Dexter
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in that photo.
Maximus One
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She looks good in that pic but not great. Way to much make-up
Prison Mike
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I'm only half way through the first book. So far so good, though.
Maximus One
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Man I was bored as hell this morning and watched the whole first disc from season 1 and WOW! I so forgot about Rita dressing up as Lara Croft for Dexter. Anyone that doesnt think thats hot is just plain crazy
Danalys
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i don't think she did help him grow. but it was his caring about her and the kids that let us know he was growing. him finding out about his "birth", killing his brother, remembering harry's revulsion at what he did, were the things that led to his growth. heck i think lila helped more.
Kent
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It would also make it possible to have some heart breaking scenes between Dexter and angel-on-the-shoulder-Rita.
Keyser Soze
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Okay, I finally got around to seeing the Dexter finale (avoiding spoilers was murder - no pun intended) and all I can say is..... WOW.
Okay, that's obviously not all I can say, as this is in fact likely to be a very lengthy post, and one filled with SPOILERS - so those who haven't seen this season yet should probably look away now.
Ever since about halfway through this season, I had a theory bubbling away in my mind: the parallels to Hamlet in Dexter Season 4. It sound pretentious, but think about it. Hamlet is about a man who, from early in the story, vows to kill King Claudius. But all of Shakespeare's tragic heroes have their great flaw, and Hamlet's great flaw is his failure to act - time after time he passes up opportunities to kill Claudius (at one point Hamlet finds him all alone, kneeling in prayer in Church, but decides to hold off on killing him until the moment is right), and by the time he finally does get round to killing Claudius, his procrastination has resulted in the deaths of, among others, Ophelia, Laertes, Hamlet's mother, and ultimately Hamlet himself. A failure to act, a delay of a necessary killing, results in tragedy.
An intriguing analogy, I thought to myself, but an incomplete one. It only works if this season of Dexter ends in tragedy, I thought to myself. And there I was, thinking we'd gotten a strong ending that wrapped everything up nicely and left Dexter in a good place, when the happy ending turned into a nightmare, getting steadily worse until we're greeted with the image of baby Harrison sitting in a puddle of blood, then the final reveal of Rita, dead, in a bathtub full of blood. We have our tragedy, and the parallel is complete.
Let's take a look at Dexter's failure to act, as regards The Trinity Killer. He retreated from killing him in episode 5 after discovering he had a family. He could have killed him at many points through episodes 6 and 7, but chose not to. He saved his life in episode 8. He outright told him "I should have killed you when I had the chance" in episode 9. In episode 10 he rushed to save the boy and let Arthur Mitchell get away. In episode 11 he was so wrapped up in stopping the police from catching him so that he could have him to himself, that he allowed Arthur Mitchell to walk free long enough to find out who Dexter was. Even in episode 12, he could have so easily just snapped Arthur's neck when he was in the back of the van, but no, he needed the grand ritual.
The more I think about Rita's death, the more sad ironies pop up in my mind:
- First - and this has been mentioned before - though we'e not shown it, it's impossible not to visualise in your mind the horrific imagery of that first episode, a terrified Rita stuck in the bathtub with a naked Arthur pressed up against her back, holding a mirror up to her face as he whispers, "It's already over." It makes her death all the more horrific.
- The final time that Dexter "sees" Rita, it is in his vision of her being escorted into a police car, and out of his life. And she looks at him in a way that says he has betrayed her.
- The delicious foreshadowing of Rita's death in that final Dexter/Trinity scene, not just through Arthur's dialogue, but in the fact that he was singing "Rita, Riiiiiiiiiita...." as Dexter killed him. (EDIT: forget about this one, I just discovered it's "Venus, Veeeeeeenus..." he's singing.)
- And this is the real emotional sucker-punch. The realization that Dexter was probably snuggled up in the trunk of Arthur's car, waiting for him to arrive, while Arthur was off killing his wife. If Dexter had kept his promise to Rita, and been back by the afternoon getting ready to leave for the airport to meet her, he'd have been home when Arthur showed up, and been there to kill him. But because he was so fixated on being the one to kill Arthur rather than risk letting the authorities catch him, he wasn't there to save Rita.
Just a powerful, multi-layered tragedy, and though I'm sure it'll be divisive amongst the fanbase, I think it was the best finale they've ever done. While with each previous season, they've done a good job of mostly wrapping everything up and having the story be complete for now, here we are left in agony, desperate to see what happens next, how the characters are going to react, where the story goes from here. Season 5 cannot come soon enough.
The performances this season were stellar. Michael C. Hall continues to be one of the most enthralling protagonists on TV as Dexter Morgan. And though I've found her to be annoying in previous seasons, I think this season Jennifer Carpenter deserves kudos for really upping her game as Debra, with a collection of emotionally-devastating scenes that really showcased her growth as an actress.
But most of all, we must give praise to John Lithgow's spectacular turn as Trinity. I thought the bar for Dexter Big Bads had been raised pretty high with Jimmy Smits' career-best turn as Miguel Prado in Season 3, but Lithgow blew even that out of the water with a rich, nuanced, believable, tragic, yet utterly despicable and monstrous portrayal of a serial killer. There were so many layers, so many dimensions to this character. First, we are creeped out by his disturbing turn as what we think is simply a prolific, longtime, lone-wolf serial killer. Then when we discover he has a family that adds a whole new dimension, with Lithgow fooling us into almost sympathising with him. Then that is all turned on its' head, first in episode 9 as we see how he torments and tortures his family, then in episode 10 when we discover he is a child killer - and by this point we truly hate him, more than ever before. The only thing that seemed lacking was that, by episode 12, he was just another victim of Dexter's, that he had died just like any other one of Dexter's victims. But even there we had another shocking new dimension waiting for us, as we discover that even in death, Trinity had the last laugh. Dexter thought he was in control, but instead he was just fulfilling Trinity's desire for a poetic death, unaware that Trinity had already achieved brutal revenge on him by murdering his wife.
It's going to be really hard finding a better villain for Season 5. With Miguel Prado in Season 3, it was like, "He was a great villain, I can't wait to see how they top that." But after Arthur Mitchell, it's more like, "How the hell CAN they top that? Should they even try?" He wasn't just a great Dexter villain. I would rank John Lithgow's Trinity up there with Laura Palmer's killer in Twin Peaks (won't give it away for those who don't know) and Forest Whitaker's John Kavanaugh in The Shield among the all-time great TV villains.
In my opinion, Season 4 stands out as the best season Dexter has ever had. I have always liked the show, but it was with this season that, for me, it truly took its place alongside Mad Men and maybe House as one of THE best shows currently on TV, and has even begun to fill the void left in my TV life after the demise of The Shield and The Wire.
Okay, that's obviously not all I can say, as this is in fact likely to be a very lengthy post, and one filled with SPOILERS - so those who haven't seen this season yet should probably look away now.
Ever since about halfway through this season, I had a theory bubbling away in my mind: the parallels to Hamlet in Dexter Season 4. It sound pretentious, but think about it. Hamlet is about a man who, from early in the story, vows to kill King Claudius. But all of Shakespeare's tragic heroes have their great flaw, and Hamlet's great flaw is his failure to act - time after time he passes up opportunities to kill Claudius (at one point Hamlet finds him all alone, kneeling in prayer in Church, but decides to hold off on killing him until the moment is right), and by the time he finally does get round to killing Claudius, his procrastination has resulted in the deaths of, among others, Ophelia, Laertes, Hamlet's mother, and ultimately Hamlet himself. A failure to act, a delay of a necessary killing, results in tragedy.
An intriguing analogy, I thought to myself, but an incomplete one. It only works if this season of Dexter ends in tragedy, I thought to myself. And there I was, thinking we'd gotten a strong ending that wrapped everything up nicely and left Dexter in a good place, when the happy ending turned into a nightmare, getting steadily worse until we're greeted with the image of baby Harrison sitting in a puddle of blood, then the final reveal of Rita, dead, in a bathtub full of blood. We have our tragedy, and the parallel is complete.
Let's take a look at Dexter's failure to act, as regards The Trinity Killer. He retreated from killing him in episode 5 after discovering he had a family. He could have killed him at many points through episodes 6 and 7, but chose not to. He saved his life in episode 8. He outright told him "I should have killed you when I had the chance" in episode 9. In episode 10 he rushed to save the boy and let Arthur Mitchell get away. In episode 11 he was so wrapped up in stopping the police from catching him so that he could have him to himself, that he allowed Arthur Mitchell to walk free long enough to find out who Dexter was. Even in episode 12, he could have so easily just snapped Arthur's neck when he was in the back of the van, but no, he needed the grand ritual.
The more I think about Rita's death, the more sad ironies pop up in my mind:
- First - and this has been mentioned before - though we'e not shown it, it's impossible not to visualise in your mind the horrific imagery of that first episode, a terrified Rita stuck in the bathtub with a naked Arthur pressed up against her back, holding a mirror up to her face as he whispers, "It's already over." It makes her death all the more horrific.
- The final time that Dexter "sees" Rita, it is in his vision of her being escorted into a police car, and out of his life. And she looks at him in a way that says he has betrayed her.
- The delicious foreshadowing of Rita's death in that final Dexter/Trinity scene, not just through Arthur's dialogue, but in the fact that he was singing "Rita, Riiiiiiiiiita...." as Dexter killed him. (EDIT: forget about this one, I just discovered it's "Venus, Veeeeeeenus..." he's singing.)
- And this is the real emotional sucker-punch. The realization that Dexter was probably snuggled up in the trunk of Arthur's car, waiting for him to arrive, while Arthur was off killing his wife. If Dexter had kept his promise to Rita, and been back by the afternoon getting ready to leave for the airport to meet her, he'd have been home when Arthur showed up, and been there to kill him. But because he was so fixated on being the one to kill Arthur rather than risk letting the authorities catch him, he wasn't there to save Rita.
Just a powerful, multi-layered tragedy, and though I'm sure it'll be divisive amongst the fanbase, I think it was the best finale they've ever done. While with each previous season, they've done a good job of mostly wrapping everything up and having the story be complete for now, here we are left in agony, desperate to see what happens next, how the characters are going to react, where the story goes from here. Season 5 cannot come soon enough.
The performances this season were stellar. Michael C. Hall continues to be one of the most enthralling protagonists on TV as Dexter Morgan. And though I've found her to be annoying in previous seasons, I think this season Jennifer Carpenter deserves kudos for really upping her game as Debra, with a collection of emotionally-devastating scenes that really showcased her growth as an actress.
But most of all, we must give praise to John Lithgow's spectacular turn as Trinity. I thought the bar for Dexter Big Bads had been raised pretty high with Jimmy Smits' career-best turn as Miguel Prado in Season 3, but Lithgow blew even that out of the water with a rich, nuanced, believable, tragic, yet utterly despicable and monstrous portrayal of a serial killer. There were so many layers, so many dimensions to this character. First, we are creeped out by his disturbing turn as what we think is simply a prolific, longtime, lone-wolf serial killer. Then when we discover he has a family that adds a whole new dimension, with Lithgow fooling us into almost sympathising with him. Then that is all turned on its' head, first in episode 9 as we see how he torments and tortures his family, then in episode 10 when we discover he is a child killer - and by this point we truly hate him, more than ever before. The only thing that seemed lacking was that, by episode 12, he was just another victim of Dexter's, that he had died just like any other one of Dexter's victims. But even there we had another shocking new dimension waiting for us, as we discover that even in death, Trinity had the last laugh. Dexter thought he was in control, but instead he was just fulfilling Trinity's desire for a poetic death, unaware that Trinity had already achieved brutal revenge on him by murdering his wife.
It's going to be really hard finding a better villain for Season 5. With Miguel Prado in Season 3, it was like, "He was a great villain, I can't wait to see how they top that." But after Arthur Mitchell, it's more like, "How the hell CAN they top that? Should they even try?" He wasn't just a great Dexter villain. I would rank John Lithgow's Trinity up there with Laura Palmer's killer in Twin Peaks (won't give it away for those who don't know) and Forest Whitaker's John Kavanaugh in The Shield among the all-time great TV villains.
In my opinion, Season 4 stands out as the best season Dexter has ever had. I have always liked the show, but it was with this season that, for me, it truly took its place alongside Mad Men and maybe House as one of THE best shows currently on TV, and has even begun to fill the void left in my TV life after the demise of The Shield and The Wire.
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RetroNaz
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But she did. Through unintentional means, they would have conversations that would always be two fold. She would talk about something that would have a double meaning to what was really going on in Dexters life.
She opened him up to being able to feel. She showed him what love is.
She was even part of the reason why he wanted to be rid of the dark passenger.
So yeah, she helped him grow. This could all be undone come season 5.
Maximus One
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Awesome review Keyser. But if those are the only shows you watch you really needa check out Lost, BSG, and True Blood. Supernatural is great as well. I needa check out The Wire Ive heard nothing but great things about it
Keyser Soze
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I watch and enjoy both Lost and True Blood, but I wouldn't put either up there on the level of my aformentioned top three. And I said best shows CURRENTLY running, which eliminates the now-finished BSG.
And yes, you MUST check out The Wire.
Maximus One
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Damn man how can u not rank Lost and True Blood up there? Guess u gotta point with the BSG thing though
Keyser Soze
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With Lost, I thought it was up there with the early seasons, but lost its way a little more recently. Season 5 did a lot to sway me back, though.
As for True Blood, we've yet to get Season 2 in the UK, and I hear that's when the show truly comes into its own.
As for True Blood, we've yet to get Season 2 in the UK, and I hear that's when the show truly comes into its own.
Maximus One
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Yea True Bloods second season although odd in some parts is outstanding! Right up there with this season of Dexter I was losing my mind every week just waiting for the next ep
RogueDK
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I have yet to watch an episode of True Blood despite everyone around me saying how good it is.
I guess I'm just OD'ed on the vampire angle. But a television show about a serial killer who's the star? That's pretty fresh.
Maximus One
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True Blood is different though. Believe me I cant stand Twilight or all the emo-vamp crap out nowadays. True Blood is totally different and is a brilliant show. Plus the whole concept of vampires being known to the public is something fresh as opposed to them sparkling in sunlight.
Keyser Soze
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Yeah, True Blood is basically Twilight with balls. And ****.
Maximus One
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I wouldnt say that. Thats a gross over-simplification. Twilighit is emo romanticism crap. The underlying themes in True Blood are what makes it stand out. It pretty much has the same parallels with the civil rights movement that X-Men had when it first came out with all the prejudice against vampires and with this past season being all about the sensationalism of religion. Makes it all the more brilliant in my eyes than that emo trash. Lol I really have a grudge against Twilight. Many of people have seen me go on 10-15 minute rants about True Blood vs Twilight. Lol
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