"Dexter" Living the Dream (2009)

Director:

Marcos Siega

Writers:

James Manos Jr. (developer)
Jeff Lindsay (novel)

TV Series:

"Dexter" (2006)

Original Air Date:

27 September 2009 (Season 4, Episode 1)

Genre:

Crime | Drama | Mystery | Thriller

Plot:

Dexter's sleep deprivation puts both his day job and his nighttime hunting in jeopardy. Lundy is back in town to capture the Trinity Killer - someone he can't even prove exists.

Plot Keywords:

Baby | Sleep | Sleep Deprivation | Crying Baby | Automobile

Cast

Michael C. Hall	...	Dexter Morgan
Julie Benz	...	Rita Bennett
Jennifer Carpenter	...	Debra Morgan
Desmond Harrington	...	Joey Quinn
C.S. Lee	...	Vince Masuka
Lauren Vélez	...	Lt. Maria Laguerta (as Lauren Velez)
David Zayas	...	Angel Batista
James Remar	...	Harry Morgan
John Lithgow	...	Arthur Mitchell
David Ramsey	...	Anton Briggs
Adrienne Barbeau	...	Suzanna Coffey
Courtney Ford	...	Christine Hill
Lisa Darr	...	Lawyer
Jerry O'Donnell
Keith Carradine	...	Frank Lundy

Company:

Showtime Networks

Goofs:

Continuity: In the scene where Dexter has Benny bound to the table and gets a phone call, he holds a hand over Benny's mouth. In the camera angle where Dexter can be seen, he's holding his right hand over Benny's mouth, while in the close-up shot of Benny's face there is a left hand over his mouth.

Quotes:

Vince Masuka: Talk about your blood bath!
[goofy laugh]
Vince Masuka: Tough room. Okay, femoral artery's severed. She bled out in minutes.
Joey Quinn: Suicide?
Debra Morgan: No weapon on the premises.
Vince Masuka: The coroner can suck my uncircumcised dick if he doesn't rule this a homicide!
Debra Morgan: That's way TMI, Masuka. Employment records show she just got promoted to Sous Chef.
Vince Masuka: A total babe! And she could cook! Had it all goin' on!
Debra Morgan: And then, this.
Dexter Morgan: It's a very well organized crime scene. The assailant took his time, cleaned up after himself.
[...]

Great casting, unexpected come back and scary villain but déjà vu patterns, lazy graphic violence and hopeless writing

Since Easy as Pie, the 7th episode of season 3, I have felt less and less interested by Dexter because his dark story is not the one I would have written. However being an optimistic I thought his baby with Rita could be the wake up call he needed. But what I think doesn't really matter so let's go back to Living the (American) Dream. A beautiful and inspiring title but when it comes to Dex you know something deadly is on the way. So as usual we were introduced to a new nemesis and all our favorite characters were back : Sweary Deb, playcop Quinn, cool Batista, kinky Masuka… But in the end it really felt like déjà vu and nothing really surprised me. Of course Jennifer Carpenter's performance is still irresistible but I wish things had changed a little more. For example they could have at least redesigned their office. But for a premiere I think it's important not to be too picky because there were still plenty of elements to enjoy.

First one character I wasn't expecting to show up was back. In fact it scenes made me realize how much I missed it. I know its relationships with other characters will greatly contribute to their development and it should also create some twisted story arcs.

Second John Lithgow plays Arthur Mitchell, the Trinity Killer, and as a veteran I'm sure he'll do a great job. In fact his calm but disturbing attitude reminded me of Hannibal Lecter in The Silence of the Lambs. However it would be foolish to expect him to be as good as Anthony Hopkins was. But his few scenes were quite shocking so I expect the worst to happen in the upcoming episodes. In fact it worries me because in my Easy as Pie review I denounced free graphic violence and I don't want this season to turn into a blood bath. I mean what's the point of showing something if it's explained by some character a few seconds later ? So I think it would be better to let the viewers imagination do its magic instead of fast-fooding some scenes.

It leads us to Dex and Rita, lemonly played by Julie Benz. As usual Michael C. Hall performance is great but I have to admit that Dex is not growing on me anymore. In fact season 3's ending dramatically changed my mind about the show, specially its controversial morality, and the path the writers have decided to follow. I respect their talent but we have to question their decision and I wonder for example what Jeff Lindsay, writer of the Dexter novel series, thinks of the show. Has it already jumped the shark for him ? It's a question I can't help asking because they have already planned a 5th season and as a fan I worry the show will never end.

But don't get me wrong, Dexter is still a good show. This time I specially enjoyed the contrast between his daily routine and night life. So there's still something fascinating about it. However it's not as great as it could have been. Do the show creators still care about their baby or it's now only in the lucrative hands of the network ? Beside Trinity an other character was introduced and the episode ended on a climax but don't we already know what will happen in the upcoming episodes ? Surprise, surprise… or not.