Sunday, September 26, 2010

Dexter: Season 4 in Review


Showtime's hit TV series Dexter returns tonight at 9:00. It's been 9 months since fans saw Dexter's lovely wife Rita lying dead in a bathtub full of blood and everyone is eager to see what comes next for him and the kids.

But before we fully embrace season five, here is a quick recap of the fourth season for those of you who may have missed it.

We see Dexter fully immersed in his new life as husband and father to Rita's two children, Astor and Cody (from a previous marriage) and baby Harrison, Dexter and Rita's son. He has difficulty learning how to juggle his new role with his family and keep his "dark passenger" satisfied. And this season Dexter has a serial killer nemesis again who far surpasses The Ice Truck Killer in cunning and in kill count. This is none other than the Trinity Killer (aka Arthur Mitchell, played by the genius John Lithgow) who has been killing in three victim cycles all over the country for 30 years. His victims are a young woman who is killed in a bathtub, a mother who jumps to her death and a father who is bludgeoned. These victims represent the deaths of his sister, mother and father. It is later revealed that there are four victims per cycle, not three, the first of which is a young boy who represents Trinity.

Arthur Mitchell has a family and lives a seemingly normal life, something that fascinates Dexter who can't find the right balance with his extracurricular activity of choice. He poses as Kyle Butler and begins spending all his time with the Mitchell family, trying to learn from him before he finds the right opportunity to kill him. Things take a turn for the worse when Arthur discovers Butler's true identity and he gets to Dexter's family. Dexter kills Trinity but not before, unbeknownst to him, he has killed Rita and left Harrison on the floor in her blood mirroring Dexter's own "born in blood" experience.

Debra, Dexter's beloved sister, ends her relationship with Anton and rekindles the flame with Agent Lundy who has returned to track down Trinity. Things don't end well for Lundy when he and Deb are gunned down by none other than Trinity's oldest daughter who is the reporter dating Detective Quinn, Christine Hill. No one knows that she is Trinity's daughter until late in the season. She confesses to shooting Lundy to prevent her father's capture and she then kills herself.

Sparks fly between Angel Batista and Lieutenant Maria LaGuerta and they engage in a romantic relationship of which no one in the office is aware, apart from Dexter. When they go public with their relationship their careers come under fire and one of them will be reassigned from homicide. So they break up, only to realize they love each other too much to be apart. For these reasons the two become husband and wife.

This season shows each of the characters in a whole new light as they are all tested in new ways and have to discover new aspects of themselves. The show returned stronger and more chilling than ever after a weak third season. It will be hard to follow up such an amazing season but I have high hopes for what is to come in the fifth as we see Dexter go through yet another set of transformations, as he must deal with life as a widower.

1 comment:

  1. Season 4 was so intense! I originally thought that there was no way Dexter could explain himself after this season. I thought that season 5 would open with Harrison being old and Dexter having to train him like Harry did for him! But after seeing the sneak peaks it looks like Dexter actually has to dig himself out of this hole. SEASON 5 BEGINS TONIGHT! I can't wait to hear what you have to say:)

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