Dexter 2.04

[selenak]

Oh, show. This is the first time I am unhappy with you. Three guesses as to why.

I had a bad feeling when we saw LaGuerta in her bed, because about five seconds before it did, I guessed where this was leading to, and I thought "oh no, you don't go there!", but they did. And now my disgruntlement was twofold: a) because the "using sex to oust the competition" is just the kind of cliché I was praising the show for not using before, and b) the implication that having a fiance who cheats is really enough to reduce a competent woman to a nervous wreck, and LaGuerta would have believed and counted on that. Which is an equally sexist cliché. Grrr. Argh. And let's not even talk how this makes Esme Pascal look, because when she was brought in at the end of s1, we were told she had a good track record, which means she must have been a professional, so how come she's utterly unable to deal with keeping her private and professional life seperate? Grrrrrrr. Argggghhhhhhh.

On to better things. The Doakes subplot was good, and I'm happy that we get continuity with last season and his background. Also that Doakes did not let Curtis What's-his-name escape; the show is (usually) quite good on its ethics, and every one of the characters - like Angel last season - has to confront what it means for him or her to be a cop.

Another question the season obviously will be asking is the one debated between Dexter and Lundy last episode: is killing ever justified? Now Miami sees the Bay Harbor Butcher as a vigilante hero, and Dexter's sponsor gives him the easy kind of "feel good about yourself" talk; meanwhile, Angel is bonding with the widow of one of Dexter's victims. I'm speculating that we'll find out that yes, Oscar did kill people, but, like Dexter, he was not uniformely evil, and thus Dexter's victims will gain a human face. Note that his widow, as opposed to the angry son last week, is still grieving; there won't be that easy "the BHB did us a favour" out.

Deb bonding with Lundy is again parallized with Dexter and Harry in the past; quite where this is leading, I don't know, but I'm intrigued. Meanwhile, the fact her date is called Gabriel of course makes for odd associations right now, of the crossover kind. And handcuffing him during sex? Only Deb, and yet it's entirely sensible.

Lilah is definitely going to take the fall for the Bay Harbor Butcher victims, with those statues. Also, she's up to no good; that kiss is seriously what you shouldn't do as a sponsor, never mind that Dexter isn't responding right now.

Comments

[selenak.livejournal.com]

LaGuerta has been shown to have other sides than the one Deb describes in the pilot as early as the second episode (when we see her interact with Doakes on a one to one basis), so I wouldn't say she has been written as inconsistent; three dimensional and depending on pov.

Pascal, though - who was introduced as a cool and competent officer in last season's finale - really has been written in an unbelievable way, especially since, as I said to M. above, we've had examples of male officers managing to keep similar private problems from affecting their job performance last season (Doakes and his affair with another cop's wife, Angel and the end of his marriage). I'm tearing my hair out here.

[abigail-n.livejournal.com]

I think LaGuerta's behavior was shown to be unprofessional. Her pursuit of Dexter (toned down towards the end of the season) bordered on sexual harassment, and she was dismissive of Deb for no discernible reason (and in ways that could also be construed as sexual harassment, such as suggesting that Deb was a whore because she worked undercover in vice). She was also shown to be incompetent at her job, and several characters, Dexter and Masuka included, remarked on it. That went away about halfway into the season, when she suddenly became a capable cop. I agree that the writers thought they were creating a three-dimensional character, but their execution was deeply flawed.