Dexter 6.1

[selenak]

Since I had decidedly mixed feelings about season 5, I was in doubt whether or not to continue watching, but damm it, I want to see the Deb-finds-out story and they HAVE to do that one now. Right? Right?

*Sighs*

So I watched. The season opener was solid and hasn't made me regret it.



One of Dexter the show's strength has always been the way they use Dexter the character as a satiric comment on the human condition and customs, and between the high school reunion plot and auditioning Harrison for pre-school (what happened to the word Kindergarten? I thought American English had adopted this from us?), they did it enjoyably well here. Was also amused that Dexter's inner Harry now gives football tips. And they managed to strike the right balance in Dexter's scenes with the nun as well as with Angel and Deb re: faith; the nun herself was not ridiculed or presented as stupid, so all the undeliberate digs in the other scenes didn't feel cheap. It even came across as a lighthearted parallel to the introduction of this season's villain, since Eddie Olmos seems to play a religious maniac serial killer. Plus he's also Dark Harry, apprenticing a protegé/son/whatever into his serial killer ways. Despite my Adama issues, I can't deny I'm looking forward to an Olmos versus Hall acting match this season, because their styles are so very different and they should really challenge each other.

Now I had complained last season (and the one before) that Maria La Guerta keeps getting nothing to do that's not about her love life (or nearly so) which is the waste of a great and layered character. But I doubt that's the reason why the writers divorced her from Angel off screen; it's more likely they realised they'd written themselves into a dead end with making the LaGuerta/Angel relationship romantic and a marriage. Now letting Maria blackmail Matthews into giving her that promotion would be a move in the right direction - it's underhanded but it's also deserved considering all that Matthews did to her through the seasons - if I didn't suspect that the ultimate pay off of this will be Matthews will find some way to reverse that, which means Maria will get to being a Lt. which meanas Angel will lose his promotion which means angst for Angel, so it won't be about LaGuerta at all. That the show lets Angel celebrate his promotion with his sister before it actually is official made me immediately suspicious. Speaking of the sister, why am I checking her for a red shirt?

Note to the casting director: hiring only super thin and model like actresses for the female members of Dexter's high school reunion was both unlikely and dumb. Have you ever been to a high school reunion? (The male class members were played by realistic balding and paunchy guys.) Give actresses who look realistic and healthy a chance instead of letting Maria be the only woman in Miami with a voluptous figure!

So Quinn intends to propose. Still can't stand him, but it seems we're stuck with him, and I don't wish another dead man on Deb's romantic track record. I cling to the fact that the "story so far" recapitulation at the very beginning of the show starts with Dexter's feelings for his sister as a sign she will find out this season and thus will get a plot not related to her love life.

(Damn, I want Melissa Rosenberg back on the writing staff. Season 5 really felt the lack of her.)

Where are Cody and Aster? Still with the grandparents after Aster's reconciliation with Dexter last season?

Comments

[butterfly]

One of Dexter the show's strength has always been the way they use Dexter the character as a satiric comment on the human condition and customs, and between the high school reunion plot and auditioning Harrison for pre-school (what happened to the word Kindergarten? I thought American English had adopted this from us?), they did it enjoyably well here.

Oh, we definitely still use Kindergarten. Pre-school is pre-Kindergarten. Sometimes, it's also called "pre-K".