DEXTER Season 5 Discussion & Spoilers

[Harvey]

There was no reason for Eli Stone to show his hand to Dexter and Lumen. Oh well.

This season has long since lost any chance of holding up to a second viewing, but it's still able to provide a temporary thrill or two, and the ending of this week's episode worked in that sense.

I did like that this episode offered some real forward momentum, and that it touched upon the occasional theme of the relationship between Dexter and Lumen (i.e. that she reminds him of Rita, and he's helping her as part of the healing process), which I find the most promising angle left in that storyline.

 

[Temis the Vorta]

I have a bad feeling that the writers have decided to set-up the eventual happy ending of the series by "taming" Dexter into someone who can ride off into the sunset after losing the duality of his character, that he was someone equally capable of killing an innocent as a guilty person, and prevented from doing so only by the ever-sketchy control imposed by The Code. Remember that Dexter? Seems like a million years ago.

I was hoping Rita's murder would propel Dexter into an even more precarious state. If he were getting less and less in control, and Lumen were far more dangerous and vengeful, this season would be a lot more dynamic. But then the writers would face the problem of how to pull off any kind of happy ending for the series (which I kinda do want to see).

 

[Harvey]

It seemed for a time this season (mainly in the premiere) that the writers were going down the road of sending Dexter into insanity. But (especially with the last episode, featuring Astor) it certainly seems more and more like they're headed in the opposite direction of that, and if it means Quinn must become a moron, the bathroom murder in 5.1 must be forgotten, and everyone must have collective amnesia about the Bay Harbor Butcher, then the writers seem fully willing to make those leaps. Too bad, I say.

DEXTER will always be a watchable series due to the leading actor's performance (and, to a lesser extent, the big guest stars: Keith Carradine, Jimmy Smits, and John Lithgow), but I doubt more and more that it will be remembered as a great series (or, in the very least, a consistently great series). Oh, well. I'll probably keep tuning in until the end, which can't be long now, unless Showtime really wants to drag the show into Oblivion for the sake of ratings (which are still better than ever, no?).

 

[Temis the Vorta]

Yeah I think they just posted a series high...I'm sure everyone will keep watching just to see Deb finally figure things out. Not sure how long after that the show can last, maybe another season.

 

[AJBryant]

I can't help but hear that guy's last line to the poor girl in Jerry Seinfeld's voice.

"Hello, LUMEN."

 

[Jax]

Yeah I think they just posted a series high...I'm sure everyone will keep watching just to see Deb finally figure things out. Not sure how long after that the show can last, maybe another season.

Ain't everyone contracted up to season 6 ? I would feel Michael C Hal and the writers would want to end after next season, seems like the show is in the winding down phase.

 

[Harvey]

The writers have come and gone on DEXTER (it has had three showrunners in five seasons), so if someone is going to put their foot down about ending the series, it will have to be Michael C. Hall (and, probably, Jennifer Carpenter, who might be the only other indispensable actor to the series, unless Deb is killed in some sort of dramatic fashion).

I don't think Showtime will lead the way, since it has shown no interest in preserving the legacy of any of their other series. WEEDS, for example, just goes on and on.

 

[Aragorn]

So the only way this show continues on is if someone -- Quinn? -- kills RoboCop and takes all the surveillance stuff, right?

 

[BigFoot]

I have this weird feeling that Lumen is gonna take the fall for Dex. And kill RoboCop.

 

[Darth_Daver]

I have this weird feeling that Lumen is gonna take the fall for Dex. And kill RoboCop.

That's kinda happened in s2...

 

[Aragorn]

Well a certain other Dexter-related thread got locked, but I was gonna say, "Speaking of things that need to rest..."

This season sure picked up after a slow start. Though I'm not sure why they think family dentist died from gunshot wounds when Dexter snapped his neck.

 

[BigFoot]

I have this weird feeling that Lumen is gonna take the fall for Dex. And kill RoboCop.

That's kinda happened in s2...

Yeah I know... it's just a gut feeling, that's all.

 

[Geck]

This was the first episode this season that really got my heart pounding. I dislike some of the ambiguity near the end though. Had Dex/Lumen already cleaned up and left Alex Tilden's place by the time Deb/Quinn got there? I assume once they found the fresh footprint in the grass they would have followed the trail. Or did they set up the killroom somewhere completely away from the house?

Also, really convenient to get Harrison out of the picture....that's the most cooperative nanny I've ever seen.

Nice to finally get some background on Jordan and his crew - makes them a little bit less two-dimensional as villains, which was sorely needed. Stockholm Syndrome Lady was creepy. Overall I'm still enjoying this more than season 3, and am still unsure how it's going to play out, which is a good thing.

 

[Aragorn]

^ The kill room was next door in the empty house.

 

[Geck]

^ Thanks. I was trying to figure out the geography. I just missed a line of dialogue I guess.

 

[Aragorn]

There was no line of dialog. When Deb and Quinn went into the room that Lumen recommended, there was an exterior shot of the house that panned left to reveal an empty house for sale next door.

 

[Geck]

^ Ah, so I'm just unobservant

 

[Harvey]

Just caught the episode. I guessed early on that they were setting up false suspense over the kill room. Of course, my roommate had to chime in and remind me that, back in season one, Dexter did his killing in remote places, if possible. That in mind, I see no reason why they didn't just take Alex whats-his-name far away from there, just to be safe (the answer is, of course, that the writers wanted to set up some false suspense).

I'm not sure how I feel about turning Dexter/Lumen into a romantic entanglement. The writers will have to do more work to differentiate it from Dexter/Lila if they want to do something with it. Lumen is more stable, at least, but I keep getting the impression that the writers are waiting for another shoe to drop when it comes to her character. After seven or eight episodes, we still don't know a whole lot about her.

And, it certainly looks like Manny Coto has something about abusing Peter Weller on his shows. His character is definitely toast by the end of the season.

 

[Stone_Cold_Sisko]

Honestly, the Lumen thing imo only works if Julia Stiles is staying on next season, or possibly, she "opts out" of killing once Jordan Chase is iced.

It's incredibly contrived for her to die, or take the fall for Dexter. I really feel like for this story to mean something, it can't just be another Lila or Rita storyline.

 

[BigFoot]

^ Yeah I'd like it if Lumen was done with killing once Jordan is dead. I do hope she sticks around though.