TV Review: DEXTER 6.9, "Get Gellar"
While this was a successful episode, it almost feels like too little too late.
rating: 3.5
While this was a successful episode, it almost feels like too little too late. While Get Gellar may have further developed the characters, the plot advancements lacked impact as the majority of the audience saw them coming miles away. Though personally I'm slightly bothered it took this long for certain loose ends to begin to get tied up, ultimately I'm happy the season is well on its way to reaching its conclusion, hopefully a satisfying one. First of all, let's address the 200 lb. frozen corpse in the room, that of course being the confirmation that Gellar has in fact been dead the entire season and Travis has been hallucinating him while carrying out the DDK murders himself. I'm sure the writers would rather I use the word revelation as opposed to confirmation, but seeing as how so many viewers have been suspecting this fact since at least episode five, The Angel of Death, the term revelation feels unearned. The problem, as Ive mentioned in previous reviews so Ill try not to spend too much time on here, is not the use of the split personality plot device, but rather the weight that it was forced to carry without proper support. On paper, Travis' dark passenger sounds great not because it would eventually become a trumped up reveal, but because it should become a foil or reflection of Dexter's dark passenger as well as a genuine dilemma as to how Dexter would handle a killer he sympathizes with and acknowledges is not merely insane, but also unaware of his own actions. During Nebraska the audience should recall how Brian confronted Dexter with why he wakes up and forces his victims to confess their crimes as opposed to simply having his way with them. Brian claimed it was because Dex likes to see his victims squirm and suffer, however, we know it's deeper than just sadism and is due in larger part to Dexter's sense of justice. Apparently the writers and producers felt the concept was worth pursuing in terms of both drama and content as we do still have three more episodes left to explore the consequences of Dexter finally being aware of what we've been anticipating. Suffice to say I'm remaining optimistically hopeful as to how Dexter will deal with a dangerous violator of the code whom is delusional as to the responsibility of his actions. Speaking of, it's justifiable to speculate that perhaps this is why we've been introduced to Louis. I suggest it's possible that Louis may actually dispose of Travis, not Dexter. Since Masuka's second intern of the season, Ryan Chambers, stole the prosthetic hand from the Ice Truck Killer evidence, I've been wondering if this subplot would eventually amount to something substantial. Because Louis, Ryan's replacement, has been revealed to be the owner of the missing hand and has exhibited such an avid affinity for Dexter, I'm willing to bet he's not just the plucky IT guy, but in fact someone who knows Dexter's true calling and is a genuine admirer who will attempt to impress Dexter by taking care of this pesky criminally insane nuisance that is Travis. It seems like something the writers and producers would do to let Dex off the hook for the aforementioned dilemma. Why else would we spend so much time on seeing Louis earn his keep at the precinct and the trust of Jamie as well as learning about his appreciation of Dexter if not to eventually see him emerge as the real twist of the season? While I have previously complained of the season neglecting better exploration of spiritual themes, Get Gellar has done a decent job of reminding me why Dexter initially became interested in pursuing a spiritual path at all. I expressed last week that the writers of Dexter have trouble deciding whether to write the character as burdened by his dark passenger or liberated by it. Get Gellar succeeded in painting Dexter as being hindered by his dark urges at least in terms of his attitude toward fatherhood as evidenced by the opening line in which Dexter compared his dark passenger to a limp and a handicap as well as the conversation toward the end with Harry in which Dexter articulated well that it's too late to redeem himself, or be a better person, but not too late to be a better father. Naturally the show emphasized the religious aspects of the season with Brother Sam and the Doomsday Killer for marketing and promotional reasons, but whereas I've regretted the show not better utilizing its opportunities to dissect in greater detail issues of spirituality for Dexter, he has only been interested in it as a means to provide a suitable legacy for Harrison, not as an end itself. Therefore, I'm less bothered by DDK's lack of more substantial spiritual implications and the loss of Brother Sam. Although I've been unhappy with the relationship Dex has had with DDK in terms of religion, despite his more direct investigation of Travis and Gellar, this episode has better solidified Dexter's motivation to rid the world of DDK. Sure, there's the whole redemption theme that's been consistently contributed to all season, but when Dexter and the rest of the Scooby gang were doused with the viscera of Travis' latest victim, staunch atheist professor, Trent Casey, and Dex delivered his line about how Gellar won't know wrath until he meets Dexter, I believed it. Although there wasn't much time spent on the impact of the scene, hearing Dexter get so angry about being covered in blood, that which sets his teeth on edge, made me recall (once again) the season one episode, Seeing Red, in which Dexter passed out due to being immersed in a literally blood-soaked hotel room. It makes sense that Dexter wouldn't have the same reaction as he did back then since he has presumably grown much since season one, but it still helped me believe Dexter genuinely wants to kill this man more so than I did previously. I'm aware of the Dexter detractors out there who are of the opinion that this is a particularly weak season; that it is unfocused, gimmicky, uncharacteristic, and I get those criticisms, I've even contributed to them myself, but I can't help but feel they are slightly more harsh than is warranted. Maybe I'm just too big a fan of the series to be truly objective, but I still have a lot of appreciation for the daunting task of writing a successful season of television after five years. Yes, I believe the Travis/Gellar reveal shouldn't have been withheld for so long; yes, I feel there could have been better use of the opportunities to explore spirituality; and yes, I wish the show didn't shy away from the moral and psychological implications of the character so much, but you know what? Ultimately, this is still an original and unique show with a lot of potential that I am excited to watch for at least another two seasons. Granted, I want to see more from it in the future, but given all the allusions to the series' strongest seasons this year, I am hopeful Hall, Buck, and company will do justice to the character. As I am clearly being optimistic as to where the series is heading, I'm excited to see more development of Debra. It was very satisfying to see her tell off LaGuerta concerning the dead call girl case and I'm excited to see whether her and Matthews will successfully take care of Deb and her tenacity, but I'm even more fired up to see her more closely examine her relationship with Dexter and Harry. Get Gellar showed Deb's new therapist paying great attention to the fact that Brian, the Ice Truck Killer, was Dex's biological brother. I'm hoping that LaGuerta and Matthews successfully uproot Deb from her new position and even from the precinct altogether, and Deb will end up a rogue agent much like Frank Lundy, pursuing under the radar her theory that Dex is much more than meets the eye. I'm also pleased with Debra's therapist as she was the source of Dexter's confusion as to why Debra wants him to be a table, not a chair. Regarding the rest of Miami's finest, Masuka had a nice pep talk with Louis that I thought showcased Masuka's wiser side, and Quinn is once more proving what a hilarious drunk mess he's become. As I mentioned last week, while his buffoonery cracks me up, it needs to amount to something more as this is a drama and not a comedy. Therefore, thanks in no small part to how useful Mike Anderson has been, we should look forward to Quinn leaving one way or the other. Hopefully Angel beats him to death. While I've been a bit generous with this episode and the season as a whole, I don't want to come off simply as an enthusiastic, apologetic fanboy, rather, I'm only trying to acknowledge the potential the season and the series still has to prove itself of what we all know it's capable of. Although Get Gellar worked mostly to confirm what we've all been aware of, it also laid a lot of groundwork for what should be a stellar conclusion to an admirable if not completely successful season.