Written by Jennifer
March 16, 2009
It's full of darkly funny twists that leave you smiling, even though you've just spent an hour kicking around inside the mind of a serial killer.
Having never seen Dexter, I approached Season 2 at a bit of a disadvantage. I'm sure I'm still missing out on all sorts of essential information, but the DVD set begins with a very helpful overview of Season 1, so it is possible to dive right in without getting lost. The gist is this: Dexter Morgan (Michael C. Hall) is a blood spatter expert for the Miami Police Department who happens to be a serial killer in his free time. His sister, Debra (Jennifer Carpenter), also works for the police department, so they frequently put their heads together to catch bad guys. Season 1 was spent tracking down The Ice Truck Killer, who turned out to be Debra's fiance and Dexter's long lost brother.
As Season 2 gets underway, we find Dexter and Debra sharing his apartment as they both struggle to recover from this bizarre experience. Debra is still skittish and unsure of herself, wondering what kind of a cop could wind up engaged to a killer. Dexter is haunted by his dark past, caught between his need to kill and a weird inability to follow through. He's been on the wagon for something like 37 days when Season 2 begins, so he's pretty much itching for new blood. After a rocky start, he's back on his game, but the plot thickens when his dumping ground is discovered. Suddenly the department is investigating The Bay Harbor Butcher, Debra is rebuilding her confidence, and Dexter is worried. How can he keep them from finding out the truth? One of Dexter's colleagues already suspects that he leads a double life, and he knows there's something creepy about him.
The brilliant thing about the show is that it's so layered. Sure Dexter has a penchant for killing people in overly elaborate ways, but his victims are the scum of the earth, and he's saving lives even as he's taking lives. He genuinely cares about his sister and his girlfriend, and on the whole he's a pretty likable guy. Each day is like a tightrope walk, and you're always waiting for him to slip up and get caught. Weirdly, you never once wish that would happen, and when he convinces everyone that his creepiness stems from drug addiction, you heave a sigh of relief along with him. A few Narcotics Anonymous meetings have to be better than the alternatives.
Every character in the show is as complex as a real human being, and their relationships to one another are equally as complicated. The overriding theme is duality, and you could easily use the show as the basis of a college essay—it really is that smart. Better yet, it's full of darkly funny twists that leave you smiling, even though you've just spent an hour kicking around inside the mind of a serial killer. It's amazing what Michael C. Hall can convey with just a flicker of emotion in his eyes, and one way or another, you always wind up on his side. This is how you get sucked into Dexter's world. This is how you wind up as addicted to the show as he is to killing people.
DVD NOTES
Extra features include two episodes each of Brotherhood, The Tudors, and Californication, as well as a Michael C. Hall interview, and an e-bridge to a Michael C. Hall podcast.
