OK but ...

[catalyst2]

... S103 of Dexter was just not in the same league as the first two episodes.

Something was off for me here and I am not entirely sure why. One possibility is again around Dexter's choice of victim. For someone of Dexter's alleged thoroughness, his choice seemed to be rushed and his preparation haphazard. So was Dexter wrong about Jeremy's cutting style or did he just let a potential serial killer off because he had been raped by his victim (bad as that is)? Dexter even saw him about to kill again and he still let him off? No, none of those things rang true for me. That said, other things worked well in this ep.

I like the continuing ITK arc and the continuing sparring between Deb and LaGuerta adds fun. Didn't see Doakes being dropped in the deep end by his fellow officers because they knew of his affair with Kara. It will be interesting to see how Doakes and Guerrero go with their personal duel. Angel-no-relation and Vince are playing out well and their interaction with Dexter (and each other) is good. I hate LaGuerta - but then I am supposed to after all. Deb's hopelessly inept political maneuvering is funny - and a little sad too.

In short, a good episode but a definite drop-off from the first two eps. Three episode and three different writers for a new series will produce some anomalies though - I hope this is just one of those.

Comments

[electrcspacegrl.livejournal.com]

Dexter saw himself in the boy. He saw the boy as a potential serial killer, so he was a target of Dexter's. It fit with the flashbacks to his own childhood.

Keep watching. The episodes really good toward the middle. Also, the fourth episode is Drew Greenburg's! I thought it was awesome.

[catalyst2.livejournal.com]

Ah but that was exactly my problem - Dexter saw a pattern of knife work that he thought showed some "potential" so that is where the original selection started - agreed. But how he approached the boy was very clumsy and impulsive for a methodical kind of guy. Then he gets confirmation that boy is going to be a serial killer (or at least kill again) and he lets him off with a "Don't do it again" type of warning? It still doesn't gel for me, regardless of how appalling the cause of that impulse (the rape) to kill was.

Dexter of all people would know how powerful that urge can be - only someone with a guide or mentor like Harry could change (or, rather, redirect) the urge so the chances of the boy killing again are very high - unless that will be a later plot point for the series? The boy kills again and Dexter wrestles with the consequences of a rare moment of mercy?

[electrcspacegrl.livejournal.com]

Ok, I'll agree it was clumsy writing, but I hardly know this character. It's just another piece in the Dexter puzzle. You're comparing TV Dexter to Book Dexter and I don't have that luxury. So, to me it's just another clue to who he is.

But hey, you have to give them props for the Alligator scene. That really freaked me out. It was interesting to see predator Dexter confronted with something more viscious than him.

[catalyst2.livejournal.com]

You are definitely right about me wanting the Book Dexter - I liked that character so much that I just wanted to see him on TV. The more I think about it, the more I realise that I am being inconsistent - I was the one, after all, who said "Enjoy The Last Stand as a movie in its own right - they can't keep to canon so don't even demand that of them!" (or something along those lines any way).

Actually, having a third thought about it, I am glad you said that because, if I re-view the episode as TV Dexter, it is good.

I did also love the crocodile bit - especially when Dexter fell. His disgust was just complete at that point.

I am also looking forward to e4 - lots of reviews have said that that is a *really* good ep (and I didn't realise it was Drew Greenberg's, either!)