"Lost Boys" finds Dex on the tail of Arthur (John Lithgow), intending to end his tyranny and, ultimately, protect his oppressed family by adding him to his list of victims. However, Arthur's movements take a curious turn and he abducts a young boy called Scott from a local arcade, disappearing before Dex can stop him. A bit of detective work leads Dex to deduce that the "Trinity Killer" is improperly named, as Arthur's kill cycle actually begins by abducting and killing young boys (a fact missed by Lundy). The kidnapped kids effectively play the role of a young Arthur himself -- innocent and pure before his family were all killed in a tragic domino tumble of accident-suicide-murder.
The last four episodes of every season are always great fun on Dexter, as they've all involved someone realizing Dex's secret -- but here the tables are flipped as it's Arthur who's aware "Kyle" is close to unmasking him. Of course, he's unaware that matters are more complex, as Dex can't just point the finger at Arthur once Scott's abduction becomes headline news, as explaining exactly how he came to that conclusion would be impossible if he wants to maintain his cover. The reason given for why Dex can't leave an anonymous tip-off wasn't adequately explained for me, but I'll assume Dex just can't have Arthur arrested and allowed to spill the beans about benevolent divorcee Kyle Butler. I mean, how would he explain all that?
So, "Lost Boys" was effectively a one-man search of Miami, with Dex having to balance his work commitments while sneaking away to try and locate where Athur's holding Scott captive. To do this, he enlists Arthur's son Jonah (Brando Eaton), who's frightened but keen to escape the "whale" he lives in, and starts searching various homes Arthur was researching online. Indeed, Arthur is keeping Scott (whom he renames "Arthur") in a bomb shelter of a new home garden, forcing the boy to play with an antique train set, wear '50s-era pajamas, and eventually eat a pot of ice cream he's poisoned. His aim being to bury the boy in the concrete foundations of a build site (preserving a symbol of his former innocence like a fly in amber?)
For once, the subplots were worth watching and quite tense and exciting in their own right. Ace reporter Christine (Courtney Ford) came under the suspicion of Deb (Jennifer Carpenter) as the person responsible for shooting Lundy dead, so she finally agrees to Christine's request for an interview about her ordeal. However, she instead uses the one-on-one interview to try and rattle Christine by presenting her with crime scene photos of Lundy's corpse and lightly questioning some peculiarities about the speed she got to the crime scene. As Angel (David Zayas) watches on a monitor, they both spot Christine's guilty body language and odd reaction, before finally matching her DNA to that of the Trinity Killer using her toothbrush.
Interestingly, in the scene where Christine goes to Arthur and reveals to him how close the police are to uncovering her crime, we're given a few nuggets of information that raised my eyebrows. Primarily, it turns out Christine was acting alone when she shot Lundy, so she's not in cahoots with her estranged father as widely predicted. Instead, it was all a bizarre effort to keep her dad safe from exposure, as she's always suspected he's a killer -- having witnessed one of his bath tub kills as a little girl (a hazy memory she explained away as a dream, until Arthur's latest "blood bath" killing occurred in the same house, exactly 30 years later.) No concrete reason is given for why Christine wouldn't call the police about her suspicions at that point, but it's inferred through Courtney Ford's twitchy performance that Arthur's been a negligent father but helping him get away with murder was a twisted way of earning his love and respect. I can just about go along with that, I guess. Just.
The episode ended with Christine arrested (and no doubt set to reveal her father as Trinity, as she's an easy nut to crack), and Dex managing to rescue Scott from a hole full of concrete, but unfortunately letting Arthur disappear into the night (his cry of "Arthuuuur!" was a little OTT though, wasn't it?) Right now, it's interesting to try and predict where the final two episodes will take us -- if the cops are pointed in Arthur's direction by Christine, surely his family will mention the mysterious "Kyle Butler" at some point and lead the investigation back to Dexter? History says that Arthur is destined to find himself on Dex's kill table before the finale, so will Trinity effectively vanish forever in the police's eyes when Dex disposes of his body? Isn't that too much of a disappointing end for the investigation storyline? The show has always found a way for the Miami Metro to mistakenly believe the season's case has been solved by them? And Deb's extracurricular snooping into her father's CI files reared its head again, so it feels likely we're being primed for her to discover her brother's related to the Ice Truck Killer.
Overall, I was sufficiently gripped and entertained by "Lost Boys", which was a tight and involving hour of television. It helps that I'm prepared to cut the show some slack in how it writes Dexter's character, too; so while I'm sad his grey areas are turning whiter over time, I'm viewing it as a necessary development to prevent stagnancy. Of course, if the show goes too far into rehabilitating Dexter into the perfect family man, or treating him as a proactive defender of innocents beyond children he identifies with, I may have to reconsider things.
29 November 2009
Showtime, 9/8c
written by: Charles H. Eglee & Tim Schlattmann directed by: Keith Gordon starring: Michael C. Hall (Dexter Morgan), Julie Benz (Rita Bennett), Jennifer Carpenter (Debra Morgan), Desmond Harrington (Det. Joey Quinn), Lauren Vélez (Lt. Maria Laguerta), David Zayas (Sgt. Angel Batista), James Remar (Det. Harry Morgan), Christina Robinson (Astor Bennett), Preston Bailey (Cody Bennett), Sarah Grant Brendecke (Nanny), J.R. Cacia (Officer Gordon), Kathy Christopherson (Jill), Brando Eaton (Jonah Mitchell), Courtney Ford (Christine Hill), John Lithgow (Arthur Mitchell), Kavita Patil (Doctor) & Katie Grant (Woman)
