Dexter 8.1 Review
To close this casual wrap-up, before we launch into some of the meatier aspects, Ill just say that the season is off to a great start, and handles the tenuous transition period with great aplomb. Things are constantly moving here, new characters are introduced with creative, fluid skill, and theres a clear emotional arc curving into view, with implied juicy confrontations just on the other side of the bend. Best of all, especially when you are talking about the ramp-up to a shows big conclusion, theres emphasis on growing the characters and giving the actors who play them plentiful opportunities for invention and exploration. Michael C. Hall gets a few moments in this opener to remind of Dexters insanity, which is often so guarded by his charismatic exterior. Carpenter has started to match his intensity and texture, and it looks like their relationship will continue as the driving narrative force, for at least part of this season. The character of Vogel looks like the right key to finally unlocking who Dexter really is as a person now; those forces that make him tick underneath the code. We have observed him indulging in a number of relationships and roles that Harry probably never expected to see him take-on, but for all of that we still arent truly privy to the man hes become and this storyline looks to unpack that in a big way. Instead of a half-baked rush to conclusion, the writing suggests an agonizing slow-burn, as the creators start tightening the vice on Dexter and his makeshift family. For those who dont want to see the ball dropped, 8.1 is an affirmation that everyones still got their head in the game as we approach the home stretch. Thats it for the non-spoiler stuff. Now, the good, the odd, and the ugly tidbits of last nights episode. Debras moral slide into a self-proclaimed sh---y hell. Anytime youve got a foundation rocking ending like last season, theres an expectation that when you pick back up with some of the characters, they may not resemble the ones you left. Fans of CWs Supernatural can sympathize with this, unable to recall exactly how many times one of the Winchester brothers has stumbled back from the abyss to find the other in some self-posited state of down-and-out duress. Debra, who would probably have a hard time fathoming how much shes fallen since just last years season opener, is no exception to this and we see her working for Elway Investigations, where her boss is none other than Sean Patrick Flannery. Shes left Miami Metro with no signal, and Dexter cant even get a hold of her. Beyond that, we find her coked up, hanging out with a lowlife named Briggshanging also equates to screwingand generally indulging in the kinds of behavior befitting a college kid on a perpetual spring break. In this case, its her heart and conscience that are broken, and shes on a psychologically flagellating tour of destruction that doesnt look to stop any time soon. As temporary and rote as some of this descent feels, Carpenter sells it to us and makes Deb more interesting in the process. I dont think anyone wants to see a whole season of this, but I suspect its only the beginning of a genesis of sorts that will have as much impact on Dex as it does on her, which brings us to Dexter coming unhinged and facing closing walls on all sides. Yes, hes doing well for the most part, has dodged being pinched for last seasons crimes, didnt violate the code himself, and continues to stay the course Harry set for him. There are two pieces to 8.1 that foreshadow and endanger this sure to be short-lived happiness for him. The first is related to whats going on with Debra. He comes to her rescue when he learns shes casing someone known as El Sapo (The Toad) and ends up killing Briggs which doesnt sit well with her. She points out what he knows to be true; Dexter is the one whos lost without his sister, and that shes more or less right where shes chosen to be, no matter how dangerous that is for her. The scene in the car, where his minds version of his father warns him away from pursuing his sister, is testament again to the fact that no matter what he might seem on the outside, underneath it all, Dexter is most decidedly not alright. Hall captures the warring facets with a seasoned expertise; hes been shifting about in this characters skin for the better part of a decade and one of the really great things he brings to the table is defining behavior that Dexter himself isnt always aware of or understands. 
The other big wrench on the table is Evelyn Vogel, who questions Dexter early onpicking his brain if you will, as this new killer seems wont to do alsoand even hints at the fact that the Bay Harbor Butcher seemed to operate off some kind of a code, which obviously gets Dexs attention. The end of the episode revealed more; that she wasnt merely testing the waters looking for a bite, but rather actually knows who Dexter is, and somehow, knows about Harrys code as well. That she has the psychopathic drawings of Dexs kid-self doesnt bode well either. Regardless of what her goal is, Rampling plays her with sizzling conviction and understated menace that comes off like rigid authority. Im very interested in where the character is going. Batista and the case of the clueless cop. One has to start questioning how Batista really earned his detective stripes, given how much has been flying over his head. One of his buds killed his boss and ex-wife, another has been a serial murderer for as long as hes known him, and now his little sister is shacking up with Quinn in his houseand has apparently been doing so for some timeand hes just mucking about on LaGuerdas death while boxes of potentially damning information just sit there in front of him. Theres a worry that the character is going to get dumbed down before getting smart, and Id hate to see that happen here. Batista needs to get that gumshoe mojo back and quick. A Beautiful Day, with its roll-out of What a Wonderful World has sketched for us, as is always the case in Dexter, a world that is anything but, no matter what the characters themselves have convinced themselves of. Whats interesting here, is that everyone seems headed for some form of crisis that might be just as squarely hindered as their aimed-for happiness has been in the past. Debs self-exile and punishment looks short-lived, as a real bad guy may be on her tail, drawing her back to her true calling. Once Batista catches wind of Deb and Dexter, hes also lifted back to full potential. As for Dex, I suspect hes finally moving towards some real illumination about himself, a personal pinnaclegood or badthat will define everything before and after. Heres to another wild ride.