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Dexter: Hungry Man

Dexter: "I just don't want to do any damage."
Rita: "You're a parent. Parents do damage."

Disturbing. Also shocking. I had trouble sleeping after I saw this one. And that's not something I've ever said about a Thanksgiving episode of anything.

Dexter completely lost control, and nearly killed Trinity in front of the man's family. This changes everything. Dexter needs to protect and defend Jonah, Rebecca, and Sally Mitchell by eliminating their abuser, but if he does, "Kyle" will be a prime suspect, and Harry's first rule is "Don't get caught." Actually, I'm intrigued by the idea of Dexter getting caught, and possibly even going on trial. Think of the dramatic possibilities. Maybe this is the season it'll happen.

"Harry" said that another few years, that'll be Rita and the kids. I don't think so. The victimization of children and women, especially mothers, has always been Dexter's trigger; I just don't believe there's any way Dexter could even come close to abusing and terrorizing his wife and children. I thought it was touching (and in character) that Dexter wasn't even a tiny bit tempted by a beautiful fifteen-year-old girl throwing herself at him. Trinity's wife Sally begging Dexter to keep quiet about it was horrible and sad. Trinity deliberately breaking Jonah's finger was horrible, too.

The cracks in the facade were extreme at the Mitchell house, but they were also appearing at the Morgan house. Dexter's Shed o' Secrets was literally cracked by Cody, who is almost certainly going to discover Dexter's kill tools or slides at some point; a garden shed just isn't strong enough to hold Dexter's secrets forever. And I'm certain Masuka will consider it his duty to tell Dexter that he saw Rita and Elliot kissing. Masuka thinks of Dexter as one of his closest friends, even though Dexter is completely oblivious.

Shocker number two was the reveal that Christine Hill is Trinity's daughter. Christine must have killed Lundy to protect Trinity. Did he put her up to it, or did she do it on her own to protect him? Christine knows Dexter, but she can't possibly have connected Dexter to "Kyle." Meaning Trinity doesn't know Dexter works for Miami Metro. I think. Not yet, anyway.

Deb is the lead detective on the Trinity case now, which makes her Christine's prime target. Why didn't Christine make certain Deb was dead the first time? The Quinn/Christine scene in the bathroom echoed the ones with Trinity and his first victim. Is Quinn in danger, too?

Bits and pieces:

-- I loved Dexter playfully threatening the frozen turkey with a knife. I also loved him using the kids to blackmail Deb into coming to dinner.

-- Trinity attempted suicide in the previous episode; that couldn't have been faked. He's bipolar, isn't he? With poles that are really far apart?

-- Where does Christine fit into Trinity's current family? She wasn't referred to at all. Previous marriage? Illegitimate? Did he disown her and forbid the rest of the family to talk about her?

-- Loved Deb trying not to swear while holding the baby.

-- The Angel/Maria love affair is also breaking out of its metaphorical secret shed. They've completely succumbed to temptation because who knows how long any of us have?

-- "Hungry Man" is the brand name of a frozen TV dinner, making the title of the episode a clever double entendre as well as a metaphor for the meagerness and artificiality of a TV dinner as Trinity's version of a family holiday, as well as Dexter's.

Quotes:

Deb: "I could use a wing man."
Masuka: "Yes."
Deb: "I can't promise it'll be any fun."
Masuka: "Well, I could be your thigh man. He he he he he he he."

Deb: "You have a specialty?"
Masuka: "A river of chocolate love that melts in your mouth."
Deb: "Wow. You can make anything sound perverted."
Masuka: "It's a gift."

Trinity: "I'll probably donate it to the needy, since obviously I won't be needing it."
Dexter: (to himself) "No, you'll be buried at sea."
Who donates a hand-made coffin to charity? Who builds a hand-made coffin in the first place?

Dexter: "What kind of father keeps a coffin in his garage?"
Harry: "What kind of father keeps blood slides in his shed?"

Astor: "Are you the one my mom told me not to talk to?"
Masuka: "Awkward."

This episode was a wow. Can they keep this up for three more? Four out of four stars,

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

7 comments:

  1. that was absolutely one of the creepiest eps i've ever seen. Right up there with Season 1. Dexter really looks like a monster and talks like a monster when he looses control ..he definitely scared me. Trinity was creepy and something about him abusing his family on the dinner table was just too much. it was like a creeepy nightmare. I was so disturbed, i didn't realize the show had finished.
    i know we have some mild family disagreements over the dinner table and occasionally food has been thrown, but this actually gave me shivers.

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  2. Ha, that was awesome! :D We know Dexter is a monster. He's said so himself on more than one occasion. But they are really exploring it this season, what with him killing an innocent man a few eps ago and now almost killing a man in rage.

    You know, if Dexter can lose it like this, he can lose it like this with his own family. He may not terrorize them like Trinity, but if that neighbor tears his family apart, who knows what will happen?

    I think they might be setting up a situation for Dexter where he has to choose between keeping his cover and protecting his family. Given Dexter's skills in the emotional arena, he may wreck them both.

    I really like that they are taking the sugar-coating off Dexter. There has always been that noble vigilante idea, but this season we are reminded that he is still a monster. A monster who has, on a good day, a moral code. But a monster no less.

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  3. Wow that was really disturbing, a thousand times worse then all of the murders in the show combined. It's just something clearly evil about psychological abuse... while all the previous episodes had me sympathizing with Trinity, this one made me wish him the most painfull death ever. Dexter's table seems just not enough now.
    Emmies to Michael C Hall and John Lithgow, please.

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  4. Is it possible that Christine shot Lundy and Deb just for the story? She has been kind of desperate for scoops these past few weeks. Does anyone know who wrote the newspaper write-up? Was it Christine? Did she create the story just to save her own job?

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  5. Wow! That has got to be the most Holy Shit-ending of an episode yet! Absolutely superb writing, giving us the tidbit of "findig out" that Christine is the shooter, but in fact using it as a smokescreen and then whamming "Hi dad" in our faces. Fantastic!
    Dear lord do I want to see the next episode NOW!

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  6. Whoa, that was one hour of television I’m not going to forget anytime soon. Without a doubt the best episode of Dexter I’ve seen so far. Never thought the most twisted and disturbing thing I’d ever see on this show would be a family getting ready for Thanksgiving dinner. Top marks to all involved, especially John Lithgow and Michael C. Hall.

    Only three episodes left now but I honestly can’t see how they can possibly surpass this.

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  7. Mark, I'm really enjoying your comments. This is one of my absolute favorite episodes.

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