Dexter 4x09 (spoilers)

[StarTrek1701]

Just finished watching the latest episode of Dexter. All I'll say is: I did not see that coming!!!!!!

Need the next episode, like right now!! Goddamn its the best show on TV at the moment, bar none!

 

[AJBryant]

"HI, dad."

Holy CRAP.

 

[ITL]

A slow burn episode that ramped it up near the end and finished with that revelation...wow. What a show. The end of this season is going to shred my freaking nerves...and that's the way I likes it!

 

[Geck]

The episode was well put together and well paced (the dinner scene was incredibly tense), but I had problems with it on another level. Before, Arthur served almost as an inspiration for Dexter in a way - a teacher figure who he could learn from, how to balance being a killer with a successful happy home life. Now we learn that he's a monster at home too and the happiness is a charade maintained by everyone else's sheer terror. It removes a lot of the shades of grey and the moral ambiguity involved in robbing this loving family of their loving father. While the wife and daughter's reactions to Dexter holding a knife over Arthur in the kitchen makes it clear they do actually care for him (Stockholm syndrome?), it still removes a lot of the more difficult questions by making him just "a bad guy".

As for the ending twist, it was effective in shocking me, but it strains credibility quite a bit. I hope they deal with it well...

As for the subplots (Rita/Elliott, LaGuerta/Batista)...nope, still don't care.

On a final note, major major props to Michael C Hall and John Lithgow, as always. I really hope Hall gets at least one Emmy before Dexter ends, but I know there's always tough competition.

 

[Spaceman Spiff]

How terrible is it that at the moment Dexter let Arthur "get a look at the monster," I nearly cheered?

 

[Roshi]

As soon as Masuka said the shooter was his height I was pretty damn sure she was the real shooter.

 

[ITL]

^ Same here. But that final scene was still a damn surprise...

How terrible is it that at the moment Dexter let Arthur "get a look at the monster," I nearly cheered?

You're clearly a demon. Shame on you!

(Don't tell anyone...but I nearly did, too...)

 

[Starbreaker]

Did not see that ending coming at all. I can't believe this season is coming to a close.

 

[auntiehill]

As soon as Masuka said the shooter was his height I was pretty damn sure she was the real shooter.

I did, too. I did a mental check of who on the show was short enough and she was the only one. However, the "Hi, Dad," part I did NOT see coming.

When things at Thanksgiving went, shall we say, "awry", I actually talked back to the TV, "Oh, just kill him!"

Hubby was rather surprised at that. He laughed and said, "Damn, hon! Remind me not to mess with you!"

Oh, I shall.......

 

[Joe Washington]

This episode is one of the best of the season. I was disturbed by the truth behind the facade of the picture-perfect Mitchell family but at the same time I wasn't surprised. I mean, the guy was repeatedly abused by his father, had a thing for his sister, and killed a large number of people over three decades. One way or another, that kind of shit leaks through into some part of your life and personality.

I hate when Harry kept comparing Dexter to Arthur but, him representing a part of his mind, it's only human for Dexter to have doubts about keeping his Dark Passenger at bay when it comes to his own family after what he saw during his time with the Mitchells. And it looks there may be some trouble heading for Dexter's marriage with Rita because of Rita kissing Elliot. I really believe that she still loves Dexter and doesn't want things with Elliot go beyond that impulsive kiss. The only reason why she kissed Elliot is because she feels lonely with Dexter out of the house a lot due to "work" and seems to be in denial about her unhappiness with that.

I see in the next three episodes, Rita's struggling to decide between telling Dexter what happened and keeping it to herself but eventually decides to tell him after being confronted about it by Makusa or by Deb who learns about it from Makusa. When Rita finally tells Dexter, Dexter sees this as a way out for his family letting his doubts about his ability to keep the Dark Passenger at bay overcome his judgment. He tells Rita that maybe it's better that they take a break instead of fighting for their marriage. Rita would be surprised and hurt by Dexter's reaction. But she won't go along with this "break" idea and will fight for her marriage even if Dexter isn't unwilling to do it. For those hoping that the season ends with another Rita-Dexter breakup, I just don't see it happen because we've already been through that in the second season and I don't see the creators of the show doing a repeat performance. Although, I do have a feeling that Dexter and Rita's relationship will end in tragedy by the end of the season that doesn't result in a breakup or a separation.

Like the excited Dexter fan I am, I was cheering Dexter when he had enough of Arthur and pulled him off his son and into the kitchen with that belt around his neck. It's about time Arthur saw Dexter's inner monster but feel that this will have consequences in the next three episodes.

Originally, I thought Quinn was a shooter and the son of the Trinity killer. But after it was revealed that the shooter had the same height as Makusa's, the only person I came up with was the reporter. Within seconds before the reveal that she was the Trinity killer's daughter, I had a feeling where things were going and when it happened, it all makes same. She killed Lundy to protect her father because she has this twisted love for him like how Mrs. Mitchell and Arthur's other daughter cared about the bastard despite the fact that he's an abusive, tyrannical father with a possibly more than paternal crush on his daughter.

For those who want to discuss what could happen in the Dexter Season 4 finale, I have a thread on the subject. http://trekbbs.com/showthread.php?t=109045

 

[auntiehill]

For those hoping that the season ends with another Rita-Dexter breakup, I just don't see it happen because we've already been through that in the second season and I don't see the creators of the show doing a repeat performance. Although, I do have a feeling that Dexter and Rita's relationship will end in tragedy by the end of the season that doesn't result in a breakup or a separation.

Like the excited Dexter fan I am, I was cheering Dexter when he had enough of Arthur and pulled him off his son and into the kitchen with that belt around his neck. It's about time Arthur saw Dexter's inner monster but feel that this will have consequences in the next three episodes.

http://trekbbs.com/showthread.php?t=109045

I agree about the relationship. I think it will result in some eventual tragedy, but not in a simple break-up. And, somehow, the attack on Arthur will definitely have repercussions that we have not yet even guessed.

Oh, and it's "Masuka," not Makusa.

 

[Australis]

Like others, I'd like to reiterate the 'did NOT see that coming' line. Wow.

Living as far away as I do, T'giving means little to me, but I do get it's a stressful family holiday.

What about Mrs Mitchells' line to Dex about the daughter, which was basically, "Do what you want with her, just don't tell Arthur!" Wow. (I confess to finding the mother... alluring too).

Arthur's expression when Dex was over him in the kitchen was priceless. Suddenly terror was on the other foot.

This season is so much better than 3.

 

[Kirkman1987]

This was a great episode, best in the season so far and it really ramped up the tension going into the final three. Watching Lithgow in those thanksgiving scenes gave me my first genuine scare from watching Dexter. Not only Lithgow, but his family were so real. Having some Domestic issues when I was growing up, These scenes felt real to me, and that's really the best compliment I can give it.

I didn't get a huge shock from the end revelation, but I am curious to see how it plays out.

 

[Bob The Skutter]

I actually did see it coming, thanks to something that was said in a thread here actually. Someone was speculating that Quinn was Arthur's child from another marriage, that along with the reporter acting shady and when the gunshot wound was found to be from someone Deb's hight I kinda put it together. Brilliant episode though.

 

[Temis the Vorta]

How terrible is it that at the moment Dexter let Arthur "get a look at the monster," I nearly cheered?

Another great Dexter moment, and hopefully a continuation of a plotline that shouldn't be forgotten - Dex's increasing lack of control and carefulness causing him to kill an innocent man. He is really spinning out of control. And now his blood slides aren't safe from the normal sort of chaos you get from a household of kids. How long till someone finds the kill tools? This is insane.

I have absolutely no clue where the story goes from here. Every episode is a new source of gleeful anticipation and anxiety.

 

[Australis]

I hope they finish Dexter completely next season or the one after. Any longer and it might be dragging it out too much. Whether he's caught or not, I'm not sure, but it'll be interesting to find out!

 

[Capt. Vulcan]

The episode was well put together and well paced (the dinner scene was incredibly tense), but I had problems with it on another level. Before, Arthur served almost as an inspiration for Dexter in a way - a teacher figure who he could learn from, how to balance being a killer with a successful happy home life. Now we learn that he's a monster at home too and the happiness is a charade maintained by everyone else's sheer terror. It removes a lot of the shades of grey and the moral ambiguity involved in robbing this loving family of their loving father. While the wife and daughter's reactions to Dexter holding a knife over Arthur in the kitchen makes it clear they do actually care for him (Stockholm syndrome?), it still removes a lot of the more difficult questions by making him just "a bad guy".

As for the ending twist, it was effective in shocking me, but it strains credibility quite a bit. I hope they deal with it well...

As for the subplots (Rita/Elliott, LaGuerta/Batista)...nope, still don't care.

On a final note, major major props to Michael C Hall and John Lithgow, as always. I really hope Hall gets at least one Emmy before Dexter ends, but I know there's always tough competition.

This is how I felt about it too. Subplots... bleh. Also I thought it was more interesting that Trinity was able to have a normal family. All the over the top revelations about the family disappointed me really. Basically their family was just a cliched fucked up family after all, and he was just another nutty serial killer. Boring. Felt like a regression after all the interesting things they were doing this season.

His accidental killing a couple of episodes ago felt like a cheat also, how the victim says "They would thank me, I made them immortal!!" which sounded like an admission of guilt but conveniently was vague enough to not be. But when you think back, if he wasn't the killer, there really isn't a reason for him to say that at that moment other than as a maguffin. Not only that, but it doesn't seem to really be bearing any fruit so far since then, although I suppose they could be saving it for the finale. But he seems to have moved on from it rather unfazed.

 

[Checkmate]

I think you're missing what the revelation about Trinity's family life is really like: That it's Dexter who has the (relatively) happy, normal and well-adjusted family. He's succeeding where Trinity never could.

The perfect family Trinity was trying to portray doesn't even exist in the storybooks, let alone real life. And the lesson Dexter should be taking from it is that he shouldn't try so hard to look perfect because it certainly didn't work for Trinity. He was far more fucked up in the head than Dexter ever could be because of the sickly sweet persona he had to constantly keep up.

Spoiler: Dexter

Of course, when Dexter finally realizes this himself, it's going to be too late. Cause Rita, and maybe one or both of her kids, is obviously a goner at the end of the season and that's going to drive him over the edge. If she isn't, I'll eat my shoe.

Alternatively, it might surprise us all and trigger the start of Dexter ridding himself of his Dark Passenger. Maybe he'll be affected by Rita's death more than he realizes, and he'll (rightfully) blame himself for it happening. And since it's likely going to be Trinity or the reporter who does the killing just before they bite the bullet themselves, he's not going to have anyone to seek vengeance upon... other than his Dark Passenger.

 

[Capt. Vulcan]

I think you're missing what the revelation about Trinity's family life is really like: That it's Dexter who has the (relatively) happy, normal and well-adjusted family. He's succeeding where Trinity never could.

The perfect family Trinity was trying to portray doesn't even exist in the storybooks, let alone real life. And the lesson Dexter should be taking from it is that he shouldn't try so hard to look perfect because it certainly didn't work for Trinity. He was far more fucked up in the head than Dexter ever could be because of the sickly sweet persona he had to constantly keep up.

Spoiler: Dexter

Of course, when Dexter finally realizes this himself, it's going to be too late. Cause Rita, and maybe one or both of her kids, is obviously a goner at the end of the season and that's going to drive him over the edge. If she isn't, I'll eat my shoe.

Alternatively, it might surprise us all and trigger the start of Dexter ridding himself of his Dark Passenger. Maybe he'll be affected by Rita's death more than he realizes, and he'll (rightfully) blame himself for it happening. And since it's likely going to be Trinity or the reporter who does the killing just before they bite the bullet themselves, he's not going to have anyone to seek vengeance upon... other than his Dark Passenger.

I suppose I would have been more satisfied if they had just not made trinity's family secret life so cartoony. Breaking the finger, locking up the daughter, the all of a sudden harried wife that accepts it all. As observant as Dexter is, it would seem like he would have caught splits in the seams sooner. Not only that but we've already seen several private moments with Trinity's family and there's never a hint of any of this. It's almost like they didn't decide that his family was like that till that very episode.

 

[Temis the Vorta]

Wow. What does everyone think about 4x09 (Lost Boys)?

This season is shaping up to be fantastic. And unlike S1 and S2, there's really no glaring deficiency (in S1, the silly notion that Dexter's brother would automatically be a serial killer too; and in S2, the way they treated Lila as a plot device rather than a character). If boring-ass Mad Men takes the Emmy away from Dexter again this year, I'm breaking out the power tools!

But I caught something worrysome, which I'll spoiler code even though it's speculation...

Spoiler: speculation about a possible death at the end of this season

The out-of-the-blue introduction of Paul's parents may spell curtains for Rita. Why? Because if the writers were planning to kill Rita, they'd need some way to get Astor and Cody off the show as regulars. They might be able to have Dexter be a single father of Harrison, but all three kids would be unworkable (especially since he needs to go into full-on meltdown mode after Rita's death).

They already have Rita's mother to foist the kids off on, but she'd take Harrison, too. Paul's parents would allow the writers to keep Harrison on the show, and there's really no point to introducing Dexter's biological son unless they plan to keep him. I really see no other reason why Paul's parents need to be mentioned, except as a very long shot, what if Paul isn't really dead?

If Trinity murders Rita because Dexter let him get away because he had to rescue Scott, yikes. Not something I want to see happen to poor Dex. I hope I'm wrong and they're actually setting up the Return of Paul.