Dexter 3.06

[selenak]

Aaaaand the code-less killing spreads further. The truly disturbing thing about this week's victim isn't that Dexter gets a man out of prison to kill him - he never kidded himself about the fact his murders remove threats from society being secondary and the joy of killing primary in his doings - but that Miguel does it without any signs of moral struggle at all. (Unless you count his wife's claim as narrated by Rita that he is sleeping badly.) Which says something about Miguel. We get a lot of statements and claims about other people in this episode - Miguel says Chicky Hines' lawyer specializes in clients who are guilty and makes much money out of it, the lawyer tells LaGuerta if she knew what her friend Miguel was up to the last years she wouldn't call him her friend, Quinn (see? I remember the name, at last) says Yuki has a personal vendetta against him and there is no reason for concern at all, Deb thinks Ramon Prado is the Skinner but comes to the conclusion he's not when watching him kidnap and abuse but not kill a Freebo associate. In between, we have the subplot of Camille - in previous seasons the gatekeeper, the keeper of files and of Harry's secrets - dying, which makes me consider two possibilities: either she'll reveal one more secret before she goes (though what could there be left to tell?) or Dexter will kill her, which would be the first time he kills out of compassion and at the request of the victim because she can't bear the pain and the lack of dignity anymore.

Dexter's affectionate behaviour towards Camille is by far the most sympathetic he's been in a while, which is a good thing because between calling Rita "the little woman" when talking to Miguel, his complete lack of interest in the Skinner (the first time Dexter really genuinely doesn't care there is a new serial killer in town) and incredible growing carelessness, the part of me which is rooting for him to get caught is growing and growing. I honestly don't see how they can avoid it this season, which is why the two additional seasons are bewildering me. Still: the Camille scenes were very touching and showed he's still not all about selfishness and self gratification.

Rita taking a new job would make me happy, if the job weren't working for Sila (spelling?) Prado, because I can see where this is leading towards: Rita getting fired again once there is a fallout between the new buddies in crime. Her musings along the lines of maybe finding out something about Sila she doesn't want to know strikes me as a surprisingly heavy-handed (for this show) foreshadowing in this regard, especially contrasted with Dexter's confident statement at the end of the episode that Miguel is his true friend, and that he knows him.

Dexter quotes actual Harry to Miguel regarding knowing people (or not), which strikes me as another bit of foreshadowing, while his inner Head!Harry now has literally taken on Dexter's clothing. Sidenote: James Remar plays Head!Harry with a different body language, too, which I noticed especially when he sat down next to Dexter in an identical pose. Which is a neat touch because this is actually Dexter talking to himself, not Harry.

The struggle to do the right thing continues to be a challenge in Deb's and LaGuerta's storylines; Deb's horror at Wendell's fate drives her investigation, but as opposed to Miguel and Dexter, she needs proof before she condemns, and after catching Ramon in the act, but not the act she expected, she's careful to state that difference back at the police station. LaGuerta gave Chicky Hines' lawyer the evidence Angel & Co. unearthed but refuses to be part of a campaign against Miguel, still seeing him as a only once misguided friend. By contrast, we hear Miguel declare his disappointment in her to Dexter. Which makes me wonder whether later this season we'll get LaGuerta as a potential victim. Dexter knows her but she's not part of the few people he cares about, so it wouldn't be a repetition of the Brian and Deb situation, plus he already was ready to sacrifice Doakes to save himself and only too happy when Lila did it for him. Whether or not Miguel is ready to kill a friend remains to be seen. But that could be the test to find out what restraints, if any, are left in either of them.

Lastly: you know, I'm really rooting for Angel and the detective from Vice now. And loved Angel figured out at once the hooker had to be a test (but gave the impression of not being interested either way), and handed her the bus fare. Verily, the best man in Miami.

Comments

[sizequeen.livejournal.com]

Miguel is *terrifying.* He has none of the psychological problems that drive people like Dexter, Brian, and Lilah, yet he thirsts for the kill. And you also get the sense that he is self-righteous, careless, and unprincipled, which makes him incredibly dangeorus. I can easily see him going after that defense lawyer with the same self-righteousness that he used when going after Chicky Hines or the white supremecist.

I also agree that Dexter needs to get caught. Without Harry's code, and the newly independent Rita and Deb's lack of neediness, his humnaity seems to be flittering away. I no longer feel that he may have something like love for Rita and the kids. At this point, they are props to hgm him to shield his monstrousness form the world. I don't want Dexter to raise anyone's baby, even his own.

[selenak.livejournal.com]

I can easily see him going after that defense lawyer with the same self-righteousness that he used when going after Chicky Hines or the white supremecist.

Me too. I wondered whether or not it was psychologically viable for Miguel to find it so easy to kill (by proxy, but still), and then I remembered all the supporters of the death penalty. Though he might also be a way for the show to confront the audience with the ease with which they've accepted Dexter's killings because the people in question "deserved it", or expressed the hope Dexter would kill X or Y because of X or Y's misdeeds.

You also have to wonder about the brothers Prado: Ramon is a cop who falls into using kidnapping and torture. Oscar was a teacher who fell into using drugs. And Miguel is a prosecutor who now doesn't bother with due process in order to get his condemnations anymore, but has taken it upon himself to decide who lives and who dies. Could there be something in their background we don't know yet? (As we didn't know about Dexter's mother and Rudy being Brian in s1.)

[sizequeen.livejournal.com]

Didn't Miguel say they were abused as children? A bad father, right? Miguel,though, is some kind of egomaniacal narcissist. His view of the world is the only correct one. I wonder what side of Miguel his wife sees.