{alltv} White Collar: Inside the Season Finale Two Years in the Making

Fans following the mythology of White Collar for the last two seasons are in for a pleasant surprise when the crime caper wraps its second season Tuesday: answers!

"It's really been two years coming," creator and executive producer Jeff Eastin tells TVGuide.com. "Everything we've set up — Kate, the music box, the code — all those things finally come to a head and we finally realize what those first two seasons have really been about."

Many of the USA series' biggest questions have stemmed from last season's finale, in which Kate was killed by a plane explosion just when she and Neal were about to run away together. Since then, Neal (Matt Bomer) has been on the hunt to find her killer and, eventually, closure. The personal crusade has involved a mysterious music box Kate asked Neal to get before she died, the code found within the music box (and what exactly it's for), as well as Neal's pre-jail-time boss, Vincent Adler (Andrew McCarthy).

The biggest question now is: Just how will all these pieces fit together?

"I think they're answered well, and everyone will be pleasantly surprised, and satisfied," says co-star Tim DeKay, who plays Peter Burke. "Just when you think it is done and it is over, the last 15 seconds of this episode lead you toward a whole new path."

Bomer says the finale will not only answer some of the series' biggest mysteries, but also lay the groundwork for next season. The series has already been renewed for a third season, which is expected to premiere sometime this summer.

"When I got the finale script, I was really blown away. I didn't see it coming," he says. "The fact that [Eastin] was able to wrap up two years of mythology in one episode and launch us on a new path that will probably take us the next two years is really a testament to his abilities."

Eastin says he's had the first two years of White Collar planned and knew just what the crew would find "at the end of that rainbow" since he first sold the project to USA. "I'm really surprised because the network really went along with me," Eastin says. "There were moments where, especially when I first told them what our ultimate treasure was, where they looked at me and said, 'Well, we hope you're right.'"

With the network behind them, now the cast and crew just have to wait to see how the fans react.

"The last 15 seconds basically set us up for the entire third season so I am very interested with how people are going to respond because it's bold," Bomer says.

White Collar airs Tuesday at 10/9c on USA.