DEXTER: THE SPREAD OF DARKNESS

Dexter found a partner in S5, and Deborah’s character grew... Darkness, I’d say, was the theme of the season, and I have a few theories to share with you. Please let me know what you thought of another season of this fantastic series

At the end of S4 of Dexter, there was so much that the writers could do with the show. While there was scope for a lot of excellence, they could have easily slid down into something that didn’t excite us. Rita’s death made everything a big question mark, and we were looking for answers for almost a year, and then came along S5, and it was well worth the wait! After the ice-truck killer, the bay-harbour butcher, the skinner/Miguel Prado and the trinity killer, this season saw the barrel murders. Miami Metro Homicide was caught up with the drama of that, and we saw ups and downs in the working relationships of the entire department.

The Morgan Sister

Deborah and Quinn finally hooking up was something of a relief to me. Seeing their chemistry ever since he replaced Doakes, it was inevitable that they would. One thing I was afraid of was that Deb would be sent down that path of falling for all the guys that end up dead—the ice-truck killer, Anton and then Agent Lundi. When Quinn started snooping around, it seemed too similar to when Doakes did the same thing, which eventually cost him his life. Thankfully, Quinn’s feelings for Deb made him stop. But by then Quinn’s private investigator Liddy wanted to dig deeper, to fulfil his personal agenda. He became an unnecessary complication in Dexter’s ‘project’ for the season, but that was handled extremely well. Now, even though I feel that Quinn’s suspicions about Dexter might resurface, I think he might let it slide, given that Dexter did him a favour by not revealing that the blood on his shoe was Liddy’s, which took away the possibility of him having had anything to do with Liddy’s murder. Deb and Quinn finally moved on, without their relationship ending with someone dying; and I think this might be it for Deb. Who knows how serious those two will get; if it does get really serious, it’d be very interesting to watch.

Miami Metro

Last season’s surprise couple LaGuerta and Batista had their share of lows this season. The strain in their marriage, because of Batista’s impulsive behaviour and LaGuerta’s ambitious selfishness brought out interesting aspects of their characters, and gave more meaning to their purpose on the show. The friction between LaGuerta and her team in general (Quinn, Batista and Deb) made for some really good material. That added another dimension to the team dynamic, and added value to them working on the cases. Besides the barrel-murders, the secondary case, as open-and-close as it was, was quite gripping, with the encounters involved. The scenes when Deb saw Carlos Fuentes slicing a boy’s throat, and then when she shot him in the head, while he threatened to shoot another hostage, were absolutely chilling. It turns out that the latter turn of events brought out a side in her that I found very interesting—that she wasn’t fazed by having killed someone. It reminded me that she was Harry Morgan’s flesh and blood, and maybe there’s some darkness in her that’s been waiting to be expressed. I don’t know how they’d do it, but I hope they explore an angle like this in future seasons.

An Addition Extraordinaire

With all that said, the highlight of the season was definitely Julia Stiles, whose exemplary portrayal as Lumen Ann Pierce became a strong backbone for the season. Her phenomenal job playing a disturbed young woman had me in awe throughout the season. Of course, her character’s relationship with Dexter brought another strong element of intrigue to the table. It made a lot of sense, because after Rita’s death, it was only someone who Dexter could relate to completely that he would explore some kind of a relationship with. Not only was he able to open up to her, he even became her tutor and mentor, helping her find closure and fight the darkness from her past. A strong set of villains, led by Jordan Chase (Jonny Lee Miller) became their targets, and that gave us several thrilling scenes of Dexter working with a partner. Miller played Chase very convincingly, making himself seem truly detestable in character, while his chemistry with Stiles, as his victim, brought out a level of fear and anger that one could surely feel, even by just watching.

The Finale

As Dexter helped Lumen fight her darkness, their camaraderie and solidarity was endearing, and refreshing. It’s a pity that Stiles most probably won’t return to the show, because Lumen really seemed like the perfect person for him. However, even if she had to leave, I really think they could have handled her departure in a much better way. It was totally unconvincing when she overcame her darkness overnight, literally! I suppose they could have kept her till the S6 premiere, and had her leave when she saw Dexter kill again, while deciding that she didn’t want to be a part of that life any more. Whatever it would be, I’m sure they could have done something better!

Finally, Dexter was left all alone, once again, with couples making up all around him. My heart really went out to him, after all that he went through and all that he almost had this season. I was glad that he finally made peace with his stepdaughter Astor, and I hope there are nicer things in store for him next season.

And now, before I leave you to tell me what you thought of Dexter S5, I want to share another thought with you... Many believe that it was odd for Deb to have let Chase’s killers (Dexter and Lumen) go, after confronting them from behind a curtain, on arriving at the crime scene, during the climax of the season. However, it was understandable, I'd say, given her recognising that sometimes, you can’t wait to do the right thing, when you know that your timely actions could put an end to crimes and murder. Her theory of the vigilantes allowed her to let Chase’s killers go, as she knew that Chase only got what he deserved. A part of me thinks that at some level, Deb knew who was behind that curtain, because of some gut-feeling, and that part of me also hopes that they explore that in future seasons. I think making Dexter open up to Deb eventually would take the show to another level altogether, and that can only make it more exciting!

Please comment and let me know what you thought of Dexter S5, especially about the darkness that Harry Morgan’s children probably share in common with each other...

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