Dexter 6x11

[ishtar79]

-I have to say, out of all the, er, unusual pairings I ship, if I had to make a bet on one of them even getting acknowledged in canon, Dexter/Deb would not have been my first choice. But seriously, hats off to the show for having the balls to go there, even if it at this point entirely unrequited (and no, I wasn't fooled for a second by Deb's dream, due to the fact that nothing in Dexter's character at this point hints at his feelings for his sister being anything other than platonic). There's no way in hell this will end well, of course, especially for Deb, but in the meantime, I'm enjoying the canon dirtybadwrongness of it.

-Poor Deb though. My heart was breaking for her when she was telling her shrink how utterly lost she'd be without Dexter-I don't know how I'll deal with the (almost certainly inevitable) moment when the rug is pulled from under her feet regarding her brother's extracurricular activities. This new dimention of her feelings for him will only make her devastation more complete.

-On the plus side, I don't see Debra ever acting on those feelings, and Dexter is oblivious enough (currently due to his Travis obsession but also, you know, in general) that he probably won't even notice. Dexter: great at reading people in terms of recognizing fellow predators (but given his utter obliviousness to Louis' creepiness and Travis'...insane cult leaderishness, that's up for debate), not so great at reading human emotions.

-Finally, Quinn does something somewhat useful, though the usefulness of his actions is somewhat mitigated by the fact it's his fault Angel was in the situation in the first place. I did like that Angel didn't let him off the hook and stated the damned obvious: Quinn can't be trusted as a partner.

-Oh, well played, Laguerta, well played. If we have to have her revert to the kind of two-dimentional scheming and quasi-villainy circa S1, at least it's effective scheming. Making Deb obsess about the case by overtly discouraging her? How positively Slytherin of her. I do miss the days when there was more to her character than politics and manipulation though-we didn't even get a single reaction from her on Angel's near escape and never mind their marriage, they used to be friends (I miss their interaction, much like her interaction with Doakes).

-I have zero sympathy for Matthews and his sorry excuses. He might claim that the call girl couldn't be revived, but if watching countless medical programs has tought me anything, it's that people generally call the emergency services before/during CPR. They don't just randomly declare “She's dead, Jim”. Good on Debra for not letting his bullshit guilt trip go unchallenged. That's my girl.

-And while Deb's personal life is falling apart, she continues to rock as a Lieutenant. Her dressing down of Quinn and Baptista (well, Quinn, mostly) was awesome because she just rained enough righteous wrath on them and then immediately redirected the conversation on where it needed to go: them focusing on the case.

-Travis: still a boring creep. I have no comment on his storyline beyond being pissed off that he's apparently in possession of Slice Of Life. Better get that boat back, Dex (though going by the previous, he's likely to have more serious things on his mind next episode).

-This episode was much better at creating tension than most this season, even though I wasn't for a second worried about Dexter and Deb during the smoke suicide bomb scene or Dexter under the lake of fire. And despite the previews hinting Harrison being in danger, I really doubt they'd do a rehash of the Rita thing ,though the twisted shipper in me sees it as an excellent way to get both Dexter and Deb in a fucked-up enough place for the incest to be less one-sided. Plus, TV!kids bore me /horrible person>. Also, it would make the TWP forums explode in incoherent rage, and that's always fun.

Comments

[cleverthylacine]

Hahah, I'd been waiting for your post about this! I thought of you as soon as the Dexter/Deb stuff began.

[ishtar79]

What can I say, deep down there's a batty shipper in me struggling to get out! ;)

[ariadneelda.livejournal.com]

he's apparently in possession of Slice Of Life.

Ah, right! I was so focused on the Dexter/Debra part in this episode that that not so tiny detail kind of slipped my mind afterwards. ;)

I'm kind of glad Dexter S6 and Travis didn't exist yet when we watched Mad Men or I'd be "Eek! Travis!" every time I saw the priest in Mad Men.

Next week is the last episode - I don't want Dexter to be over till next year! :(

[ishtar79.livejournal.com]

Heh, I actually told you during the movie, but I guess you were distracted by The Velvet of Fassbender's voice! ;)

Ew, good point about Mad Men. Especially those quasi-flirtations scenes with Peggy.

I guess we'll have to make do with Mad Men and Game of Thrones. This is why it's good to have many fandoms!

[ariadneelda.livejournal.com]

Ah, I thought I heard you saying something about Dexter's boat! And then I forgot to ask. ;)

[embers-log.livejournal.com]

Oh yeah, it was wicked obvious that Dexter would recognize the wife and would save the day, but the cool thing was that the scene was still exciting and had a powerful emotional impact (they didn't need to try to make us believe Deb might die because Deb seeing Dexter as her perfect hero was the important plot point!).

I don't actually think that Deb wants to fuck Dexter, I think they just need to have one of their sibling quarrels for her to realize what a disaster that would be... but it is hilarious, and I bless the creepy shrink for making Deb believe it might be true(!). I was literally dancing around the room with glee.

It was also obvious that Dexter would escape the fire at the end, but his closing remarks about being lost were beautiful, and really a wonderful statement about Dexter's confusion about religion/faith/redemption....
I really love this season!

[ishtar79.livejournal.com]

I agree that the scene was very well-done.

I don't know, in an interview with MCH, he did teasingly say it's something that's been hinted at since the beginning. But the shrink was creepy and very unprofessional.

I really can't wait until next week!

[embers-log.livejournal.com]

Well I'm still expecting to learn that Harry was Dexter's real Dad (we've known that Harry was sleeping w/Dexter's Mom but it wasn't clear how long that had been going on... I always assumed that that is why Rudy was dumped on the system and Dexter was taken into Harry's home). This is such an awesome show!

eta: oops... I always forget that we have blood evidence that Harry wasn't Dexter's natural Father (since that other guy gave rare blood when Dexter was a kid....). sorry about that....

[sistermagpie.livejournal.com]

I really hated the Dexter/Deb. Not the dream (which I knew was a dream) but that whole crazy scene with the therapist. It seemed like Deb was talking about her problems, and they established Dexter was important to her, and then the doctor decided to poison that well by suggesting the completely bizarre idea that Deb's romantic troubles came from wanting to sleep with her brother. I mean, how many more logical connections did she have to leap over to get to that one? Then she even has the nerve to mention that they're not biologically related, as if adopted siblings are naturally going to consider each other as potential dates. Yick. I just hated it. It's like Deb had one positive relationship in her life and her shrink turned it into another screwed up romantic relationship.

The thing that annoyed me about the potential danger of Harrison was Dexter being told by the day care woman that Harrison had left. I don't think you can get away with that anymore. No teacher would release the kid to anybody who wasn't the person picking him up, though I guess they could get around that by having Travis somehow force the babysitter to pick him up.

I did love the rest of the ep, though, especially Dexter saving Deb from the killer, and Deb continuing to kick ass as a lieutenant. She's so good in that role!

[ishtar79.livejournal.com]

Oh, I agree that the therapist was all kinds of unprofessional, and I have no doubt she planted the idea in Deb's head. Still, the shipper in me can just handwave all of that away and enjoy the (I'm sure temporary) onscreen wrongness.

Travis forcing the babysitter to pick Harrison up certainly makes more sense. Either way, I have the feeling she's a goner.

I'm enjoying Deb as a Lieutenant, but I'm worried it's something she'll lose at some point. I hope I'm wrong, I'd be much more interested to keep seeing her in that role, with an escalation of her clashes with Laguerta.

[soldurios.livejournal.com]

Regarding Dexter's feelings for Debra as him being oblivious, I wholeheartedly agree. And yet, I've a feeling that might change. Throughout the seasons, we've seen Dexter evolve somewhat.

You pointed out above that Dexter failed to notice the predatory nature of Travis and Louis' creepiness. I believe this might be due to his evolution. He's gradually becoming more human and less sociopath, which doesn't make too much sense but I'm putting a heavy suspension of disbelief regarding the psychology aspect of Dexter and taking it at story's worth.

As he evolves, he loses what makes him a great hunter. It wouldn't surprise me if he starts gaining humanity, which he's been doing, and that being shown as him becoming more perceptive to other details and human life going on around him. Less perspection on the negative, more on the positive. Does that make sense?

That being said, I don't particularly like the evolution. Not just on a psychology basis, but more on a personal like sort of thing. I find it fascinating and interesting as a story to watch, but I personally love him when he's playing the role of the monster.

However...

I'm betting that Laguerta may wind up on Dexter's table one day. It might be due to the Dexter/Deb thing. It might be due to her making a very bad slip that costs lives while she plays politics. Which is almost a pity, really, since I liked her best when she was being human. Playing politics but for the sake of something besides herself. That was Slytherin as well. Ambition for ambition's sake, not just for oneself, but it could easily be applied to a group of people. Now that she has her promotion, she seems to have lost any and all camaraderie toward the ones who once helped her. It feels like her characterization has either taken a backslide, or that she's always had this part of her that was just waiting in the wings. Much like Dexter is evolving into a human, she seems to be doing the opposite.

I have a huge love for Deb in this season. In that dressing-down of Angel and Quinn, yeah, they had it coming, but I swear you could see her just falling apart. She looked like she was about to cry or scream or do both while wrecking her office. She's just intense all around this season, which I guess is needed for her character. I'd love to see her gradually kick more and more ass in her new position.

Regarding Travis, why isn't Geller coming by anymore? I kinda miss him. I know Travis knows he's dead and all, but knowing that Harry's dead doesn't keep him from coming back.

Wonder if Brian knew Louis or did Louis just go through the police records and such to find out of Brian and Dexter's relation. I don't think all of that subplot will be wrapped up in the next episode. Perhaps Louis will be the main villain for next season? He's in a good position to be, but I don't quite get his angle.

[ishtar79.livejournal.com]

I find Dexter most fascinating when he's in monster mode but at the same time have enjoyed watching him evolve, as unrealistic as it is.

As he evolves, he loses what makes him a great hunter. It wouldn't surprise me if he starts gaining humanity, which he's been doing, and that being shown as him becoming more perceptive to other details and human life going on around him. Less perspection on the negative, more on the positive. Does that make sense?

It does, and would be a possible explanation by how much worse he's become as a predator this season (seriously, some of the mistakes he makes are ridiculous).

Your theory about Laguerta-I think it could be a potentially fascinating storyline (and disturbing as hell), but I honestly can't think of any way for that to happen that doesn't go against the Code (and yes, he's broken it before, but generally it was in heat of the moment situations/a blunder).

And yes, "intense" is the perfect description for Deb this season, and I'm really enjoying the actress acting the hell out of her every scene.

I have to say, I don't really miss Gellar-I found the character such a waste of EJO's talents. But I'm not exactly enthusiastic about solo!Travis either. It's weird, this season I've been more interested in all the sideline stories rather than the Big Bad.

At this point, I don't know if Louis can be sufficiently threatening/interesting to carry a whole season, but you never know. I'm definitely curious about his motivation.