The White Rabbit Job is an odd little con. The team, mirroring our own doubts and misgivings, repeatedly feels they can't pull this one off...that is not until the end during Sophie's dialogue. But if you think about it, the whole episode is a misdirect and I think that while Sophie, at the end, is disappointed that yet again she herself failed to pull off the white rabbit for the intended mark, she is both admitting that Parker did pull off the con and also that Parker was instead the real mark and the team's con succeeded, albeit not the way intended.
Everyone likes to talk about all the Lewis Carroll and Alice in Wonderland references but a couple possibilities don't get mentioned. One is that in the scene where Dodgson is following Parker but keeps not quite catching up to her, is a little reminiscent of Alice chasing the White Rabbit, to me an obvious allusion to Parker being the White Rabbit and that in itself an allusion to Parker pulling off the con. Second is that Parker IS Alice, the little girl lost who is just now after 5 years on the team figuring herself out and becoming who she can be...she has fallen down the rabbit hole and the characters she has become closest to have shown her new ways to look at things. She has grown but needs to grow some more and the con succeeds as it enlightens her further about herself so she can help Dodgson the same way. When Dodgson has finally been cured at the end, it is Parker who witnesses it because she pulled off the con. And when the team discusses the success of the con, it is without Parker, who, when she shows up, is oblivious to that discussion and seemingly the fact that the con did as much for her as it did the mark.
While I don't know if that's what the show's cast and crew intended, it seems clear it is a multi-layered story, not the straightforward con pulled on a not-so-bad mark it appears to be. I have watched this episode a number of times and feel certain this is just the tip of the iceberg. I will have to watch it at least a few more times to pick up on more of its nuances. Those who have only watched it from the most obvious perspective may want to watch it again and look for what they missed the last time.
To quote Alice's Adventures in Wonderland:
"Who are you?" said the Caterpillar.
Alice replied, rather shyly, "I-I hardly know, Sir, just at present-at least I know who I was when I got up this morning, but I think I must have been changed several times since then."
"What do you mean by that?" said the Caterpillar, sternly. "Explain yourself!"
"I can't explain myself, I'm afraid, Sir," said Alice, "because I am not myself, you see."
Everyone likes to talk about all the Lewis Carroll and Alice in Wonderland references but a couple possibilities don't get mentioned. One is that in the scene where Dodgson is following Parker but keeps not quite catching up to her, is a little reminiscent of Alice chasing the White Rabbit, to me an obvious allusion to Parker being the White Rabbit and that in itself an allusion to Parker pulling off the con. Second is that Parker IS Alice, the little girl lost who is just now after 5 years on the team figuring herself out and becoming who she can be...she has fallen down the rabbit hole and the characters she has become closest to have shown her new ways to look at things. She has grown but needs to grow some more and the con succeeds as it enlightens her further about herself so she can help Dodgson the same way. When Dodgson has finally been cured at the end, it is Parker who witnesses it because she pulled off the con. And when the team discusses the success of the con, it is without Parker, who, when she shows up, is oblivious to that discussion and seemingly the fact that the con did as much for her as it did the mark.
While I don't know if that's what the show's cast and crew intended, it seems clear it is a multi-layered story, not the straightforward con pulled on a not-so-bad mark it appears to be. I have watched this episode a number of times and feel certain this is just the tip of the iceberg. I will have to watch it at least a few more times to pick up on more of its nuances. Those who have only watched it from the most obvious perspective may want to watch it again and look for what they missed the last time.
To quote Alice's Adventures in Wonderland:
"Who are you?" said the Caterpillar.
Alice replied, rather shyly, "I-I hardly know, Sir, just at present-at least I know who I was when I got up this morning, but I think I must have been changed several times since then."
"What do you mean by that?" said the Caterpillar, sternly. "Explain yourself!"
"I can't explain myself, I'm afraid, Sir," said Alice, "because I am not myself, you see."
