Sunday, September 26, 2010

Dexter 5.1: New Season, New Beginnings


From the moment that familiar music sounded until the end credits rolled this episode packed a powerful punch which leads me to be extremely optimistic about the fifth season of Dexter.

Dexter is forced to face the reality of Rita's murder. While his is a reaction typical of shock after the loss of a loved one, those around him begin to question his apparent detachment from her death. None more so than Quinn who is doing some digging into Dexter and Rita's life, and is intrigued when he discovers the brief fling she had with their neighbor Elliot. I was slightly annoyed with the questioning of Dexter's reaction because he was clearly in shock, and we know Dexter is a sociopath and is detached from those around him, but he did love Rita and will feel lost without her. His seeing his wife dead in a bathtub filled with blood caused a state of shock and there is nothing wrong with that.

Things become very emotional when he has to break the news to Astor and Cody. Astor accuses Dexter of not taking care of Rita, which was his job, and says life would have been better for all of them if they had never met him. Dexter can't help but agree with this assessment.

The flashbacks to Dexter and Rita's first date were a wonderful touch. They show the dynamic of those two characters and it's nice to see them before they really became comfortable around each other. While Rita is rambling on about whether she will play it safe and order the ceasar salad or branch out and order the mushroom ravioli, Dexter is already stalking his next kill. He even ends the date abruptly claiming a stomach bug so he can go off and kill someone. This is classic Dexter.

As for Deb, she really stepped up to the plate and showed how strong she can be for those around her, especially Dexter. It was great to finally see her and Quinn get together, because that tension has been building for seasons now. It will be exciting to see where that relationship goes this season, especially since all the previews show Quinn investigating Dexter's past and Deb never stands for anyone questioning her brother. She defends him in any situation. We'll see if that lasts.

Overall this was a very strong episode, and the funeral scene was a very emotional one. It's hard to say goodbye to Rita as she has been such a strong character and such a grounding force for Dexter. I'm excited to see how everything will play out.

1 comment:

  1. No way! Quinn and Deb should never have hooked up. Shes way to good for him and it's only going to allow him to get closer to dexter. then dexter is going to kill him and deb is going to need serious therapy after all shes been through. I can't get over how Dexter broke the news to the kids. So harsh. I can't wait til the episode where Trinitys family gets involved. Did he kill a random person in the last episode? someone not in the code? I also agree that everyone is being way to harsh on Dexter. When he said it was me clearly he meant it was him as in he was the little boy in the blood just like Harrison. It's frustrating that Dex can't express himself because he's digging himself in a hole. CANT WAIT FOR THIS SUNDAY! Love your blog.

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