DEXTER 2.6 – "Dex, Lies And Videotape"

Writer: Lauren Gussis
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), Jaime Murray (Lila), James Remar (Harry Morgan), Silas Weir Mitchell (Ken Olson), Dave Baez (Gabriel), Preston Bailey (Cody), JoBeth Williams (Gale Bennett), Christina Robinson (Astor) & Katherine Kirkpatrick (Laura Moser)

Dexter attempts to delete incriminating video footage of himself -- as his relationship with Rita hits a new low, and his relationship with Lila hits a new high...

"The voices are back. Excellent."

-- Dexter Morgan (Michael C. Hall)

We're halfway through season 2, so it seems like a good time to take stock. Despite losing a sense of mystery this year (as our chief villain is Dexter himself), the deepening of his character and intriguing developments surrounding his history, have helped make season 2 just as compelling – just in a more introverted way...

Dex, Lies And Videotape finds Dexter (Michael C. Hall) still grappling with the news his biological mother Laura Moser (Katherine Kirkpatrick) had a relationship with his adopted father Harry Morgan (James Remar) before her death, as part of a botched drugs sting. It's a revelation that makes the ordinarily unflappable Dex begin to question exactly who he is...

Indeed, much of this episode deals with Dex's weakening grip on his situation, as he tries to conceal incriminating evidence of him coming to light – as he's been caught on CCTV cleaning his boat of blood stains, thanks to surveillance ordered by Agent Lundy (Keith Carradine).

Lundy himself, a continually entertaining new character, begins to lean heavier on Dex's forensic skills – as he can't stand seedy Masuka (C.S Lee). Debra (Jennifer Carpenter) becomes jealous her brother is apparently more popular than her in Lundy's eyes now, which has a neat pay-off when she later realizes his true motivations and can't resist a quick hug...

A dinner discussion Debra shares with boyfriend Gabriel (Dave Baez) confirms she's beginning to treat Lundy like father – as her real dad was distant with her (he told her "cop stories" at bedtime...) This brief moment helps explain Debra's determination to succeed in the police force -- to please and impress her father who, unbeknownst to her, was too busy channeling her step-brother's murderous tendencies into vigilantism...

Dexter's home life also takes a battering, when Lila (Jaime Murray) is invited to dinner by Rita (Julie Benz) and her mother Gail (JoBeth Williams). She initially impresses everyone, but accidentally spills the beans about her road trip with Dex on an answer-machine message overheard by Rita.

Rita, already jealous Dex has such a sexy N.A sponsor for support, is furious to hear they stayed in a motel together – but even more confused when Dex tells her about his mother's murder, and can't understand why he'd confide in his N.A sponsor but not his own girlfriend!

Elsewhere, I've been interested to see what the writers do with Sgt Doakes (Erik King), whose recurring plot has always been tied to exposing Dexter, but found closure a few episodes ago. However, while Doakes was initially satisfied Dex's "big secret" was just a drug addiction, he reconsiders things when he discovers Debra isn't aware her brother's a recovering junkie.

Doakes is soon sniffing around like a bloodhound in Dex's office and finds the old police audio tapes between Laura and Harry. For the first time, Dex cracks when Doakes starts pestering him again and makes a formal complaint to LaGuerta (Lauren Velez) -- who makes it clear to Doakes that he'll be kicked off the force if he doesn't stop harassing Dexter...

While it's slightly disappointing to see the Doakes/Dex relationship back to the status quo, it's given a certain freshness now Dex is prepared to take matters further. Dex has always been worried an official investigation into Doakes' behaviour will just exacerbate his problems and perhaps expose his secret (a reaction that seemed to prove his guilt in Doakes' eyes), so I'm interested to see where this leads now. Has Dex made a bad choice complaining to LaGuerta, our of pure frustration?

This is certainly an episode where Dex makes some fundamental errors of judgment. Following Doakes' threat, Dex takes refuge back at Lila's house, where he can use her as a decent sounding board – because she thinks his "problems" and "addiction" are drug, not murder, related. The inevitable finally happens and Dex beds Lila – and, amusingly, his voice-overs stop for their post-coital cuddle. Well, temporarily....

The investigative aspect of episode 6 revolves around a Bay Harbor Butcher copycat murder attempt in an abandoned train carriage. Angel (David Zayas) finds a suspect, Ken Olson (Silas Weir Mitchell, formerly of Prison Break), a dysfunctional man who considers the Butcher a heroic figure...

The thought occurred to me that Dexter should frame his own copycat as the real killer, as a means to escape the investigation... but this idea wasn't the chosen direction. Instead, Dex quite bizarrely decides to kill Ken and leave his chopped-up body parts for his work colleagues to discover in the same train carriage...

While his actions mean other copycats are unlikely to surface now (or face the wrath of the real killer), it also hands the Feds a tonne of fresh evidence and the knowledge the Butcher is able to follow the investigation! It just seemed crazy to me that Dex could be so stupid, even if this episode deals primarily with his mild-mannered temperament being pushed to breaking point. But would he really be this reckless?

Oh well. On the plus side, Dex does manage to delete the incriminating video tape of himself cleaning his boat – which was also too convenient and easy for my liking. Is nobody going to notice a chunk of footage is missing from one particular camera, pointed at one particular boat?

Overall, Dex, Lies And Videotape was certainly a compelling and engaging episode, despite some worrying slip-ups from Dex. I'm not sure if they were intentional, or the writers just needed to manufacture some mistakes to progress season 2's arc, though. I guess we'll find out in due course...

While it was mildly disappointing to see Doakes revert back to his old ways so quickly, I'd rather that happen than lose Doakes to the background – where Angel now languishes. It was also weird to see Dex treat the threat of imminent exposure so calmly! I know he's not a normally-adjusted person, but would he really so blasé about things at times? Mind you, he never seems to muse about what effect his unmasking would have on those around him very often (perhaps by design), but... his calmness still seemed odd.

Incidentally, while Masuka has always been a little geeky, it was frustrating to see him treated so distastefully just to make Lundy's preference of Dexter work! He's always been comic relief in my eyes, not a seedy pervert with "she-male" pornography to hide. Mind you, it's perhaps designed to show how "ordinary" people are hiding behind themselves, too...

But generally, this was a good episode that moved the plot forward in terms of Dexter's psychology. The final scene, where Dex refuses to lie to Rita about sleeping with Lila (risking an end to their relationship), then walks to Lila's sanctuary in the pouring rain, seems to herald a seismic shift for Dex's social structure...


4 November 2007
Showtime, 9.30 pm