I'm of two minds about tonight's "Dexter." On the one hand, Jennifer Carpenter continues her strong work this season, and the final sequence was one of the more exciting cat-and-mouse moments the show has done. On the other hand, to get to that moment, Dexter has to get an IQ transplant from Peter Petrelli for most of the episode. Hopefully, it all leads to a finale that doesn't end the exact way we all assume that it will.
What did everybody else think?
52 comments:
I can say, Alan, is that I. CAN'T. FRAKKING. WAIT. Over the past few weeks, I've been coming up with theories over what's going on to happen in the finale, from Rita getting killed to Rita and one of the kids getting killed to Rita living and just one of the kids getting killed to Deb seeing Dexter kill right in front of her or disposing a body to Rita getting killed but Dexter being arrested for her murder. If Rita does get killed, Trinity may be the culprit or it could be someone else we haven't seen yet. Whatever theories we come up with, we won't know for sure what's going to happen until we see the finale ourselves.
Unfortunately, Dexter may be reaching the dreaded "That's It For Me!" status. So much of this season has been filler, and so much of each episode is now filled with the cliches of network procedurals (a murder of the week, following by a few plot points to slowly advancing the season-long narrative). If the writers simply plan to trot out a notable character actor each season as the chief villain, and then have Dexter play cat and mouse with that villain for the season until the final confrontation in the final episodes, then they are preserving a tired formula and stagnating the show.
What Dexter, and Miami Metro for that matter, need are consequences for their actions. About the only way the show can have some new life is if Dexter is caught or identified by someone on the force (not unlike what happened with Doakes, but something that has some lasting consequences). Seeing Rita or Deb react in horror would inject some real emotion into the program. Otherwise, we are left with the aforementioned murder of the week and the season long cat and mouse which must be prolonged with too much filler.
Finally, the antics at Miami Metro are becoming too silly. Angle and LaGuerta marry to foil a review board? Sigh. And by the way, these have to be the worst cops in the universe to have Dexter working there undetected for years and years, for Deb to be engaged to the Ice Truck killer, for Quinn's reporter girlfriend to be a murderer, et cetera, et cetera. This show, and this case, need to be shaken up dramatically for this show to remain interesting. They've already neutered Dexter by removing so many of his sociopathic traits from the first season.
The good:
-Lithgow: I had a pit in my stomach just watching him. And that last scene? Man.
-Deb: For all the cliches, Jennifer Carpenter's selling them nicely.
-Consistency with Dexter's inability to actually get a "normal" reaction in regards to Rita's little confession. From his forced "is that how you want me to act?" to his going through the motion's and punching the neighbor, Hall sold this well.
The bad:
-Laguerta and Angel. Really? REALLY?
-Masuka holding the secret in his back pocket was fun. Letting it go so easily? Disappointing.
-Exactly HOW stupid Dexter had to get for this all to work out the way it did. I imagine most truck stops have security cams. He was just...sloppy which gets me to...
The jury is still out:
-...the fact that the sloppiness is consistent with the overarching themes of Dexter being overwhelmed and a degree off all season. It ended up with him getting caught by Trinity, and now he's screwed.
-Christine's suicide. I called it at the beginning of the episode. I don't know what other direction they could have gone in, but I am wondering how they are going to follow up on it.
I am looking forward to the last episode regardless because there is some potential for some good stuff. I just hope it doesn't go terribly awry.
Oh, and also with the bad?
Could Trinity REALLY get in to Miami metro like he did? We know these cops are incompetent, but that was pretty bad.
Then again, the whole show really does require suspension of disbelief.
I can come up with a number of holes in this week's episode and this season has had its ups and downs...but c'mon...
Dexter still nails the big moments, its still one of the most suspenseful shows on television in those big moments, and the performances from Lithgow and Carpenter have been tremendously enjoyable.
Looking forward to the finale...I'm also hoping we get something of a game-changer...I think the season has been setting that up, that something has to give...
Dexter has been losing IQ points all season, but tonight was just plain stupid. As was the quickie wedding.
Next week Deb will see the true Dexter, as he kills Arthur and learn the secret, then the episode will end. Unfortunately Rita will survive, as will the kids. (But they them might see their real Daddy...)
is anyone else completely annoyed that on this one, dexter couldn't just let them HAVE arthur.
it just doesnt make any sense to add more to the juggling of personalities as it is, but to drag this trucker into the situation was just annoyingly stupid.
also, the whole rita swooning and being all "oh my hero" over dexter punching elliot just added to all these reasons to make her an even more annoying and irrelevant character.
lithgow and carpenter continue to be amazing, but its getting to the point where dexter is so sloppy and rash its frustrating to watch
is anyone else completely annoyed that on this one, dexter couldn't just let them HAVE arthur.
I thought this was pretty clear from the plot of the season, but Dexter passed the point of no return with Arthur when he started the relationship with him. Arthur could then expose Dexter's side activities. That's why Dexter has to kill Arthur.
Dexter was probably stupid for not realizing the Trinity killer was luring him to the arcade.
Dexter is just being greedy this season by not turning in Arthur Mitchell. It's like Arthur is Dexter's big white whale. Originally, he was seeking retribution for his sister's shooting, but he knows Arthur didn't do it, right?
What about Harry appearing a mere 2 minutes into the show. As I posted earlier, this is ketting beyond tiresome. As Dexter has internalized Harry's (somewhat) moral code he should have more infrequent apprearances not more frequent ones. I'm coming closer for the That's it!! status for me. How clued out are the detectives to leave evidence lying around
with no one about.
It all feels so safe even with Trinity identifying that Kyle Butler is Dexter Morgan. The daughter is dead and never confessed who her real father is so unless there's more investigation by Deb the case is closed. Dexter can now kill Trinity with ease. All he has to do is play cat and mouse with Trinity just a bit more before he murders him. If Trinity disappears no one from his family will be able to identify Dexter Morgan if Dexter isn't around.
This was a disappointing episode though I've enjoyed the majority of the season.
Maybe they'll go the other way and reveal his secret to someone. I can't see Deb being down with the killer Dexter nor anyone for that matter.
One of my issues with this episode is that the intitial premise of the show was that Dexter channels his urge to kill into killing other serial killers. But considering we've seen Dexter murder the photographer and now Stan, shouldn't his urge to kill be sublimated for at least a little while? What would be so bad about just letting Arthur get caught by the cops instead of being the one to take him down?
@Hutch
Harry isn't going to go away and that isn't a bad thing. When Harry appears it typically isn't supposed to be Harry. If we see him in a flashback like how we often did in Season 1 and early Season 2 then yes. However, when he appears to be talking with Dexter in the present with the soap opera lighting that is actually just a visualization of Dexter's internal thoughts. In those scenes Dexter himself is one way he is thinking and Harry is another. Sometimes we get Dexter monologuing internally and sometimes we get Harry scenes but both are just two different methods to let the viewer know what exactly is going on in this guy's head. If it was just one method or the other it would get old after a while but by breaking it up a bit with these dual-methods it makes so much internal thinking more palatable. "Harry scenes" let Michael C. Hall actually have a chance to act with another individual even while his character is really just thinking to himself. In other words, they are pretty essential to the show.
Why isn't the little boy captured by Mitchell describing his abductor? Am I missing something? Handwave, I guess.
Dexter can't just turn Mitchell in; Mitchell will out him.
I guess my standards are lower than some of you: the LaGuerta-Angel marriage plot point didn't bug me that much. I can put up with a certain amount of nonsense, because I do see that MC Hall can't be on the screen constantly, and it keeps those two regulars involved (without bringing in more extraneous outside characters for their storylines). I'm wondering if they're setting up something with these perjury charges...perhaps some evidence will be excluded because of their shenanigans. Dun-da-da.
Rita has got to be the most neurotic woman ever. She got kissed, she didn't instigate anything. Jeez, get over it...I expect that kind of marital insecurity on Desperate Housewives, not here. I guess the point was that Dexter had to come up with an imitation of a jealous husband for her, but it was a little lame.
Anyways, still enjoying the show, especially the interaction between Hall and Lithgow. Lithgow's conversation with his daughter was amazing.
"Unfortunately, Dexter may be reaching the dreaded "That's It For Me!" status."
What took ya so long? :P But seriously, this season is just sad and I watch mainly out of procrastination for finals and such but also cause I'm a big fan of Michael C Hall but the storyline this season is terrible and kinda a sign that they've gotten all the toothpaste out of this show's tube after season 2.
Only way for the finale to satisfy me remotely would be Rita getting killed as mentioned by Suncore. Ugh.
This makes it official. This is easily worse than season 3. I see that downward trend continuing with season 5 unless they grow some balls.
The only major issue I had with the episode was Dexter not even taking Christine into account on his frame job, and before when she was protecting Arthur I can understand her keeping her mouth shut about the Cops messing it up but why didn't she tell Deb they had the wrong guy?
Christine killing herself felt too much like deus ex machina
The Laguerta and Angel Marriage almost felt like comic relief. I couldn't help but laugh when Dexter looked at Angel and asking him "This is why you called me in?"
All and all it was one of the weaker episodes of Dexter but I still believe it is one of the best shows on tv.
I was really excited about this season up to last week's episode, but this penultimate episode was really, really disappointing.
First, Dexter did get a bout of Petrelli-itus, and I really hate it when shows dumb down their own characters so it's easier for the writers to write how the pieces of the puzzle fall into place without having to consider all the angles. And it's frustrating as a viewer. So, I have to say, very lazy writing here, and I was hoping for a much more exciting psychological showdown that I doubt I'd get between Trinity and Dexter. Instead, it was just a snoozefest watching Dexter make every mistake he could (until this episode, it was still fathomable that he could turn the guy in without exposing himself since trinity didn't know who he was) so Trinity could chase him to an end.
Secondly, another lazy bit was the whole Christine killing herself. The whole explanation of her wasn't deep enough or interesting enough, and no, just saying she's his daughter is not enough for a whole character to hang on. So, the shooting was such a meh point. And, Dexter - considering he was studying Trinity's family life not too long ago for his own usage in his own life, it seems crazy that Dexter couldn't care less about this Christine (especially when she pointed out that a killer dad only made her into a killer too, which should tie in somewhat with the whole Dexter and fatherhood theme). Anyway, this character got exciting for a second, and then she shot herself. Lazy.
But, Carpenter was pretty great in the episode, and the same goes for Lithgow and Hall. Too bad the story isn't stronger. And the thing is, Dexter's penultimate episodes are generally quite good each season - so I'm thinking I'd be just as disappointed with this season's finale as the last one (where the main plot just kind of goes nowhere - remember the whole skinner King dude? And how Dexter escapes the crime scene while leaving behind fingerprints and whanots everywhere and no cops sees him leave? I have a feeling this might be one of those finales after last night's ep). Shame, for I thought this season was better paced and more interesting than last.
I honestly feel like *I* must be dense because I totally enjoyed this episode. Where y'all are saying Dexter was dumb, I am saying he is obsessed.
Of course he is handling this Arthur thing all wrong, that's what obsessed people do. He really really needs to kill Arthur (because he really really needs to kill) and damn the consequences, he's doing what he can to make it happen. I am looking forward to the finale.
Re: the kidnapped kid. I am not sure anyone but Dexter even knows that was related to Trinity. That may be Arthur's undoing if he remains clear of the Trinity crimes but it is not on their Trinity Radar.
Wouldn't Baudry's DNA already be on file if he was the prime suspect in a murder? Maybe that's now how it is in reality and I've been watching too much television.
Woops, that should be "that's not how it is in reality".
Colour me with the Dexter dumb, dumb stick as well.
He is seen juggling a lot of balls - the mirror shot was a great visual aid- so his stumble is understandable in the swhirl of events he was going through.
Great episode. Next week will rock.
It was a disappointing episode. I think most of the comment's have summed up how I feel at this point. Carpenter is doing a good job, Lithgow is effectively creepy and MCH is good in his role.
The writing, inconsistencies, etc.. Hopefully, the season finale will bring some unexpected surprises.
What srpad said. I thoroughly enjoyed this episode.
I don't understand the complaining about Dexter supposedly losing IQ points. Dexter's bad decisions are a result of spreading himself too thin and getting emotionally involved and is obviously a deliberate choice by the writers.
When we first met Dexter, he was at the top of his (serial killing) game. But that was all Dexter had, all he truly cared about. His public face really was just a mask. Now, he's got a wife and kids and he experienced everything that happened in seasons 1, 2, and 3. Do you honestly think those things wouldn't change a person? He cares about his family. Maybe not the way "normal" people do, but he does have genuine feelings about things other than killing. And therein lies the theme of this season.
I'm a little puzzled by people continuing to watch a program they no longer enjoy. I quit programs all the time. Bones made Zach a killer (or not a killer, who knows). I no longer watch Bones. Grey's made everyone awful and annoying. I no longer watch Grey's. I haven't watched Nip/Tuck or Rescue Me for a couple of seasons. I still like the actors and care about the fate of characters to a certain extent, but I'm not going to torture myself by watching something I'm not enjoying. It's just television.
My favorite scene in the entire episode was the one with the split mirrors, where Harry asked Dexter who real Dexter Morgan was. This underlies his general sloppiness and apparent "low IQ" that we've seen all along. However, there needs to be a pay off to all this in the finale. Dexter's missteps have to result in some lasting, negative consequence, like Deb or Rita discovering his identity as a killer. If this season just ends with Trinity being offed and Dexter reflecting on his roles as a husband and family man once more, this entire build up (and season) has been wasted.
I am hoping that next season will be Dexter on the run. It does seem like the writers are putting Quinn into the position of Doakes from season one. The teaser trailer for the season finale was excellent, though I hope it is not better than episode itself.
Can't deny that Dex was pretty dense in this episode, and they want us to attribute it to his inability to juggle the different roles he's playing, rather than calling it a sudden uncharacteristic bout of simple-mindedness. I don't love this, but I'll play along because if he was always perfect, there would be no conflict.
I HATE the laguerta/batista stuff, but I deal with it because the show would have to get even more sketchy with Dex if they tried to do wire-to-wire tension for 45 minutes.
The bigger story I don't care much about is Deb finding out about the Dex-Harry-Icetruck connection. I know it's a big deal, but stacked up against a Dexter-Arthur deathmatch, it's a snoozer.
I trust that there will be a game-changer next week; not just a showdown with our boy as the inevitable winner. It's gotta be either a crazy death or someone close finding out too much.
I may sound like a sicko, but if you want to instill that moral dilemma element back into the show, have Dexter's son get killed as a cost of supporting Dex's dark passenger. Turn the moral tables against Dexter a little - enough to make us a little uncomfortable for supporting him, which is how we felt in season 1.
Forgot something important. That scene with the mirrors exhibiting Dex's different roles... that was about as offensive as if the writers came to my house while I was sleeping, and dropped a steamy one on my face. That scene lost points for this show permanently; that will never be forgotten.
The teaser trailer for the season finale was excellent, though I hope it is not better than episode itself.
Remember, guys, no discussing the actual content of the previews. This was vague enough that I'll leave it.
The thing people underestimate is how tough of a writing task this show is. Three seasons of Dexter, where you're made to believe every week that he could get caught and his world could crumble... constant tension and suspense and danger... it's pretty hard to keep that ball spinning without requiring some suspension of disbelief.
It's not like LOST where lack of realism and common sense is built into the premise of the show and used as a tool rather than a handcuff. Dexter deals in our world, which allows us to critique everyone/everything in the show, with good reason. It's just a tough task to keep high suspense and excitement while making sure everyone in the show is super rational and realistic.
Also, on the mirrors scene, a little cheese is allowed now and then for those who would appreciate it I guess. We should remember that our darling show Mad Men had a scene almost as cheesy. I'm referring to Halloween when the guy in the house asked Don "and who are you?", unknowingly highlighting his identity crisis. That was supercheese as well.
Here are things that really annoy me, some of which have been touched on already:
1. Dexter has killed this season mostly for convenience. His kill of the trucker last night was only to serve his Trinity needs. We've rarely heard him talk about his Dark Passenger, or his NEED to kill anymore.
2. Why can't Dexter let Miami Metro just catch Trinity? Okay, by this point he's come to far with Arthur to let him be caught, but it's driven me crazy all season. If the legal system lets someone slip away, I get why Dexter would choose someone as a perfect victim. But it frustrates me that he first thought he had to kill Trinity because he shot Debra, and now he still hasn't let it go/ Would it kill him to let Debra have the professional success of catching a serial killer? He could have helped her all along.
3. The easiness with which Arthur walked right through the offices.
Ugh.
4. The abducted kid really should have been able to give a description of his abductor. Maybe he did, but there was no mention of it.
I do agree that Jennifer Carpenter was excellent in this episode, especially in the moment when Christine asked for her forgiveness and you saw her anger, sadness, loss, and disbelief all in just a few seconds.
The other inconsistency in this episode is the degree to which Miami Metro disciplines its cops. The authority figure is all over Angel and LaGuerta for their relationship and its potential detrimental effect on subsequent convictions. But Deb is allowed to secure a confession from Trinity's daughter - a confession of her shooting Deb and Deb's lover? Come on! Any defense attorney could have that excluded or mitigated. (Plus, it didn't appear that Deb recorded the confession, and why would that take place in the suspect's apartment as opposed to the station?) Lame.
I agree with most things people are saying, but I still seem to be finding more enjoyment in the series than most of you despite the flaws.
Carpenter has really turned it up this season with dealing with the loss of Lundy. I never liked the character until this season. Good work, and mostly good writing for her character.
Angel and Laguerta getting married was possibly the nadir of the entire show so far. Utterly ridiculous, and their boss is right. Such an empty marriage won't end well. And I couldn't care less.
Lithgow and Hall are still brilliant, and that final scene with Trinity working his way through the station was TENSE AS HELL! It honestly made me grin and it really, really got me excited for the finale! Them facing off, with all cards on the table, should be explosive.
But yes, the show NEEDS to have a game-changer of a finale. Dex needs to be caught out, or perhaps Rita killed off. Something, ANYTHING! I have tolerated a relatively stale formula for two seasons, if it doesn't change now, I doubt I'll come back next year.*
* I probably will anyway. Dexter Morgan, I just can't quit you...
"1. Dexter has killed this season mostly for convenience. His kill of the trucker last night was only to serve his Trinity needs. We've rarely heard him talk about his Dark Passenger, or his NEED to kill anymore."
They didn't tell us this that often, it's true, but this episode had a great momment when they *showed* us this with Dexter rushing through his ritual with the truck driver.
He could have just killed him but he must do the ritual to fulfill his needs.
@Ryan, Yes I'm aware that Harry is a physical manifestation of Dexter's inner thought processes. However, I feel that this device is overused, as are the many voice-overs, and this ultimately points to laziness on the part of the writers. Another example of this is the repetition of certain words or phrases. How many times was the term "serial killer" used in this episode alone? Have to agree with many of you, though, Michael C. Hall, John Lithgow, and Jennifer Carpenter are excellent this season. Now, if they only had some better material to work with...
I quite enjoy the evolution of Dexter and hearing everyone's argument on whether it's feasible or not. And in terms of building suspense of making something we've seen many times (cat and mouse game with Dexter and some other guy), the episode did that.
I only wished that they devoted more time to building the momentum, because this episode could have benefited from another hour to set it up properly - because in the past, when say Lundy or Doakes was closing in on Dexter, there was a legitimate reason - time - for Dexter's urgency to clean up his mess quickly (and leading to mistakes because of the urgency). Here, Dexter was making mistakes right and left before Trinity closed in on him (in fact, it was his sloppy work that gave Trinity
enough information to find him). I guess it doesn't make sense the only reason why Dexter became sloppy was his wish to kill Trinity himself and not let the pollice have him (at this point, Trinity didn't know who Dexter really was, so it didn't matter if the cops did get to him first - he'd have to take a vacation from the bureau so Trinity doesn't accidentally see him, but that's about it. Trinity wasn't closing in on him then, at least not to the degree as Lundy or Doakes or even Miguel was). And so, the idiocy and sloppy behavior seems out of order without a good enough explanation. Which is lazy writing.
Also, if Dexter's fascination with Trinity at first was to observe how he managed to have a family and be a serial killer (or how bad he was at it, as it turned out, so Dexter could learn from his mistakes), then Christine would have been a huge person of interest to Dexter (especially seeing that she has become a killer only because of her serial killer daddy issues) and it would have been great fun to watch Dexter and Christine interact post-daughter reveal. But, no, she's dead and we don't get to see just how she came to be (like, was she even a part of the family? How come she's not close to the siblings, who all hate the dad anyway? Was she a daughter from a previous marriage? etc). Seems like a missed opportunity.
Hutch said...
@Ryan, Yes I'm aware that Harry is a physical manifestation of Dexter's inner thought processes. However, I feel that this device is overused, as are the many voice-overs, and this ultimately points to laziness on the part of the writers. Another example of this is the repetition of certain words or phrases. How many times was the term "serial killer" used in this episode alone?
Have to agree with you there, it also irks me when fandom picks up on particular phrases and then run them into the ground. Browncoats, I'm looking at you.
I don't care at all about the silly things that happen on this show that stretch what would happen in real life. The whole premise of this show stretches that, no? Lithgow and Hall have been masterful this season (Lithgow is one of the all time creepsters IMO). "Hello...Dexter Morgan" OMG!!! SO creeeeeeepy!
And Jennifer Carpenter has really stepped up her acting...her reaction to Christine asking for forgiveness was great acting. And managed to drop f-bombs in her response...love it! LOL
I, for one, can't WAIT for the finale.
i don't have nearly the same problems with the show as many posters here do (I can forgive a lot!) but the look on Dexter's face, a look we've rarely, if ever seen--complete surprise and shock by being scammed first--was totally worth it. Dexter gets shown up! For once!
i'm guessing Deb will see the real Dex...in fact, i hope she does. That's the only way to ramp up the current suspense of Dexter the show.
I called Christine committing suicide too, but Deb and joey...they have the roughest luck with the love stuff.
As many others have already said, they need to give us a game changer of some kind for next season. The writing has been awful for most of the season, and driven by a ridiculous plot rather than by characterization, and it's only the strength of Hall and Lithgow's acting that has kept it from being a total disaster. We've seen
Dexter help turn someone into a serial killer, and we've seen him deal with a serial killer worse than him, and I don't think there is anywhere else they can take the cat and mouse game without anyone (even in the world's worst police department) figuring it out and not immediately being killed. With Christine dead and Arthur knowing Dexter's real identity it does seem like we're headed to more of the same next season.
@Hutch: Dexter spends a lot of this show alone without other characters, in fact those are the parts I most often see people say are the most interesting parts (opposed to the scenes with Rita or the other officers' sidestories). If they didn't use the internal voice-overs and Harry scenes what exactly would you expect them to do? We would just be watching Dexter do his thing without understanding what he is thinking about and what he is thinking about is such an integral part to the show, and surely part of why so many enjoy it. It isn't laziness of the writers at all, it is simply how the show has always been.
As far as over-used terms, I think "Dark Passenger" gets tossed around more than "Serial-Killer" and even that hasn't been used much this season. To be perfectly fair the show is you know, about serial killers. We are also near the end of the season where the department is closing in on a major serial killer, obviously the term is going to be used frequently. Honestly it didn't bug me in the slightest.
IIRC, the only person who tied Trinity to the boy's abduction was Dexter himself. Nobody else has any reason to tie the boy's description of his abductor to Trinity, right? So I don't think that's a plot hole.
the dumbing down of Dexter.... and what about the failure of Arthur to whack Dexter over the head when Dexter was rescuing the kid from the cement? That scene was absurd as was the failure of the cops to get any info/descriptions from the kid, like Arthur calling him "arthur". This episode was annoying in many respects but the acting remains spectacular and I am still addicted to the show. My patience is wearing thin however. Hopefully next week will be much better and they will get rid of Rita, whose voice drives me up a wall, but I bet not! Whatever happens, I can't wait!!!
First, here's one reason Dexter couldn't just give Arthur to the police: not even via an anonymous phone call. At a trial, Dexter would be called as an expert witness because he was the blood expert on all of the Trinity cases (remember his bathtub discovery)? So Trinity would have immediately known that Kyle was actually Dexter Morgan, etc.
I have a problem with Dexter's killing of the trucker. Dexter is supposed to be getting rid of major serial killers. This guy is accused of one murder, and they didn't even get the case to court. For all Dexter knows, the man might actually be innocent - he didn't bother to investigate much himself, he just framed the guy for crimes he didn't commit, then murdered him. For a man who is supposedly feeling remorse for accidentally killing an innocent man, Dexter sure didn't take much time deciding Stan's fate.
For those waiting for a "game changer" in the final episode: Don't hold your breath. The problem with the show is that the writers are phoning it in. They've found a comfortable rut/formula and they are simply repeating what works. The person to blame is whoever is responsible for letting them get away with phoning it in, instead of demanding original plot twists. You can pretty much bet that the finale will go down just as expected: Dexter will kill Trinity (probably on his usual table), and all will more or less end well (minus a few dangling plot threads to keep us interested in the next season).
Actually, the scene of Trinity confronting Dexter at the police station wasn't as dramatic as I had expected (from last week's previews).
I thought that Trinity was going to find out that Dexter was a fellow serial killer who knew that Arthur was Trinity. Instead, Dexter's clever cover story (demanding blackmail), paired with Arthur becoming aware of the police's belief that the trucker is the Trinity Killer, means that Arthur will still see Dexter as just a nuisance, someone trying to wring a little blackmail money out of a pedophile, who just happens to work at a police station.
Dexter's real secret remains unknown to Trinity, as does Dexter's awareness of Arthur's role as Trinity. Arthur will now assume that the only crime Dexter knows about is his kidnapping of the boy. Actually, the safest, simplest route for Arthur would be to simply blackmail "Kyle" in return: if Dexter tells the police about the kid, Arthur will let them know that HE knew about the abduction and didn't report, it in favor of trying to make money from the crime. That would back down most potential blackmailers. And as far as Trinity knows, his other crimes would remain a secret to "Kyle".
My vote on "Harry's Ghost": get rid of him. A voiceover of Dexter's thoughts is enough.
Will Debra find out about Dexter being a serial killer? No. She couldn't handle it, and Dexter couldn't handle being without Deb.
Speaking of which, if the writers really wanted to shake things up (and this is NOT something I want to see), they'd have Trinity kill Deb. And then escape. Dexter would be lost without her. His dark hobby would have cost him the most important person in his life. And Trinity could take his time deciding when and how to come after Dexter in the next season.
I like John Lithgow as a loon, but I'm disappointed that his character isn't more "out there". Don't get me wrong, he's as crazy as can be, but he's also rather pathetic and weepy. I'd like to see a serial killer villain on this show who is just a rip-roaring maniac, destroying everything in sight just for the sheer bloody joy in it. (Think Hannibal Lector on speed.) A wildman to counterbalance Dexter's own cool facade. (Remember that scene from the first season when the Ice Truck killer threw the severed head at Dexter's car?)
For a change of pace I think they'll carry over Trinity to next season allowing Quinn and Deb to get involved due to their commonality.....falling for killers.
wow, I'm really surprised thatthere's somany negative voices about season 4 as such.
I wasn't a huge fan of season 3, and season 4's subplots (mainly the LaGuerta / Batista thing) are rubbish ... but the main plot is just amazing
right now, season 4 even owns season 1 for me, and that's saying a lot
I really hope for a turning point next week (like, true Dex being exposed and/or one of the main cast being killed off (my money is on either Batista or LaGuerta)), but I really don't understand all the complaining.
season 3 was pretty meh ... but this ... this is just ... wow
I don't think Quinn would be effective as Doakes V2.0 because Quinn's simply not as smart or cagey as Doakes was. He's barely Doakes-lite.
Christine didn't correct Deb about the identity of Trinity because even in her despair, she's still protecting her beloved daddy.
The ep was a little disappointing, given the strongness of the previous two, but Arthur confronting Dex made up for the stupid crap.
I have been enjoying this season way more than season 3 and episode 11 was awesome. The decks have been cleared of subplots leaving just the Trinity/Dexter throwdown for the last episode.
Episode 10 showed why Dex was so careless in racing to the arcade in episode 11. Dex thought Arthur was there to snatch another kid and that is a point of weakness for Dexter.
I also thought that Dex was performing for Rita when he hit Elliot but after watching it back, it is clear he was unaware that she was watching. That was an honest reaction from him.
A friend commented to me that Dexter is like a comic book. That makes a lot of sense to me. You have to accept certain gene conventions like people missing clues to the hero's true identity or supporting characters inevitably being involved in the main plot (Christine). Complaining about things being tied up too neat and implausibly sounds like complaining that Lois never recognizes Superman in glasses.
Masuka was never trying to hold on to the knowledge of Rita's kiss - he tried to divulge it the first time he saw Dex after Thanksgiving and every time he saw Dex thereafter.
^I agree about Masuka. He was so relieved that he was unburdened of that secret, especially as Dex already knew and seemed to be okay with it. Shame about those chocolate lava cakes, though.
Yes, it's interesting that Dexter actually seems capable of jealousy.
If you thought he was faking it, watch the scene again.
Typically, he would be thinking "Time to show them the jealous husband routine", or something to that effect. Instead, he is thinking to himself that he should just leave it alone and go inside. He's unaware of Rita watching. He just sees Elliot, gets angry and punches him.
So it appears that we can add another human emotion to Dexter's list... It appears that Dexter (the TV version) isn't so much a psychopath incapable of feeling emotion, as he is a very damaged character who has repressed most normal emotions.
In fact, that repression may be a self-fulfilling prophesy brought about by being told constantly by his father (Harry) that he was fated to be an emotionless monster.
Harry's motives were good - he believed that's what Dexter was doomed to be, and wanted to help him survive in spite of it.
But it's quite possible that Dexter has been simply living out the role that Harry told him was his inevitable fate, on the assumption that he had no other option. His desire to kill is certainly real, but he obviously isn't incapable of human emotion.
O.k. I'm way late to this party, because I only just now watched the episode. I got into Dexter just a couple months ago and it took me this long to finally catch all the way up to season 4 ep 11.
Anyway I totally agree with the majority of what everyone has said here, both positive and negative. But I still enjoyed the ep.
I agree that the LaGuerta/Batista storyline is ridiculous (especially since the writers didn't even bother to tell us how it started, they just threw them together out of nowhere, which makes me care even less!) If that storyline doesn't lead into anything majorly interesting in the finale then I will be VERY annoyed.
I also agree that Dex made some very stupid decisions in this episode ... but I guess I am willing to believe that he's making these mistakes because he is spreading himself way too thin and that he's getting way too desperate to catch Trinity. Another poster made a very good point that Dex can't let the police catch Arthur, because Dexter would most certainly be called in as an expert witness for the blood spatter evidence at trial. So he wouldn't be able to simply hide his face from Arthur if Arthur were arrested. Still, I did find myself swearing at the t.v. while Dexter was making several of his bad decisions in this episode.
Overall I'm just happy to be finding season 4 to be much more compelling/interesting than season 3, which I agree was quite a snoozefest. I am also with everyone here who say that someone close to Dex(I hope Deb) HAS to find out Dex's secret in order to make the next logical step forward in this series. If that or something like it doesn't happen very soon, then the series will truly become very stagnant and boring (like season 3 was, because they played it soooo safe that season, uggh).
I'm also really enjoying Deb/Jennifer Carpenter this season ... she kind of weirded me out for the first two seasons, but I am really impressed with her this season. Props to Jennifer Carpenter.
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