Dexter, Part 2
Jun. 10th, 2010 03:29 pm![[personal profile]](https://www.dreamwidth.org/img/silk/identity/user.png){kind=small}
next_to_normalOkay, I've now finished season 2 of Dexter, and I think it's safe to say I'm hooked. Though I should note that I was hooked pretty early in season 2, which is a probably a good thing, because I thought the ending was a little weak.
I thought it was very interesting to see a lot of the things I mentioned in my first season review being addressed in the second season. Dexter is definitely more emotionally connected in this season (even if he doesn't always recognize it) - when he and Lila had angry sex the first time, I couldn't help thinking, "Is this the same Dexter who dated an abused woman just so he wouldn't have to touch her?" He also, for the first time, killed out of emotion rather than his usual coldly methodical methods. And by the end of the season, it's clear that he recognizes the people who are most important to him, possibly as close as he'll ever get to love. And while I still don't think I'd like to have a beer with him or anything, I found myself caring very much about what happened to him and the people in his life.
And that sometimes leads to odd feelings. For instance, I absolutely loved the idea of Dexter in NA, but even though I was enjoying it for the comedy of errors-esque situation it was meant to be, I also couldn't help feeling like I wanted him to get better. And that's silly, because obviously if Dexter's a normal person, this would be a very boring show, but I still wanted that for him because I care about him. And I was all excited when he seemed to be having major breakthroughs with Lila (which was actually a point of inner conflict, because she seemed to be good for him, but I didn't want Lila breaking up Dexter and Rita). But more on Lila later.
When I made the comment about the Veronica Mars problem, I was expecting the show to continue the pattern established in the first season, with each season having a long-term serial killer case to solve. Which... they did. I just didn't expect that the serial killer would be DEXTER, lol. I actually kind of felt like they went there too early, since there was really no question that he wouldn't get caught. Dexter dead or in prison would mean the end of the show, so he had to get out of it somehow, and that made the ending somewhat of a letdown, because it was exactly what I expected it to be. It would've had more impact, I think, in a final season where Dexter's future is actually uncertain.
Nevertheless, focusing on Dexter as the Bay Harbor Butcher did provide the necessary personal stake in the case. It amused me when he was being proactive and wrote the manifesto, because for a moment he became "the bad guy who plays mind games" that I enjoyed about the Ice Truck Killer last season. And it was fascinating to see the evolution of Dexter over the course of the season. He's questioning Harry's code for the first time, his trust in Harry breaking down as he uncovers more about his past, and he ends up abandoning his father's teachings briefly to follow his own code, heavily influenced by Lila. It's a fascinating identity crisis, if somewhat obviously represented by Dexter's choice between Rita, who represents the old, safe way he's always known, and Lila, who represents the new and dangerous path. But, in the end, both the Old and New Dexters have failed him, and we're left wondering how Dexter will cobble together a new standard to follow in the future.
Given my concerns about the premise, I really appreciated the further insight into Harry and Dexter's relationship. It seems pretty obvious now that Harry is just as fucked up as Dexter is - or, perhaps, Dexter is as fucked up as he is because of Harry. I also think it makes sense that Harry didn't fully understand the implications of what he was teaching Dexter, that it was all fine in theory, but once confronted with the gory reality, he couldn't live with it. It makes the whole thing much more believable, although I still would like more background on why Harry did what he did - was he just fed up with criminals walking free? Was he so affected by the death of Dexter's mother that it drove him to create a vigilante out of her son? Or was it something else (childhood trauma, perhaps? lol) that had taken root in him, and thus created his own warped morality that made turning Dexter into a killer seem like a perfectly normal idea? I hope that gets explored more in the future.
I also liked Dexter's realization that he'd taken up a lot of Harry's attention, leaving Deb to feel neglected and second-best. I thought it played well into her jealousy when Lundy seemed to start favoring Dexter. Of course, establishing Lundy as a father figure made it REALLY GROSS when Deb started sleeping with him. It certainly did not help me to like Deb. In fact, for most of the season I still found her pretty annoying - maybe even more so, because after her trauma she has a good reason for being obnoxious, but that doesn't make me like her any better, it just makes me feel bad for hating her, lol. I did like her in the last episode or so, when she seemed to discover how to be the tough chick she wants to be, but in a more mature way than she'd been previously. I was also happy that, his taste in women aside, Lundy turned out to be a decent guy without any skeletons in the closet. I think it would've made the show too cartoonish if they'd villainized Lundy to make us root for Dexter. (As it was, I felt Doakes got a little cartoony at times.) Instead, we got some nice moral ambiguity, because we want Dexter to get away with it, of course, but we also kind of like the guy pursuing him.
I loved the irony of Rita, now all self-confident and strong thanks to Dexter, turning around and using that strength to stand up to Dexter when she thinks that he's a drug addict. She's certainly come a long way, and I'm proud of her. Also, I should note that I found it interesting that Paul died in prison, because in my last post I had observed that Dexter managed to get rid of Paul without having to kill him, only for him to end up dead anyway, and it's basically Dexter's fault. As I mentioned above, when they introduced Lila, I was worried that we might lose Rita and the kids if Dexter broke up with her. As it was, I felt like the whole subplot with her mother coming to stay was a poor way of keeping her busy until Dexter was ready to go back to her. I did like the way Rita handled things with Dexter, though, and that scene where he apologizes to her felt like their first genuine emotional connection. She and the kids are obviously a big part of Dexter's emotional development, and even though the best thing for them would be to stay far, far away from Dexter, they're kinda cute as a family, you know?
I thought the stuff at the police station started out very shaky - was the new lieutenant and her fidelity issues necessary AT ALL? It seemed completely pointless to me, since she didn't do anything except freak the fuck out - which had absolutely no bearing on the plot - and we ended up right back at the status quo within a few episodes. I'm guessing it was supposed to show us that LaGuerta can be a conniving bitch when she wants something? Which we already knew. I also thought the repeated LaGuerta/Doakes conversations were pretty tedious up until he became a suspect in the BHB case. I'm assuming that was to set up their close relationship, so that LaGuerta would be totally in denial when he turned out to be a suspect. I actually expected the cutthroat bitch characterization to be pivotal at some point in the BHB case, but it seemed we got the opposite, with LaGuerta risking her own reputation in a desperate attempt to prove Doakes' innocence.
Ah, Doakes. We hardly knew ye. I admit, I wasn't terribly impressed with him up to this point, but in fairness I don't think he really had much to work with. He's a fantastic nemesis for Dexter, but the good stuff really didn't start until Dexter had him captive in the cabin. The scenes with the two of them talking were fascinating, and even though I'm sure some of it was Doakes trying to coax Dexter toward a decision that would allow him to get out of the cage alive, it was still obvious that they are two sides of the same coin. They both have that monster in them, but Doakes has actually managed to turn it into something productive. It's a shame, because under different circumstances, I think Dexter could've learned a lot from him.
Unfortunately, he pretty much had to die from the minute he broke into Dexter's apartment. As I said, the ending was somewhat of a letdown, because it was just so inevitable. The show sort of backed itself into a corner - given the way things developed over the season, Lila killing Doakes and then Dexter killing Lila was pretty much the only direction it could go. And it seemed somewhat sloppily done. There were multiple points where I felt like Doakes was doing something stupid purely because that's what needed to happen in order to get him in a situation where he'd be framed as the Butcher.
And then there's Lila the firebug. Oh, lordy, what a mistake that was. I thought Lila was bad news from the start, but like I said, I was conflicted because she seemed to be helping Dexter. And I wish it had stayed that way, with her as the misguided but genuinely concerned sponsor. Instead, we ended up with the crazycakes stalker ex-girlfriend, which seemed like such the easy way out. The whole season has been about Dexter wrestling with impossible choices, and then it's all "miraculously" solved for him by Lila killing Doakes - which, of course, then gives Dexter the reason he needs to kill her. That's two people that Dexter wanted to get rid of - needed to get rid of, to protect himself - but couldn't, because it went against the code, and suddenly it all falls into place without him having to make any hard choices AND he still manages to frame Doakes for the BHB killings. Though I have to admit, the look on Doakes' face when he realized that his "rescuer" considered herself Dexter's soulmate was PRICELESS.
I was glad Dexter offed Lila in Paris. When she got away, I had the awful thought that maybe she'd come back at some point and be crazycakes some more, but thankfully, that's not going to happen. It does seem a little repetitive, though, having another season end with Dexter killing the one person who understands and accepts him because they refuse to live by his code.
The other thing that I thought was chillingly Dexter is his reaction at the end. His takeaway from Doakes' death isn't that it's a shame an innocent man died and it's unfortunate for his loved ones that his name will never be cleared; it's "The truly tragic thing would be to let his sacrifice go to waste," and Dexter resolves to embrace his freedom. And his response to escaping Lila's fire is the conviction that his survival is a sign for him to keep doing what he's doing.
One final silly note - how many collections of cutting-up-people tools does Dexter have? He tossed the first one into the water with Doakes' fingerprints on it, left the second in the cabin, which got blowed up, and then Lila took his third when she took the bag with her. And he has a fourth when he goes to kill her in Paris. Did he have them stashed somewhere or did he go out and buy new ones each time?
GAH! Why isn't season 3 available for streaming?
I thought it was very interesting to see a lot of the things I mentioned in my first season review being addressed in the second season. Dexter is definitely more emotionally connected in this season (even if he doesn't always recognize it) - when he and Lila had angry sex the first time, I couldn't help thinking, "Is this the same Dexter who dated an abused woman just so he wouldn't have to touch her?" He also, for the first time, killed out of emotion rather than his usual coldly methodical methods. And by the end of the season, it's clear that he recognizes the people who are most important to him, possibly as close as he'll ever get to love. And while I still don't think I'd like to have a beer with him or anything, I found myself caring very much about what happened to him and the people in his life.
And that sometimes leads to odd feelings. For instance, I absolutely loved the idea of Dexter in NA, but even though I was enjoying it for the comedy of errors-esque situation it was meant to be, I also couldn't help feeling like I wanted him to get better. And that's silly, because obviously if Dexter's a normal person, this would be a very boring show, but I still wanted that for him because I care about him. And I was all excited when he seemed to be having major breakthroughs with Lila (which was actually a point of inner conflict, because she seemed to be good for him, but I didn't want Lila breaking up Dexter and Rita). But more on Lila later.
When I made the comment about the Veronica Mars problem, I was expecting the show to continue the pattern established in the first season, with each season having a long-term serial killer case to solve. Which... they did. I just didn't expect that the serial killer would be DEXTER, lol. I actually kind of felt like they went there too early, since there was really no question that he wouldn't get caught. Dexter dead or in prison would mean the end of the show, so he had to get out of it somehow, and that made the ending somewhat of a letdown, because it was exactly what I expected it to be. It would've had more impact, I think, in a final season where Dexter's future is actually uncertain.
Nevertheless, focusing on Dexter as the Bay Harbor Butcher did provide the necessary personal stake in the case. It amused me when he was being proactive and wrote the manifesto, because for a moment he became "the bad guy who plays mind games" that I enjoyed about the Ice Truck Killer last season. And it was fascinating to see the evolution of Dexter over the course of the season. He's questioning Harry's code for the first time, his trust in Harry breaking down as he uncovers more about his past, and he ends up abandoning his father's teachings briefly to follow his own code, heavily influenced by Lila. It's a fascinating identity crisis, if somewhat obviously represented by Dexter's choice between Rita, who represents the old, safe way he's always known, and Lila, who represents the new and dangerous path. But, in the end, both the Old and New Dexters have failed him, and we're left wondering how Dexter will cobble together a new standard to follow in the future.
Given my concerns about the premise, I really appreciated the further insight into Harry and Dexter's relationship. It seems pretty obvious now that Harry is just as fucked up as Dexter is - or, perhaps, Dexter is as fucked up as he is because of Harry. I also think it makes sense that Harry didn't fully understand the implications of what he was teaching Dexter, that it was all fine in theory, but once confronted with the gory reality, he couldn't live with it. It makes the whole thing much more believable, although I still would like more background on why Harry did what he did - was he just fed up with criminals walking free? Was he so affected by the death of Dexter's mother that it drove him to create a vigilante out of her son? Or was it something else (childhood trauma, perhaps? lol) that had taken root in him, and thus created his own warped morality that made turning Dexter into a killer seem like a perfectly normal idea? I hope that gets explored more in the future.
I also liked Dexter's realization that he'd taken up a lot of Harry's attention, leaving Deb to feel neglected and second-best. I thought it played well into her jealousy when Lundy seemed to start favoring Dexter. Of course, establishing Lundy as a father figure made it REALLY GROSS when Deb started sleeping with him. It certainly did not help me to like Deb. In fact, for most of the season I still found her pretty annoying - maybe even more so, because after her trauma she has a good reason for being obnoxious, but that doesn't make me like her any better, it just makes me feel bad for hating her, lol. I did like her in the last episode or so, when she seemed to discover how to be the tough chick she wants to be, but in a more mature way than she'd been previously. I was also happy that, his taste in women aside, Lundy turned out to be a decent guy without any skeletons in the closet. I think it would've made the show too cartoonish if they'd villainized Lundy to make us root for Dexter. (As it was, I felt Doakes got a little cartoony at times.) Instead, we got some nice moral ambiguity, because we want Dexter to get away with it, of course, but we also kind of like the guy pursuing him.
I loved the irony of Rita, now all self-confident and strong thanks to Dexter, turning around and using that strength to stand up to Dexter when she thinks that he's a drug addict. She's certainly come a long way, and I'm proud of her. Also, I should note that I found it interesting that Paul died in prison, because in my last post I had observed that Dexter managed to get rid of Paul without having to kill him, only for him to end up dead anyway, and it's basically Dexter's fault. As I mentioned above, when they introduced Lila, I was worried that we might lose Rita and the kids if Dexter broke up with her. As it was, I felt like the whole subplot with her mother coming to stay was a poor way of keeping her busy until Dexter was ready to go back to her. I did like the way Rita handled things with Dexter, though, and that scene where he apologizes to her felt like their first genuine emotional connection. She and the kids are obviously a big part of Dexter's emotional development, and even though the best thing for them would be to stay far, far away from Dexter, they're kinda cute as a family, you know?
I thought the stuff at the police station started out very shaky - was the new lieutenant and her fidelity issues necessary AT ALL? It seemed completely pointless to me, since she didn't do anything except freak the fuck out - which had absolutely no bearing on the plot - and we ended up right back at the status quo within a few episodes. I'm guessing it was supposed to show us that LaGuerta can be a conniving bitch when she wants something? Which we already knew. I also thought the repeated LaGuerta/Doakes conversations were pretty tedious up until he became a suspect in the BHB case. I'm assuming that was to set up their close relationship, so that LaGuerta would be totally in denial when he turned out to be a suspect. I actually expected the cutthroat bitch characterization to be pivotal at some point in the BHB case, but it seemed we got the opposite, with LaGuerta risking her own reputation in a desperate attempt to prove Doakes' innocence.
Ah, Doakes. We hardly knew ye. I admit, I wasn't terribly impressed with him up to this point, but in fairness I don't think he really had much to work with. He's a fantastic nemesis for Dexter, but the good stuff really didn't start until Dexter had him captive in the cabin. The scenes with the two of them talking were fascinating, and even though I'm sure some of it was Doakes trying to coax Dexter toward a decision that would allow him to get out of the cage alive, it was still obvious that they are two sides of the same coin. They both have that monster in them, but Doakes has actually managed to turn it into something productive. It's a shame, because under different circumstances, I think Dexter could've learned a lot from him.
Unfortunately, he pretty much had to die from the minute he broke into Dexter's apartment. As I said, the ending was somewhat of a letdown, because it was just so inevitable. The show sort of backed itself into a corner - given the way things developed over the season, Lila killing Doakes and then Dexter killing Lila was pretty much the only direction it could go. And it seemed somewhat sloppily done. There were multiple points where I felt like Doakes was doing something stupid purely because that's what needed to happen in order to get him in a situation where he'd be framed as the Butcher.
And then there's Lila the firebug. Oh, lordy, what a mistake that was. I thought Lila was bad news from the start, but like I said, I was conflicted because she seemed to be helping Dexter. And I wish it had stayed that way, with her as the misguided but genuinely concerned sponsor. Instead, we ended up with the crazycakes stalker ex-girlfriend, which seemed like such the easy way out. The whole season has been about Dexter wrestling with impossible choices, and then it's all "miraculously" solved for him by Lila killing Doakes - which, of course, then gives Dexter the reason he needs to kill her. That's two people that Dexter wanted to get rid of - needed to get rid of, to protect himself - but couldn't, because it went against the code, and suddenly it all falls into place without him having to make any hard choices AND he still manages to frame Doakes for the BHB killings. Though I have to admit, the look on Doakes' face when he realized that his "rescuer" considered herself Dexter's soulmate was PRICELESS.
I was glad Dexter offed Lila in Paris. When she got away, I had the awful thought that maybe she'd come back at some point and be crazycakes some more, but thankfully, that's not going to happen. It does seem a little repetitive, though, having another season end with Dexter killing the one person who understands and accepts him because they refuse to live by his code.
The other thing that I thought was chillingly Dexter is his reaction at the end. His takeaway from Doakes' death isn't that it's a shame an innocent man died and it's unfortunate for his loved ones that his name will never be cleared; it's "The truly tragic thing would be to let his sacrifice go to waste," and Dexter resolves to embrace his freedom. And his response to escaping Lila's fire is the conviction that his survival is a sign for him to keep doing what he's doing.
One final silly note - how many collections of cutting-up-people tools does Dexter have? He tossed the first one into the water with Doakes' fingerprints on it, left the second in the cabin, which got blowed up, and then Lila took his third when she took the bag with her. And he has a fourth when he goes to kill her in Paris. Did he have them stashed somewhere or did he go out and buy new ones each time?
GAH! Why isn't season 3 available for streaming?
no subject
Date: Jun. 10th, 2010 07:37 pm (UTC)I use Yidio, It should have all the episodes available: http://www.yidio.com/show/dexter
no subject
Date: Jun. 10th, 2010 08:42 pm (UTC)no subject
Date: Jun. 10th, 2010 08:56 pm (UTC)no subject
Date: Jun. 11th, 2010 08:27 am (UTC)no subject
Date: Jun. 11th, 2010 01:19 pm (UTC)no subject
Date: Jun. 10th, 2010 08:16 pm (UTC)I remember thinking that Dexter's sex with Lila was OOC. I might change that opinion now when I see it again, but I might not. I never liked Lila, and I never saw the point of a romantic relationship with her. Also, I hated the whole drug storyline. Rita thinking it aside, I thought the writers were sort of using it as a metaphor for killing, which I didn't really like.
I did love the Bay Harbor Butcher storyline. Though I do wonder why Dexter dumped all his victims in the *same place*. Doesn't seem like something that careful him would do. I suppose switching the Gulf Stream makes more sense. I loved Dexter doing his manifesto, and them all analyzing it, when he just pasted a bunch of stuff together from the internet. I disliked him seriously think about turning himself in (even for a moment). But I must say, one of the creepiest scenes in the entire series is him killing that guy while Doakes was in the cage behind the plastic.
I wonder what you'll make of ghost!Harry next season. (Not really ghost, lol, but you'll see what I mean.)
It does seem a little repetitive, though, having another season end with Dexter killing the one person who understands and accepts him because they refuse to live by his code.
Heh.
no subject
Date: Jun. 10th, 2010 08:36 pm (UTC)Though I do wonder why Dexter dumped all his victims in the *same place*.
LOL, Dexter is very much about the ritual. I suspect that section of the harbor is probably much like his box of blood slides. Keeping the slides in his house was dangerous (it's obvious evidence), but he couldn't help himself. It was more important than the risk of getting caught. I suspect he thinks of his dumping ground as his place, his own little underwater graveyard. He can be flexible when called for ("Don't get caught" being the primary objective), but for the most part, he disables, kills, and dismembers his victims the same way every time, so why not dispose of them in the same place, too?
I disliked him seriously think about turning himself in (even for a moment).
I kind of just mentally dismissed that, because I knew he would never go through with it. In a way, it kind of makes sense - if "don't get caught" is the first rule in the Code of Harry, then turning himself in would be the most significant repudiation of the code.
But I must say, one of the creepiest scenes in the entire series is him killing that guy while Doakes was in the cage behind the plastic.
Oh yes, definitely.
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Date: Jun. 10th, 2010 09:55 pm (UTC)no subject
Date: Jun. 10th, 2010 10:14 pm (UTC)no subject
Date: Jun. 10th, 2010 10:29 pm (UTC)no subject
Date: Jun. 11th, 2010 11:47 am (UTC)no subject
Date: Jun. 10th, 2010 08:22 pm (UTC)It must be available somewhere cos I got all 4 seasons off a friend and they're right here on my external hard drive...
*is confused*
&hearts
no subject
Date: Jun. 10th, 2010 08:41 pm (UTC)no subject
Date: Jun. 10th, 2010 08:46 pm (UTC)Of course the page was all in some Asian characters but the episode was live streaming and in English.
no subject
Date: Jun. 10th, 2010 08:47 pm (UTC)no subject
Date: Jun. 10th, 2010 08:50 pm (UTC)no subject
Date: Jun. 10th, 2010 10:19 pm (UTC)Personally, one of my favorite Dexter moments. I could not stop laughing.
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Date: Jun. 11th, 2010 01:54 am (UTC)no subject
Date: Jun. 19th, 2010 05:00 pm (UTC)no subject
Date: Jun. 21st, 2010 01:56 am (UTC)no subject
Date: Jun. 22nd, 2010 03:27 am (UTC)You nail down everything I'd want to say about the show and then some. The contrived ending was obviously contrived -- but they got terrific mileage out of the Doakes/Dexter scenes so I was willing to forgive all that. The revelation that Harry was horrified by what he'd created was fantastic, a real high point of the series for me -- because that sort of implicates us to the extent that we're rooting for this serial killer largely because the killing is still all TV-sanitized.
I'll be curious what you think going forward. It seemed to me that this season was a bit of a turning point because Dexter decides he doesn't have to change. As he goes forward with the effort to maintain his normal life, he's set out on a bit of a collision course. Anyway, for me the hope that Dexter will get better sort of dies here.
no subject
Date: Jun. 22nd, 2010 03:38 am (UTC)True... though at the same time, it feels like Dexter is getting even more sanitized in some ways. At the beginning of season 3, I definitely felt like this was Dexter-lite, but it got better as the season went on.
Anyway, for me the hope that Dexter will get better sort of dies here.
I definitely have some thoughts on this. Check back tomorrow. :)