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Dexter: Our Father

Rita: "God created pudding. And then he rested."

This opener was fun to watch and there was tons of future plot set-up. No one-two punch like the Hefty bag discovery in last season's opener. Unless you could call "I'm pregnant" a one-two punch.

In keeping with the episode title, fatherhood was a general theme. Dexter was Cody's substitute father on "Dad Day" with an amusing and inappropriate blood spatter show-and-tell. Dexter rejected his and Deb's annual observation of Harry's birthday at the blue bar. And of course, there was Rita's announcement at the end. I have no doubt that Dexter could be a good father; he's great with Astor and Cody and we know he cares deeply about children. But Brian's very existence suggests that a taste for murder could be in the genes. Will Rita be bringing a future serial killer into the world? And should she?

"Our Father" can also refer to God. Dexter said he was going to stop worshiping Harry and move on with his life. This, and new character Miguel Prado's discussion of the soul brought up some spiritual issues. It was an interesting coincidence that Dexter inadvertently broke Harry's code at the same time that he decided to leave Harry behind. If a higher power is truly protecting Dexter, then Oscar Prado could have been a very bad guy. But if Oscar Prado didn't deserve to die, what will this do to Dexter? Could it actually push him away from his code and into a more free-for-all approach to murder? Or could it push him into giving up his "calling" for fear of making another deadly mistake? Is Dexter even capable of giving up killing?

Lundy and Doakes were worthy adversaries, but Miguel Prado actually gave me the creeps. He had obviously checked search logs in the precinct and saw what Dexter was doing on his computer. Dexter covered pretty well, as he always does, but he was caught by surprise. Why did Prado invite Dexter to Oscar Prado's wake and pay so much attention to him? It didn't make sense to me. Unless Prado suspects something.

At least it seems that Deb won't be sleeping with the big guest star this season, since she already alienated Prado big time. Deb's deep desire for a detective's shield, along with Angel's promotion and his consequent rejection of Deb's ubermouth, made me think that Deb might indeed accept Yuki's offer and become an internal affairs snitch on new detective Quinn. Yet another complex moral issue. Don't do it, Deb. I'm certain you'll regret it.

Much, much graphic Dexter/Rita sex, which was different. Rita's weepiness, horniness and food craving should have alerted me to that final moment. Loved the pudding.

Bits and pieces:

-- The credits were the same. Erik King was, sadly but understandably, no longer in the cast. Jimmy Smits has been added as a "special guest star."

-- Angel was promoted to Detective Sergeant. Couldn't happen to a nicer guy. Except that LaGuerta immediately used it to create conflict between Angel and Deb.

-- Freebo the killer and nasty drug dealer is still on the loose, and he saw Dexter's face, twice. Why would Freebo hang around and kill his girlfriend? And remove a piece of her skin? (And yuck.)

-- Rita told Dexter he was working "killer hours."

-- In this season's hair report, Deb's got a whole lot shorter, LaGuerta's was longer and classier, and Dexter's looked oddly pixie-like.

Quotes:

Rita: "She's growing up."
Dexter: "It starts with pancakes?"

Freebo: "Stupid cunt's gonna redefine short term relationship. Catch my drift?"
Dexter: "I catch your drift. (to himself) And I'm entirely confident you've earned the privilege of being repurposed as fish food."

Rita: "What the hell ever happened to 'do not call'? It's three in the morning."
Dexter: "Not in India."

Dexter: "Two speeding tickets and an illegal U-turn. Talk about outside the code of Harry."

Dexter: "My sister still lives her life trying to please our father. Me? I'm following the lead of an eight-year-old kid. I'm moving on."

Good episode. This show is always good. Three out of four stars,

Billie
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Billie Doux loves good television and spends way too much time writing about it.

1 comment:

  1. Oh my, but I love Jimmy Smits. I am always pleased to see him turn up on my screen.

    I'm interested to see what his role will turn out to be this season. I didn't get the same "off" vibe that you seemed to get, Billie; but, I have learned to not take anything for granted when it comes to this show.

    I got quite a jolt when Rita made her announcement. I don't think Dexter is ready yet for the commitment required to be a parent. He's still working out his own issues, and yes, the whole murder in the DNA possibility unnerves me. I'm not sure I want to watch Dexter become some version of Harry.

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