checkmate. “Whatever we think he’s doing, he’s probably three steps past it by now,” Neal Caffrey observes in regards to his rival’s abilities.

Thus in the hands of Keller, the robbery of inconsequential objects from the Museum of Natural History is a means to ensnare Neil Caffrey in a forgery competition of a rare bottle of wine, which is then intended to drive up the auction price of the actual bottle when it is verified as authentic. Offering information to the FBI, meanwhile, is merely the first step in an elaborate plan to escape prison altogether, while stealing an Egyptian amulet is a method of concealing the true target of Keller’s desire—a lost treasure stolen by the Nazis during World War II and secretly in the possession of Caffrey.

“The Tyrant: he ruthlessly conquers all he surveys, crushing his enemies beneath his feet. People are but pawns to him, and he holds all the power pieces. Hesitate before getting in this man’s way—he’ll think nothing of destroying you.”

When Neal Caffrey confronts Matthew Keller over the death of the actual culprit in the Museum of Natural History heist, Keller replies, “That’s why you’ll always be second rate. You’re too weak to do what’s necessary to get what you want.” The murder was an excessive way of preventing Keller from being implicated in the crime, and serves as just one example of the White Collar villain’s own ruthlessness. The thief in question is not the only one used as a literal pawn by Matthew Keller, however, as even the prison transport guards that were bribed to expedite his escape from jail are left by the wayside and arrested by the police, saving Keller the necessity of paying them off.

“The Sadist: the savage predator, he enjoys cruelty for its own sake and never hesitates when faced with danger. He delights in finding creative ways to outsmart his opponent.”

During the season one episode “Bottlenecked,” Matthew Keller finds himself face-to-face with both Neal Caffrey and FBI agent Peter Burke. Instead of being intimidated, however, he becomes even more determined. “I’m glad you brought in the FBI,” he taunts Caffrey. “Makes it exciting, right? Be that much richer when I beat you.” Keller likewise mocks Burke and his inability to pin a murder on the criminal mastermind. “By the way, I heard that somebody mowed down a citizen right in front of an FBI agent,” he casually states. “What a shame. That’s got to be embarrassing for the Bureau.” On White Collar, Matthew Keller isn’t above using words to cut into the heart of his opponents just as much as literal knives and bullets.

“The Devil: the charming fiend, he gives people what he thinks they deserve. He is also able to go with the flow. If the ground seems to be crumbling under his feet, he quickly finds ways to build it up again.”

When Neal Caffrey and Peter Burke visit Matthew Keller in prison during the season two episode “Payback,” the cell is decorated with plants and framed pictures hanging from the walls. It also contains a bottle of fine wine, box of Dominican-rolled cigars with tobacco “infused with Louis XIII cognac” and an omnipresent chess board. Apparently Keller is capable of more than merely surviving, even in jail. His incarceration, however, is somewhat voluntary—when faced with an angry Russian mob kingpin out for blood, Keller offered a full confession for his crimes rather than face physical retribution.

Although Matthew Keller later escapes from prison, he fails to make amends with the Russians before being recaptured by Peter Burke in the season three episode of White Collar entitled “Checkmate.” Yet again Keller is able to think quickly and falsely admits to stealing the lost Nazi artwork that had actually been in Neal Caffrey’s possession. In addition to the erroneous boost to his reputation for recovering a priceless treasure, he proclaims that his intentions were to return the items to Russia, where they had originally been pilfered during World War II. “The Russian mob wanted him dead,” Caffrey states, to which Burke replies, “And now they’re helping pay his legal expense.”

“The Outcast: the lonely outsider, he wants desperately to belong. Tortured and unforgiving, he has been set off from others, and usually for good cause. He tends to be motivated by a desire to be accepted, to be loved, to be part of the group.”

While that last sentence may not immediately sound as though it pertains to Matthew Keller, “Checkmate” offers brief glimpses into the psyche of the White Collar villain that makes it a potentially fitting epitaph nonetheless. When Keller and Caffrey—forced to work together after Keller kidnaps Peter Burke’s wife—briefly reminisce about the “good old day,” Caffrey asks what changed his one-time partner. “I could ask the same thing of you,” Keller hesitantly and reluctantly replies, putting an end to the conversation. During his later faux confession regarding the Nazi treasure, he looks directly into the interrogation camera with a twinkle in his eye and recites the lines, “I take full responsibility. I alone recovered this priceless artwork.” Could Keller be intentionally taking Neal Caffrey off the hook for the crime as much as exonerating himself in the eyes of the Russians? If there is one certainty when it comes to Matthew Keller, after all, it is that nothing is certain.

Evil Genius. Tyrant. Sadist. Devil. Outcast. Every story needs a great villain, and in the case of White Collar, that villain is Matthew Keller.

Anthony Letizia (February 1, 2012)