Everyone’s favourite serial killer with a code is back for the fifth season of one of the smartest, most well-written, and consistently brilliant shows around. And this time, Dexter Morgan will need to deal with death in a way he never has before, considering that the last body we saw as Season 4 ended was his wife Rita in a bathtub full of blood, and his baby son crying on the bathroom floor being “born in blood” just as Dexter himself was. The bathtub kill was a signature of the Trinity Killer, aka Arthur Mitchell, who Dexter killed before he returned home and discovered the body. Did Trinity strike earlier, or was this a copycat kill?This episode picked up immediately afterwards, and I think it did a great job of setting up many major conflicts that will continue to be important throughout the season.
Dexter as a suspect – As the first police arrive on the scene, Dexter is clearly still in shock and, not thinking about what the consequences may be, says ‘Rita’s inside. It was me.’ He could have been referring to many things: that he did not kill Arthur when he had the chance, that he was not there at the moment Rita returned home, that he knew his life as a serial killer would eventually cause this. Whatever he meant, it sounds iffy to Deb, and even iffier to the swarming FBI agents. Throw in the uber-suspicious Quinn, who looks like he’s going to become the new Doakes and be Dexter’s antagonistic co-worker, and it looks like Dexter may be the most intensely scrutinised for the one murder that, ironically, he did not commit. If or when this happens, it will be very interesting to see how his friends such as Angel, LaGuerta and especially Deb deal with him being a suspect, as well as what actions Dexter will take to clear his name.
Who really did it? – The bathtub murder was done many times by Trinity in the past. But it’s not set in stone that the was he perpetrator, and knowing that this show loves to shock and nothing is ever what it seems, there’s a good chance it wasn’t him at all. Rita was married with kids, which doesn’t fit with his other bathtub victims who were always young single women. Looking up Dexter’s address led Arthur to Dexter’s old apartment, the one where Deb now lives. Did he find Dexter’s real address? Also the neighbour Elliott, the one who made a move on Rita, looked a little suspicious to me, and it also could be someone completely different who hasn’t been introduced yet. So many possibilities, so much to keep us guessing!
Dexter the family man – As a viewer I was sitting there dreading the moment when Dexter would have to tell his step kids, Astor and Cody, that their mother was dead. Of course it was gutting to watch those kids have to take such awful news, but as this show sometimes does, black comedy worked very successfully and did not take away from the tragedy of the scene. With the kids having just returned from Disney World, Dexter finds himself having to break the news while wearing a Mickey ears hat, and Michael C. Hall also got to temporarily channel David Fisher with the line ‘I’m sorry for your loss.’ Older daughter Astor does not take the news well at all and lashes out at Dexter, and Dexter later toys with the idea of fleeing to give the children a better life before being urged to return by the ever-present ghost of Harry. Now that they’ve got that out of the way I really don’t think they’ll return to it again, which means that we’re going to see Dexter as a single father to three kids. What kind of father will he be? Will Astor accept him or will things get worse? Just how hard will it be to balance work, killing and kids without Rita? Will baby Harrison have psychological damage from the time spent at the crime scene?
Dexter the killer and the Code of Harry – Right from the beginning I was wondering what affect Rita’s death would have on his ability to kill. Would he be unable to, just like he was after he killed his brother Brian? We saw in this episode that he most certainly can kill, more violently than ever and much more impulsively and emotionally than before as he savagely killed a mouthy redneck in a bathroom with no preparation and no care as to whether the victim fit Harry’s code, the code that has always controlled Dexter’s killing. The scene was violent and disturbing, but also incredibly emotional as we see Dexter break down for the first time ever, unable to remain inhuman and displaying emotions he thought he was not capable of feeling. As Harry says ‘That was first human thing I’ve seen you do since you died. It’s ok to show what you’re feeling.’ Hall’s acting in this scene was incredible; despair, rage, regret and so many other things being unleashed by someone who hasn’t felt anything real their whole life. Will Dexter kill impulsively again as a form of catharsis? Is he done for good with Harry’s code? Will this new recklessness be what finally does him in?
Dexter is human – Dexter always said he fakes every human emotion, that he’s hollow, a monster. But over the course of four seasons we’ve seen numerous instances where this idea is challenged, that if Dexter really did not feel anything than he would not have acted in certain ways. Did he merely think he was incapable of emotion, or was it something he tried to convince himself as a reason for his actions? Either way, this episode completely abolished that idea. He kills the man in the bathroom because he was angry, he screams, he goes back to the kids because it feels wrong to abandon them, and in one of the biggest turning points in the show, finally admits he genuinely loved Rita. This was a very big moment, and a moment that changes everything. Dexter is not the person, well, the monster he thought he was, and this realisation will affect everything he does from now on. An already complex character has now become more complex, and I think it will make the show that much better.
So, there were a lot of questions in this review, and just as many in the episode. I hope discovering the answers to them will be just as riveting in this season as it has been in the past.
