Dexter 5.01 My Bad
Sep. 28th, 2010 11:11 am![[personal profile]](https://www.dreamwidth.org/img/silk/identity/user.png){kind=small}
selenakFirst of all, thank you, everyone who sent birthday greetings yesterday. It was much appreciated. I had a lovely low scale (very welcome, after last year's big party) day, got some books and a superb mushroom dish, and got mercilessly teased about hitting 50 soon (I turned 41), so it was a good day.
On to my fannish life. S5 of Dexter started strongly; in fact, this might be the strongest season opener after 2.1. I thought the second season was a mixed bunch, but the opening episode was superb in how it handled the fallout of the s1 finale; same here.
There are of course parallels; in the s1 finale Dexter had killed his long lost brother to save his sister, after remembering all that buried trauma of his mother's death; in the s4 finale Dexter returns home to a restaging of his mother's loss, finds Rita dead and their son in her blood, all courtesy of the serial killer Dexter courted as a wannabe mentor for far too long. It is his fault, but not in a way he can tell anyone; as a shattering event, on the scale with the other two, and the show does justice to that. I loved all the details, from Deb cleaning the bathroom floor (oh, Deb!) to the meta in-joke (though played completely straight by the show, there is no break of mood) of Dexter wondering how funeral directors cope. (Michael C. Hall's most famous role pre-Dexter was David Fisher, funeral director.) Most of all, I loved the flashbacks and the way the show used them. (Also that thus we saw Julie Benz not simply as Rita's corpse but as Rita, alive; and she was radiant and exuded so much warmth you wanted to hug Rita.) Those three scenes, their first meeting and the aftermath, are in a way a haiku version of the Rita/Dexter relationship. He starts out using her as a convenient cover for a serial killer; there is awkwardness and lame excuses so he can go on with his serial killing; she calls him midst-serial killer business; he finds himself responding to her in both senses and ends up realizing he really does look forward to seeing her again. They even gave us the origin of Dexter's "hey, you" response whenever Rita calls him on the phone, and the tentative affection and reaching out between them at the end of that phonecall in the last flashback has a shy tenderness that marked that relationship at its best. Rita never knew the truth about Dexter's murderous side, and she was anything but the "soulmate" fanfiction often positions for dark or ambigious characters (whereas the show four seasons in a row made the point that soulmate wannabes, whether Rudy, Lila, Miguel or Arthur, are poison), but she did see something in Dexter that was as real as the killer; as he says at the end, she saw him as human, and that was what she brought out in him.
The Eliot the neighbour story last season first annoyed me as I wondered whether it was supposed to be the equivalent of Dexter's affair with Lila but then the show went into another direction entirely, which was a relief, and now it seems there was actually a point, because of course Eliot's tale makes Dexter look even more suspicious. Meanwhile, I'm wondering whether Eliot will end up as the suspect himself because I'm not sure (would have to look my old reviews up, and I don't have the time right now) whether as far as the police was concerned the guy Dexter framed or Arthur Mitchell was Trinity at the end of s4. (Either way, Arthur is dead.)
Since I really hoped the show wouldn't go the Deb/Quinn way last season, I was surprised how I didn't mind the scene when it came in this episode. Mainly because having spontanous sex when being absolutely miserable and trying not to freak out really is a Deb thing to do, and Quinn had just been less annoying than usual and actually supportive when helping with the cleaning up of Rita's blood. Also, Quinn continued his streak of not making me want to erase him from on screen existence by actually making sense with his Dexter suspicions (based on what he knows). (He's still no Doakes.) We'll see whether the season will keep this up or make me loathe the guy again.
Last season when Paul's parents were suddenly mentioned just in time to take Aster and Cody to Disneyworld and to exist as alternate care takers I inevitably suspected the show of trying to get rid of them, which would be a shame, because Dexter's attachment to them is as important as his attachment to Rita in what makes him human. They might still go that route, but since the episode makes the point of making Dexter see the error of his "they're better without me" ways, I have hope it won't be that simple. Aster is looking a bit like a young Deb these days, doesn't she? (Despite not being related at all.)
And then the show presents us with a new one. Dexter so far has already killed an "innocent" by accident, he's been indirectly responsible for the death of non-killers as well, but he never killed someone about whom he knew nothing whatsoever just because he needed to kill. As a fallout of Rita's death, it's a masterstroke. Because on the one hand, yes, it's human, especially since Dexter has always killed to satisfy the need to; choosing other killers was something that came from Harry originally, even though he later internalized it and made it his own. It makes sense that after spending most of the episode frozen in shock, murderous rage is the first emotion he finds himself able to express, and in this specific way. On the other hand, note that Dexter's inner Harry, who is basically Dexter's superego, doesn't even comment on his choice of victim but approves. Does this mean Dexter's inner censor is gone for good? (This is mostly a rethorical question because the premise of the show is "serial killer who kills other serial killers" not "serial killer who kills a lot of people".) We'll see.
Also: given the set up with both the FBI and Quinn suspecting Dexter, I wonder whether we'll get another killer/antagonist this year or whether as in s2 the hunt for Dexter will be the main storyline. I always thought "Deb finds out the truth" would be a storyline for the final season, something they can't do before because nothing can top that in terms of emotional climax, so if this season is final, my suspicion is that Deb will naturally at first help Dexter clear himself of the Rita charge (tricky but not impossible, given that Angel is probably right and Rita's time of death coincides with Dexter being best man for the Angel/La Guerta marriage) but in the process will find out something that in the long term leads her to discover the truth. She already knows about Dexter's mother and Rudy/Brian, which I notice she hasn't mentioned to anyone.
...if, however, this season is written with the expectation of yet another season, then "Deb finds out the truth" is out, but I'm stumped as to what other storyline they could have planned.
One more thing: the downside of being a Beatles fan is that I have Lovely Rita, Meter Maid running in my head and that cheerful song is so not fitting for this episode...
On to my fannish life. S5 of Dexter started strongly; in fact, this might be the strongest season opener after 2.1. I thought the second season was a mixed bunch, but the opening episode was superb in how it handled the fallout of the s1 finale; same here.
There are of course parallels; in the s1 finale Dexter had killed his long lost brother to save his sister, after remembering all that buried trauma of his mother's death; in the s4 finale Dexter returns home to a restaging of his mother's loss, finds Rita dead and their son in her blood, all courtesy of the serial killer Dexter courted as a wannabe mentor for far too long. It is his fault, but not in a way he can tell anyone; as a shattering event, on the scale with the other two, and the show does justice to that. I loved all the details, from Deb cleaning the bathroom floor (oh, Deb!) to the meta in-joke (though played completely straight by the show, there is no break of mood) of Dexter wondering how funeral directors cope. (Michael C. Hall's most famous role pre-Dexter was David Fisher, funeral director.) Most of all, I loved the flashbacks and the way the show used them. (Also that thus we saw Julie Benz not simply as Rita's corpse but as Rita, alive; and she was radiant and exuded so much warmth you wanted to hug Rita.) Those three scenes, their first meeting and the aftermath, are in a way a haiku version of the Rita/Dexter relationship. He starts out using her as a convenient cover for a serial killer; there is awkwardness and lame excuses so he can go on with his serial killing; she calls him midst-serial killer business; he finds himself responding to her in both senses and ends up realizing he really does look forward to seeing her again. They even gave us the origin of Dexter's "hey, you" response whenever Rita calls him on the phone, and the tentative affection and reaching out between them at the end of that phonecall in the last flashback has a shy tenderness that marked that relationship at its best. Rita never knew the truth about Dexter's murderous side, and she was anything but the "soulmate" fanfiction often positions for dark or ambigious characters (whereas the show four seasons in a row made the point that soulmate wannabes, whether Rudy, Lila, Miguel or Arthur, are poison), but she did see something in Dexter that was as real as the killer; as he says at the end, she saw him as human, and that was what she brought out in him.
The Eliot the neighbour story last season first annoyed me as I wondered whether it was supposed to be the equivalent of Dexter's affair with Lila but then the show went into another direction entirely, which was a relief, and now it seems there was actually a point, because of course Eliot's tale makes Dexter look even more suspicious. Meanwhile, I'm wondering whether Eliot will end up as the suspect himself because I'm not sure (would have to look my old reviews up, and I don't have the time right now) whether as far as the police was concerned the guy Dexter framed or Arthur Mitchell was Trinity at the end of s4. (Either way, Arthur is dead.)
Since I really hoped the show wouldn't go the Deb/Quinn way last season, I was surprised how I didn't mind the scene when it came in this episode. Mainly because having spontanous sex when being absolutely miserable and trying not to freak out really is a Deb thing to do, and Quinn had just been less annoying than usual and actually supportive when helping with the cleaning up of Rita's blood. Also, Quinn continued his streak of not making me want to erase him from on screen existence by actually making sense with his Dexter suspicions (based on what he knows). (He's still no Doakes.) We'll see whether the season will keep this up or make me loathe the guy again.
Last season when Paul's parents were suddenly mentioned just in time to take Aster and Cody to Disneyworld and to exist as alternate care takers I inevitably suspected the show of trying to get rid of them, which would be a shame, because Dexter's attachment to them is as important as his attachment to Rita in what makes him human. They might still go that route, but since the episode makes the point of making Dexter see the error of his "they're better without me" ways, I have hope it won't be that simple. Aster is looking a bit like a young Deb these days, doesn't she? (Despite not being related at all.)
And then the show presents us with a new one. Dexter so far has already killed an "innocent" by accident, he's been indirectly responsible for the death of non-killers as well, but he never killed someone about whom he knew nothing whatsoever just because he needed to kill. As a fallout of Rita's death, it's a masterstroke. Because on the one hand, yes, it's human, especially since Dexter has always killed to satisfy the need to; choosing other killers was something that came from Harry originally, even though he later internalized it and made it his own. It makes sense that after spending most of the episode frozen in shock, murderous rage is the first emotion he finds himself able to express, and in this specific way. On the other hand, note that Dexter's inner Harry, who is basically Dexter's superego, doesn't even comment on his choice of victim but approves. Does this mean Dexter's inner censor is gone for good? (This is mostly a rethorical question because the premise of the show is "serial killer who kills other serial killers" not "serial killer who kills a lot of people".) We'll see.
Also: given the set up with both the FBI and Quinn suspecting Dexter, I wonder whether we'll get another killer/antagonist this year or whether as in s2 the hunt for Dexter will be the main storyline. I always thought "Deb finds out the truth" would be a storyline for the final season, something they can't do before because nothing can top that in terms of emotional climax, so if this season is final, my suspicion is that Deb will naturally at first help Dexter clear himself of the Rita charge (tricky but not impossible, given that Angel is probably right and Rita's time of death coincides with Dexter being best man for the Angel/La Guerta marriage) but in the process will find out something that in the long term leads her to discover the truth. She already knows about Dexter's mother and Rudy/Brian, which I notice she hasn't mentioned to anyone.
...if, however, this season is written with the expectation of yet another season, then "Deb finds out the truth" is out, but I'm stumped as to what other storyline they could have planned.
One more thing: the downside of being a Beatles fan is that I have Lovely Rita, Meter Maid running in my head and that cheerful song is so not fitting for this episode...
no subject
Date: 2010-09-28 04:50 pm (UTC)I loved the episode, but I have absolutely no idea where they will take the season. Rita's death is - I don't want them to recover, I don't want the loss to the children to vanish, the way losing their father did, although that could almost be explained.
I want that because the show is so good.
no subject
Date: 2010-09-28 05:03 pm (UTC)The tension of Dexter: yes, or they at least would not allow him to continue what he does, and in the long term, only turning him in would stop him permanently.
I've seen the suggestion that the show might take a leaf out of Kind Hearts and Coronets and make Dexter be caught by the one murder he didn't commit, that of Rita, because it's the one he might be willing to confess in the end, but I'm not sure about the confession part. Yes, he feels guilty, but even Dexter - or especially Dexter - would know what it would mean for Harrison, Cody and Aster if they grew up believing their (step)father killed their mother. Especially with Aster and Cody having daddy issues already.
no subject
Date: 2010-09-28 08:49 pm (UTC)This. If they go the route of trial for murder, I'm thinking this might be it.
Could not, however, be juxtaposed with Deb's Discovery (tm) because no matter how Deb would chose - to protect her brother, the only one family she's left; to give him up and hunt him down, she would never stand by seeing him framed as the murdering husband of Rita and the evil (step-)dad to the children she too feels responsible for. Of course, she too might be deceived and continue to be, but even in the US, a murder trial based on circumstantial evidence seems not too likely given the fact Dexter is a) white, b) well-to-do, and c) A MEMBER OF MIAMI METRO.
no subject
Date: 2010-09-29 03:29 am (UTC)Re: the likelihood of Dexter actually being brought to trial for Rita's death - it occurs to me that Quinn might tamper with the evidence in the belief that Dexter is guilty anyway, they just need something more to prove it. Which would echo Dexter tampering with the evidence in many cases throughout the show, actually.