Writer: Scott Buck
Director: Nick Gomez
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), James Remar (Harry Morgan), Dave Baez (Gabriel), Preston Bailey (Cody), Kiko Ellsworth (Bertrand), Dominic James (Young Dexter), JoBeth Williams (Gale Bennett) & Christina Robinson (Astor)
Director: Nick Gomez
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), James Remar (Harry Morgan), Dave Baez (Gabriel), Preston Bailey (Cody), Kiko Ellsworth (Bertrand), Dominic James (Young Dexter), JoBeth Williams (Gale Bennett) & Christina Robinson (Astor)
Rita's mother visits, Masuka develops a lead in the Bay Harbor Butcher case, Doakes gets involved in a murder case, and Dexter spends time with Lila..."In our most paranoid moments we fear that everyone is talking about us. That’s become my reality. I can’t hear what they’re saying -- but I know it’s not nice..."
-- Dexter Morgan (Michael C. Hall)
The heat is on. Literally, as a heat wave hits Miami, but Dexter (Michael C. Hall) is feeling hot under the collar for more serious reasons. After 3 weeks, the FBI investigation into the Bay Harbor Butcher hasn't reached a dead-end yet, and Dex is beginning to suspect his capture is imminent, particularly when Masuka (C.S Lee) makes a forensics breakthrough...
Rita (Julia Benz) tells Dex her estranged mother is visiting, after she shunned her family when ex-husband Paul was on the scene. Gale Bennet (Poltergeist's JoBeth Williams) promptly arrives and puts Dex on best behaviour; as he amusingly believes the best way to impress a potential mother-in-law is to treat them like alien lifeforms...
JoBeth Williams make a good debut as Gale, who looks like she'll become an enjoyable complication in Dex's life. She already senses a secretive vibe about him. It was also interesting to hear Rita's son Cody (Preston Bailey) is having nightmares about the Bay Harbor Butcher, who it seems is fast-becoming a spookier local killer than the Ice Truck Killer. Of course, Dexter delights in this uneasy tension of having "the boogieman" living, loving and working alongside the unsuspecting.
The Butcher investigation makes headway, as the Feds discover 13 of the 18 identifiable bodies had criminal records, sending Dex into paranoia -- desperate to find out what Masuka's fresh lead could be. To take his mind off things, he visits his Narcotics Anonymous sponsor Lila (Jaime Murray), who's shown to be a sculptress dealing in "found art", and is far more unconventional than Dexter first thought...
Jaime Murray is a welcome addition to the show as Lila, with See-Through fleshing out her mysterious character. Her sculptures (mannequins arranged in bizarre positions) evoked memories of Dex's prosthetist brother for me, but it's perhaps unintentional.
After Dex asks why one group of mannequins are "eating each other", the idea occurred to me that Lila might be a closet cannibal, but I think the writers are just playing around with audience expectations, and wouldn't have Dex hook-up with another killer so soon after his brother's appearance -- if ever again.
What's refreshing about Lila is how her unpredictable personality totally catches Dex off-guard. He's used to predicting behaviour and coldly reducing people in wry, voice-over commentaries, but Lila is a loose cannon. Scenes where Lila purposefully knocks over an ornamental fence post and steals garden paraphernalia for her art, are great ways to show Dex back-footed for once. It's obvious Lila's place in the show will be altogether more interesting, and that's made crystal clear in See-Through's closing moments...
There's also a better storyline for Debra (Jennifer Carpenter) this week, as she's persuaded by FBI Agent Frank Lundy (Keith Carradine) to resume her love life. There was a slight element of flirting in their scenes, so I'm guessing Debra will soon be bedding one of the good guys, in contrast to her season 1 choice of boyfriend.
For now though, acting on the advice of Lundy, Deb tracks down Gabriel (Dave Baez), the gym hunk who unwittingly raked up bad memories of her serial-killer ordeal a few episodes ago. Later, back at Dexter's house, Debra exorcises a personal demon of intimacy (by dominating Gabriel in a kinky sex act involving some handcuffs), before her brother accidentally walks in on her...
Last week, Sgt Doakes (Erik King) ended his tailing of Dexter, after satisfying himself Dex just has a drugs problem. I was interested in seeing what the writers do with Doakes now, as the character has rarely ventured beyond harassing Dex...
In See-Through, Doakes takes charge of a murder investigation, where a woman was apparently shot by a special ops marksman. To be precise -- the shooter, her husband Clive Barnes, is revealed as a ex-Ranger experiencing a mental breakdown, which is something former-Ranger Doakes can himself identify with, having gone through a similar trauma...
It's interesting to see this darker side to Doakes -- no wonder he could smell the monster in Dexter, as he was practically one himself, albeit sanctioned by the government. This subplot works quite well as a diversion from the main story, even if it's ultimately wrapped up and again left me wondering what they'll do with Doakes now. Likewise, the other characters -- particularly Angel (David Zayas) and Masuka -- who are constantly used as workhorses in the police department, and little else at the moment.
The frivolous subplot for Pascal (Judith Scott) continues, with the emotionally-raw department head becoming unhinged over her cheating fiance. Here, she has Masouka perform tests on an item of clothing that "smells like a woman", before breaking down in front of her staff.
It's silly stuff, but the pay-off just about rescues the story, as LaGuerta (Lauren Velez) is revealed as "the other woman", having purposefully bedded Pascal's fiance to discredit her in the eyes of Captain Matthews (Geoffrey Pierson) and get her job back. It works, and I'm glad LaGuerta's back in charge, but her character's lost some moral high-ground now. It's also unfair actress Judith Scott never got the chance to make Esmee Pascal anything other than a distraught victim.
Towards the end, Dex discovers Masouka's big breakthrough: algae from the bricks used to anchor the Butcher's body-bags underwater can be used to trace the whereabouts of the killer's boat... uh-oh.
With Lila proving too much of a wayward distraction, Dex attempts to end her sponsorship, although she seems keen to continue helping Dex work through his problems, claiming nobody is totally good or totally evil. To disprove her theory, Dex shows her his handiwork -- the multiple bodies stored in the FBIs forensics tent (this area being strangely accessible after working hours!)
Remarkably, Dex's attempt to disgust Lila and disprove her belief system, has the exact opposite effect -- as she's unnervingly understanding of the Bay Harbor Butcher and creepily awed by the bodies that surround her. Given her mannequin fixation and loose morals, she's clearly quite ghoulish when it comes to the darker side of life...
Dex immediately begins to consider Lila's unpredicted reaction, taking pleasure in how she's able to really "see him" (no longer see-through, as the title suggests.) Could he one day confide in her? The last person to understand his murderous urge was his likeminded brother, and before that his decorated cop father. Is Lila Dex's ideal girlfriend? Someone he can truly be himself with, without all the pretense and secrets that block a truthful connection with Rita?
Later that night, Dex sabotages the forensic tent's refrigeration unit (framing the garbage men), in an effort to destroy the algae evidence Masouka has found. It works, turning the bodies into pink mush in the Miami heat, but unfortunately the algae-ridden bricks were kept elsewhere. It seems the heat's still on for Dex, as the lab results on the algae will be back in a week...
Overall, See-Through was a building episode; introducing Gale, fleshing out Lila, developing Debra, concluding the LaGuerta/Pascale storyline, and pushing the Bay Harbor Butcher investigation along. It accomplished a lot, particularly in the last 15 minutes, but it was more solid than enthralling. Doakes storyline was okay, but perhaps could have run for a few episodes -- as he's now back to square-one and in need of direction. Angel's groundwork on the Butcher case was also a little tedious.
Most interesting in episode 4 was Lila and Dexter, with their pairing giving season 2 its most compelling new element since we discovered Dex himself is the focus of this season's investigation. Is Lila sufficiently warped to be the knowing girlfriend of a vigilante serial-killer? Will Dex have the courage to reveal his true nature to her, or will doing so risk his entire future? These are some juicy questions that fans will be chewing over in the weeks to come.
Mind you, I still think Rita is more warped than Dex gives her credit: I mean, what mother makes her son a "Butcherman" costume to help with nightmares?!
21 October 2007
Showtime, 9.30 pm
