Inside Television with Alan Sepinwall

Season premiere review: 'Dexter' - 'Are You?': The whole truth?

What did everybody think of the Showtime drama's return?

By Alan Sepinwall Sunday, Sep 30, 2012 10:00 PM

Jennifer Carpenter and Michael C. Hall in "Dexter."

Credit: Showtime

I posted my review of the new season of "Dexter" yesterday. Now it's your turn. Given the unhappiness so many "Dexter" fans had with the last season (if not the last two, or even three of the last four), were you satisfied enough with how the show dealt with the Deb/Dexter cliffhanger to put those bad feelings aside? Or are you always going to feel skeptical about the show from here until the end? Is anyone done with the show now, and/or has anyone been roped back in after giving up, like I was? Have at it.

My Sunday plate's too full to put "Dexter" back into the rotation, but I'll definitely be back to discuss the season after the finale, and possibly once or twice in between if something notable happens.

Alan Sepinwall
Sr. Editor, What's Alan Watching

Alan Sepinwall has been reviewing television since the mid-'90s, first for Tony Soprano's hometown paper, The Star-Ledger, and now for HitFix. His new book, "The Revolution Was Televised," about the last 15 years of TV drama, is for sale at Amazon. He can be reached at sepinwall@hitfix.com

Related Searches: Dexter, Michael C. Hall, Jennifer Carpenter, Yvonne Strahovski

Dezbot

I think it looks promising, especially if that promise finally involves getting LaGuerta on Dex's table. Glad Deb figured it out in this one ep and that they didn't drag it out further. I'm also intrigued by Isaac, though I do want to yell, "Thirteen!" whenever I see him :-)
September 30, 2012 at 10:50PM EST Reply to Comment
- sepinwall What I particularly liked is that Deb got to spend the episode piecing together so much of what we know about Dexter. She may have stumbled onto the Colin Hanks kill as a total fluke, but here she got to take charge of things, use her brain and not let Dexter off the hook with the lie he told in the opening scene. A season or two ago, she'd have fallen for the lie and that would have been that.
  September 30, 2012 at 11:16PM EST
- Dezbot Yes, I like that she figured it out using her detective skills, which have improved greatly over the seasons.
  
  The other thing I'm interested in is finding out what Louis is up to (other than messing with Dexter because Dexter rejected his serial killer game). It's got to be more than that, right?
  October 1, 2012 at 12:18AM EST
- LoopyChew I wouldn't be surprised if Lewis turned into a Big Bad further down the line. He's obviously extremely obsessed with serial killers, so it's only fitting he become one at some point.
  
  And Batista's sister will be first on his list.
  October 1, 2012 at 3:11AM EST
- Darkdoug I particularly agree with the point about Deb getting to discover the whole truth on her own. It seemed like Season 5 set her up so she could actually accept the vigilante aspect of Dexter. First the Santa Muerte killings, where the killers were especially monstrous, and she made her first kill, and was okay with it, AND got shafted by both her boss and her protegee, giving her the potential to be disillusioned with the system. Then, as she investigated the Barrel Girls, and began empathizing with the vigilante couple she figured out was avenging the girls, her reaction to discovering Dexter & Lumen without seeing their faces was plausible. They got her in a place where the next step could reasonably be accepting Dexter's justifications, especially, since he could now reveal that she had let him & his accomplice escape.
  
  It seems to me that the departure of Chip Johanssen to work on "Homeland" (the new Showtime flagship series, as far as I am concerned) negated the direction Deb & Dexter were heading in, and the new showrunner was too stupid to appreciate the setup to that point. So we get Deb implausibly promoted to Lt. where she'll be in a better position to punish him, the relationship with a shady cop that gave her some moral gray areas cleared out of the way so she could "realize she's in love with Dexter" and use THAT lame and sappy excuse for not turning him in.
  
  This episode looks like they're going to dispose of the romance plot quietly, while restoring Deb's credibility as a detective, possibly paying homage to the stuff in the past, and even the part where she realizes from Jamie that he's been lying about his work hours all these years is a hint of how her new rank and position can complicate Dexter's life, rather than put her in a spot where she can hand-wave away threats from the law (a la, Danny Trejo on Sons of Anarchy).
  
  Even better, while so far, Dexter's increasing development of his emotions and feelings through his relationships and psychological breakthroughs have only served to soften his harsh edges and make him more sympathetic, this episode looks like they are going to make him actually start having some remorse. Before, any remorse or guilt he felt was not for his actions, but for the blowback or fallout they created, like Trinity killing Rita (what happened to her kids, BTW? Are they ever coming back from Orlando? Or is all the time spent establishing his care for and interest in them going to be flushed? ). The childhood flashbacks, showing how early his proclivities started causing Deb pain seem to suggest the development of a more unselfish variety of guilt in Dexter, and possibly add a motivation to restrain himself at her behest somewhat.
  
  Will Laguerta's discovery of the slide be an excuse to bring in Yvonne Strahovsky as a Frank Lundy-type? I'm looking forward to her on the show, but I don't want her to be just another femme fatale (Lila, Trinity's daughter), rescued victim (Lumen) or clueless love interest (Rita). He hasn't had a worthy good-guy adversary since Lundy was bumped off.
  October 1, 2012 at 8:46AM EST
- LoopyChew This episode looks like they're going to dispose of the romance plot quietly
  
  I don't know about that; it seemed telling to me that he asked her what she was doing there in the first place and she didn't reply.
  October 1, 2012 at 9:39AM EST
- Dezbot I hope they don't entirely dispense with it in one respect, as Deb could use her attraction to Dex to figure out once and for all why she makes such poor choices in men (Lundy excepted). But as far as her and Dex getting together? Away with you, bad idea!
  October 1, 2012 at 2:12PM EST
- Jared K I know that the romance subplot is far from popular, but since the writers opened that door, I sincerely hope that they give the storyline its due diligence and find a way to resolve it in a satisfying matter consistent with the season's narrative arc. Personally, I'm not a fan of when writers take a narrative risk (which that surely was) and then 'cut bait' before letting it pay off, for better or worse. If it doesn't work, it doesn't work, but brushing it under the rug is almost never the answer. To be fair, I don't think that they will. There are 11 episodes left, and Deb frankly had a lot more to deal with in this episode. She'll be coming to terms with last season's revelations in this new context soon enough.
  
  As for the rest of the premiere, I thought it was fantastic. While I was never 'out' on the show, I was definitely watching Season 6 more for series completionist purposes and as a pulpy brain-number rather than as quality TV. Not anymore. I'm in for the duration, and happy to be so.
  October 1, 2012 at 4:43PM EST
Remy

I'm in after seeing the premiere and will likely stay to the end (although I fast forwarded through most of season 6 after it aired). It was nice to be reminded of why this show was originally so captivating--especially the first 2 seasons when you weren't exactly sure what was going to happen next or if Dexter would be caught red-handed (in a credible way, not through a slip up that screamed "glaring plot hole") and exposed to all.

This reminded me of why I *used* to like this show so much. A better course for the show would have been five seasons total: season 1 and 2, season 4, and this one and the next one. Maybe I would be okay including the Lumen season but Jimmy Smits, Edward James Olmos, and Colin Hanks were just terrible. The biggest mistake the show ever made was to kill off Doakes, although for continuity and believability I guess he had to go. Now all they need to do is to reinject some of the black humor we saw early on, especially in the first two seasons.

Dexter used to be one weird guy and then he became so predictable. Here is hoping we'll get the old Dexter back.
September 30, 2012 at 11:13PM EST Reply to Comment
- John I guess I'm in the minority here, but I actually liked the Jimmy Smits season. It was the last two seasons that had me nearly stop watching.
  October 1, 2012 at 1:56AM EST
- Shane Leavitt Reply to comment...
  October 1, 2012 at 3:17AM EST
- Shane Leavitt (Ah sorry that was weird) John, there'd be atleast two of us. I enjoyed the Jimmy Smits season, *plus* i'm in the minority that I don't think Lithgow and season 4 was the best one. It is odd it took this long, but the writers are finally trying to pull this franchise out of the ho-hum and trying to turn it on it's head.
  October 1, 2012 at 3:22AM EST
- Huell Goodman If there were problems with Season 3 it wasn't because of Jimmy Smits. I generally found their relationship pretty interesting. That said I watched that season on DVD, so perhaps it was more satisfying than waiting week to week.
  October 1, 2012 at 6:21AM EST
- Eric The Smits season was OK, it just fades in the memory because in so many ways it paled in comparison to what came before and after. Smits himself was no Lithgow, even though he did a decent job, and the overall "Dexter has a friend who knows who he really is, sort of!" thing had already been done. Add in the loss of Doakes as the antagonist and the overall aimlessness and lack of forward momentum the show was exhibiting, and well, it was just kind of a mediocre season. Not bad, but not great.
  
  As for the Lithgow season, apart from Lithgow himself I didn't think much of it. The plotting was pretty bad and that was yet another season where Dexter's character was evolving away from the interesting robot of S1, or the anti-hero of S2; by S4 he was basically a combination of Batman and Pinocchio, and they've worked that formula ever since, to the show's detriment. Even when Dexter would go off-script and do something truly awful, the show would forget about it within the span of the next episode, it seemed. Lithgow though - he was great. It basically saved that season for me.
  October 1, 2012 at 9:38AM EST
- John Hmmm...Eric, your points about the Smits season are fair enough. The thing is, I distinctly remember thinking that the non-Dexter supporting characters (Deb, Batista, even LaGuerta) in that season were written significantly better than they had been before or since. Maybe that's just me, but that's the main reason I liked it.
  October 1, 2012 at 4:09PM EST
- jill adrian Count me in too on liking the Smits season. I really feel it was all downhill after. Slightly in 4, really downhill in 5, off the cliff in 6.
  October 4, 2012 at 1:38AM EST
wiefjw

Pls someone answer these questions. How does dexter get into the luggage room to kill victor when the guy locked the door? Also dosen’t Jamie have to stay in his apartment until he gets home, or does he allow harrison to sleep all by himself? If so, do we just assume deb came to the apartment and asked jamie to leave??
September 30, 2012 at 11:23PM EST Reply to Comment
- Chris H Yeah, Jamie knows who Deb is so I'm sure she let her go early. I thought the keys were left in the door? If not, Dexter has proven himself an able locksmith plenty of times before.
  September 30, 2012 at 11:31PM EST
- Huell Goodman Dexter has a locksmith kit.
  October 1, 2012 at 6:23AM EST
Chris H

I was gripped the entire episode, more than I felt the entire previous season (thankfully Homeland provided the intensity I was looking for immediately afterward). I really had no idea what was going to happen and I LOVED it, I just hope the Dex/Deb story stays at the forefront rather than becoming some side-plot to whatever theme they have lined up for this season.
September 30, 2012 at 11:29PM EST Reply to Comment
- Chris H (oops) replying to myself but... it looks like the writers may have found a great way to ramp up the tension between divorcees Michael C. Hall and Jennifer Carpenter.
  September 30, 2012 at 11:47PM EST
Guest

I'm sure by now most people in adulthood have been disillusioned by someone or something they idealised. Without boring everyone with my personal dramas, I can definitely speak to learning something about someone I once adored that shook that relationship to its core - and the relationship that was once precious to me is now broken beyond repair. I remember how much I adored that person, and occasionally I miss the simplicity and joy that relationship provided, but there's no going back and I live with that everyday. This person is still very much in my life and I'm the only person who knows what I do about him.

Whatever - as I say, we've all experienced disillusionment. My point is that when last season ended with Deb walking in on Dexter's kill, I wondered how the writers would handle it. It's tempting to want the special bond Deb and Dexter have (had) to be maintained (minus any sibling lust scenario!) and to hope the writers will convince us that it could and will be - but it wouldn't feel as real to me if Deb didn't seriously grapple with loving someone who did something hateful ...

After one episode, I am personally gratified to see Deb is looking at Dexter with new eyes. She's digging into the past - I think she's going to compensate for helping him in the church by bringing him to some kind of justice. I think it will be the only way she'll be able to live with herself. Having said that, I think her knee-jerk reaction to help him cover it up was spot-on (she was operating out of everything about their relationship up to that point) but it will be interesting to see how much that compounds her disgust with him - and herself. The relationship will have to change and I bet she's going to have a hard time reconciling her efforts to help him the more she processes what he's done. Deb under stress is magnificent to watch.

And Dexter just keeps lying to her, while the narrative cultivates a kind of sympathy for him by showing flash-backs to Deb and Dexter's childhood and a moment in time when Dex's urges were a detriment to Deb - even when Dex was fighting them Harry was there to insist Dexter wouldn't be able to put his love for Deb first. The key to all of this is that we, the audience, weren't disillusioned by Dex - we've known who he is all along, and so we can appreciate Dexter's apprehension and depth of feeling for Deb while that relationship turns a corner.

I didn't enjoy the last two seasons, I'm hoping this season will be a come-back to its former glory. I hope the writers can pull it off!
September 30, 2012 at 11:48PM EST Reply to Comment
a

great episode
September 30, 2012 at 11:53PM EST Reply to Comment
Ellen M.

I'm a die hard Dexter fan. When I first watched Dexter, Season 1, I thought it was the smartest and most clever thing on TV. That's why I was so offended by Season 6. His job as a forensic geek gave him a perfect place to conduct and cover up his unsavory business. But they have gotten very sloppy with details over the years and that has really undermined credibility.

I was glad to see it back on track this episode though I think Deb let him off the hook too easily for the Travis killing. If Dexter had told her that Travis had tried to kill Harrison - no problem. Aunt Deb would have been satisfied. Yes - more questions but Dexter could cover himself.

And, how could he go for another kill right after that. I know he claims it gives him control, etc. But it seemed a bit too much for me. Harry's first rule is "Don't get caught." Doing something like that under Deb's growing suspicions seemed wrong.

But I do love that they will mine the past seasons for story threads and that was the best thing for me. Seeing Deb put together things about her close call with the Ice Truck Killer and La Guerta's catch of the blood slide- both have unresolved personal issues with those cases. It was good to see some other players being smart instead of Dexter.

I saw that Clyde Phillips was consulting in the credits - so glad. He was there in the earlier years and perhaps having around helped put them back on trek.

But I look forward to the sword play between Dexter and Deb. Hopefully, it will keep me on the edge of my seat.

October 1, 2012 at 12:04AM EST Reply to Comment
- Jack Travis trying to kill Harrison would have been good, but it would have invited even more questions.
  
  I like the idea, though.
  October 4, 2012 at 3:03PM EST
Mary McKenney

I've been wondering how Deb's discovery of Dexter's true self would play out... and I couldn't have been more impressed. Both actors were completely believable. And Dexter's excuses were good enough to get Deb to help him at first but flimsy enough to start her thinking about what's really going on. When Dexter comes home and sees Deb sitting there with all his knives and blood slides laid out... I wonder if that was a dream. I don't know how she would have found the blood slides in the air conditioner. Every time they were alone together, I thought she should fear for her life. Dexter is a cornered animal now and could convince himself that she is the only remaining threat to his freedom.
October 1, 2012 at 12:25AM EST Reply to Comment
- Sonia But killing Deb would go against the Code. He would never do that.
  October 1, 2012 at 10:46AM EST
- Dezbot Plus, he's already learned that going outside the Code brings far too much danger with it. He won't kill her. Harry would never get out of his head then :-D
  October 1, 2012 at 2:15PM EST
- Lee Re Deb discovering the blood slides in the air conditioner: she is a skilled detective and would definitely check the ac unit for some kind of incriminating evidence.
  October 1, 2012 at 2:20PM EST
John

I was officially out at the end of last season...right until Deb walked in. And then I was thinking, "Damn it! I'm probably going to keep watching now." And I'm glad I did. The last two seasons were disastrous, but this premiere was really quite good. I'm glad that Deb didn't just buy Dexter's rather lame explanation for why he got caught red-handed, even if part of her wanted to. And whatever is going on with the mobster that Dexter killed off looks interesting. My only disappointment was that they killed Mike off, even if it was incredibly predictable (just as he was telling Deb that he'd be following up on something in the case that didn't add up, he comes across a suspicious-looking stranded motorist--I immediately thought, "Well, he's a goner") Too bad. But all in all, this was a very good episode, and it looks like it might be a bounce back season.
October 1, 2012 at 1:53AM EST Reply to Comment
- HISLOCAL He has to be on Sons of Anarchy now.
  October 3, 2012 at 10:33AM EST
rdave

Loved this episode. Finally! I'm glad they finally stopped treading water. Hopefully this episode is the first of many that helps rebuild the show back to its peak (~season 2)
October 1, 2012 at 2:58AM EST Reply to Comment
Logan

This is the second or third time I've seen Enver Gjokaj from "Dollhouse" pop up in a show and then not really get to do anything, which is disappointing since he was quite impressive on that show.
October 1, 2012 at 3:36AM EST Reply to Comment
- Lee And the second time he played a character named Viktor/Victor! Talk about type-casting!
  October 1, 2012 at 2:24PM EST
dombili

I liked the premiere but I don't understand the point of that Louis character. Maybe I forgot (been very long time since the last season), but there was nothing to indicate that he was more than a weirdo who loves serial killers, right? I feel like the character's in the show just in case some other story doesn't work out so they can focus on Louis's story. Maybe I'm being too picky, because almost every character in the show has the same purpose. We know so little about them, writers can do whatever they want with them even though the show's already in its 7th season.
October 1, 2012 at 5:50AM EST Reply to Comment
- dombili Forgot to add, the last episode of the season called "Surprise, Motherfucker". That's -as many of you will remember- Sgt. Doakes's famous line when he catches Dexter in the port. So if it wasn't obvious in the premiere that the focus of this season is gonna be between Dexter-Deb-Laguerta, there's your proof.
  October 1, 2012 at 5:55AM EST
- Huell Goodman Don't forget that Louis mailed the stolen Ice Truck Killer arm to Dexter for some reason, so we still don't really know what he knows about Dexter.
  October 1, 2012 at 7:02AM EST
- Lee I think that Louis' plan is something that will be developed as the season progresses.
  October 1, 2012 at 2:26PM EST
tag8833

Very promising first ep. I really think the show is at its best when Dexter is confronted with his inability to control situations.
October 1, 2012 at 6:47AM EST Reply to Comment
bigperm33

I really loved what they did with that first episode. I particularly liked that they didn't have Deb falling for Dexter telling her that he had snapped. She had been portrayed all these years as too smart a detective to fall for that for long. So i liked that they had her very quickly put all the pieces together. And I loved that last scene with Dexter walking in and she is sitting there to confront him with everything. There was no more denying what he has been all these years. I was one minute away from quitting on the show last season until those final moments when Deb catches Dexter. Now I am really looking forward to seeing how this all plays out.
October 1, 2012 at 7:40AM EST Reply to Comment
- John Exactly. I too was just about to write the show off forever until Deb walked in, and then I decided I had to at least watch the premiere to see if the show finally did something interesting (other than Deb catching Dexter, I always thought the most interesting thing the show could do is have Dexter just stop killing people because he no longer needed it--which is why I was so dismayed by Brother Sam's demise). And it did. I'm back in.
  October 1, 2012 at 4:13PM EST
David

I thought it was an excellent opening and it may even top my favourite season (4), I am certainly looking forwar to seeing how louis and legeruta are handled with there issues
October 1, 2012 at 9:38AM EST Reply to Comment
Razorback

The thing that is always going to happen on DEXTER is that Deb is going to figure it out. Whatever it is, she always figures it out. She's like the greatest detective ever... I mean other than when it comes to noticing her brother's peculiar habits for 30 years or so.
October 1, 2012 at 9:58AM EST Reply to Comment
Build A Better Fan

I gave up on the show for long stretches after Season 2, and still haven't seen Season 5, because the tension had evaporated quickly after the first season.

This episode finally reminded me of that first season. They had to do something that can't be fully replicated, but finally we didn't need Dexter's narration to provide the meaning and importance of the action. Three detectives got curious/suspicious in the same episode, which was a nice change of pace, though it was obviously different for Deb than it was for LaGuerta and Anderson.

If I had to guess what's made the difference? Knowing when the series is going to end seems to have given the writers the freedom to challenge themselves and not worry so much about writing themselves into a corner.

If the next two episodes show signs of keeping up the quality, as Alan suggested in the earlier review, then I'll be hooked for the rest of the season.
October 1, 2012 at 10:44AM EST Reply to Comment
christy

They said the word Doakes!

This episode hit all my Dexter sweet spots. Two in particular: acknowledging the past; and doing justice to Deb's character. That shot of her in Dexter's apartment at the end was chilling.

I only wish they could have done this at the end of the Lumen season instead. I didn't hate the Colin Hanks stuff last season (kind of a sucker for weirdo religions) but the Deb stuff was heinous and so unnecessary.
October 1, 2012 at 10:53AM EST Reply to Comment
belinda

Perhaps it was because I skipped season 6, or maybe it was the fact that the show is finally moving Dexter to the point where Deb finds out for realsies, but I found myself really enjoying the episode and excited for the next, which hasn't happened for a very long time with Dexter.

And while I've heard the whole Deb's in love with Dexter thing from last season, if I hadn't known about that, I wouldn't have known from watching this episode. Can the show just forget that ever happened?

I have a question about s6 though. Anything I should know about the new babysitter and the guy she's with (if they were there in s6), besides what we've seen in this episode?
October 1, 2012 at 1:33PM EST Reply to Comment
- Dezbot Jamie is Batista's niece and seems like a nice person.
  
  Louis is one of Matsuka's interns. He replaced a previous intern who sexed up Matsuka and stole the arm from the Ice Truck Killer evidence stash, then put it up for sale on the web. Matsuka found out and tried to buy the arm back, but we find out later that Louis bought it.
  
  Louis looks up to Dexter and designed a serial killer game where you can play as a serial killer instead of a victim. He sought Dex's approval, but Dex was appalled. Louis then sent the arm to Dex, but Dex hasn't discovered it yet. He's been getting weirder and weirder since he was introduced.
  
  Personally, I thought it was a bit much that there were two interns that were serial killer-obsessed, but at least Louis is more interesting than the one Matsuka fired. :-)
  October 1, 2012 at 2:22PM EST
- Hatfield Says you, Dezbot! If they're equally annoying, I'll take the hot one every time.
  October 1, 2012 at 6:12PM EST
- Dezbot Eh, she was okay. You'll have hot back in a few eps with Yvonne coming, at any rate ;-)
  October 1, 2012 at 7:26PM EST
Sarah

Was no one else totslly freaked out by the presence of Savannah Paige Ray (little Sydney from Parenthood) as flashback Deb? I know she is not playing flashback Dexter, but still totaly freaked me out.
October 1, 2012 at 11:32PM EST Reply to Comment
Comment Removed

There are a lot of interesting ideas in this episode, and I really hope that the rest of the season doesn't squander them. The series went off of the rails post-season 2. Up through season 2, Dexter was a serial killer, not an avenging angel (despite what he fantasized at the end of the first season). Then the writers started to make him into a "real boy" and decided that it's ok that he kills bad people (rather than treat murder as a horrific action motivated by compulsion not justice). There are a lot of ways the writers can screw this up, but it is promising that Debra is appalled by murder (whether the victim is a bad guy or not). Also positive, LaGuerta suspects that maybe the BHB is still active. If they start making the Miami cops competent and once again treat Dexter as a serial killer and not a hero, then this season might really be a good one. Hopefully they can start moving into an endgame (if not this season, then set it up for next season).
October 2, 2012 at 1:36AM EST Reply to Comment
alex

It baffles my mind that this sub-par episode had such a good reception and a trully great, consistent show like Boardwalk Empire is continuously trashed by some frustrated teens for killing a mediocre character. I'm sorry but if you didn't noticed the flawed,aberrant writing and the awful acting by Jennifer Carpenter in the season premiere you must have mental issues.
October 2, 2012 at 5:00AM EST Reply to Comment
JacksonVoss

I'm cautiously optimistic. Maybe the only reason the last two seasons were terrible is that the writers were running out of ways to spin their wheels, and they'll be better now that they have something to drive toward. And way to redeem the ridiculous way Deb caught Dexter last season by having her piece together his true nature using her brain and not sheer luck and contrivance! Hopefully the show uses this thing with Deb to remind us that Dexter is a screwed-up serial killer, not the lovable vigilante superhero he's become in recent seasons. The sooner Deb calls BS on all that necessary evil, dark balancing light garbage, the better.

Also, I like that we're dealing with organized crime this year as our Big Bad instead of yet another serial killer, but I'm a little worried it'll end up being something less interesting for us to sit through between scenes dealing with Dexter and Deb.

One bit of speculation: think the show will have the balls to kill of Deb this year? She'd have to set the rest of Miami Metro on Dexter's trail before she buys the farm so we don't have to redo the catching of Dexter with somebody else, but after all that talk this week about how she's Dexter's last connection to civilization, wouldn't it be intense if he loses her just as law enforcement starts coming for him in earnest? That could set up a really intense final season, and it could send Dexter into a dark enough place that the audience won't necessarily root against the people trying to catch him.
October 2, 2012 at 12:21PM EST Reply to Comment
- Dezbot That could be interesting. I'm also thinking maybe Deb becomes Dex's new Harry, although...she wouldn't have to be alive to do that, I guess.
  October 2, 2012 at 2:01PM EST
- HISLOCAL The two most interesting things they could do for the end game:
  
  1) kill Deb and have Dexter go Rambo
  
  2) catch Dexter and have him go Hannibal Lecter to Deb's Clarice Starling
  
  As far as the "big bad", I don't mind that much....if they didn't have a day job to do, it would just become In Therapy, with Deb and Dexter working through feelings the whole hour.
  October 3, 2012 at 10:45AM EST
JedyKnight

Dexter has been on a steep decline season by season, and last season misdirection-that-wasnt-really was almost hitting bottom (although Michael C. Hall always deliver & some of the cast/guests some times did).. I kept with it, sometimes falling behind and then catching up.. but when i saw that premiere, i felt so, so happy.. like the long wait had been rewarded. I specially loved how they wrote Deb as the good detective she supposedly is, she didnt let Dex escape away with full lies or semi-lies, she hang on to her reasonable doubts and then she went into full looking for proof-mode. She rocked.. and that final scene.. was beautiful. =)
October 2, 2012 at 5:55PM EST Reply to Comment
jill adrian

Requiem for a once great show. Sorry, maybe I'm too jaded now after Breaking Bad & Homeland (& very discouraged by Dexter Season 6), but what once sounded like a great series game changer (the Deb reveal) is now too late, too stale, & too predictable. Of course she won't turn Dex in, we have almost 2 full seasons at least yet. LaGuarda will be on a tear to get Doakes' name cleared & a manhunt for the real BHB to be started. Deb will be caught in the middle, torn between her love for Dexter & her career. While Dex goes on with his kills, probably with better excuses.

What really portends disappointment for the season here in this episode are 2 examples: Dexter carelessly forgetting the blood slide is the most obvious. How convenient that he only becomes careless after all this time wiping up every tiny blood trace over the last 6 years to leaving the biggest clue for his boss to find. A boss who has never before looked around a crime scene for evidence. And secondly, how could anyone, even a superkiller like Dex, evade security cameras at a major airport & get into a locked room off a major hallway to ritualistically & neatly but BRUTALLY MURDER SOMEONE. In an AIRPORT. And then get away cleanly??

Dexter 1, suspension of disbelief 0.

October 4, 2012 at 1:57AM EST Reply to Comment
- jill adrian OK I'll admit that the blood slide problem could be due to Deb's presence, but if the show keeps having Dexter do things that would be impossible in reality (like the airport & almost every thing he did last season), then the show is done.
  
  I really, really hope these are not the types of situations they portray again this season, but I have my doubts. I so much want the show to rediscover what it once was, dark humor & all. Wonder if the current showrunners can pull it off.
  October 4, 2012 at 10:58AM EST
Dudleys Mom

Okay, this is weird. I think I'm going to start watching again and I have no plans to watch last season (which I dumped about 2 episodes in). I have never, ever done that. (I am also a completist.)

But I am really psyched, because I think there's a possibility that LaGuerta is going to get sliced and diced, and that would make me dance with joy.

I still think the show is really flawed, and we are very far away from the character of Dexter as we met him.

As an aside, I wish they would minimize Dexter's narration and just trust that the audience understands what he's thinking most of the time. It's really "on the nose". If the show would dump that, it would force the writing to improve, I think. And then they could caption it for the cognitively impaired viewer, "Dexter muses that his father's code wouldn't allow this."
October 4, 2012 at 11:50AM EST Reply to Comment
jocko jack

this dude will watch such crap on sunday and ignore dexter. makes no sense
December 3, 2012 at 4:55PM EST Reply to Comment
jocko jack

watch some more garbage over dexter alan. Jeez. nonsensical your choices
December 3, 2012 at 4:56PM EST Reply to Comment

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Option 1

Option 2

Option 3

Dezbot I think it looks promising, especially if that promise finally involves getting LaGuerta on Dex's table. Glad Deb figured it out in this one ep and that they didn't drag it out further. I'm also intrigued by Isaac, though I do want to yell, "Thirteen!" whenever I see him :-)

LoopyChew I wouldn't be surprised if Lewis turned into a Big Bad further down the line. He's obviously extremely obsessed with serial killers, so it's only fitting he become one at some point.And Batista's sister will be first on his list.

LoopyChew This episode looks like they're going to dispose of the romance plot quietlyI don't know about that; it seemed telling to me that he asked her what she was doing there in the first place and she didn't reply.

Dezbot I hope they don't entirely dispense with it in one respect, as Deb could use her attraction to Dex to figure out once and for all why she makes such poor choices in men (Lundy excepted). But as far as her and Dex getting together? Away with you, bad idea!

John I guess I'm in the minority here, but I actually liked the Jimmy Smits season. It was the last two seasons that had me nearly stop watching.

Shane Leavitt Reply to comment...

Huell Goodman If there were problems with Season 3 it wasn't because of Jimmy Smits. I generally found their relationship pretty interesting. That said I watched that season on DVD, so perhaps it was more satisfying than waiting week to week.

jill adrian Count me in too on liking the Smits season. I really feel it was all downhill after. Slightly in 4, really downhill in 5, off the cliff in 6.

Chris H Yeah, Jamie knows who Deb is so I'm sure she let her go early. I thought the keys were left in the door? If not, Dexter has proven himself an able locksmith plenty of times before.

Huell Goodman Dexter has a locksmith kit.

Chris H (oops) replying to myself but... it looks like the writers may have found a great way to ramp up the tension between divorcees Michael C. Hall and Jennifer Carpenter.

a great episode

Jack Travis trying to kill Harrison would have been good, but it would have invited even more questions.I like the idea, though.

Sonia But killing Deb would go against the Code. He would never do that.

Dezbot Plus, he's already learned that going outside the Code brings far too much danger with it. He won't kill her. Harry would never get out of his head then :-D

Lee Re Deb discovering the blood slides in the air conditioner: she is a skilled detective and would definitely check the ac unit for some kind of incriminating evidence.

HISLOCAL He has to be on Sons of Anarchy now.

rdave Loved this episode. Finally! I'm glad they finally stopped treading water. Hopefully this episode is the first of many that helps rebuild the show back to its peak (~season 2)

Logan This is the second or third time I've seen Enver Gjokaj from "Dollhouse" pop up in a show and then not really get to do anything, which is disappointing since he was quite impressive on that show.

Lee And the second time he played a character named Viktor/Victor! Talk about type-casting!

Huell Goodman Don't forget that Louis mailed the stolen Ice Truck Killer arm to Dexter for some reason, so we still don't really know what he knows about Dexter.

Lee I think that Louis' plan is something that will be developed as the season progresses.

tag8833 Very promising first ep. I really think the show is at its best when Dexter is confronted with his inability to control situations.

David I thought it was an excellent opening and it may even top my favourite season (4), I am certainly looking forwar to seeing how louis and legeruta are handled with there issues

Razorback The thing that is always going to happen on DEXTER is that Deb is going to figure it out. Whatever it is, she always figures it out. She's like the greatest detective ever... I mean other than when it comes to noticing her brother's peculiar habits for 30 years or so.

Hatfield Says you, Dezbot! If they're equally annoying, I'll take the hot one every time.

Dezbot Eh, she was okay. You'll have hot back in a few eps with Yvonne coming, at any rate ;-)

Sarah Was no one else totslly freaked out by the presence of Savannah Paige Ray (little Sydney from Parenthood) as flashback Deb? I know she is not playing flashback Dexter, but still totaly freaked me out.

Dezbot That could be interesting. I'm also thinking maybe Deb becomes Dex's new Harry, although...she wouldn't have to be alive to do that, I guess.

jocko jack this dude will watch such crap on sunday and ignore dexter. makes no sense

jocko jack watch some more garbage over dexter alan. Jeez. nonsensical your choices

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Dezbot

I think it looks promising, especially if that promise finally involves getting LaGuerta on Dex's table. Glad Deb figured it out in this one ep and that they didn't drag it out further. I'm also intrigued by Isaac, though I do want to yell, "Thirteen!" whenever I see him :-)

LoopyChew I wouldn't be surprised if Lewis turned into a Big Bad further down the line. He's obviously extremely obsessed with serial killers, so it's only fitting he become one at some point.

And Batista's sister will be first on his list.

LoopyChew This episode looks like they're going to dispose of the romance plot quietly

I don't know about that; it seemed telling to me that he asked her what she was doing there in the first place and she didn't reply.

a

great episode

Jack Travis trying to kill Harrison would have been good, but it would have invited even more questions.

I like the idea, though.

rdave

Loved this episode. Finally! I'm glad they finally stopped treading water. Hopefully this episode is the first of many that helps rebuild the show back to its peak (~season 2)

Logan

This is the second or third time I've seen Enver Gjokaj from "Dollhouse" pop up in a show and then not really get to do anything, which is disappointing since he was quite impressive on that show.

tag8833

Very promising first ep. I really think the show is at its best when Dexter is confronted with his inability to control situations.

David

I thought it was an excellent opening and it may even top my favourite season (4), I am certainly looking forwar to seeing how louis and legeruta are handled with there issues

Razorback

The thing that is always going to happen on DEXTER is that Deb is going to figure it out. Whatever it is, she always figures it out. She's like the greatest detective ever... I mean other than when it comes to noticing her brother's peculiar habits for 30 years or so.

Sarah

Was no one else totslly freaked out by the presence of Savannah Paige Ray (little Sydney from Parenthood) as flashback Deb? I know she is not playing flashback Dexter, but still totaly freaked me out.

jocko jack

this dude will watch such crap on sunday and ignore dexter. makes no sense

jocko jack

watch some more garbage over dexter alan. Jeez. nonsensical your choices

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