> I think they deserve each other, but yes I do also think Jeff
> liked Neil, even though he was willing to skewer him on orders. One of
> the dumber things he did, he should have known Neil would figure it out.
>
> Gayle
I think Jeff is as close to a friend as Neil has. There's Willie, but he's
a subordinate (although they used to be equals as Sandbaggers 1 and 2). Neil
will trust Willie on some issues, but Jeff is more likely to be a
confidente. Think of the walks through the park; how Jeff encourages him to
go to a movie or do something besides work, how he "keeps throwing Karen at
him." In Who Needs Enemies, Neil talks to Jeff about being an embarrassment
to SIS, how he doesn't fit in. (He still gets up when he hears the national
anthem, etc.) Neil wouldn't say these things to Willie.
As for how Jeff burns Neil (several times), I think Neil can handle the
professional lies (like how Mike ends up getting sent to Moscow in Unusual
Approach). It's when the lies become personal (All in a Good Cause, where
Jeff uses his wife to hoodwink SIS) that Neil feels betrayed. Even then, he
still carries on a working relationship with him, and although nothing is
ever said, seems to come to terms with Jeff by the end. (Nothing that a case
of Coke won't cure...)
Mark