The Dexter Recap: #405 – Dirty Harry

October 27, 2009 at 1:41 pm by the.left.lane  

Other than perhaps a bit too much of John Lithgow‘s bare ass in some of the earlier episodes, what is not to love about Dexter this season? I thought it would be impossible to ever dethrone the second season as my personal favorite. But so far, season four is electrifying. Best of all, this season seems to be really digging at the audience, trying to make each viewer decide, “what is my code.” We all know the central question the show poses – is Dexter (and his actions) right or wrong? But even if you decide Dex is wrong, this wonderful little show is infamous for getting you to cheer on the self-proclaimed “monster.” And when you begin to cheer on the monster, you are forced to perceive some of the people close to him as a threat to his survival.

Which brings me to the principle threat to our dear serial killing machine now in season four – family life. It’s horrible to say, but sometimes, even I feel like I’m being smothered by the quintessential soccer mom, Rita (Julie Benz). And I’m sitting on the other side of the screen! AND, it’s a fictional television show! I used to love Rita, when she was the vulnerable, sweet girlfriend from season one. But now she has gone off the grid with her suburbanite routine. She’s a walking Norman Rockwell painting for shit’s sake. The woman is saccharine. Every time she speaks it’s like getting a Splenda enema.

While I thought Dex would be able to keep it together after the wedding, we are six episodes in and she has already discovered his apartment, seen his destructive side, and caught him in more lies than your garden variety American President. Wives…they know, man. It’s not that I want her to die, per se. I just want her to not…live…anymore. Hey, I’m not the only one thinking it! Ghost dad Harry seems to be constantly pointing out that the root of all Dexter’s problems is his family.

Let’s face it – like it or not, our hero in this story is a murderer. We can’t have anyone find out about that now can we? It seems the show’s PRODUCERS are even making Rita out to be an enemy. Remember that whole Karma Chameleon dance crap she was doing while driving Dex to work a couple of episodes back. Tell me you didn’t want to jump through the screen, grab the steering wheel, and run that van off of a pier. Just me? Oh…

However, Rita’s fate is not sealed. After last nights big reveal that the Trinity Killer (John Lithgow) is a family man, Dexter now has a role model – someone to show him how to have it all – the dark passenger AND the family life. I, for one, cannot wait to see how this plays out. So, don’t forget to tune in to Showtime on Sunday at 9ET. Until then, cya sickos.

Oh, yeah…R.I.P. Special Agent Lundy (Keith Carradine). You were an awesome character and will be missed.

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