“Dexter” — That Night, A Forest Grew
Dexter, look out!
Yeah, I wasn’t really feeling this one, but for reasons I’ve stated time and time again — the supporting cast either 1) isn’t that good or 2) is fine but playing characters that are illogical and unnecessarily flat. This week the big story was the amping up of the Doakes/Dexter battle of wits (or fists), and the whole time I kept thinking, “Man, if only I cared one way or another.” More after the jump…
There was some interesting moralizing early on that made for compelling television. Dexter using the grief of an innocent man to set up Doakes as a sloppy detective was particularly sinister (especially since we’re typically used to seeing him only strike is vengeance down upon the evil), but the story wrapped itself up a tad too neatly. By the end of the hour I sat scratching my head wondering what exactly was accomplished. Sure, Doakes is now off the force, but it’s still his word verse Dexter. I don’t know, the whole thing seemed simultaneously convenient and stupid. As an audience why would we fear Mr. Moustache when twenty feet away there is an actual FBI agent with serious crime-fighting chops?
Speaking of Lundy, while I enjoy the presence of his character, I find Deb’s infatuation with him to feel a tad forced. All due respect to Jennifer Carpenter, but this sort of post-Ice Truck Killer emotional baggage just doesn’t fit with her character. It’s not that I don’t believe the character should be damaged, quite the contrary, but Deb is so flippant and immature I kind of cringe when the character is asked to do some seriously heavy lifting. Her attraction to Lundy I can buy as something of a father figure, but as a romantic interest? I don’t know… yuck. It’s really an impossible part to play as the writer’s have created this strong, female presence though have given her the emotions (and speech pattern) of a 17-year-old.
As always Michael C. Hall is great and owns his every scene and Jaime Murray, in addition to being smokin’ hot, has been the one actor on the show that can really go toe-to-toe with Hall. Together they’re so far above everyone else on that series in skill and character complexity it’s almost like we’re watching two completely different shows. This makes for a problematic narrative turn as it appears Dexter could end up back with Rita, who dramatically brings little to the table. The real drama is not Dexter versus Rita or Dexter versus Doakes or even Dexter versus the Miami Police Department but Dexter versus Lila. They are the only two characters even close to being on the same playing field.
One more note: aside from the Bay Harbor Butcher story, which has largely been moved to the back burner, I still feel like we have no real sense of direction for where the season is headed. There is no clear finish line, not that this is a problem, but it has made the show a little more aimless — perhaps rightly so.
