Dexter Season 5 (1 Viewer)

[Jeremiah]

I think Julia Stiles is doing a good job on the show I don't mind her as an actress. I thought her line was hilarious the other week, "I didn't think it would that hard to kill someone." Dexter's face and then her face realizing how ridiculous that sounded was funny.


This season hasn't hooked me, I still watch it on Sunday but it's not a must see that night type of show right now for me.


The Lieutenant really f'd up that sting operation, she has to be in denial of how bad she ran the sting because I don't think she has every screwed up close to this.


I don't remember Peter Weller having such an odd delivery with his lines from his previous work. I don't know if it bothers me or hypnotizes me.

 

[ScottH]

Originally Posted by Jeremiah

I don't remember Peter Weller having such an odd delivery with his lines from his previous work. I don't know if it bothers me or hypnotizes me.

Same here. He seems to be overacting...but I'm not sure.

 

[Mikah Cerucco]

No comments on Dexter this week, eh? And here I'm thinking this is one of the best episodes of Dexter I've ever seen.


Let's start with LaGuerta trying to throw anyone under the bus she can as long as it isn't her. Poop does roll downhill, and this episode was pretty hardcore about that. I hated to watch it happen, but it range true. We've been seeing a more gentle LaGuerta lately, but this episode put the character focused on other aspects of the character's personality. There is actually some justification for her actions. You don't want to undermine the police force by having the public believe those in charge are screwing up. The public can more easily digest that a random officer or detective made a mistake. That is balanced against fairness. If LaGuerta screwed up, she should pay the price, not someone else.


But even more compelling was Dexter and Lumen. Are you guys really still being turned off by Julia Stiles? I found that gripping edge of the seat drama. The ex-boyfriend comes back to attempt to reclaim her. She tries to treat him well, even though she's 1,000 miles away from the girl who left him. Still, seeing him in the episode humanized her as opposed to us seeing her as just a victim, or potential love interest for Dexter. She's a person who had a life before all this.


Then there's Dexter's room/table, and his inclusion of Lumen in his process. I found myself thinking, "This is more intimate than sex." He confesses to her that he's been doing this a long time, and explains the event he feels shaped him. She also hears Dexter talk about finding his infant son sitting in the blood of his wife, who'd bled out and died at the hands of the Trinity killer. Rita was married to him, but Lumen knows him. The wild card for me as a viewer is I'm not sure from the acting if she's truly accepting all this. I can't quite tell if she's slightly horrified, but pushing through to accomplish her goals, or touched by what Dexter has been through. Maybe both. Stabbing a bound man in the chest isn't quite the same as a quick neck break.


Now we have the PI/cop with photos of Dexter and Luman discarding body parts. Or rather, we the audience know it's body parts. He just sees them discarding something. Still, if you drive out to the ocean and start dumping plastic bags overboard, it's likely not the evening's dinner remains.


If I didn't have other stuff in the queue, I'd watch this one again... It was that good for me.


EDIT: typos

 

[mattCR]

I think this all is going to badly backfire on Leguerta. I think something is going to be very bad. But, the story regarding Lumen is moving in an interesting direction.. there is now film out there of Dexter and Lumen dropping the body off of the boat. What happens to those photos, and will Weller put the pieces together.

 

[David Norman]

Well, to be honest there isn't anything showing them dropping anything off the boat. There are pictures of them loading luggage and a bowling ball bag (just gotta love that touch)

onto a boat in the middle of the night. I guess if RoboSOB waited on the dock for them to return he may have noticed them not unloading the luggage, but there isn't much to indicate

that yet and how would he know without searching the boat if they just left it below deck.




Maria, Maria, Maria -- somebody going to get screwed in this story and things aren't looking good for you.

 

[Jim_F]

I'm liking this season. We've come a long way in 6 episodes.


Deb's showing some darkness of her own. Is it possible she could accept Dex' dark passenger, esp. if she learns Trinity is no more?


Maria's back to showing her true colors. There's no telling who will taking the hit for her screwup.


Half of the Santa Muerta team is going be looking for Deb. Assuming she survives, who gets to be the collateral damage?

That was a really dangerous takedown in the hotel. I wonder if this continued recklessness has anything to do with the conspicuous absence of a certain "ghostly" character.

 

[ScottH]

Originally Posted by David Norman

Well, to be honest there isn't anything showing them dropping anything off the boat. There are pictures of them loading luggage and a bowling ball bag (just gotta love that touch)

onto a boat in the middle of the night. I guess if RoboSOB waited on the dock for them to return he may have noticed them not unloading the luggage, but there isn't much to indicate

that yet and how would he know without searching the boat if they just left it below deck.

He wasn't taking pictures of them out in the water dumping the bags with that 8 foot long zoom lens?


I see two possible outcomes to this:


- Crooked cop/PI ends up on Dexter's table.

- Dexter somehow concocts some story for Quin/PI guy that the reason for all of this is that he found Trinity on his own and killed him. Given the circumstances, they might actually accept that.

 

[Jassen M. West]

He wasn't taking pictures of them out in the water dumping the bags with that 8 foot long zoom lens?

Even with that lens there is no way he had enough light to capture an image from shore to the boat. Also lenses that long are very heavy and he wouldn't be able to hold it steady enough to get a clear shot without a tripod.

 

[David Norman]

He wasn't taking pictures of them out in the water dumping the bags with that 8 foot long zoom lens?

No he appeared to standing on the dock and taking pictures at the marina. The pictures show the luggage and not even the garbage bags that you seen them dumping.

The editing of the scene sort of makes it appear more than it is since we see the dumping and then cut to Weller looking at the pictures, but the photos we see are

all loading the boat. If you just saw that you;d just assume they were taking a short tryst out into the night -- or that the luggage maybe had drugs or something else

dirty, but no way to indicate something more like the truth yet.


I'm assuming Dexter goes several miles out to sea to dump the pieces and I doubt you be able to get pictures even in the daytime from dry land and there isn't

any indication he followed them on a boat to get closer -- surely Dexter's spidey-sense would have gone off if he saw/heard a boat even remotely close.

 

[Charlie Campisi]

Thanks Mikah for jumpstarting the thread. I am really enjoying the season. The only thing missing until now was some jeopardy for Dexter, but RoboCop made a big leap in suspicion this week. Funny part of it is that Quinn is preoccupied with Deb and ready to give up, but RoboCop is basically blackmailing him into keeping him on the case. I also thought the shots were of Dexter and Lumen loading the boat, but the sequence of it made it seem it was of them dumping the suitcases. It doesn't make sense with Dexter's MO of dropping the bags into the Atlantic current that he'd be close enough to shore to be photographed.


I like that they've returned LaGuerta to her past personality as a career cop and political player. I didn't like the marriage, but it adds a great wrinkle with Angel being crossways from her.

 

[Mikah Cerucco]

David Norman, good point about the pics showing them loading the boat, not dropping things off the boat. The pics went by quickly at a time when I thought the episode was over and was beginning to tune out, so I didn't fully see them.


A recent AP article ( http://news.yahoo.com/s/ap/20101116/ap_en_tv/us_people_julia_stiles ) clears up any ambiguity I had about Lumen's reaction to Dexter.

She did say the pair were soul mates because: "She accepts him for who he is, and what he does."

I don't think Deb has a dark passenger, but she might be able to understand Dexter a little more now that she has killed someone she thinks is deserving (just like Dex). On the other hand, she sees it as a problem that she's OK with the killing. I really anticipate what happens between Dexter and Lumen next episode. Is there anyone here not rooting for them? A serial killer and the woman who encourages him.


I look ahead in the story and project that it isn't likely there will be a happily ever after for them. I'm enjoying it as it plays out, but a part of me thinks no matter how close they get, eventually something will happen to Lumen, or maybe her vengeance will eventually burn out and she'll cross back over into the land of sanity. If the later, at that point she'll be unable to follow Dexter down the path he's going (like Padme before her). If either of those occur, it'll be tremendously sad for Dexter.

 

[mattCR]

Holy cow are we moving toward some strange potential endings. But this series builds really organically. This is a tour de force performance by Hall, who has been astounding this year, as his character grows into something he has not been in any of the other seasons. You fully believed that he wanted to defend and protect Astor.


And HOLY CRAP Did the last one minute send everything sideways.. and that was a get on the edge of your couch "OH DAMN!" moment.

 

[Patrick Sun]

While I liked Johnny Lee Miller as Eli Stone, he makes a really good bad guy.

The dialogue this season has been fun in a double entendre kind of way. Paraphrased: "Are you a psycho?" "Not tonight, just a concerned parent."

 

[Mikah Cerucco]

Lumen is the first character on Dexter in awhile that I'm really going to be sad to see leave. As far as I'm concerned, I wish she were there until the show ended. That said, one thing I like about Dexter is they get into what they have to say, they say it, and they move on. Change keeps a show fresh as long as the show continues to meet (or exceed) its own standards (without going wacky).


On some level, I struggle with the concept of "Reformed Sociopath". That's what we're getting with Dexter. We're getting a guy who started out as a sociopath, but is gradually being humanized. That doesn't really happen with sociopaths. It gnaws at me, but I essentially cope with it by telling myself that I'm not sure being a sociopath is part of the "canon" for the show. Has anyone involved with the show said Dexter is a sociopath? I've wondered about this since we saw the genesis of his condition. Sociopaths aren't normal people who go through a horrible experience. Rather, they're people who are fundamentally wired differently.


Part of the sadness with Dexter, Rita, and the kids was although Dexter would never do anyting to harm them, he couldn't love them. But now, apparently, he does. It's rewarding from a romantic point of view ("love conquers all"), but not particularly realistic.


But again... maybe Dexter was never a sociopath. Maybe he's something else, and given the right experiences, there's hope for brighter days not ruled by the Dark Passenger.

 

[MarkMel]

I don't think he's a sociopath. His father saw something in him when he was young and thought that was the only path for Dexter. So he was groomed for his role at an early age and he accepted the fact that is the way he is. His father says as much in the car with Dexter after he beat the guy up. Something to the effect "I had no idea, I underestimated you, I'm proud of you"


Also, his father could be a manifestation of Dexter's determination to stay with his dark passenger as that is what he thinks he needs to be or that's what he knows he is. His father's appearance every time Dexter is demonstrating a 'human' characteristic could be his way of telling himself, "no, I am not normal, I have accepted this fact, get back on the path."


But slowly he is recognizing he does have human feelings and characteristics. I imagine that once he fully realizes this, his father will stop appearing to him.


Whether he will be able to reform himself fully will remain to be seen, he has the blood lust and that may be hard to overcome.



Freud's lesson for the day - lol

 

[mattCR]

Here's the conflict I have always found interesting about Dexter.. Dexter never kills anyone unless he knows they are truly evil (ok, exception of Doaks.. though even that was questionable after he found out he was a war criminal of sorts). But he has a "I have to know they deserve it" mentality.



What makes that interesting is the time period. Imagine this set as a western, in which Dexter was a bounty hunter, or a sheriff in the wild, wild west.. his attitude of "once I know they are guilty, I get rid of them" would be something we'd see as heroic in that character (Deadwood, etc.) because it's how justice of the time was handed out.


The great element of this show is that they pull most of the concepts you would associate with that period, Dexter's thorough personal investigation, his assessment, and they make it a critical part of each story. It's shocking in large part because of the time period more then any other factor. Look back at it; if you were to have in the wild west a guy hunt down and kill rapists and murderers (season 1/2) how would he be evaluated as a character in a show? Hell, even shows like L&O:SVU have cops kill those characters, this last week on "Blue Bloods" the Chief of police killed a psycho and was praised as a killer.


They've worked to make Dexter a character with a very unique code of morality.. oh, he's still a killer.. I'm reminded of Dexter imagining coming out and having people praise him for cleaning the streets, etc. Dexter's moral compass is messed up, he sees nothing wrong with killing these people because he assumes they are evil and deserve it. But the reason why fans can watch is that the targets that he choses are truly despicable people, and it's that element that makes Dexter a character you can both relate to, be appalled by, and somewhat root for at the same time. It's his method and manners that make him creepy, etc. but the outcome? Not so much.

 

[David Norman]

Well didn't kill Doakes, he only imprisoned him. Lila is one he blew the cabin up.


Dexter has killed at least 3 people we know of who weren't officially 'convicted' though most who appeared to be bad people -- there was the artist/photog who

he suspected except it turned out to be an associate, Jimmy Smits brother sort of by accident, and the guy in the bathroom earlier this season.

 

[Charlie Campisi]

I'm not sure if you're going to get an answer to your sociopath dilemma, Mikah. Dexter's never been diagnosed. He's clearly growing and becoming more human, so maybe that's your answer and he never was a sociopath at all. His own reference is to himself as a monster, capable of no emotion, but that's not nearly as prevalent as it was in the early seasons. He never loved Rita or Deb, but protected them because they aided his cover. Gradually, he grew to love them and the kids. I'm going to spoiler the following comment about the book to be careful, but I'm not giving anything away, just making a broad comparison/contrast to book Dexter. The books won't aid in your analysis as the book Dexter



has not gone through this evolution. His stories are far different than the tv Dexter as only the first season with the Ice Truck killer mirrored the books at all, and even in that case there are lots of changes for the tv version.

TV Dexter reverted a little bit to his old self with his awkward "just like my prom" handshake with Lumen. It was odd to see as he had evolved to emotionally feel for Rita (esp his grief upon finding her - though he was cold in the aftermath) and his physical relationships with Rita and Lila. His clear realization of his capability for love of Astor and Cody was a neat moment and played nicely against the threat of Jordan chase and all his money and ruthlessness telling Lumen he knows where she is. This is a real nice threat to Dexter's secret once Jordan figures out they've been making his buddies disappear. Very much enjoying the season and still love what Lumen brings to the table.

 

[Mikah Cerucco]

#5x10 - In The Beginning (original airdate Nov 28, 2010)


The Blu-Ray for this season of Dexter should be minted onto a gold disc to appropriately capture the value of the season. How do you do this in season 5? Shows peak early, then begin the downwards spiral to a slow (and sometimes fast) death. I'm not good at comparisons as it's difficult to maintain the emotional impact memory of many things simultaneously, but this feels like the best season of Dexter yet, and one I'd put up against any of my favorite shows of all time. In terms of sheer enjoyment, I like it as much as Lost, 24, BSG, and even older shows like Wiseguy.


I was surprised Lumen was able to go through with things. I thought her humanity would kick in. I wasn't surprised about the original girl being in cahoots. I also wasn't surprised Jordan will sacrifice his friends to save himself. After all, the biggest risk he has is that there were people who could finger him. Allowing them to be eliminated is actually doing him a favor. The conversation in Dexter's lab between Dexter and Jordan Chase was good worthy adversary stuff. Deb seemingly "forgave" her partner pretty quickly about targeting Dexter. Sure they have to work together and get the job done, and she's already on thin ice, but I expected her to be pouty and do everything with him begrudgingly (because that's how Deb is -- a runaway emotional train).


The only note that didn't completely work for me is at one point, Dexter tells Lumen they can't take the gujn because then Alex would know they've been there, and it's only a fact-finding mission. But then immediately after that, he allows Lumen to take her necklace. Maybe Alex would miss the gun quicker than the necklace, but it still seemed an unnecessary risk to me (they could get the necklace later). Still, that's a relatively minor nit.


The sociopath thing is always in the back of my mind, but not as a problem. It's just about understanding who and what Dexter is. The show is clear about making it that Dexter isn't a true sociopath. In fact, I could argue his sociopathic tendencies aren't much beyond the average soldier's. However, while both may kill for a cause, there's still the aspect of Dexter that is compelled to kill. Whether that's something he was born with, or became a part of him due to his early life trauma, or if that's something Harry cultivated in a child who had a preoccupation with death, we don't yet know for sure.


10 Episodes down, 2 to go.

 

[mattCR]

Every year, Dexter manages to pull together a show that races toward a finish and you just say "How can it get better then this?" This was edge of the seat, cat and mouse material last night. How does Dexter get out of it? What happens next? Who really knows... is Lumen being setup to be framed? Would Dexter let that happen? What happens to the video and material that is being collected on him? We get to the end of the season, an episode ends, and I think to myself: "Damnit! Just give me the next episode!!"