(S01E09) At this point I'm pretty convinced that it's impossible for this show to have a bad episode. In my opinion, this was probably the slowest episode of the season and it was still outstanding. I say "slow" because well... it was. It took the whole hour to reveal just a few tiny things that easily could have been cleared up in minutes. Not that these things weren't important. They are. It just felt a little drawn out to me.
The entire story of Dexter and his actual biological father really isn't all that essential if you think about it. The only purpose it served was to bring everyone together. This wasn't exactly your typical family get-together though.
So despite what Harry told Dex as a boy, his father was alive (until recently). He didn't die in some tragic accident as Dexter had been led to believe. His name was Joe Driscoll, he loved bowling, and he probably spent some time in prison. Sounds like a great guy... sort of. So now at this point, knowing what we know about Rudy, raise your hand if you suspected him as the man who killed Joe. Especially after Dexter heard the coroner's lousy reasoning. Especially after Joe's neighbor said a "cable guy" resembling Rudy stopped by the other day. Could it have been made more obvious? Then to top it off, the connection many have assumed about Dexter and Rudy was thrown right at us. They're probably brothers. Right after Dexter said something along the lines of "there's nothing that connects me to Joe," it cut to a shot of Rudy making that eerie smirk. He's freaky.
Don't get me wrong, it sounds like I'm bashing here. I'm not. I'm just horribly passionate about this show right now and I feel like there had to have been a better way to reveal what I think most folks had a hunch on anyway.
For the most part, I think I enjoyed the other stories in this episode more than Dexter's problems. The background on Doakes, his military involvement with tracking Haitian death squads, and Angel's honesty made for a great little sub-plot that resolved itself by the end of the episode. I really like those two. I was surprised there was no follow up on LaGuerta and Neil Perry though.
Paul got me thinking in this episode too. I'm starting to think that neither Rita nor Deb will find out what Dexter does. What if Paul somehow does? He could track Dexter and he certainly holds a grudge against him. This would certainly give Dexter a reason to kill Paul but I could be way off here. Paul's time could be up. After she hit him with the bat and took off with the kids, I think we can assume Rita called the cops on her ex-husband.
I found myself really disliking Deb. I understand her dedication to Harry but she had no reason to get all angry and whiny when Dexter tried looking into Joe's background. He had every reason to want closure, to at least know if this man (his father!) was murdered... since he was.
Despite all my criticism here, I'm still loving this show. Now that we have a clear picture of who Rudy is and what he wants, it makes it that much more exciting. What is his exact endgame though? Is he actually Dexter's brother? Does he want him dead? Does he want to partner up with him? We'll see.
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Reader Comments (Page 1 of 3)
11-27-2006 @ 11:02AM
hm... said...
I somehow missed the whole implication that Dexter and Rudy could be brothers. Nor had I thought about it. But it makes perfect sense.
How about Rita's big move at the end?
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11-27-2006 @ 11:21AM
mike said...
Explain the insight into Rudy and Dexter being brothers. I'm not sure I see the link, although it would explain a lot. I think that look Rudy shot Dex was more that "I killed Joe D".
Deb is the shows' weak link. By far.
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11-27-2006 @ 11:38AM
MacGuffin said...
Dexter and Rudy brothers? Not sure (either) where you got that one. IF true, that would be an interesting twist.
The whole Deb thing is very intriguing. Ultimately I think she will be the one who discovers that Dex is a serial killer and then will be forced to deal with that--does she react as a cop or as a sister.
The protectiveness around Harry is a very interesting back story and obviously the genesis of Dex becoming a serial killer. How does his actual biological father fit in? You know that this episode was not a filler and that it adds some information to the puzzle.
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11-27-2006 @ 11:39AM
Rhomboid said...
I'm not sure I buy the "brothers" line of reasoning either. It certainly hadn't occurred to me. I inferred that Rudy had done so much research and stalking of Dexter that he uncovered who his bio-dad was, and killed him as a way to bring the two of them together... The ultimate of meetings, a death. You could almost tell that he was about to wet his pants when Dexter started talking like a forensic criminologist, he was so eager to connect with him on that level. But he had to be methodical, and bide his time before making his identity clear to Dexter -- an act that only someone as meticulous as him could probably manage, given his worship of Dexter (as evidenced by his hug when meeting him.)
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11-27-2006 @ 1:54PM
Kel said...
I kept hoping that Dexter would notice "something" about Rudy's knots on the bundled papers and make a connection with the knots on the bundled up body parts. BAH!
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11-27-2006 @ 12:29PM
homerj312 said...
This is my favorite show on TV although I'm kind of scared where it's going. I really don't want anyone to find out that Dexter is a serial killer, especially Deb, it would totally change the dynamic of the show. I want him to continue to be this loner with a secret that nobody can know.
I want a second season of Dexter killing guilty people and not dealing with how someone else is reacting to the fact that he is a serial killer.
I'm going to wait til this season is over but I'm going to read both books. Hopefully it doesn't ruin the second season for me when it comes around but I can't get enough Dexter.
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11-27-2006 @ 12:50PM
Nick James said...
I've read the first book, so I will refrain from commenting... but I absolutely love how they've expanded on what's going on.
What was up with the Doakes and Angel subplot though? That's definitely going to be relevan somehow, but I don't see how yet.
Possibly Doakes going after Dexter for that blood-splatter report.
By the way, I will say that someone, by the end of season 1, WILL figure out who or what Dexter is (unless they save it for the second season, but I don't think they'd go that route)
No more hints.
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11-27-2006 @ 1:12PM
Scott said...
I liked the scene in Joe's house where they were packing up the stuff, and Dexter and Rudy both seemed to be following the pattern of how they handle their victims' bodies: Dexter was using black bags and duct tape, and Rudy was using neat little ties of twine.
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11-27-2006 @ 1:14PM
Jonathan Toomey said...
That was a great scene Scott... I'm not sure why I didn't mention it in my post though. Regardless, yeah it was great. Very telling. Obviously Rudy knows who Dexter is and the methods he uses, but I was surprised Dexter never took notice of Rudy's technique.
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11-27-2006 @ 1:44PM
Doug said...
I was really enjoying this show until the Ice Truck killer turned out to be the doctor (jumping the shark). And if that wasn't enough, then he starts dating Dex's sis? Yeesh. I still watch, of course. But c'mon...
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11-27-2006 @ 2:42PM
cindy said...
I didn't read the book but someone told me about it, and I think that if you, Jonathan, did read the book, you should make a disclaimer about that.
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11-27-2006 @ 2:53PM
Tim Dorr said...
@Doug: Rudy's trying to infiltrate Dexter's life for some yet-to-be-revealed reason. I've not read the books, but he's got a reason to get close to Dexter and he's of course going to start showing up in his life wherever possible. I don't consider the reveal of the ITK being the jump the shark moment, just a marker of a change in direction of the show from the villain being unknown to being know.
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11-27-2006 @ 2:44PM
Jonathan Toomey said...
For the record, I have not read either of the Dexter novels.
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11-27-2006 @ 2:54PM
Shlomo said...
I agree that Deb's reaction was pretty lame, but after thinking about it, it revealed a possibly crucial fact about her and her commiment to Harry's word. I never read the books, but if Deb was to discover Dexter secret, after watching that scene i am more inclined to beleive she would follow her fathers wishes and protect Dexter. I Think maybe that why the scene was there....
What Really bothered me about this episode was the flashback scene of Rudy as the repairman. It wasnt in sequence (it came out of nowhere) and it was very redundant (if you hadnt figured it was Rudy who killed the father by then you shouldnt be watching..jk). If they were really were just trying to make a twist ending, they should have had the old lady recognize Rudy earlier in the episode and maybe have Rudy killing her off in the last scene...
unless maybe Rudy too has some sore of Code...
we shall see...
-Shlomo
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11-28-2006 @ 6:55AM
rudebadger said...
Shlomo,
Was that last scene with Rudy a flashback? I thought it showed ITK just cleaning up an unexpected loose end.
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11-27-2006 @ 3:49PM
KSF said...
One thing very different about this episode--Dexter doesn't stalk anyone and get his kill. Instead, we see Rudy going back to the old lady's house at the end (I'm assuming it wasn't a flashback) to silence her because she recognized him earlier.
That's an interesting parallel; maybe the two of them are somehow related.
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11-27-2006 @ 3:54PM
Ad said...
Shlomo, that was the old lady who opened the door at the end. The mixup is understandable since I thought the special effects haze used in that short sequence was typical flashback material.
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11-27-2006 @ 5:20PM
Shlomo said...
I just rewatched the scene and your right i dont think it was a flashback, which means that Rudy doesnt have a code...(I mean the old lady was a little annoying, but i mean no code can include killing grandmas...)
sorry..
Anyways, i still think the scene with Deb was very imporntant, and possibly foreshadowing....
And how awesome was Rudy's manipulaton of deb to get her to go....This Rudy never ceases to amaze me...
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11-27-2006 @ 4:57PM
Amanda said...
I saw it the same way. She recognized him and decided to get rid of her rather than have that come back to bite him.
Great Show all around. I think it's a real great change for Michael C. Hall - who was phenomenal in Six Feet Under - but is really captivating as Dexter.
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11-27-2006 @ 4:57PM
MacGuffin said...
I agree it was Rudy/ITK cleaning up an unexpected loose end at the end and not a flashback.
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