Dexter 1.12 Born Free

[selenak]

So, um. How long until they do season 2. Half a year? A year?




Niggling nitpick: once Angel had made the Rudy Cooper = Brian Moser ID, why didn't Doakes the ever distrustful check a bit more on Brian's background, which might have led him to realising the connection to Dexter? But then again, everyone was in a hurry and the priority was to find Deb, so I can wave that aside. Plus, of course, second season.

This show really does symmetry so well. With Rudy/Brian the dark haired blood (in more than one sense) sibling competing with Deb the dark haired adopted sibling, nature versus nurture, and Dexter choosing Deb. The moment that encapsulates Brian's mistake: telling Dexter " be true to who you are now". Because adopted or not, nurtured or not, and Harry-derived code or not, Dexter is what the years have made of him, not the child in the container anymore, and also not Brian's exact doppelganger. "Killer or hero, you can't be both," Brian says, and of course later the rescued Deb comes out of her shock to defend Dexter, and yells at Doakes "my brother is a fucking hero". Both siblings are true siblings, and both see just one side.

I rewatched the pilot during the weekend, and it's fascinating that most of the certainties Dexter had there were shattered in the course of twelve episodes. His conviction that he always recognizes other killers (he doesn't, as evidenced by Rudy/Brian most pointedly), that he's not really feeling anything and just faking it all - he does love Deb, mourns Brian and his attachment to Rita, once a convenient cover, has become strong enough to lead him into the impulsive reaction to Paul which he then had to cover with an improvisation that could/does blow up (part of) his cover, at least to Rita, that killing other killers is "taking out the trash". Brian is arguably the killer whose handiwork we've seen most of (save Dexter, of course), and there's no question that he is as guilty as anyone else Dexter killed on this show, yet killing him is nearly wrecking Dexter emotionally. Other certainties shattered in betweeen: Harry's infallibility, first and foremost.

Speaking of Harry, among the open questions this season leaves us with are: why didn't he adopt Brian as well? When did he realize Dexter had blocked out the knowledge of a brother entirely? And: did he keep an eye on Brian the budging sociopath from afar and was that what made him come up with the idea that therapy would be of no use to Dexter, that he would have to find another solution, in short, come up with the code?

Also: Deb gets called "Harry's daughter" by Dexter in the voice over, Brian calls her that as well, I think, and in the previouslies we get the clip of camille saying finding the murder scene with Dexter in it changed Harry irrevocably. Will the change the whole Rudy experience left Deb with be of a similar nature?

Dexter's method of capturing Brian, the fake-out with the prosthetics at the end, wrapped up what I wondered about, i.e. what Brian/Rudy taking that model of Deb's legs was for a few episodes earlier. It also was an ingenious bluff, and I admit I fell for it until Brian went into the bedroom, though I should have, because the open tenderness Dexter showed earlier towards "Deb" was simply one he can't show her when she's actually present.

Sidenote, and talk about symmetry and twisted family structures: earlier, Deb was frustrated and jealous when Rudy spent time with Dex not because she suspected romantic competition but because she thought Dexter opened up to him instead of her; meanwhile, Brian explicitly seduced her, made her love him and set her up as the last victim because she was the embodied Morgan clan and the competition for Dexter from his pov.

And going back to shattered expectations: La Guerta and Doakes and Angel - from those brief sketches in the pilot, I never expected them to become these layered, sympathetic and immensely interesting characters. I just love the supporting cast, and they all shone in the finale, Angel finding a method to discover Rudy's true ID, La Guerta keeping focused on Deb's rescue (loved the scene between her and the new Lieutenant, and that it wasn't a catfight but the Lt. refusing to play Matthew's games), and Doakes being undeterred from his (entirely correct) Dexter suspicion. With him now randomly following Dexter, serial killing should be that much harder.

Paul having arrived at the (also correct) conclusion that Dexter must have framed him was what I expected, but I don't expect the discovery of this to turn Rita against Dexter; given the threat Paul posed, she wouldn't see this as a negative. Otoh, it might, combined with the sponsor's "this was done by a pro", with Dexter having opened up enough to her to make that "I don't hurt innocents" statement some episodes ago and him now admitting he's not alright, and hasn't been for a while, lead her to suspect there's far more going on with Dexter than putting Paul the abuser back in prison.

So, when does the new season start again?

Comments

[ffutures.livejournal.com]

Can't be too soon for me - that was a wonderful final episode.

[selenak.livejournal.com]

It so was. *savours*

[buffyannotater.livejournal.com]

Michael C. Hall was absolutely brilliant, particularly in the scene where Brian tempted him to kill Deb, and in the final scene with Brian. I'm going to be very sad if he isn't nominated for an Emmy.

The show is so superior to the book now, it's not even funny. In the book, Brian didn't appear until the end, so besides knowing the killer knew a lot about Dexter, the brother came out of nowhere and gave a pages-long *EVIL* monologue that made him seem more like Vader tempting Luke than here, where you get the sense that Brian really does love Dexter, in his way. The jealousy of the Morgans wasn't present in the book, either. He had no relationship with Deb and in the end, although he did want Dexter to kill her, didn't have any vendetta against her in particular. Also, since the book Dexter is far less evolved than in this version, Dexter isn't really personally upset when Deb is kidnapped. And he's much more tempted with the notion of killing her. In the end, he has vagueish feelings of responsibility towards her, so he doesn't. But it's very different than it was here.

But so much more is, too. By the end of the book, LaGuerta is dead, and Rita is just as broken and damaged as she was at the start. Oh, also, Dexter lets Brian escape. It makes much more sense here, how he tries to come after Deb again. Because after years and years of tracking his brother down and staging the huge Ice Truck Killer extravaganza, it really doesn't make sense that he'd just want to run away. But here, Brian is much more complicated character, as is pretty much everyone.

[selenak.livejournal.com]

Yet another reason not to read the book. Re: Brian's fate - it occurs to me that this is also Dexter putting it to the test, a kind of trial-by-fate. If Brian would be able to walk away, the trap wouldn't have worked. But as you say, Brian is both too fixated on getting his brother back and getting Deb out of the way as the living symbol of what makes Dexter not-his-brother, and so he comes back.

Michael C. Hall is so deserving of awards, yes. *crosses fingers*

[veritykindle.livejournal.com]

*waves at you* I've been really enjoying your Dexter reviews this season, and I've really wanted to talk to somebody about this last episode, so I thought I would chime in here. I hope you don't mind. :)

once Angel had made the Rudy Cooper = Brian Moser ID, why didn't Doakes the ever distrustful check a bit more on Brian's background, which might have led him to realising the connection to Dexter? But then again, everyone was in a hurry and the priority was to find Deb, so I can wave that aside. Plus, of course, second season.

I don't think it would be that easy to find the connection between Brian and Dexter, actually. Harry destroyed the casefile for their mother's murder, apparently to keep knowledge of Brian from Dexter (all the other information was in the newspaper article; why else would Harry want the file destroyed?), and Harry is the one who taught Dexter to look closely at the details. I think he would have made sure that it would be as difficult as possible to trace Dexter back to his biological family, in case Dexter ever went looking.

Dexter looked up his mother's police record when he was looking for the house where he was born, and he didn't mention anything about his mother having two sons. Of course, he was mostly looking for her address, and he was *very* distracted at the time, but I think he would still have noticed that information, if it had been there. Plus, even if we assume that it took Rudy a long time to plan everything, it still seems like it took him a surprising amount of time to actually track Dexter down. And when he did, he implied that the way he did it was by looking up the name of the first officer on the scene, not by looking up Dexter's name. I'm thinking that Harry must have made sure that the name "Moser" wasn't associated with Dexter anywhere.

I'm not saying that it would be *impossible* for Doakes to trace the connection between Dexter and Brian Moser, but I don't think it would be easy, even knowing Brian's real name. And certainly, it would take more effort than they could spend while they were under a time-pressure looking for Deb.

I really loved how Dexter wasn't alone in figuring out who Rudy was, and where he was -- Dexter might have been faster to find Rudy because of their connection, but the other characters proved that they are *cops*, too, and followed some of the same clues Dexter did, and even found some clues that Dexter hadn't thought of. Angel found out Rudy's real name, and Matsuka realized the importance of the latest Ice Truck Killer victim being an amputee, and Doakes and La Guerta both immediately picked up on Rudy being the most likely suspect as soon as Angel mentioned him. So often when other shows have these kinds of episodes, it seems like the main character is the only one who has any idea, and everybody else is just floundering, waiting for him to figure things out. It's nice to see that this show doesn't fall into the trap of trying to make Dexter seem smarter by making the other characters stupid. :)

From the hints given in this episode, I think the next season is probably going to be a lot more about people in Dexter's life finding out about him. Both Doakes and Rita have been given big hints that there is something big going on with Dexter, and Rudy might have been careful not to say anything specific about Dexter to Deb, but he did mention a "fellow traveler" to her, and that's something she might have picked up on. It should be interesting to see how things will play out...

[selenak.livejournal.com]

Not at all. *waves back*


I'm thinking that Harry must have made sure that the name "Moser" wasn't associated with Dexter anywhere.

Point. In fact, now I wonder whether that wasn't how bio-dad got his new identity and comfortable retirement - via Harry, once he was released from prison, as a bribe to keep mun, because obviously he'd know.

I really loved how Dexter wasn't alone in figuring out who Rudy was, and where he was -- Dexter might have been faster to find Rudy because of their connection, but the other characters proved that they are *cops*, too, and followed some of the same clues Dexter did, and even found some clues that Dexter hadn't thought of.

Oh yes, I loved that too - they are so believable as an ensemble and as cops because throughout the show, we see them being good at their job, most of all in the finale.

(While not in the finale, Deb otherwise gets to be shown good at being a cop, too - for example, she was dead-on in the Cuban case (and Doakes with his husband theory was not), and only didn't get to make the arrest because the killer happened to be Dexter who was sabotaging her investigation. )

Rudy might have been careful not to say anything specific about Dexter to Deb, but he did mention a "fellow traveler" to her, and that's something she might have picked up on.

There's also Rudy's unusual interest in Dexter, which once she lets herself think about it could provide a cue. And we don't know yet how much she heard - whether she regained consciousness when opening her eyes, or a few moments before that, when Dexter and Brian were still talking about Harry and the code. I mean, I could buy it either way - that Deb really did not wake up until opening her eyes, or that she heard at least part of what was going on but does the Harry thing of covering up for Dexter. (In which case her choice of words - "hero" and "Dad would be so proud of you" - wasn't a coincidence.

[veritykindle.livejournal.com]

now I wonder whether that wasn't how bio-dad got his new identity and comfortable retirement - via Harry, once he was released from prison, as a bribe to keep mun, because obviously he'd know.

Well, Harry did know how to find him awfully fast when Dexter needed him, didn't he... But on the other hand, the fact that he kept the card from Dexter, *and* left the house to him seems to imply to me that Dexter's bio-dad had to have cared for him at least a little. (Well, leaving the house to Dexter could have been part of Rudy's plans, but I don't think Rudy would have known about the card.) I'm not sure he would have *needed* to be bribed to keep silent.

We never did see just who it was that killed Dexter and Brian's mother, did we. Are we supposed to believe that Dexter's bio-dad was the one who killed her, and that this was why he was in prison? But if that's the case, I can't imagine that he would have been allowed to get out of prison so fast...

There's also Rudy's unusual interest in Dexter, which once she lets herself think about it could provide a cue.

Plus, even aside from what Rudy said to her, there is the fact that Rudy changed his modus operandi, and treated her completely differently from the way he treated all his other victims. Deb has got to be curious why. And if another one of Dexter's victims were ever found, I wonder if she would recognize the similarities with the Cuban case you mentioned, *and* with the way Rudy was going to kill her.

I wonder if what happened with Rudy would make Deb more or less likely to be able to deal well with Dexter's true nature...

I mean, I could buy it either way - that Deb really did not wake up until opening her eyes, or that she heard at least part of what was going on but does the Harry thing of covering up for Dexter. (In which case her choice of words - "hero" and "Dad would be so proud of you" - wasn't a coincidence.)

I don't know. I'd believe that she heard something of the conversation before she opened her eyes, if she hadn't said what she said to Doakes about Dexter being a hero. I just don't think Deb could pull off a speech like that, unless she *really* believed it, and I don't think she'd really believe it if she had any idea how close Dexter came to killing her. I mean, *we* know what a big step if was for Dexter to realize that he was "very fond of her", but unless she'd already known more about Dexter than we realized, I don't think *she* would...

[buffyannotater.livejournal.com]

We never did see just who it was that killed Dexter and Brian's mother, did we. Are we supposed to believe that Dexter's bio-dad was the one who killed her, and that this was why he was in prison? But if that's the case, I can't imagine that he would have been allowed to get out of prison so fast...

I thought the implication was that the father killed Dexter's mother (which would make the Rita/Dexter's mother parallel even stronger, with the father paralleling Paul), but that doesn't necessarily mean that his arrest and prison stint was for this crime. It's possible that Harry had a hunch that it was him but could never pin him to her murder for whatever reason.

[selenak.livejournal.com]

Which would tie with his "sometimes, criminals get away, so you could..." speech to teenage Dexter. And yes, I thought the implication was that the father did it, too, especially since Dexter still and completely blocks out the killer in his flashbacks, and because of Dexter casting Paul in this role when he speculates that two children and a father with abuse and drug history out of jail = set up for domestic tragedy.

[selenak.livejournal.com]

But on the other hand, the fact that he kept the card from Dexter, *and* left the house to him seems to imply to me that Dexter's bio-dad had to have cared for him at least a little.

This isn't mutually exclusive with accepting a bribe from Harry to stay away. If he isn't identifical with the killer of Dexter's mother, he still is a past drug user and excon. Upon his release, the question would have been: do I want to uproot my son, who by now has bonded with his new family and somehow seems to have made it out of the horror of what happened to his mother, and doesn't even remember me, or do I want to leave him with the new family and a chance at a happy life? (And, more selfishly, do I want to start anew with a clean slate and a brand new ID, or do I want to live as an ex-con?)

Also, I think the boys must have had different fathers, because whatever the bio-dad felt for Dexter, he seems to never have made an attempt to contact Brian...

[vonnie-k.livejournal.com]

Yeap. I pretty much agree with this take on the severed connection between Dexter and the Moser family. Harry seemed to have done a thorough job, and both Dexter and Rudy/Brian were only able to figure things out because they remembered how their mother died. I think Harry must have done a pretty thorough job destroying the file in question, but I think there are still clues left over for Doakes to discover if he puts his mind to it. First of all, there is Camilla, the file room lady, who I think is the only one who knows who Dexter's bio parents are, now that Dexter's real father and Brian are dead. Also, if Doakes wants, he could probably find more about Laurie (?) Moser and her children, and unlike Brian, "Dexter" is an uncommon name.

Season 2 cannot come soon enough, I tell you.

[veritykindle.livejournal.com]

First of all, there is Camilla, the file room lady, who I think is the only one who knows who Dexter's bio parents are, now that Dexter's real father and Brian are dead. Also, if Doakes wants, he could probably find more about Laurie (?) Moser and her children, and unlike Brian, "Dexter" is an uncommon name.

Plus, Doakes has got to be curious as to why Dexter went to that storage yard, to that particular storage container. Searching for "storage container" and "Moser" might be enough to lead him to the newspaper articles about the death of Dexter and Brian's mother (no, I don't remember her first name, either), and searching for that case file would lead him straight to Camilla, just as it did Dexter... I think it would be ironic if Doakes used the same route to find out the connection between Dexter and Brian that Dexter took.

So yes, like I said, while finding the link between Dexter and the Mosers would be difficult, I don't think it would be impossible. And we know that Doakes can be pretty persistent when he wants to be.

And interestingly enough, I think that out of all the characters we've seen, Doakes is the one who would be most likely to understand what Harry's code is all about, and maybe even approve of it. Of course, Doakes is also the one character who dislikes Dexter enough that I don't think he'd *care* whether or not the people Dexter is killing are killers, as long as he could prove that he was right about Dexter not being just a normal lab tech. So yeah, this should be interesting!

(Wow. That's a beautiful icon, by the way! *stares*)

[selenak.livejournal.com]

Laura - and I tell you, the name "Laura Moser" immediately gave me Twin Peaks flashbacks to Laura Palmer (wrapped in plastic). Probably a coincidence, though.

[buffyannotater.livejournal.com]

why didn't he adopt Brian as well?

The implication in the book, at least, was exactly what Brian said: Harry realized that at his age, he was too damaged, but Dexter was still young enough to be saved. I think in this case, it probably is safe to follow the novel.

[selenak.livejournal.com]

Though I think from finding a seven or eight years old (or how old was Brian supposed to be?) and concluding he's doomed it's a pretty big leap. I mean, of course it stands to reason such a child would need therapy etc., but it does not by necessity follow a career as a serial killer is on the horizon. Otoh, the very first Harry flashback we get on this show gives us the "you came to us too late" scene (when Harry realizes Dexter killed an animal), so he is prone to such quick conclusions....

[buffyannotater.livejournal.com]

I can't remember exactly, because (thankfully!) the show has supplanted a great deal of my memory of the book, but in the novel, if I recall correctly, there was evidence from the start of Brian's tendencies, after psych evaluations of both children.

[violaswamp.livejournal.com]

Isn't this show brilliant? I'm loving every minute of it and I can't wait for S2. It's so rare to find a first season this well put-together. I have no complaints about it, which for me is...odd.

I also love what they've done with the minor characters, particularly LaGuerta. She could so easily have been a sexist cliche of the Bitch, but she will defend Deb as one of her own, and she and the new lieutenant do not get into some silly feud that would politically benefit the captain but instead work together like adults.

[selenak.livejournal.com]

She could so easily have been a sexist cliche of the Bitch, but she will defend Deb as one of her own, and she and the new lieutenant do not get into some silly feud that would politically benefit the captain but instead work together like adults.

Yes, and it seems this is entirely the tv series, since everyone who read the book tells me that La Guerta is completely one dimensional there. Hats off to the scriptwriting team who made her such a great three dimensional character (and did so wonderful work with the ensemble in general)! (The actress is excellent, too, of course.)

[buffyannotater.livejournal.com]

What is interesting is that the new lieutenant, when she walked in, WAS LaGuerta from the book! And when they introduced the twist that that was an act and she isn't really like that either, it seemed to me like a raspberry directed squarely at Jeff Lindsey's conception of LaGuerta.

In the book, not only does LaGuerta die, but you are encouraged to root for it. Of course, that isn't difficult to do, as she has no redeeming or human features whatsoever.