When Dexter’s finale aired last fall, a collective gasp echoed throughout the living rooms of Showtime viewers across the country. “Spoiler alerts” were posted above all subsequent reviews of the season so as to preserve the secrecy of the final minutes of the episode. For those who have not yet finished watching season four of Dexter, consider this your warning as to forgo reading the rest of this review.
Season five of the show picked up seconds where the last season ended. It is not unheard of for a television show to end a finale with a character death or threat of one. In fact, several of the spring finales capitalized on such cliffhangers that follow character deaths.
Dexter’s finale, however, was more emotionally shocking than others as Rita’s death marked not only a significant character loss for its viewers, but something more substantial within the world of Dexter itself. Rita (Julie Benz) was responsible for much of the humanizing that Dexter (Michael C. Hall) had undergone over the previous four seasons.
Most shows tend to fast forward past the aftermath of a tragedy, but Dexter stopped right in the middle of it. Dexter began coping with the death of his wife with a twisted version of the seven stages of grief. His expressions and interpersonal interactions were reminiscent of the onset of season one where he attempted to convince himself — and viewers — that he was devoid of any emotions. However, Dexter’s version of “anger,” which consisted of a brutal bludgeoning of a foul-mouthed bystander, proved otherwise. Dexter’s emotional breakdown that followed was even more disturbing for seasoned Dexter viewers, though, as it is rare to see the stoic serial killer express any emotion.
Dexter’s sister, Deb (Jennifer Carpenter), dealt with grief in her own way by sleeping with Detective Quinn (Desmond Harrington) in a moment of weakness. In true Dexter fashion, even a bit of darkness marred this interaction as it occurred on the floor of the house in which Rita was murdered. The decision to have Deb sleep with Quinn was not unexpected as the two have had visible sexual tension for a while, but it was perhaps the most trite scene of the entire first episode. While Dexter’s writers succeeded for the most part in their portrayal of grief, Deb’s poor sexual decisions once again seemed a little overplayed.
The first three episodes of the show have progressed smoothly, keeping Dexter grieving appropriately and advancing the plot of the show at the same time. The biggest lull so far has been that of the relationship between Lieutenant Laguerta (Lauren Velez) and Seargant Batista (David Zayas).
Amidst John Lithgow’s award-winning performance of the Trinity Killer, their forbidden romance was an unwanted break from the main plot. It seems as if that sentiment has carried over to the new season as Batista’s worries about Laguerta’s secret bank account appear far less important than the other sub-plots.
A likewise disappointing development is the departure of Rita’s children, Astor and Cody. Their move to Orlando certainly serves a practical purpose as Dexter would not be able to continue his killing ways with three children to care of.
However, they provided a charming innocence to the dark drama which will be sorely missed. It is unclear whether or not they will be making a return, but for now it seems as though their absence is a crucial device to propel the plot forward.
Previous seasons of Dexter have had seemingly unimportant events reemerge as ones that prove detrimental to Dexter. While it is always difficult to predict which occurrences will ultimately have consequences, Dexter’s murder of the anonymous man in the first episode could be a contender. Unlike many of Dexter’s murders, it was unplanned and quite sloppy. No scenes detailed the clean-up of the murder so the possibility of this coming back to haunt Dexter is reasonable. Especially with Quinn on the verge of discovering Dexter’s true identity, a Dexter manhunt could be brewing a la season two.
The end of episode three marked the beginning of season fives’ main plotline and the entry of this season’s guest star, Julia Stiles. Stiles entered as a yet unnamed girl — although according to news sources, her character will be called Lumus — who witnessed Dexter’s slaughter of her captor.
Her escape and existence will certainly garner the focus of much of the season. While gossip has rumored Stiles to play a sort of Lila-esque character, it seems that she will instead play the role of a hostage. While a Stockholm Syndrome relationship is certainly not out of the question, the concept of Dexter holding a hostage is yet unexplored territory.
Season five has thus far focused on the cast’s recovery after Rita’s death and as such, has begun more slowly than previous seasons. However, with a greater possibility to be caught than ever before and a larger violent force driving him, Dexter may enter into one of the most perilous seasons yet.
