It was inevitable. This is Dexter's biggest flaw, his inability to have any kind of private life untouched by his vigilante activities.
And now Angel Batista has paid the price. I always liked Angel. He was three-dimensional, a good person without being a straight arrow, a decent detective who spent his life doing his best. He had an unhappy, unsuccessful personal life, like many cops who cannot balance a relationship with what they see every day, and that made me like him more. I didn't want Angel to die, but I will readily admit the show gave him his due. In a way, this entire season has been his swan song. He kept to his principles right up until his dying "Fuck you" to Dexter.
I knew Dexter wouldn't kill Angel. It would invalidate his code and his entire kill life, as well as the core premise of this show we're watching. Even more importantly, Angel was Dexter's friend and co-worker for twenty years and he was a good man who didn't deserve what happened to him. Dexter's grief was genuine.
Yes, of course I cried.
David Zayas, who played Angel Batista for nearly twenty years, spoke about the death of his character and that he felt they did Angel justice, so to speak. I think they did.
Let me backtrack a bit to Prater and Charley as they learned the truth about who Dexter really is. I must admit that I enjoyed Prater's complete fanboy adoration of the Bay Harbor Butcher because it made sense. Dexter is a step up, a killer of killers, and he deserves it after infiltrating and taking down Prater's entire group. (Except Al, and I'm willing to bet Dexter will eventually catch up with Al.)
It's interesting that Prater immediately pointed out "stolen valor," that it must bother Dexter that Doakes gets the credit for all those kills. It showed that Prater would never truly understand Dexter. Prater wanted active involvement with Dexter's kills, like he did with Gemini's. He thought Dexter would jump at the kill possibilities of all those serial killer files Prater has compiled, and hey, Prater could watch! If he can't do the kills himself, it's the next best thing.
But Prater can kill. Five shots or whatever in Angel's back. Prater didn't hesitate. And while Dexter might be imprisoned in Prater's vault right now, I have every confidence that Prater will pay for killing Angel Batista.
The person that came out of this episode looking the most interesting was Charley. It was like Prater disrespected Charley for exactly what Dexter respected her for. Delta Force, Silver Star, both she and her dying mom were heroes. In order to control Charley, Prater didn't just give her money; he found specialists that kept her mother alive for eight more years than she would have had. I'm sure Dexter would have done the same for Harry.
Prater broke his promise to Dexter, not Charley. Prater killed Angel. I think that when Charley realized what Dexter did to the "sick-fuck club" and what he didn't do to her mom, that the two of them have principles in common, and they might become allies. Will it be Charley who frees Dexter from the vault so that he can free her from Prater?
One of the most satisfying things about this season is that Harrison has gotten to know the real Dexter and he's actually proud of him – the long career in forensics and the vigilantism. In this episode, Dexter told Harrison the absolute truth about Prater's club, about Red Schmidt, Lowell and Gemini. Unlike Rita, Harrison isn't defenseless. He knows the full score and he's clever enough to keep his mouth shut or come up with a quick lie that is mostly truth.
I hated it when Angel had to give up his badge to Claudette and Oliva. Where will they fit into the finale? Claudette is hot on the trail of the Bay Harbor Butcher now, and I doubt that she'll let it go. And there is still Ryan Foster. I hope it doesn't end with Harrison being arrested.
Actually, I have no idea how this season will end. The casting of the kill club has been outstanding – especially Peter Dinklage and Uma Thurman. But I have been even more impressed with the way Michael C. Hall has been handling the changes in Dexter. Hall has always been an exceptional actor and this season in particular, with the expansion in his emotional range, he's been captivating, a pleasure to watch.
I so hope they'll stick the landing.
Bits:
— The restaurant where Prater confronted Dexter and Harrison was called "American Cut." I'm sure the pun was intended.
— Both Blessing and Dexter gave Harrison and Gigi condoms. They're doubly protected.
— Angel was strapped to the kill table where Brian died.
— Dexter actually prayed, or wished for a god he could pray to. Was that a first? I remember a lot of discussion about God and faith in season six, when Harrison was in a religious... was it preschool? It's been awhile.
— The end music was "Mad World." Appropriate.
— The manhole cover in the title card is for the New York Ripper, and we haven't even seen him yet. Were they planning ahead for a second season about him?
Quotes:
Dexter: "I prefer it when my nemesis doesn't have a henchman. Or is it 'henchperson'?"
Harry: "That bitch lifted prints from Harrison. This is clearly a violation of your goddamn deal with Prater."
Dexter: "Harrison's never been arrested, he doesn't have a driver's license, and he spent most of his life in Argentina. Whatever print she lifted will be a dead end."
Harry: "She's fucking with your son!"
I always love how Harry expresses how Dexter is feeling. Dexter wanted to kill Charley even though she doesn't fit the code.
Angel: "Fuck! This is what Dexter does. He twists things out of context. He's a master manipulator. He lies and lies, winning people over with that goddamn gee-whiz smile of his."
Dexter: "Hope I'm not bringing a car key to a gun fight."
Prater: "That's amazing. You survived an encounter with the Dark Passenger. You survived an encounter with an honest-to-god serial killer."
Charley: "I could have been killed."
Prater: "Yeah. But you weren't. We're dealing with apex predators here, Charley. You can't be surprised when a lion bites. Just what they do."
Dexter: "I need you to know. I didn't kill Maria. Or Doakes. I may be the Bay Harbor Butcher but I promise you, I didn't kill them."
Angel: "It was your fault. And now I'm dying because of you, just like they did."
Dexter: "I'm sorry."
Angel: "Dexter Morgan. Fuck you."
I always love the last couple episodes of the season when everything comes together. Four out of four apex predators,
Billie
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Billie Doux loves good television and spends way too much time writing about it.
I like how the show held zero punches in the final scene. No bittersweet reconciliation, no reminiscing of Batista once having seen Dexter as a dear friend, just pure sheer hatred, which Dexter totally deserved.
ReplyDeletei love how you didnt like the pilot the first time you saw it, and now you really like Dexter as a whole
ReplyDeleteAnonymous, you're absolutely right. When something's good, it's good.
DeleteI wanna honor Angel but there was always something fundamentally pathetic about his crusade against Dexter, and even though I know it's a meaningful statement about how deep his righteous hatred of Dexter was, him charging at Dexter first like a bull instead of dealing with Prater really made it easy for me to be done with him, with sadly none of the satisfying shock of the Gemini conclusion. You can't just champion someone as the arbiter of righteous fury then make them act short-sighted. It's actually offensive to me, because I take goodness seriously despite my apologist attitude with Dexter. I wonder how your sister's gonna feel about this, Angel. These actions are only tragically fit for a man who's burned all his bridges and had nothing else left.
ReplyDeleteIt's a good spectacle though, thanks to Prater (I find Uma's character too smug which doesn't jive with her predicament anymore) so I wouldn't say the episode was a disappointment, but I'm kinda over this feigned accountability (from the show, and really the viewers too) about the lives Dexter inadvertently ruin. He's doing his best, the show sets it up so that we can reasonably justify him, and there's no meaningful stance taken about the fundamental paradox of justice and how collateral damage is unavoidable no matter how careful you are - as an individual or a whole system rightfully working within the law. Dexter is an exemplary vigilante (Logan notwithstanding, but if the show's willing to gloss over the shittiest writing decisions so am I) and while I know it's necessary to maintain this artifice of "but he's still a bad person" to continue enjoying the privilege of writing and championing stories about a serial killer, I just also find it dishonest to use Angel as the latest scapegoat and still argue that he was given a proper exit. Like, no. He was the most "normal" guy there and his approach should've been closer to the Stayin' Alive woman's. Some dispassion. It's been years, and even in a heart of fire like Angel's it could be believable. Why is she even on this show, why can't Angel have her role or at least be a respected contact in that investigation?
I don't even disagree with judging Dexter, really, but I prefer what the show has been doing with Harrison so far, showing us - instead of having a character scold him bitterly - a clear route of Dexter irresponsibly mixing his civilian and his night life. Harrison has been good and non-combative this season and Dexter is still putting him in danger, un-learning a bloody lesson about having to choose either one or the other lifestyle choice and assuring him that everything is going to be just fine. I don't need to hear about his victims from a past series; more immediate consequences from his mishandling of Blessing's secret and what I just said about Harrison being discovered by Prater is plenty to worry about. I'm sick of this aftercare provided for people feeling iffy about enjoying a show like this. I love the old characters but I hope Angel's death means we can singularly focus on Dexter's problems in the present. We have two potential victims in either Gigi or the co-worker with the kid. That's all that's needed if this cycle of keeping a hate-on for Dexter must continue. We don't need the old baggage, as I can't believe I'm saying this but I can trust the writers to find interesting new fuck-ups for Dexter to be judged for.
Having said all that, I'd be deeply amused if the pattern of the seasons to come involves an unshakeable B/C-plot of one of Dexter's Miami team coming to avenge Angel, then dying, saying it's all Dexter's fault too and only ending when it's just Quinn alone because he once again decides he prefers to keep living. lol. That should honestly just be the final shot of the show once it ends - and ends arbitrarily, with Dexter still out in full force but assuring the audience he'll always "carry the weight" of all the bad stuff.
Onigirli, I understand your reaction. But I don't think that it's feigned accountability. After all these seasons, Dexter is still struggling with who he is and the results of his actions. Honestly, if he just went from deserving victim to deserving victim tra la la, I wouldn't find him interesting at all.
DeleteThe struggle is there... questionably. My argument for it being feigned is: He didn't take Angel seriously enough despite the fact that it was a near replica of what went down with LaGuerta. He had a truly unique opportunity for redemption here by reliving that horrible dilemma and having a chance to save the person chasing him this time. And what did his course of action amount to? Giving Angel a verbal warning. And that was it. How could he really think that was any deterrent after confirming his understanding in his inner monologue that he became the white whale to Angel's Ahab? Despite that, he never considered coming clean to Harrison once they mended their bridge and running away (together this time) while Angel could still be saved. Harrison would have accepted it, hell it's actually a perfect response to him bringing up all that history with Deb and LaGuerta as relayed by Angel to him, unwittingly saving himself if they can make a clean getaway this time. But Dexter downplayed everything when Harrison told him and thought he could just handle it again. How is that not disrespectful to both Deb and LaGuerta?
DeleteI get that you can't really enjoy a version of Dexter that becomes "deserving victim tra la la," regardless of whether the show accidentally made that the most actualized version of him, I mean I can't love a Dexter that doesn't give a shit anymore either to be honest, but I'm going to submit that, at best, Dexter is deep into lying to himself. That solution I proposed really came super easily to me and I'm not the sharpest knife in the drawer by any standard, and the show didn't try to concoct a situation where he couldn't disappear again. Angel's resources for pursuing him were dwindling. I don't think there's a good reason why Dexter couldn't come up with it, if he was "serious" serious about his remorse.
Someone who beat death twice after seeking and accepting deliverance can't be this "vaguely conflicted" about repeated actions anymore. It's just some sort of inner masochistic cycle that lets him have it both ways. Examining yet not examining his life and agonizing only on a very surface level that only works with a character we don't know to be as deep as Dexter has proven to be. Of course I'm saying all this without having seen the finale, but I don't think it's premature to think the show wouldn't do something like this justice except at the absolutely end of a series, which isn't the case here obviously. But maybe they came up with something acceptable. I can still put up with his style of self-recrimination because I enjoy his way with words but I am rolling my eyes at it in a way I never did before, even with New Blood.