"The Getaway" slotted together with more finesse than I was expecting, probably because last week was the dumping ground for the season's least convincing elements, leaving this finale free to bring the Dexter/Arthur struggle to a riveting conclusion. As expected, Arthur is seemingly content to threaten Dexter with exposure as someone who perverted the course of justice in order to extort money from the Trinity Killer, and Dex is in no position to argue with Arthur's demand to stay out of his life. However, Arthur's slightly naïve about just how far Dex is prepared to go in order to maintain his cover, and he's followed immediately after leaving the Miami Metro, as Dex is determined to kill his quarry in an impromptu fashion.But Dexter's haste leads to all manner of complications that come back to bite him throughout this episode; from punching officious Quinn (Desmond Harrington), to being arrested for dangerous driving minutes after he'd stashed tranquilized runaway Arthur into the back of his own van. The anxiety was palpable as Dexter's improvisations conspired to work against him throughout this hour, and after Arthur later regained consciousness (discovering his withdrawn life's savings have been stolen by Dex), an exciting duel was set in motion as Arthur started investigating this "Dexter Morgan" for retaliation.
And Arthur wasn't the only person investigating Dexter, as Debra met with her late-father's bedfellow informant and was shown the home of the woman she was spurned for: Laura Moser. A residence Deb was astonished she recognized, because it was where her ex-boyfriend Rudy Cooper (aka Brian Moser, "The Ice Truck Killer") took her when she was kidnapped in season 1. So, it wasn't too difficult to investigate Laura Moser's background and discover she had two little boys called Brian... and Dexter. It was a moment of revelation we've been waiting for since the tail-end of season 3, but Debra's epiphany didn't quite go the way we expected it to...After raising the issue of her brother's origin with her dad's best-friend, Captain Matthews (Geoff Pierson), Deb has it confirmed that that Harry (James Remar) adopted his lover Laura Moser's orphaned son from the bloodstained shipping container she was slaughtered in. But, rather than make the unthinkable leap to believe her brother has always known about his own past (and his relationship with the serial-killer who tried to kill her), Debra instead thinks she's simply raked up bad news to break to him. Dexter's secret is ultimately safe, if a little exposed around the edges.
The joy of this episode was seeing all the obstacles thrown in Dexter's way, as his house of cards threatened to topple over in a rising wind of misfortune and personal error. It was particularly stressful when Dex went to visit the Mitchell family to ask about Arthur's whereabouts, only for his colleagues and an armed team to descend on the house (as they'd since deduced Arthur is Trinity, thanks to a clue provided by the little boy he kidnapped, which led them to his Four Walls building site.) Seeing Dex forced to hide in Arthur's coffin in the garage, only to crawl out and pretend he'd arrived on the scene without their knowledge -- pricking the bullshit-detector of his sister for a discomfiting moment -- was an especially tense scene.
Of course, the moment everyone was waiting for came as expected, with Arthur fleeing Miami in his repaired classic car, only to be snared by Dexter after a breakdown. Fittingly, Dex made a "kill room" inside Arthur's underground bomb shelter containing his old train set, and the ensuing scene between the two killers was amongst the series' best. Dexter believes his dealings with Arthur have taught him he's capable of avoiding the same mistakes, and poisoning his beatific family. Arthur is dismissive, infantilizing Dexter and claiming this aspiration can never come to pass, as he tried and failed to stop himself from killing as a younger man. It's simply in their nature to kill. The scene's particularly good in retrospect, as Arthur's words (particularly "it's already over...") are given a double-meaning once we're aware of his parting shot. In the denouement, after dumping Arthur's dismembered body in the ocean, Dex returns home and discovers that Rita (Julie Benz), whom he thought he'd managed to put out of harm's way, had become Arthur's final blood bath victim. And in a chilling echo of Dexter's own childhood, baby Harrison had been left to sit screaming in his mother's bloody overspill from the tub.It was a shocking, gut-wrenching climax to see Dexter suffer such a devastating blow -- condemning his wife to a terrible death as a result of his secret life, while also (possibly) giving his son similar psychological scars. Or is Harrison fortunately too young to recall? It's certainly a climax that will educe a fifth season of big changes, not least the fact Dexter's going to be a single father of three. He had enough difficult juggling family-life with Rita around, so how will he cope? Or will he find a way to quell his "Dark Passenger" for the sake of his kids? Might Rita's mother return and fight for custody of Astor and Cody? Will the show perhaps jump forward in time at this point, as I think it would be much more interesting if Harrison was older. And is Deb satisfied by the skeleton she pulled from her dad's closet? Will her adoration and reliance on her step-brother continue to blind her to the deeper truth?
Overall, "The Getaway" was a mesmerizing finale to a season that's wavered in logic but has ultimately been highly enjoyable. I still think Dexter's lost some of its edge since season 1, and I feel season 2's plot clicked better (and definitely had stronger subplots), but this fourth season totally eclipsed the misstep of season 3, and the Trinity Killer was one of the series' more enjoyable storylines. As anticipated, John Lithgow was marvelous as a twisted version of the kind of person Dexter may become, and I'm thankful the writers grabbed this opportunity to kill Rita and keep the show fresh. I actually really like Benz's tender portrayal, but her character had definitely progressed as far as she could. But I am disappointed we'll never see the moment Rita discovers her husband's a killer, so I'll have to console myself with Dex's soft-focus daydream of his distraught family being led to safety by police.As a quick addendum, I urge you to check out showrunner Clyde Phillips thoughts on this finale over at the Ausiello Files, where he answers a few nagging questions. Showtime's Dexter website also has a wonderful 10-minute video where Hall and Lithgow discuss the finale together. And it's also worth mentioning that Phillips has announced he's leaving the show now -- so how do you think that will that impact creativity? When Daniel Cerone left after season 2, the series definitely lost some of its flintier edge, so will Phillips departure weaken the show further? Well, at least we can be sure Dexter's future on the airwaves is safe, because "The Getaway" attracted 2.1 million viewers -- setting a record for the cable channel.
12 December 2009
Showtime, 9/8c
written by: Wendy West & Melissa Rosenberg (story by Scott Reynolds & Melissa Rosenberg) directed by: Steve Shill starring: Michael C. Hall (Dexter Morgan), Julie Benz (Rita Bennett), Jennifer Carpenter (Debra Morgan), John Lithgow (Arthur Mitchell) Desmond Harrington (Det. Joey Quinn), Lauren Vélez (Lt. Maria Laguerta), David Zayas (Sgt. Angel Batista), James Remar (Det. Harry Morgan), Geoff Pierson (Capt. Matthews), Julia Campbell (Sally Simmons), Jullian Dulce Vida (Julio), Brando Eaton (Jonah Mitchell), Christopher Goodman (Angry Driver) & Roger Ranney (Nick Smith)
