(S02E10) I could tell early on in this season that Harry just had to play a bigger part in the show ... eventually. Wouldn't you know it, it took only about a five-minute scene to spell everything out to Dexter as one big epiphany. It's interesting that it takes current-day observances for Dexter to understand things that happened in the past.
I'm not sure about the rest of you, but they sure left us thinking Dexter got a lot more than a graze from that bullet last week.
Back to the ... flashbacks. I loved seeing the young Dexter and Deb and how they've changed. I've always liked the casting for the much younger versions of them as well. Deb's younger appearance in this episode was a riot.
LaGuerta continues to go down a dangerous road for her career, though I wonder if it will officially make any difference to her position. I will say that it's strange how this season, seemingly suddenly, she has these deep feelings for Doakes. As far as I recall, last season this was something not hinted at at all, yet her she's putting her neck out on the line for Doakes. Now, one has to wonder -- is she just good with her instincts about Doakes' innocence or is she simply allowing her emotions affect her actions?
Dexter is quickly realizing what it means for others should he be found out as the Butcher. As he said, Rita and Deb would be complete messes if they found out who he really was, but everyone else will be more of a mess as well. Doakes didn't exactly make a lot of friends at the department, but Dexter is known as the quiet, friendly type, though a bit strange. And then he's got a cop father and a cop sister, people he lived with most of his life who never knew who he really was? But then they didn't know Harry very well, did they?
Something I noticed in this episode over any other was how, from the perspective of Doakes in that cage, Dexter really is a cold-hearted, sick serial killer. The evil, low look in Dexter's eyes as he spoke was something you'd see right out of a movie or show where Dexter is truly the "bad guy," the one who you know would ultimately lose in the end. Who do you root for -- the relatively honest, bad-ass cop, or the vigilante serial killer? Ask someone who hasn't seen this show and the answer's obvious.
Lila's clearly not done messing around in Dexter's affairs, and so far it looks like Angel is just going to get caught right up in the big mess of it all, and in a big way. Does Lila really have the nerve to frame up Angel in order to get the attention of Dexter? Obviously her claiming rape on Angel will ruin him for life, so something's got to give or else Angel's done on this show. Oh, and I'm sure Rita's not out of the clear either.
A question I have about Harry -- why would Harry feel that training Dexter "was the right thing to do," when later he's obviously appalled at what Dexter's done? So much so, actually, that he kills himself days later. I guess what Harry all along thought was going to work out for the best turned out to be one big mistake in his eyes, and now Dexter's realizing that.
It is possible, though, that Captain Matthews was lying to Dexter about Harry's suicide. Doakes never confirmed what he found out about Harry, and I'm not really sure that suicide jives with what Doakes said about Harry not bing a "well respected" cop. I would bet that if we don't find out more in the next couple of episodes, Dexter will find out next season that Harry died from murder and he sets out to find the killer. Maybe Harry threw up because he was really sick or poisoned? Hey, it could happen.
Quote of the episode:
Masuka: "This is a waste of time. If Doakes is the Butcher we're not going to find traces of evidence on his clothes. The guy we're after is way to careful for that."
Dexter: "Have to agree with you there."
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Reader Comments (Page 1 of 2)
12-02-2007 @ 11:00PM
Hank said...
I was wondering about Harry's reaction. I don't think its because he was suddenly appalled. Up until that point Dexter killing as a vigilante was probably more of an intellectual concept and the act would be imagined in the way a cop would do it, a quick bullet and the job is done. But when he sees Dexter cutting up that body he is confronted by the monsterous side of Dexter's 'addicition' where he is cheerfully and matter of factly butchering a body. that has to be disconcerting to say the least.
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12-03-2007 @ 9:08PM
Grit said...
I don't believe he was sick because he saw Dexter's handywork. No way...Remember, Harry is the one that went in and got Dexter out of the bloody container when he was small. He had to be murdered. :)
12-03-2007 @ 12:32AM
radwimp said...
I didn't think there was anything odd about Harry's response. Training him to be a killer is one thing, watching him killing animals is one thing... but when you walk in on your son butchering a human body there is only one reaction to have. Also considering the state of Harry at the time, he seemed almost at a breaking point to begin with. I'm pretty sure there won't be any plot twists with the suicide either - I think he did it.
Oh, spot on with viewing Dexter as a true serial killer in the scenes with Doakes, I found myself disturbed that I was actually rooting for Dexter at some points.
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12-03-2007 @ 2:02AM
SJ said...
Wow a stunning episode. I doubt Matthews is lying to Dexter...why would he lie the 2nd time? And why would he lie about a suicide? At this point it is true.
Harry all along knew that there was something wrong with Dexter, but once he fully saw that he knew that it was something really grotesque and perhaps wrong. Doakes and Harry's response to the whole thing was very similar.
He thought training Harry was "the right thing to do" because he secretly wanted to be a vigilante killer too. He was tired of all the people who slipped through the hands of the law, and was hoping that Dexter would be the one who would bring them to justice. But I think he ultimately realized that he had created a monster and that he was wrong.
*SLIGHT SPOILER FOR NEXT WEEK*
The clips on the showtime website for next week show Dex talking to Doakes about turning himself in. That can't be happening right??
Oh and Deb should just stfu already!
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12-03-2007 @ 2:13AM
clayton.coffman said...
Pure speculation/spoilers:
Lundy is smart and based on what he said with LaGuerta, I think he is suspecting that Doakes isn't the real killer, maybe he never did. Maybe he only pretended to follow Doakes so the real killer would show themselves. Either way, the new FBI guy, who was discussing the knives, he will continue to think Doakes is the guy and Lundy will begin to think differantly. Lundy's disagreement will cause a conflict and eventually Lundy will suspect Dexter and this will cause a conflict with Deb. In the end Doakes will die heroically, though under suspiscion. This will vindicate him in the eyes of the viewer, but will take all the heat off of Dexter.
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12-03-2007 @ 8:04AM
Ken Shane said...
I think that Lundy has been on to Dexter the whole time, and the Doakes thing is a smokescreen to draw Dexter out, or as Lundy said "to bring him in from the cold".
I still think that the only way this can end is for Dexter and Doakes to come to some sort of understanding, and then work together to frame Lila as the BHB. That would tie up all the loose ends. I think we're still going to get more revelations about just how bad Lila is, and thus whatever happens to her will be justified by Dexter's code.
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12-03-2007 @ 11:13AM
BK said...
I thought all along that the person who will die this year is Lila...not Doakes.
Based on last night...here is my best guess at what happens. Lila finds out where the cabin is...Doakes escapes, thinks it is Dexter that is coming in the cabin and kills Lila which either
a. Dexter finds him and Doakes needs his help to cover up the accident which would surely make it seem like he was the butcher.
B. the feds come in and arrest Doakes as the butcher
Either way...PLEASE let Lila get killed off.
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12-06-2007 @ 4:07PM
Paula said...
My guess is that Lila finds Doakes and help him escape the cage. But Doakes asks her to help him get Dexter. As she has vowed to always be there for Dexter, she kills Doakes. Which makes her a killer...
12-03-2007 @ 12:16PM
doug said...
i must have missed this but when did LaGuerta become so emotionally involved with Doakes. 4 episodes back she was bangin the old lieutenant's boyfriend. my quote of the episode was when Deb says "serial killers arent exactly practical people" and Dex responds with a look of disdain in his eyes, "actually, they are"
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12-03-2007 @ 1:06PM
LGW said...
To think that Dexter could succeed in pinning numerous murders on Doakes by merely placing his fingerprints on the murder weapons is absurd. He must have other intricacies in mind. Having said that, I've noticed that as the series progresses, Dexter's attention to detail regresses. He was very meticulous in the beginning and now even simple items are not kept in the closet. I'm not merely referring to the drug dealer Jimenez cell phone being left out at Doakes disposal but additionally the fact that Dexter would disclose to Angel the beach trip with Rita and the kids; an open invitation. Wouldn't he know that Angel would be questioned by Lila thus leading to further Lila type improprieties? Maybe this is a part of his compulsive psyche or maybe not. This I do know - Harry is getting to the best of him.
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12-03-2007 @ 1:17PM
Kevinc said...
I don't see how Harry could have been a well respected cop.
He got his informant brutally killed, he might have been sleeping with her, he seems completely out of control at Deb's birthday party (what she has no friends?), because he miss typed something on a warrant. He seems to be losing control.
Doakes. I don't see anyway that Doakes and Dex could ever team up. Doakes may be a bad cop, but he is still a cop.
The whole LaGuerta/Deb discussion strengthens my belief that Deb is going to find out about Dexter (maybe not everything, but something) and have to choose to help him in some way.
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12-03-2007 @ 2:28PM
stephen said...
Pure speculation/spoilers:
My theory, is Lila will find Doakes and in the process discover Dexter secret life. Lila will kill Doakes to prove her love for Dexter. Then Dexter will be forced to kill Lila since she is a murder for killing Doakes and killing her old boyfriend. Probably throw in some crazy attach on Rita and the kids for good measure :)
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12-03-2007 @ 2:36PM
Tuna H. said...
The sparing of Doakes' life by Dexter was predictable but I see a change in the way Doakes relates to Dexter. Doakes has always been verbally abusive to Dexter until, of course, now that he finds himself at Dexter's mercy. But the change I think had occurred once Doakes realized that Dexter didn't kill him and that he did indeed has a conscience. In a sort of funny way, Doakes seem to have a new found respect for Dexter, possibly even some empathy. All this time, he wouldn't leave Dexter alone and now he wants Dexter to leave him alone. Interesting change. Doakes being a special OPS kinda guy, I think had to experience something that he didn't have to stomach for.
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12-03-2007 @ 2:40PM
Woodsider said...
An amazing episode! I tended to see Dexter as an off-kilter, extreme avenger, Harry's Frankenstein with a wry sense of humor. After seeing Doakes' reaction to seeing the river of blood and hearing the sound of the chainsaw (how long does it take to carve a body?), it then registered in my mind how gruesome and sub-human Dexter is. He's a monster. Sure, there's some twinge of guilt over what Deb, and Rita and her kids would feel if they knew - but that's only because he feels it itself from learning of Harry's suicide. Yeah, I know, "where have YOU been?", but that ending hit me hard.
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12-03-2007 @ 2:58PM
CJ said...
Alright, did anyone notice the blatant inconsistency with Season 1? Come back in time with me, if you will, to Harry's hospital bed, when he told Dexter that the nurse was the one increasing his heart medication. When this led to Harry's eventual death, Dexter took it upon himself to make the nurse his FIRST (human) victim. So:
1. Harry could never have witnessed any of Dexter's victims if the nurse was his first. It was a bit "sloppy", but it was a learning experience.
2. The nurse killed Harry; he didn't kill himself.
Does anyone else remember any of this, or do I have to go rewatch Season 1 to prove it to myself? I thought the writing for this show was nearly flawless. This episode ruined it for me. *le sigh* Still, as long as they can muddle through to the end, I'm interested to see how the Doakes and Lila issues are resolved. Clearly, they're both problems that need to go away. This show has already been approved for a 3rd season, so we already know one person who's gonna make it. ;)
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12-03-2007 @ 3:08PM
Keith McDuffee said...
@CJ -- No, I'm pretty certain they never said Harry died at the hands of that nurse. She was making Harry feel worse and, once she was taken out of the picture, Harry got "miraculously better" and was allowed to leave the hospital.
I'm not really sure what you mean about the nurse. Yes it was his first victim, but Harry obviously wasn't in any condition to see it happen. As I said, Harry didn't die at the hands of that nurse, he was just getting worse.
12-03-2007 @ 4:05PM
johnnymac said...
i think CJ is saying that in season 1 we were told that the nurse was Dexter's first human victim, but last night we had Harry walk in on Dex during what we were lead to believe to be his first victim.
if that is right then yes it a major goof up on the writers part.
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12-03-2007 @ 4:16PM
hoohoo said...
mathews is lying. he is a curupt cop, running a crime syndicate. i think he will be the main plot next season, like the itk, and bhb in past seasons.
the guy who killed dex's mother did it on mathews orders to shut her up before she revealed to harry who he was.
in the flashback where dex is listening to the recording of his mother and harry, there is a mention of another person involved but dex's mother didnt reveal who to harry. who is dexters real father? is it harry? or maybe mathews?
why are the files for that case so secret? it cant be just to protect dex. why is the file clerk lady so worried about losing her job over some missing files from 30 years ago? who would care about that after so long?
also dexters mothers murderer cuts a deal and is out and about still living a life of crime? did mathews make this happen?
the guy who gets off because of the typo. did mathews make that typo? was that guy another one of mathews crew? did harry put this together after he finds dexter cutting up the body? he dies 3 days later.
mathews can afford a swanky country club membership on a police captains salary?
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12-03-2007 @ 4:23PM
Keith McDuffee said...
@hoohoo -- You're dead-on correct. That's exactly what I was thinking, and I would not be surprised for a second if that's the plot for next season.
The first two seasons have been sorta easy to predict and, following that trend, I could easily see the whole Matthews thing this season being a slight setup for next season.
You're right about everything about Matthews and Harry's cases. Well, except maybe for the golf membership -- I don't think it's *that* expensive to be there.
12-03-2007 @ 4:21PM
Joey Geraci said...
They never said anywhere that what Harry was witnessing was Dexter's first victim, it was just the first murder that Harry personally witnessed. It still fits with Season 1.
At least the actor playing Doakes is getting some meaty scenes in what are likely his last couple of episodes. That look on his face after Dexter peeled back the plastic sheet was disturbing on so many levels.
What the hell is Lila up to? How does implicating Angel in Date Rape do anything to further her plans for Dexter? It will certainly get his attention.
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