DEXTER 2.3 - "An Inconvenient Lie"

Writer: Melissa Rosenberg
Director: Tony Goldwyn

Cast: Michael C. Hall (Dexter Morgan), Lauren Velez (Maria LaGuerta), Julie Benz (Rita Bennett), Jennifer Carpenter (Debra Morgan), David Zayas (Angel Batista), Erik King (Sgt Doakes), Keith Carradine (Special Agent Frank Lundy), Judith Scott (Lt. Esme Pascal), C.S Lee (Vince Masuka), Geoffrey Pierson (Captain Tom Matthews) & Jaime Murray (Lila)

Dexter meets a mysterious woman at a Narcotics Anonymous meeting, and the investigation into the Bay Harbor Butcher grows more intense...

"You owe me a Michelin, motherfucker!"

-- Sgt Doakes (Erik King)

An Inconvenient Truth opens with serial-killer Dexter Morgan (Michael C. Hall) attending Narcotics Anonymous, as part of his promise to girlfriend Rita (Julie Benz) -- who mistakenly believes her boyfriend's addiction is of a more conventional nature...

British actress Jaime Murray (Hustle) makes a great debut as enigmatic drug addict Lila, someone who immediately senses Dexter is lying to everyone about his true nature.

The situation reminded me of Helena Bonham-Carter meeting "faker" Edward Norton in Fight Club's help groups, but Lila is far more knowing. They share a wonderful scene in a diner soon after, with Lila's amateur probing getting closer to Dexter's real psychology than seems possible. Their chat also delivers the TV show's first mention of a "Dark Passenger" lurking inside Dex's psyche -- a notion familiar to readers of the Jeff Lindsay source novels.

To begin with, Dexter isn't committed to his N.A meetings, disappointing Rita when he returns home without a "newcomer chip" to prove he stayed the duration. Interestingly, perhaps due to the influence of Lila, the episode eventually finds Dexter using the N.A meetings to vent his true frustrations (albeit vaguely), and provides him with a welcome release valve.

At the Miami police department, the Bay Harbor Butcher investigation is picking up pace, with the recovered bodies of Dexter's victims on display inside the FBI "forensics tent". Special Agent Frank Lundy (Keith Carradine) makes a stronger impression here, as his character is clearly intended to give the counter-argument to Dexter's rationale...

As an audience, we've perhaps grown too accepting of Dexter's principle to only kill villains, making him an anti-hero vigilante and a necessary evil in most viewers' eyes. Lundy dirties the water with a great speech to Dex about how the world's worst killers excused their actions. Mind you, he footnotes by saying murder is only excusable is if it prevents the death of an innocent life: something Dex is certain his actions achieve...

Debra (Jennifer Carpenter) is having difficulty working on the investigation team, following her personal trauma with the Ice Truck Killer. But, after a pep talk from Lundy, she notices a connection between the Butcher's victims after speaking to family of the identified bodies...

Carpenter is an uneasy presence on Dexter; occasionally brilliant, but usually too irritating to actually enjoy watching. As a character, Debra is only interesting because the fallout when she discovers her brother is a killer will be spectacular. That big reveal isn't likely to happen soon (well, unless the writers really want to shock us), but it ensures most of her scenes contain that tense undercurrent of inevitable heartbreak.

The weakest aspect of Dexter are the supplemental storylines for the supporting cast -- when they're removed from Dexter's immediate life and any ongoing investigation. So far in season 2, we only have one such irritation, with Lt. Esmee Pascale (Judith Scott) and how her personal life is interfering with her work...

LaGuerta (Lauren Velez), who was replaced by Pascal, has the chance to get her job back here, by telling tales to Captain Matthews (Geoffrey Pierson). She refuses to stoop so low, in a neat twist of expectation. I like Velez's performances, as she's makes sure LaGuerta is believable and her loyalty and commitment shines through. The likes of David Zayas' lisping Batista, and C.S Lee's geeky comic relief Masuka, are comparatively two-dimensional and bland.

As usual, a plot thread follows Dexter's extracurricular murder, this week focusing on slick car salesman Roger Hicks, who Dex suspects of murdering female clients. Sticking religiously to his dead father's "Codes Of Harry", Dex looks for hard DNA evidence of the Hicks' crimes, by visiting his car lot and buying a family car.

Fortunately, having a new vehicle throws Sgt Doakes (Erik King) off his trail (as the stone-faced cop is still tailing Dex, convinced he's up to mischief) and the car's larger trunk should come in handy for... well, storage of a grizzlier kind.

There are some great developments in Melissa Rosenberg's tight script, and sharper writing for the female characters (Rita, LaGuerta, Debra and newcomer Lila). N.A meetings are an inspired way to explore Dexter's inner torment, and the decision to pair him with Lila (a more understanding ear than Rita) should be very interesting.

I particularly liked Rita's shocked expression when she realizes her boyfriend will be spending time with a raven-haired seductress -- at her insistence! Frank Lundy is also a brilliant addition to the cast, providing counter-arguments to Dexter's coda and a clean, professional temperament. A tense cat-and-mouse situation arising between him and Dex would be the icing on the cake this year...

There's also a plausible way to end Sgt Doakes' subplot, with Doakes' hounding of Dex brought to a close, after he discovers Dex at a N.A meeting and accepts that as a good reason for Dex's odd behaviour. I just hope the writers have something planned for Erik King, who's been left to coast on this subplot since mid-season 1.

Overall, An Inconvenient Truth is a marvelous episode; full of incident, strong developments, the focusing of key storylines, some surprises, and a very promising debut for Jaime Murray as the new girl in Dexter's life...


14 October 2007
Showtime, 9.30 pm