The Killers

To quote the many tweets and Facebook posts after last night's season finale...OMFG.

I goofed though. I was in attendance at the Manhattan viewing party (attended by Clyde Phillips and Desmond Harrington as well) and I was in so much shock that my Facebook post inadvertently gave away the ending.

I deleted it later, but basically I told myself that at that point, no one was on Facebook who hadn't seen the show (OK I can tell myself anything to make me feel better).

I guess what I can say right now is...Dexter may have won the War against the Trinity Killer...but we all know Trinity won a critical battle that changed the dynamic of not only the show (selfish reasons abound of course) but the course of Dexter's life. Nothing will ever be the same for our vigilante killer again.

I was an English lit major and much of my studies came through reading and interpreting Shakespeare's works. Was there NOT a person in the audience last night that Hamlet didn't come to mind? You know the background. Missed opportunities. Loved ones lost as a result of procrastinating and not taking the matter at hand seriously, getting sidetracked with minutiae.

We all knew that Dexter's "tragic flaw" was what made him unique, made him who he was, and would catch up to him eventually one day. However, we can see the costs of this flaw and now several innocent people are hurt by this.

I think Clyde Phillips, if that was his intent, to have these Shakespearean parallels (I highly doubt it was a coincidence), is a genius. Of course, I have never read the Dexter books, so if this was a theme, then Jeff Lindsay really struck a nerve. Great job by all.

I can't help but wonder though what kind of dynamic this will leave. No doubt (SPOILERS AHEAD! SPOILERS AHEAD!) Rita's presence will be missed next season, especially for the way she grounded Dexter. But at the same time, she held him back from who he really was. And we all have seen in the past on this show that anyone who gets in the way of Dexter being true to himself "disappears" one way or another.

On a personal note, I am not one to easily get sucked into television dramas. Never in a million years would I think I would be rooting for a sociopathic vigilante serial killer but I am. I never get emotionally invested in television shows if I don't have to. Something about this show drew me in from day one.

The only other episode that I think has generated more questions than answers for me would be the Sopranos final episode. Most hard-core Sopranos fans were unhappy with the ending initially. Then all the questions they had afterwards and discussions it generated led them to believe that it was the appropriate series finale.

We all knew Dexter was going to kill Arthur. We all knew eventually Deb would find the truth about Laura Moser and her sons Brian and Dexter and the link to the Ice Truck Killer. Her reaction and realization of it surprised me. I do give the writers that.

I am guessing that next season, Dexter will lose custody of Astor and Cody to Rita's mother and she will try hard to get Harrison as well. Since he is the biological father of Harrison I think he will fight for him. Or maybe not. He could think that Harrison is better off without him but only HE knows the Code and may have to help him channel that anger we all know he will have growing up. These are Dexter's lessons learned. He will have to have Harrison learn from his mistakes but I wonder how much of it will be anger turned towards Dex as he is partially responsible for Rita's death.

Rita's death may not be as cut-and-dried as being by the Trinity Killer. Since we saw he found Dexter's old address. Someone suggested Elliot may have killed her or someone else did. I wonder if that's one of the story lines for next season.

Seeing as how this is the longest post I have ever written on my favorite show, I think I can surmise this was a fabulous episode and all I can say is, bring on more for Season Five.

Arthur's Use of the "C" Word

With a name like the Miss Morgan, clearly I am female. My background is that I'm the daughter of a construction worker and I'm a big sports fan. I've had a potty mouth my entire life. So when people apologize to me for using bad language I reassure them..."Trust me. I've heard a LOT worse in my lifetime!"

One word in the English language does not enter my vernacular at any time, however. That is the "C" word that is used to describe the female genitalia. It's just very strong and the background to it is demeaning, violent and basically only used under those two circumstances. Well let me go back. There are several words the Babe Harbor Butcher won't use in her talk. The "C" word just pops out as one of these words.

All that said, why am I bringing this background. I happened to notice that our new and improved killer Trinity (although we have seen it's Quad-rinity with Dexter's sleuth work) Arthur Mitchell uses the word quite a bit. He used it with his wife at Thanksgiving (nothing says family like "Shut up, c**t.") and when he found out Christine Hill was responsible for Lundy's death.

We know his background with his sister Vera dying accidentally in the tub. Mother jumping to her death. Dad being bludgeoned to death. Clearly, Arthur was traumatized by these events as a child for certain. And I'm going to take a stab (erm, no pun intended) at what other things might have contributed to Arthur being the way he is. I'm pretty certain he was sexually abused as a child. The debate is whether by his mother or father. I would gather it's his dad given his mode to kill little boys and particular heavy violence to men. So why the violence toward women?

What would be interesting for me to see is that background, if Dexter gets curious and sees that Arthur's father was also a killer. I would not be surprised if he was responsible for someone's death and Arthur saw that. Plus he's repeating the cycle with murdering the woman in front of Christine as a little girl. Remember that Dexter teaches us the whole Nature vs Nurture argument each episode.

Arthur's violence towards women in particular and his disrespect for his wife and his two daughters with his overuse of the "C" word too is disturbing. Of course, here I am, rooting a serial killer who kills bad guys every week talking about disrespect! But I have to say that out of all the killers Dexter has seen in the last three seasons: ITK, himself, the Skinner, Arthur Mitchell's profile takes the prize of most disturbing, hands-down.

Masuka Profile

In the history of any television show, there has always been one character who is not a focal point, but without him or her, the dynamic of the show would be completely different. Like Lennie Briscoe (played by the late great Jerry Orbach) on Law & Order provides that much needed comic relief in arrest and interrogation scenes, Vince Masuka (played by C.S. Lee) is quite possibly Dexter's Lennie Briscoe. The stuff that comes out of this man's mouth is dirty, perverted, funny and so off-the-beaten-path from the rest of the characters. If he were not on the show, I could tell you that even with the great story lines here, something would be missing.

Something interesting is happening with Vince this season. I feel like we're seeing another side of him to make his character more well-rounded. We know he is good at what he does (but hardly the "golden boy" image our boy Dexter seems project at Miami Metro), but he seems to be around solely for comic purposes.

We've seen his perverted side for sure which is funny and inappropriate at the same time. Hey, he's a medical examiner so I can cut him some slack for looking at dead bodies all day. This season we've seen more of a softer side of Vince.

It's clear to me that he cares deeply about Deb and the Morgans (well for all the folks at Miami Metro, but Deb and Dexter we see him interacting with more often). When Deb goes in to show him her wound to discuss trajectories, he seemed a bit softened. Sure, he had to throw in a archetypal Vince dirty-mind line in there, but I felt like he seemed a bit taken aback by actually seeing one of his dear friends wounded. For some reason that scene touched me.

Another thing though is we are certainly seeing a softer side of him when he sees Rita kissing the neighbor guy at Thanksgiving. My love for Rita well, I've pretty much minced no words that I would like to see her off the show. But Vince seems really obligated to tell Dexter what he saw, and even went back to the house to leave. Only to have Deb convince him to have drinks with her to buy time.

There's something beneath the surface here and I hope the writers introduce more of a well-rounded Vince in the future. We've seen him use his sexual innuendos, which are certainly funny and welcome given the context of the show. However, like giving us more Batista and LaGuerta this season, I'd like to see more of what make Masuka tick.

I'm no psychologist, but I think the sex talk is mostly a defense mechanism for letting people not get too close. Then we see him have genuine feelings of conflict when he sees these things around him that he is being loyal to his friends. I wonder what has happened to him in his past that makes him the way he is.

We all know Dexter is a natural born killer for all the documented reasons. To me, Vince Masuka is a core character on Dexter. At the same time, seeing these different faces to him just is so delicious to me. Keep the Vince story lines going!!

But What Are You Hungry FOR Exactly?

I have been remiss about posting on here but last week's episode ("Hungry Man") was quite possibly the stunner of all stunners.

You wanted it -- you got it!

Rita having an affair? Is it bad that my first thought was -- good, maybe she'll leave Dexter and be out of our lives, finally? I also like how Masuka's feelings looked genuinely hurt with seeing Rita and their neighbor sharing a kiss. I wonder if he's got something in his past -- not necessarily him, per se -- but maybe a parent leaving the other for someone else and that he bore witness to it. It wouldn't entirely far-fetched. After all, using his perversion and twisted thoughts (that just make him one of the most delicious characters ever!) as a defense mechanism may have him just fearful of intimacy.

Dexter (as Kyle) shows his true colors to Arthur "Trinity" Mitchell. However, we see Trinity's real colors with his family. Wifey Sally is in denial and beaten both physically and mentally. Sonny boy Jonah is also a little bowl brimming with anger and little girl Becca is well on her way to joining the local house of ill repute. Not much on television makes me scream or talk out loud but throwing the urn of Vera's ashes at the wall made me gasp and think, oh Jonah done did it now.

Of course, I like how "Kyle" thought he could just get away with stabbing Arthur with his family in the next room and just be done with it. He wants this kills so bad, he's willing to do it with unconventional means. Dexter, please -- take a step back. Everyone now knows you want to kill this guy. You have to find a way to get him on the table and find a way to not suspect you first. It's bad enough you killed that photographer guy who was just a douche, not a killer.

Now the part that shocked the hell out of me was that reporter chick Christine Hill. As soon as they figured out that Deb's shooter was not over 6 foot tall, I immediately thought of her. I mean, judging by the history of this show, they introduce people for a reason and if someone is killing, we most likely have met them already.

I knew she was a bit unstable. The way she used Quinn for information. I knew she would stop at nothing to get the good story. However, just how far would she go?

Then started to get all "label-y" with him, and you saw he was starting to get beat down with stopping by for Thanksgiving. You could see that he was starting to get a little attached to her. Speaking from a female point of view, and you like a guy, how many times do you make dinner to show you care? It seemed to me she wanted the semblance of a relationship but at the same time, had the ability to get all psycho stalkery on him.

Then I thought...if she shot Lundy, clearly there was more to it than just getting a story. There was something personal there. My first thought was she probably had an affair with him when he was in Miami at one point and didn't like to compete with Deb. You know, woman scorned, etc etc.

But then when we see Trinity at her door in that last scene, again, I gasped out loud! Who saw that one coming? But now it makes sense. Whether she is the product of Arthur and his wife now, I don't know. If she was raised by him, clearly she has the prototypical Daddy issues and is a lot like the younger daughter Rebecca in that she not only thrives on male attention, she throws her sexuality out there to get what she wants.

Maybe she did have a relationship with Lundy...then again, Deb said the look on his face didn't indicate there was something to be concerned about prior to the shooting. However, it's clear to me she is using the Trinity Killer as a way to promote her own self-interests, but at the same time still doing anything to protect her daddy, even killing.

Wow. Just when I thought Dexter was already the best show on television, they continually prove it by making me see something I NEVER EVER expected!!!

Three more weeks left.

He's Back!

I was a little surprised by Episode One. Well, surprised, but then...not.

Rita is still as annoying as a new mommy than she has been over the last three seasons.

Two is that - Lundy is back! I loved him in Season Two. He's retired now and able to do his own hunting, which seems like he is there for Dexter's help. In another twist of irony, now Deb is going to have to address her feelings for him, something she hadn't truly done before (but I do love me some Anton. I think they are a good match).

I also like how Deb has seemed to evolve. I wanted to punch her in the face most years, but the start of this season, I guess with getting the respect of her peers (and not to mention LaGuerta, who I guess she shares a kinship with, having dated two murderers) she is finally able to let go of her insecurities. I am liking her balls this year.

I was floored by the relationship with Angel Bautista and Maria LaGuerta. Absolutely floored. I would have never seen it coming. It seemed like last season, Angel was really into that other detective Barbara Gianna, but I wonder if it was a contractual thing and they decided to spice things up by having him link up with Maria. Interesting.

Now, the Dexter story line. Yes, we all know about his dark passenger. We all know he's had a lot of life changes with the new wife, new family and new kid. But the whole sleep deprivation thing seems a bit contrived to me. I know his ritualistic life has been turned upside down. But where are Rita's mommy skills coming into this? He has a high profile job as a blood spatter analyst in the Miami Metro PD, and yet *he's* on the night shift? Sorry, I think this just plays into Rita being a gigantic bitch who is conniving and manipulative. I like her even less.

The way the first episode ended was contrived and not to mention predictable. The other mini-lines in the story -- especially with John Lithgow playing a VERY convincing Trinity Killer -- are fantastic. I am looking forward to seeing how that pans out.

But Dexter coming back from a kill, getting into a driving-while-exhausted accident? Boo. Not cool. I hope this is just a segway for Rita to realize how the new kid is impacting his job and vitality, and will let him move back into his apartment while the kid is going through his growing pains.