DEXTER 2.8 – "Morning Comes"

Writer: Scott Buck
Director: Keith Gordon

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), Bruce Weitz (Lenny Asher), Preston Bailey (Cody) & Christina Robinson (Astor)

Lundy grows suspicious of everyone working in the department, Dexter comforts Lila after her house fire, and Debra goes on a date with Lundy...

"You... you are more dangerous than my addiction will ever be.
And that's saying a lot."

-- Dexter Morgan (Michael C. Hall)

We're heading towards the end of season 2 and Morning Comes is very much an equivalent episode to the unmasking of the Ice Truck Killer's identity last year – which heralded a final 4 episode run of tension, twists and desperate measures.

Special Agent Lundy (Keith Carradine) is now convinced the Bay Harbor Butcher works in law enforcement, so he begins interviewing staff who worked on cases involving the Butcher's 18 known victims...

This puts Dexter (Michael C. Hall) in the firing line during a tense interview, where Lundy successfully surmises that Dex's unusually slapdash bloodwork on a case involving a felon called Rodrigo, resulted in his release. Not for the first time this year, Dex is left scrambling to come up with a plausible excuse for his uncharacteristic mistake, and finds Lundy difficult to win over with excuses – so has to instead pretend he was overworked and stressed at the time.

Season 2 has given us two differing parts of Dex's personality, as he began the year in grief for his dead brother and unable to kill – becoming impotent, clumsy and ineffective at what came naturally and dependably last season.

Then, after he met Lila (Jaime Murray), she refocused his attention away from killing, but arguably made him a worse monster – one who became reckless, impulsive, arrogant and prone to mistakes. His recent split from Rita (Julie Benz) has also resulted in him effectively mirroring her ex-husband -- who was also ostracized from her family, but hung around like a bad smell because her children loved him.

After the events of last week, Dex is comforting Lila after her house fire, which his professional eye already senses was arson – but doesn't yet see it as attention-seeking on her part, just maybe an insurance swindle. But it's enough to make him a little wary of Lila -- who herself becomes less quirky and endearing this episode, and instead becomes plain irritating at times.

Amusingly, Debra (Jennifer Carpenter) absolutely detests her brother's new love, mainly because Lila's fond of hanging around Dex's house topless and is far too pale for the Miami climate. Carpenter's performances aren't always up to par on the show, but she's great at spitting out insults.

Debra gets two subplots this week; one alongside Angel (David Zayas), with the pair interviewing local nutter Lenny Asher (Bruce Weitz), a man who was involved in the case of the Butcher's victim Rodrigo...

Lenny's obsession to catalogue petty crimes outside his home helps their investigation, because of a note he made describing a car Rodrigo got into -- including the registration of said car, which was locked up by the police as evidence for another case... meaning the Butcher is someone with access to the police compound!

Elsewhere, Debra's romance with Lundy takes a major step forward, with an official dinner date at his home. It's a cute little scene, with Lundy -- who half-enjoys playing up their age difference – showing a very different side to his character with a playful slap of potty-mouth Debra's ass!

For awhile, Morning Comes seems to be another story-building episode like last week, content to sit back and take its time developing characters and move a few pieces around the board. But then, it suddenly kicks into top gear, as Dex is attacked by Santos Jiminez (his mother's killer) outside his local bowling alley -- in the presence of Lila, Angel and Masuka (C.S Lee).

It seems to be a revenge attack, in response to Dex threatening Jiminez's life a few episodes back, before being calmed down by Lila. Dex shrugs off the incident as a mugging to his work colleagues, but is now compelled to tie-up this loose end and later follows drug-dealer Jiminez into the Everglades to kill him...

Meanwhile, suspended Doakes (Erik King) has been offered a security job by LaGuerta (Lauren Velez), with the pair getting closer this year. Doakes' fiery determination to expose Dexter as – well, whatever he might be – seems to have been extinguished. But, in the thrilling final third, Doakes learns of Dex's botched bloodwork in the Rodrigo case from Lundy and, his suspicions peaked, breaks into Dex's empty house to find incriminating evidence...

Dex later avenges his mother's death in an Everglades shack -- in a scene of grizzly poetic justice that would make Texas Chain Saw's Leatherface proud – but then gets a phone call from Rita, just as he finds the address of his bowling alley in Jiminez's wallet, with the exact time he'd be there. And suddenly, everything makes sense... because the only person who knew he'd be bowling at that time was Lila!

My first thought was that Lila has been in cahoots with Jiminez from the very beginning – acting as a honey trap to have Dex killed – but it actually just boils down to her clingy, warped outlook. After a phone call from Rita, who appears to have an intruder in her house, Dex rushes back to make sure everything's okay – assuming Lila is mad enough to threaten Rita's life because of her fixation with him.

Fortunately, Lila isn't that extreme. Dex confronts her back at her house, and she admits she engineered Jiminez to attack Dex, but just so he'd fall back into her bosom for comfort again – and it actually worked. Dex ends their relationship, cleansing himself of the insidious way she's wormed herself into his affections and usually-focused mind.

But trouble comes at Dex from another angle, as Doakes' snooping around Dex's house results in him finding Dex's hidden collection of his victim's blood samples -- squashed between slides and kept in a case behind a vent! Now, at long last, Doakes has discovered Dex's terrible secret and, as an added bonus, solved the Bay Harbor Butcher case single-handed...

All said, this is a wonderful episode that nicely builds to some startling developments, all of which I wasn't expecting to come so soon. I was marginally disappointed Lila didn't have some grander role to play – but having her become a bunny boiler who threatens Dex's lifestyle was perhaps the only way to go. Did we seriously expect Dex and Lila to become Mr and Mrs Morgan anytime soon?

But for most fans, we've been waiting a long time for someone to finally discover Dex's dark secret, and there was nobody more deserving than Doakes. But where will the show go from here? Of course, Doakes should probably put the blood evidence back and call the cops, but I doubt that will happen.

There are 4 episodes left, so it won't be that simple. Will Doakes take greater delight in toying with Dex, getting perverse pleasure in holding his entire future in the palm of his hand? I envisage scenes of Doakes hiding the blood evidence somewhere and putting Dex through the wringer for awhile – but is Doakes just too eager to expose him?

I personally still think Dex is going to have to break his Codes Of Harry to frame someone else as the Butcher in the finale, to secure his freedom. Perhaps Doakes is the best victim for this escape plan – but is Doakes weird and crazy enough to make a plausible serial-killer if evidence is planted on him? Or will Doakes get to Dex first?


18 November 2007
Showtime, 9.30 pm