Here there be spoilers…
Dexter Morgan, America’s favorite serial killer, returns for the third season of Showtime’s hit horror series feeling pretty damn good about life. His nemesis on the Miami police force, Sgt. James Doakes took the heat (literally) for the Bay Harbor Butcher murders and will trouble him no more and Dexter’s psychotic, gross English titty vampire NA sponsor Lila has also been dispatched. Picking up a few months after last season’s finale, Dexter has settled into blissful domesticity with his longtime oblivious girlfriend Rita and her two children and his job as a blood spatter expert has been largely uneventful. Oh, and he also went to the carnival, a story he relates to his dentist in a funny, loaded opening scene that shows Dexter doing a lot more than riding a Ferris wheel. The “Dark Passenger” that resides within the cheerful, normal-looking family man did not go on summer vacation. He continues to satisfy his homicidal tendencies with the blood of criminals who have escaped conventional justice.
The opening episode brings with it some shake-ups at the Miami PD headquarters. Dexter’s foul-mouthed sister Debra still has her eye on a detective badge, which seems in easier reach now that Deputy Angel Batista has been promoted to Sargeant. She also has a new soccer mom haircut. And Internal Affairs is asking her to investigate a fellow officer, a cute new partner who may become this season’s failed love interest. (It wouldn’t be a relationship for Deb if something about the power dynamic was normal and healthy.)
Dexter’s intended target for this episode is a drug dealer named Feebo who has murdered two female co-eds. However, when he goes to the house of the dealer with the intention of killing him, he ends up in a tousle with someone else and kills the stranger instead. It is the first time Dexter has killed a person he did not know was guilty of some terrible crime. This goes against the only internal law he has ever known: The Code of Harry. His belated adoptive father, knowing of Dexter’s sociopathic nature established rules for his foundling son to keep Dexter out of prison and on a certain path, twisted as it may be. The first rule being: “Be sure.” Dexter has a lot of daddy issues to deal with (he’d fit right in on Lost) brought to the surface again by his father’s upcoming birthday memorial and, now, the breaking of his rules. I’ve mentioned how much I normally hate voiceovers, but the ones on Dexter work for me. They lack that portentous, pretentious tone so apparent on Heroes and Terminator: The Sarah Connor Chronicles (now notably absent in the second season.) Dexter is about a man with two lives—the exterior facade of normalcy and the inner horror he tries to hide. The voiceovers are a direct line to the monster that observes and judges the world around him. That monster can be hilarious, satirical, and smart. Self-reflective, too, as Dexter marks his newfound feelings of unrestrained independence that are guaranteed to lead him into trouble this year.
Dexter’s victim may not have been as innocent as he first appeared, but he was well-connected. He was the younger brother of Assistant D.A. Miguel Prado, played by Jimmy Smits. My gut reaction is to wonder where the writers will go with such a guest spot. Another charismatic, high-powered figure complicating Dexter’s life seems a bit too reminiscent of Keith Carradine’s fantastic turn last season as FBI agent Lundy. But it’s too early to tell.
Also too early to tell is how the last few minutes’ bombshell revelation will change the direction of the show. I won’t spoil it here, but I welcome readers’ reactions to it. In hindsight, I should have seen it coming, but I suppose those are the best kinds of TV twists. “Our Father” was a satisfying premiere with a lot of good setup. My only complaint would have been to see a bit more closure on last season. Doesn’t anyone miss Doakes as much as I do? I understand the character couldn’t continue to dig into Dexter’s dark side week after week without turning into a complete cartoon, but I miss his air of hilarious badassery. But mostly, it was just great to have a new episode of Dexter to watch. From the opening notes of that upbeat yet sinister title sequence to Dexter’s shocked face before the cut to black, the series continually forces viewers to put their sympathies with the least likely of figures and creates a self-aware horror-noir hybrid not to be missed by fans of blackest humor.
Dexter premieres Sunday, September 28th at 9 P.M. ET/PT on Showtime.
I second the emotion. Yay! Dexter’s back!
Something that only struck me after I’d read your post, watched the episode, and come back here to comment … why does Dexter seem appropriate to Tor.com? I don’t mean that as criticism; I’m not arguing that the site should be restricted to the SF/fantasy genre. But for some reason I can’t quite put my finger on, Dexter seems perfectly at home here, in a way I wouldn’t expect for a crime series. Maybe it’s just his general air of alpha geekness…
(Yes, I know the third book is clearly SF/F, but nothing like that has shown up in the TV version.)
As for the Little Surprise … Having it show up in the same episode where Dexter is starting to explore the idea of taking his night job in directions Harry wouldn’t have approved of, I’m wondering if what the writers are really doing here is setting up a way to give Dexter a serious revenge motive later on, with accompanying moral dilemmas, without having to kill off another regular.
Oh, and ten bucks says Little Miss Internal Affairs doesn’t survive to see the end of the season.
@@@@@ Ross Smith #1
You know, that’s a great question, and aside from also vaguely feeling that Dexter (both the show and the character) is “one of us”, I can’t give you a straight answer. Not being familiar with the books, I can only speak for the show, but maybe it’s the show’s borderline-horror premise? It certainly feels more like psychological horror than a straight-up crime drama to me.
Well there was that one comic book-themed episode…
I just think there’s something very genre about Dexter, a bit of horror, a bit of mystery/noir, and police procedural. A lot of the people I know who watch Lost, Heroes, Galactica, etc., also really like Dexter and no one else is covering it, so why not? But mostly, it’s just an excuse to spread hilarious lines like “gross English titty vampire” to folks with a similar sense of humor.
I’m wondering the same thing about the Little Surprise. Although, if a regular had to go, I’d like to see LaGuerta gone. Something about her just rubs me the wrong way. I wonder where the I.A. storyline will go.
in the books laguerta went in the first one. and dexter’s brother is still out there.
LaGuerta, as played on the show, is quite grating to me as a hispanic. Angel Batista, although seeming more of a caricature at first, is much more palatable. Maybe it’s because his Spanish pronunciation is much better than hers.
I too found myself despising LaGuerta. She’s simply incapable of separating personal issues from work issues YET AGAIN. Any self respecting PD would have risen up and ousted her sorry ass years ago.
Great start to the new season though.
I thought Miguel Prado’s spanish accent was way over the top. I know the actor’s latino, but something about it was exaggerated. Maybe that’s just Miami though.
Dexter has one of the best intro/opening credits I’ve ever seen. Taking something so routine and normal, like grooming, getting dressed, and eating breakfast and making it sinister is a perfect metaphor for Dexter himself. On the outside a boy scout, underneath a serial killer. The sound effects (the scrapping of the razor blade against his neck, the chewing of fleshy ham) and the slow motion zooms of slicing the blood orange, slicing the fried egg, grinding coffee, etc. are genius. There’s even something sadistic about how the lace on his shoe moves through the eye hole.
I like how gentle the Angel character is, especially for a TV cop. If Doakes were still around, they might have better dramatic chemistry than LaGuerta and Angel.
The actress playing the sister is still hitting the tropes of immaturity awfully hard. One would think the events of the past couple of seasons would have sobered her, made her more prudent but also more confident — I thought that was the import of her decision w/r/t her personal life at the end of last season.