Dexter 6x06

[ishtar79]

-I'm beyond bummed at losing Brother Sam so early in the season-Mos Def sold the shit out of that role. I loved that even that death's door, Brother Sam didn't change his tune, and that despite their brief acquaintance, he knew Dexter better than anybody else currently on the show.

-Having said that, at least his death lead to some fascinating character exploration. We've never seen Dexter lose it so bad over somebody who wasn't his family (I'm obviously including Rita in this) or Lumen, which of course makes the loss even more painful. Dexter just lost what may have been his first real friend (Angel doesn't count-he's blind to Dexter's darkness, so it's impossible for them to bond on a deeper level). I liked that Dexter tried to honour Sam's wishes, but don't blame him for losing it and drowning that rat bastard. Hell, even as a happily passenger-free person, I'm not sure I wouldn't have reacted exactly the same. It's interesting that he killed very much in the heat of the moment-there was no ritual, and from the looks of it, he won't even dispose of the body. That's HUGE for Dexter, and I'm intrigued by what this means for his journey this season. Dexter's resigned declaration that there's no light in him did kind of break me, though it's still early-things could turn around.

-BRIAN! I for one, am looking forward to Head!Brian. Head!Harry was getting beyond stale anyway.

-I was a bit disappointed that Leo wasn't the killer (well, technically he turned out to have ordered the hit, but I meant in the sense of ending up in Dexter's table), because I would have liked to see some more of him. Dude was hot.

-And on the exact opposite of hot, can someone PLEASE kill Quinn and put us all out of our misery? He continues to be as douchey as ever, and grosses me out more than ever, with his pathetic, whiny, entitled drunken manpain, the orange tan and general all-around sleaziness. All I could think about while he was crawling on the floor slurring whether Deb loved him was how very easy it would be to say no to that mess. Also, he looked like he smelled worse than the junkie Mike flamingoed. It gave me a particularly delicious feeling of Schadenfreude to see Angel punch him out (seriously, after Angel had his back, he had the nerve to practically maul his sister in front of him?) and Dexter gave me a nice metaphorical punch with her rejection. This is the first time I wished Laguerta was still around, because there's no way in hell she would have kept that unprofessional, horny, embarrassing drunk around.

-Only Masuka can make a lesson on dusting for fingerprints sound dirty. Never change, Vince!

-I need an Angel in my life. Not only is he solid, loyal and all-around good person, he turns out to be the kind of friend who apologises with bottles of tequila! That was such a sweet moment between him and Deb (and that forehead kiss, aw!). And of course I loved the casual ease with which he dropped Quinn-it wasn't even a macho thing. He told him to back off nicely, and the sleazebag kept harassing his sister, so he simply swatted away an annoying bug.

-Masuka's new intern is kind of adorable, especially the way he shamelessly fanboys Dexter. I'm totally rooting for him and Masuka's sister now-their whole conversation was the cutest thing, especially when he seriously declared that he's not a geek, while wearing the most stereotypical geeky enssemble.

-Debra's isolation in this episode was palpable-no wonder she's keeping an open mind about seeing that shrink again (which makes me slightly nervous, since Evil Shrinks are quite trendy on TV right now). She handled Quinn's patheticness in her usual HBIC way, though I maintain his ass should be fired. It sucks that she feels like her new position has isolated her from Dexter too, and he wasn't helping things by being a no-show at her party (though granted, he had a pretty damned good excuse).

-Between Lorena from True Blood appearing in Dexter and Darlene in this week's the Good Wife, I can't get over how much more likeable the actresses are without those fakeass southern accents.

-Gellar and Travis' scenes this week continued to bore me, though things picked up when Travis let that poor woman go. They're not being subtle about the redemption theme this season, are they? Though I worry that Travis' sister will pay for this small act of mercy.

Comments

[cleverthylacine]

I think Debra WOULD fire Quinn, but feels (not incorrectly) that it would be a bad idea for her to do it soon after getting promoted and breaking up with him, because a sexual harassment suit is not what she needs right now and he is just THAT much of a douchebag.

Unfortunately she really does need to let him fuck up some more and not in a way that he can turn around and cry jealousy over. Or get Laguerta to do it, but understandably, she can't go to her with a problem right now.

I was so glad Angel punched him and the girl who drove him to the party blew him off. He deserved it. Also Masuka's intern is adorbs.

[ishtar79]

Shit, I didn't even think about the possible implications in terms of a sexual harassment suit, but you're right: Quinn is that much of a douchebag.

Honestly, as satisfying as I found the Deb-Angel double Quinn smackdown, at this point, I'm ready for the character to come to a violent end. I can't even remember the last time a fictional character annoyed me that much.

[cleverthylacine]

I think we are both on the same page with respect to the ideal fate of Quinn. Because he IS that much of a douche.

[sistermagpie.livejournal.com]

I always just nod along with your recaps of this show. I'm so glad they're doing something interesting with Deb this season. Not that she's not always interesting, but it's great watching her struggle with aspects of her job because she's the one who *isn't* a rock star, she's just a talented person who's on a learning curve. I could so see her going on to be a fantastically popular lieutenant--of course Angel, great guy and cop that he is, knows she's a good person to work for.

And omg, Quinn is such a douche! Good for the actor, I guess, in being willing to go there. I love that Dexter's even too distracted to enjoy his breakdown.

I was really sad to lose Brother Sam. But also quite happy that Dexter didn't become him. As usual the show's come up with an interesting conflict for Dexter. It seems like every season it's about Dexter seeing a potential for connection that must be destroyed by his dark passenger, and it's far more interesting watching him trying to reconcile himself to the idea of Brother Sam's type of faith, since he obviously respects him, and being himself.

sorry for the late reply

[ishtar79.livejournal.com]

I'm glad you're agreeing with my points on this show! And yeah, Deb is definitely still learning, but I could see her being the kind of unorthodox Lieutenant that would turn her into an unexpected hit with the media, public and her colleagues.

Well, at least we the viewers got to enjoy Quinn's meltdown, even if Dexter didn't.

Oh, I wasn't expecting (or wanting) Dexter to turn into Brother Sam, but I did find his line about having no light within him surprisingly sad. But I have to say, I'm loving how they're using faith (and Brother Sam in particular) to lead to some interesting internal conflict in Dexter.

[soldurios.livejournal.com]

I'm still wondering if Gellar is actually alive or if he's just a figment of Travis' imagination.

[ishtar79.livejournal.com]

The show definitely feeds into the speculation by playing it so ambiguously. We'll have to see if there are any clues in tonight's episode.

[embers-log.livejournal.com]

Well I felt that Dexter's realization that he has no light within him is consistent with his being a sociopath (evidently there isn't a cure for that). But of course I loved that he tried to fulfill Brother Sam's dying wish.

So Dexter couldn't let the guilty man go (and couldn't let his darkness go), but Travis could let that woman go.... (and I think you're right, Travis' sister may be the penalty he'll pay for that).

I loved that Deb didn't even try to pull the punch, why would Quinn ever think she could love a schmuck like him? She never pretended that their hook up was more than a convenience.... I do think that Quinn is slated to die, but first he is going to make everyone's life miserable.

"They're not being subtle about the redemption theme this season, are they? "

LOL
And Angel is definitely in the role as avenging Angel... (at least for the moment)
I'm really enjoying how they are playing with different aspects of the whole faith/redemption theme...

[ishtar79.livejournal.com]

I'm not sure how succesful the show is in portraying Dexter as a sociopath. In S1, sure, but he's evolved so much since then. A show where the character doesn't develop/form connections would probably be boring, but my impression is that sociopaths are incapable of these things.

Deb's burn of Quinn was epic. So much Schadenfreude.

I love what they're doing with faith, especially when presenting both extremes, with Brother Sam and the murderous duo (or possibly solo killer and his imaginary friend).

[embers-log.livejournal.com]

" A show where the character doesn't develop/form connections would probably be boring, but my impression is that sociopaths are incapable of these things."
You're absolutely right... and it is a problem.
The fact of Dexter being a sociopath was one of the things that attracted me to the show in the first place, like Spock on ST and Data on ST:NG, I was interested in someone who really couldn't connect with the people he had to be with. And of course in Star Trek they put the characters through a lot of changes since to have them connect because never forming connections WOULD be boring!