Dexter 508

This week's episode of Dexter was great. It picked up right where it left off last week in its examination of primal humanity, only this time it stretched the theme to even more characters.

Jordan Chase is brought back into focus as a charismatic and oddly appealing philistine. He promotes a reawakening of, and return to, the primal self - not as an homage to the noble savage of Rousseau, but as an embrace of some much more nebulous savage.

The viewer is again reminded of LaGuerta's cut-throat instincts and her self-serving absolutism. Simply put, Laguerta is a bad person, perhaps the corporate version of Dexter... only she doesn't submit to any code of moral calculous, just self-interests.

Deb struggles equally in coming to terms with her own rigidly puritan sense of right and wrong and everyone else's grayer moral perspectives. I think the writers are setting the stage for Deb to discover Dexter's dark passenger. I also am reminded of the fact that Deb only has two gears: bulldog and whiny bitch.

Meanwhile, Dexter is forced to recount his psychological reaction to Rita's death, where he and the viewer share the quickly forgotten realization that he is human. (All Too Human?)

And Lumen sees Dexter for the first time not as the Dark Defender but as the Bay Harbor Butcher... and seems to accept accept him.

Aside from being an excellent episode, it lays the groundwork for even more and better to come. Thoroughly enjoyed.

Episode Rating:
8 (Quality TV)

Episode's Best Line:
"I've never been around so many people that made me feel normal." - Dexter (Internal monologue)

Dexter 507

This is one of my favorite shows. I love how it explores the uncharted frontier of humanity by focussing on the social barriers we ignore and erasing those that we cling to. Dexter is the serial killing protagonist.  A seemingly heartless sociopath with a mind for utilitarian order. Dexter is by most accounts an outsider looking in, though the show plays with the idea that - contrary to Dexter's own belief - he is more a maligned insider looking out, and in turn that the viewer is more Dexterian than he or she would care to believe.

This season has so far lacked the phenomenal social commentary of Dexter's internal monologue from seasons past, but has partially compensated by featuring Dexter's unique and evolving way of relating to the world externally. Despite Dexter's efforts to keep order and to compartmentalize, his wife has been murdered, his adopted children have rejected him, he struggles to meet the responsibilities of care for his own infant son, and he has submitted uncharacteristically to fits of dangerous spontaneity. One of these fits has led to a witness of Dexter at his darkest. Enter Lumen. Unable to descend into further disorder and dispose of this liability, Dexter nurses the maimed witness back to health and eventually wins her trust. Finally able to let her defenses down, Lumen confides to Dexter her sordid tale of victimhood. Prolonged gang-rape and torture. Dexter is not unsympathetic but urges Lumen to return home, rebuild her life, and move on. After having his hopes of restored order and control repeatedly dashed by Lumen's blood-thirsty recalcitrance, Dexter agrees to help  Lumen hunt and kill her remaining attackers while effectively mentoring her in the craft.

Enough with the story then, I'm here to comment not to explain. Lumen's character is a little disappointing. She is interesting in as far as the affect she has on Dexter, as a stand alone character however, she falls a little flat. What I really enjoyed about this episode was the emergence of a new character in Jordan Chase. The presumed psychopath ringleader of Lumen's mysterious abusers, Chase keeps a day job as a wildly popular self-improvement guru and motivational speaker. This is, I think, another one of the producer's brilliantly cynical methods of exploring the sinister in man. With this curious character, the show brings to mind questions of the self and the selfish. What separates psychological independence and assertiveness from primal narcissism? What separates a sense of self-worth from self-importance? What qualifies a person to preach? What makes up the preacher's mentality? What is the basis for society's assignment of celebrity and why? And what does one's celebrity do to himself/herself? I find all of these questions and the trademark process of investigation developed through Dexter irresistibly compelling, and with that in mind, I look forward to the next episode.

Episode rating:
7  (Lower end quality TV)

Episode's best line:
"I don't know how much longer I'm gonna be able to talk to you like this. Soon you're gonna be able to understand me." - Dexter (to son Harrison)