Writer: Melissa Rosenberg
Director: Marcos Siega
Cast: Michael C. Hall (Dexter), Julie Benz (Rita), James Remar (Harry), C.S Lee (Masuka), Jennifer Carpenter (Debra), Jimmy Smits (Miguel Prado), Lauren Velez (LaGuerta), David Zayas (Angel), Desmond Harrington (Joey Quinn), Mike Erin (Freebo), Preston Bailey (Cody), Ralph Cole Jr (Kitty), Stephen Gabriel (Dexter Jr), Natalie Garza (Amanda), Nicole Garxa (Amanda), Nick Hermz (Oscar Prado), Dream Kasestatad (Frat Boy), Rod Keller (Petunia), Liza Lapira (Yuki Amado) & Christina Robinson (Astor)
Director: Marcos Siega
Cast: Michael C. Hall (Dexter), Julie Benz (Rita), James Remar (Harry), C.S Lee (Masuka), Jennifer Carpenter (Debra), Jimmy Smits (Miguel Prado), Lauren Velez (LaGuerta), David Zayas (Angel), Desmond Harrington (Joey Quinn), Mike Erin (Freebo), Preston Bailey (Cody), Ralph Cole Jr (Kitty), Stephen Gabriel (Dexter Jr), Natalie Garza (Amanda), Nicole Garxa (Amanda), Nick Hermz (Oscar Prado), Dream Kasestatad (Frat Boy), Rod Keller (Petunia), Liza Lapira (Yuki Amado) & Christina Robinson (Astor)
Spoilers. A worrisome thought lodged in my mind for most of "Finding Freebo": is Dexter past its expiry date? The two previous seasons had me gripped from the start, but season 3 has failed to provide a hook. So far, Dexter (Michael C. Hall) has accidentally killed Oscar Prado -- the younger brother of D.A Miguel Prado (Jimmy Smits). Dex's intended victim, drug-dealer Freebo (Mike Erwin), has fled the scene and is now the prime suspect -- so Dex must find and eliminate this loose end, before Freebo is taken in by the authorities and identifies Dex as Oscar's real killer…It doesn't sound too shabby when written down like that, but it's all very flat in the execution. I think the main problem is a general vagueness clouding everything. Dexter's razor-sharp precision is missing, with too many background elements muddying the water. For instance, Debra (Jennifer Carpenter) is still being hassled to become a snitch on Quinn (Desmond Harrington) -- but we still have no clear idea why, and have barely spend any time with newcomer Quinn to even hazard a guess.
LaGuerta (Lauren Velez) and Miguel have history together that's continually being referred to, but is likewise foggy. Whenever they have a cozy chat together about old times, I just feel excluded as a viewer. Also, maybe it's a cultural thing, but I just don't find the death of a District Attorney's brother a "big deal", which is how we're supposed to feel about Oscar's murder. If Miguel was a former President, or even the governor of Florida, then I might actually care.
As usual, anything directly affecting Dexter's state of mind are as enjoyable as ever. Here, Dexter and girlfriend Rita (Julie Benz) awkwardly try to discuss whether or not they should keep the baby Rita's pregnant with. This allows for uneasy drama between the two actors, and some amusing fantasy sequences with Dexter pushing "Dexter Junior" (Stephen Gabriel) on a swing, as his imagined father Harry (James Remar) looks on approvingly.
The idea of Dexter becoming a father (and potentially keeping Harry's Code alive in his offspring?) is a fun one to consider. Of course, it'll be awhile before there's a baby Dexter running around, so I'm already assuming Rita's pregnancy will be threatened by outside forces. If the series wants to play with the idea of Dexter influencing child behaviour, why not just use the kids immediately available -- Astor (Christina Robinson) and Cody (Preston Bailey)?
A long-running criticism of Dexter has been the comparative blandness of everyone beyond Dex himself. It remains a fair point, although I'd argue Debra is quite textured and the influx of season-long regulars helps support the untouchable Michael C. Hall. For season 3, Jimmy Smits is giving a strong performance as mustachioed Miguel, who clearly unsettles Dexter and is strange enough to make you ponder his motivations. In a series where a doctor was unmasked as a serial-killer and a recovering addict was actually a bunny-boiling firestarter, it's only natural to view Miguel with squinting suspicion.
Beyond Smits, there's not much going on with the other characters, sadly: Masuka (C.S Lee) is still twittering on about his forensics magazine article nobody cares about, I can't take bumbling Angel (David Zayas) seriously as Sgt. Doakes' replacement, LaGuerta just chats with Miguel occasionally, and Quinn has had so little screen-time that I barely remember he's there.
Fortunately, "Finding Freebo" manages to self-resuscitate itself in the last 15-minutes -- with Dexter tracking down runaway Freebo by accident and deciding to set-up a "kill room" there and then. The show always seems to find its groove when focusing on the tension over Dexter's gruesome activities and the threat of his capture. By the end of this episode, I was greatly relived to see some signs of life had belatedly returned, and my confidence grew that season 3 is just taking its time; setting out the pieces before the game really begins…
Still, I can't totally shift my back-of-mind feeling that Dexter has used up its most effective and natural storylines, and season 3's shift to a more standard police procedural (with moments of bloodletting from a wolf in sheep's clothing thrown in) just can't compete. Hopefully this flat set-up will be revealed as a necessary preamble in hindsight, and season 3 will start breaking a sweat very soon.
5 October 2008
Showtime, 9/8c
