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Dexter: Waiting to Exhale

Dexter: "And now, all my secrets are floating to the surface. Where is the orderly, controlled, effective Dexter? How did I lose him? How do I find him again?"

The Bay Harbor Butcher. It has a ring to it. Maybe not as euphonious as the "Ice Truck Killer," but hey.

At least Dexter can "close the deal" now. Tell me again if that's a good thing or a bad thing? Although it was certainly a good thing for Graffiti Boy. I noticed that there were some essential differences in the way Dexter took out Little Chino. Not only did Dexter go wild with the plastic wrap (too funny), he also didn't wear a protective shield over his face, or go bananas with the blood spatter. He just killed the guy.

What happened with Rudy/Brian has changed Dexter. I really liked that they brought Christian Camargo back for this episode, so that Dexter could say goodbye to his brother at, of all places, Paul's funeral. That was an interesting scene. Cody leading Dexter into the church felt like a reconnection of sorts, like he was leading Dexter back to what might be considered his calling: rescuing children.

Deb was going through the mourning period, too, but in a different way. She actually got freaked out by a roll of tape, and who could blame her? I hate to give Maria anything resembling credit, but she was right that Deb wasn't ready to go back to work. Maybe it was pulling a gun on Graffiti Boy that gave me a clue.

Special Agent Rock Star has come in to solve the biggest case in Miami metro history. (Let me pause and do a happy casting dance; I love Keith Carradine.) Frank Lundy is neat, forthright, drinks tea, and is very perceptive; he already picked up on the fact that Doakes doesn't play well with others. What will Lundy think of Dexter? How long will it take before he realizes that there is more to Dexter than meets the eye? What really intrigues me is what will happen when the cops realize that those bodies belong to very bad guys. Like that coyote. Will they go back to the little boy in the trunk who saw Dexter?

Rita confronted Dexter about The Shoe. Michael C. Hall is so good; I could swear I actually saw Dexter thinking through what he was going to tell Rita. He knew she wouldn't believe it if he said he hadn't framed Paul. Confessing to an addiction without saying what it actually was allowed Dexter to tell Rita the truth, plus it appealed to her softer side. Guess he might not lose her, after all. Tell me again if that's a good thing or a bad thing? I truly believe Dexter loves Rita. He just doesn't realize that it's love that he feels.

Except that, in order to keep Rita, Dexter has to pretend he's an addict. What a wicked web we weave.

Bits and pieces:

-- I saw Waiting to Exhale but I don't remember much about it. Didn't it have something to do with a woman getting back into a romance after a long drought? So I suppose that relates to Dexter, because of killing being sexual for him and all.

-- Rudy/Brian has already been eliminated as a suspect. Too bad. That would have been convenient.

-- Rita was looking less pale and washed out. In fact, she was practically sassy. I bet it was because the man who repeatedly victimized her can never do it again. She certainly felt bad about Paul's death, but she probably couldn't help feeling free as well.

-- Loved Dexter pumping Vince on a new way to get rid of his bodies.

-- There was an early scene of blood being washed into a sewer. Later, Dexter hid in what looked like the same sewer and had a flashback of Harry taking him away from Brian. Why did Harry take Dexter out of the cargo container and leave Brian?

-- Dumping the doll head. I got that. I carried something of my sister's around for years after she died, and thought of her whenever I saw it or touched it. I finally let it go.

-- Dexter dropped Rudy/Brian off his boat and into the water. Like the rest of his victims.

-- Maria covered for Pascal. She also peeped into Pascal's mail. What is Maria up to? It can't be because Maria wants to be kind. Maria isn't exactly a bad person but she's no Mother Theresa.

-- Dexter was still acting playful with Doakes, as if he wasn't feeling at all threatened. I think Dexter ought to take Doakes more seriously.

-- Dexter loaded up for both gators and grizzlys to get Chino. Again, too funny.

Quotes:

Deb: "This stuff never gets to you?"
Dexter: "I'm more of a crying-on-the-inside kind of guy."
He was joking, but as usual, he was pretty much telling the truth. Very, very deep inside. Way, far, deep inside.

Dexter: "I will not kill my sister. I will not kill my sister. I will not kill my sister."

Angel: "Just visualize that door of opportunity opening up wide for you, bro. And just walk right through it."
Doakes: "Angel, you keep up with this woo woo shit, I'm going to walk right through you."

Dexter: "Little Chino. Shit. This guy is officially the highest point in all of Florida." Good casting there. That was one humongous guy.

Dexter: "Come on, don't get the shakes now. This is no time for performance anxiety." Yes, indeed. Killing equals sex.

Rita: "They were your drugs. Now it makes sense. That's where you disappear to at all hours of the night like... Clark fucking Kent." I thought Clark Kent, mild-mannered reporter on the outside and superhero on the inside, was an interesting place for Rita to go.

Dexter: "If the eyes are the window to the soul, then grief is the door." I thought this was profound. Grief has had a huge effect on my life.

Three out of four stars,

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

3 comments:

  1. This season continues to impress. Think it’s great that the serial killer everyone is hunting this time is Dexter himself and Keith Carradine (so tragic on Deadwood, so slimy on Dollhouse) is a fantastic addition to the cast.

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  2. One of the things I most admire about Dexter is that, unless he absolutely has to, he does not lie. This is wonderfully illustrated at the beginning of this episode when he and Angel are standing over Eva’s body. Angel, gesturing towards Marissa, says, “Seeing her mother that way. Can you imagine that?” Dexter, who has been remembering Harry carrying him out of the cargo container, looks Angel right in the eye and says, “I can’t even go there, Angel.” So much truth hidden in six words.

    Likewise, he doesn’t lie to Rita at the end. He tells her the unvarnished truth and just lets her assume he’s addicted to heroin. How he’s going to continue to play this out will be interesting to see.

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  3. I saw this episode as very cleverly tying all the knots for Season 1 together, with Dexter outrightly saying so as well. It seems that now that he got over his killing Rudy and let him go as well as came "clean" to Rita we can move on to Season 2 and what it holds for us :) Killing Chino was also part of it obviously. It seemed like a closure episode looking towards new things.

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