Cathryn (formerly catslash) (![[personal profile]](https://www.dreamwidth.org/img/silk/identity/user.png)
remindmeofthe) wrote2007-11-26 04:59 pm
remindmeofthe) wrote2007-11-26 04:59 pm
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Dexter! Ohmygod I love this show. I feel almost like I cheated myself watching the entire first season in one go, because this season, drawn out with the wait between episodes, is so much more delicious. I want to know what's going to happen but I don't want it to end!
* I totally started this bullet point snarking on Rita for taking so long to forgive Dexter, but in discussing it, I kinda figured out where she was coming from. Here's what I wrote so you can see what I mean: Let us consider the situation based upon what she knows. Her boyfriend is battling an addiction, one that she knows from experience witnessing it firsthand is a bitch and a half to deal with. She knows said boyfriend witnessed his mother's murder when he was three. She must know that these two things combine to make a person, oh, a little on the fragile side. She knows that he's amazing with her kids. She knows that he showed up at Cody's presentation to encourage him rather than hurt him by blowing it off.
She knows that Lila was his NA sponsor. She must know, due to aforementioned experience, that the sponsor/sponsee relationship is unique and important. Hell, I know that just from watching this freaking show, it's not exactly a difficult conclusion to reach. She knows that Dexter was a mess, and she knows that he slept with Lila.
Yeah, I'd be pissed if she just went, "Oops, oh well, these things happen," but at the same time! Dexter is respectful to her and effortless with the kids (seriously, if I had kids, I'd want to be dating him; I could even overlook the whole serial killer thing) and Rita faced down her bitch of a mother to be with him.
. . . sigh. All that said, though, I really can't condemn Rita too much. While it may seem obvious from the outside that she and Dexter belong together, she still got hurt bad. And after things with Paul and Dexter's (apparently) having the same addiction, it's little wonder that she was so quick to protect herself. She loves Dexter and she knows the kids love him, and she knows he loves them ('cause she doesn't know about the whole sociopath thing) and she was fighting all that out of self-defense. I think she needed what happened in this ep to be able to let down her defenses again: to see that Dexter was so worried for their safety that he tried to keep watch all night; to see yet again that he is AWESOME with her kids; and to hear an honest apology from Dexter that had nothing to do with seeking forgiveness and everything to do with the fact that she deserved one. Only after that was she able to accept that he's the right guy and she better get her ass in gear and get him back while she still can. And even then, when I take into account everything she's been through, I see how brave she was to call Dexter and ask if they could talk.
* I would also like to observe how hilarious it is that the entire bullet point above is about a TV show starring a serial killer. Dexter isn't just a guy who cheated on his girlfriend in a moment of intense emotional turmoil. He is a SERIAL. KILLER. OH MY GOD I LOVE THIS SHOW.
* Don't let me get started analyzing Dexter's attachment to Rita and the kids in the context of his Antisocial Personality Disorder. Seriously. I don't have the time and neither do you. Suffice it to say that it's been portrayed well, I approve, and I wonder if, in the long term, Dexter could even be cured. APD is theoretically curable. The tricky bit is getting APDers to admit the possibility of something being wrong with them in the first place, but hell, Dexter's known that for a long time. This season has been all about him trying to shed the "monster" (read: his disorder). Lila was the wrong influence, on account of being fucking crazy, but Rita and the kids could be the key.
* I was talking about the episode, wasn't I? OKAY DOAKES. Holy crap. First, I want to say that that phone call with him and LaGuerta was very moving. The writers and actors have done some outstanding work here. First, they had the task of making LaGuerta, who started off as least likable character on the show, become sympathetic. And boy, do they have a fine line to walk with Doakes. On the one hand, they have to make it believeable, from his actions and behavior as well as the evidence, that he would become the lead suspect for the Bay Harbor Butcher. (Dexter's right, that name sucks.) On the other hand, for that phone call and LaGuerta's fierce loyalty to work (loyalty from a woman who'll take down whoever she has to, however she has to do it, is a tricky concept), we have to catch glimpses of that James who loved that Maria back in the day. And we have to see that he's still there, quieter and more platonic though he may be these days. And all that has to happen without sloshing sap everywhere or dulling Doakes's psychotic edge. And they did it. And I got all sniffly, and I want to give LaGuerta a hug, except that she would totally brush me off because she has to keep it together and concentrate on Doakes, even though she can't do anything for him right now.
* And while I'm praising Erik King. I loved how he played Doakes's reaction to seeing right before his eyes the final piece of proof that Dexter, as he has always suspected, is up to no good: surprise. I figured Doakes's reaction to that would be pure vindication, and there was vindication, oh yes, but first, he was surprised. If you'll forgive the cutesy word play, he suspected it, but he didn't expect it. I knew the second I saw the look on his face and heard the near-disbelief in his voice that that was a far more authentic reaction than an immediate, "I knew it!" Awesome work there.
* (This is pure speculation. I don't have any season three spoilers and I don't want any. I don't even know if any exist.) Okay, now I'm thinking way ahead to next season and the interesting dynamics that would result from Doakes convicted, Dexter still at the MPD, and LaGuerta still his supervisor - and believing Doakes's story. She would have to continue investigating to save Doakes from execution. She would also have to be much more circumspect than he was and pull off the acting role of a lifetime to keep her job and her access to Dexter, because folks would be paying much closer attention to her than they did Doakes.
* I was gonna say stuff about Lila and Angel but now I'm all distracted. So I'll just say: Angel, you are much better-looking without your hat on. Leave it off more often and maybe you'll attract some hot chicks who aren't psycho stalker arsonists. When do we find out that Lila has burned a bunch of people to death so Dexter can kill her?
* Random speculation based on the preview info for next week from Showtime.com. I'll throw in a few asterisks in case you're continuing from the above cut and don't want to see it.
*
*
*
*
*
Harry is Dexter's father, isn't he? And Doakes found out somehow. He found something Dexter didn't. With his connections, I'd buy that. It doesn't really seem like the kind of information Doakes would throw out like a weapon, but we'll see.
God, I hope there's someone on my friendslist who watches this show. I'd hate to think I just spent an hour on this entry just to hear myself type. Fuck it, I don't feel like proofreading, and I'm not gonna till someone says they read this monstrosity. Uh, so there!
. . . I need a Dexter icon.
* I totally started this bullet point snarking on Rita for taking so long to forgive Dexter, but in discussing it, I kinda figured out where she was coming from. Here's what I wrote so you can see what I mean: Let us consider the situation based upon what she knows. Her boyfriend is battling an addiction, one that she knows from experience witnessing it firsthand is a bitch and a half to deal with. She knows said boyfriend witnessed his mother's murder when he was three. She must know that these two things combine to make a person, oh, a little on the fragile side. She knows that he's amazing with her kids. She knows that he showed up at Cody's presentation to encourage him rather than hurt him by blowing it off.
She knows that Lila was his NA sponsor. She must know, due to aforementioned experience, that the sponsor/sponsee relationship is unique and important. Hell, I know that just from watching this freaking show, it's not exactly a difficult conclusion to reach. She knows that Dexter was a mess, and she knows that he slept with Lila.
Yeah, I'd be pissed if she just went, "Oops, oh well, these things happen," but at the same time! Dexter is respectful to her and effortless with the kids (seriously, if I had kids, I'd want to be dating him; I could even overlook the whole serial killer thing) and Rita faced down her bitch of a mother to be with him.
. . . sigh. All that said, though, I really can't condemn Rita too much. While it may seem obvious from the outside that she and Dexter belong together, she still got hurt bad. And after things with Paul and Dexter's (apparently) having the same addiction, it's little wonder that she was so quick to protect herself. She loves Dexter and she knows the kids love him, and she knows he loves them ('cause she doesn't know about the whole sociopath thing) and she was fighting all that out of self-defense. I think she needed what happened in this ep to be able to let down her defenses again: to see that Dexter was so worried for their safety that he tried to keep watch all night; to see yet again that he is AWESOME with her kids; and to hear an honest apology from Dexter that had nothing to do with seeking forgiveness and everything to do with the fact that she deserved one. Only after that was she able to accept that he's the right guy and she better get her ass in gear and get him back while she still can. And even then, when I take into account everything she's been through, I see how brave she was to call Dexter and ask if they could talk.
* I would also like to observe how hilarious it is that the entire bullet point above is about a TV show starring a serial killer. Dexter isn't just a guy who cheated on his girlfriend in a moment of intense emotional turmoil. He is a SERIAL. KILLER. OH MY GOD I LOVE THIS SHOW.
* Don't let me get started analyzing Dexter's attachment to Rita and the kids in the context of his Antisocial Personality Disorder. Seriously. I don't have the time and neither do you. Suffice it to say that it's been portrayed well, I approve, and I wonder if, in the long term, Dexter could even be cured. APD is theoretically curable. The tricky bit is getting APDers to admit the possibility of something being wrong with them in the first place, but hell, Dexter's known that for a long time. This season has been all about him trying to shed the "monster" (read: his disorder). Lila was the wrong influence, on account of being fucking crazy, but Rita and the kids could be the key.
* I was talking about the episode, wasn't I? OKAY DOAKES. Holy crap. First, I want to say that that phone call with him and LaGuerta was very moving. The writers and actors have done some outstanding work here. First, they had the task of making LaGuerta, who started off as least likable character on the show, become sympathetic. And boy, do they have a fine line to walk with Doakes. On the one hand, they have to make it believeable, from his actions and behavior as well as the evidence, that he would become the lead suspect for the Bay Harbor Butcher. (Dexter's right, that name sucks.) On the other hand, for that phone call and LaGuerta's fierce loyalty to work (loyalty from a woman who'll take down whoever she has to, however she has to do it, is a tricky concept), we have to catch glimpses of that James who loved that Maria back in the day. And we have to see that he's still there, quieter and more platonic though he may be these days. And all that has to happen without sloshing sap everywhere or dulling Doakes's psychotic edge. And they did it. And I got all sniffly, and I want to give LaGuerta a hug, except that she would totally brush me off because she has to keep it together and concentrate on Doakes, even though she can't do anything for him right now.
* And while I'm praising Erik King. I loved how he played Doakes's reaction to seeing right before his eyes the final piece of proof that Dexter, as he has always suspected, is up to no good: surprise. I figured Doakes's reaction to that would be pure vindication, and there was vindication, oh yes, but first, he was surprised. If you'll forgive the cutesy word play, he suspected it, but he didn't expect it. I knew the second I saw the look on his face and heard the near-disbelief in his voice that that was a far more authentic reaction than an immediate, "I knew it!" Awesome work there.
* (This is pure speculation. I don't have any season three spoilers and I don't want any. I don't even know if any exist.) Okay, now I'm thinking way ahead to next season and the interesting dynamics that would result from Doakes convicted, Dexter still at the MPD, and LaGuerta still his supervisor - and believing Doakes's story. She would have to continue investigating to save Doakes from execution. She would also have to be much more circumspect than he was and pull off the acting role of a lifetime to keep her job and her access to Dexter, because folks would be paying much closer attention to her than they did Doakes.
* I was gonna say stuff about Lila and Angel but now I'm all distracted. So I'll just say: Angel, you are much better-looking without your hat on. Leave it off more often and maybe you'll attract some hot chicks who aren't psycho stalker arsonists. When do we find out that Lila has burned a bunch of people to death so Dexter can kill her?
* Random speculation based on the preview info for next week from Showtime.com. I'll throw in a few asterisks in case you're continuing from the above cut and don't want to see it.
*
*
*
*
*
Harry is Dexter's father, isn't he? And Doakes found out somehow. He found something Dexter didn't. With his connections, I'd buy that. It doesn't really seem like the kind of information Doakes would throw out like a weapon, but we'll see.
God, I hope there's someone on my friendslist who watches this show. I'd hate to think I just spent an hour on this entry just to hear myself type. Fuck it, I don't feel like proofreading, and I'm not gonna till someone says they read this monstrosity. Uh, so there!
. . . I need a Dexter icon.
no subject
And I don't even really know what it's about. At all.
no subject
It is a ridiculously awesome show, and this past episode actually broke the all-time viewership record for the channel it airs on. The first season is out on DVD, but I have no idea how much that helps you in your country.
no subject
I think there is some pointless and idiotic difference between US and European DVDs, though I'm sure there's a way around that, once I get my computer working properly