Hungry Man (22 Nov. 2009)

Dexter stops by Arthur's house for a visit and realizes that though Arthur is in appearance the happy family man, he is in fact terrorizing his family. According to Arthur's son Jonah, they... See full summary »

Director:

John Dahl

Writers:

James Manos Jr. (developer), Jeff Lindsay (novel),

Stars:

Michael C. Hall, Julie Benz, Jennifer Carpenter

Cast

Episode cast overview, first billed only:
Michael C. Hall	...	Dexter Morgan
Julie Benz	...	Rita Morgan
Jennifer Carpenter	...	Det. Debra Morgan
Desmond Harrington	...	Det. Joseph 'Joey' Quinn
C.S. Lee	...	Vince Masuka
Lauren Vélez	...	Lt. Maria LaGuerta (as Lauren Velez)
David Zayas	...	Sgt. Angel Batista
James Remar	...	Harry Morgan
John Lithgow	...	Arthur Mitchell
Courtney Ford	...	Christine Hill
Julia Campbell	...	Sally Mitchell
Brando Eaton	...	Jonah Mitchell
Vanessa Marano	...	Rebecca Mitchell
Christina Robinson	...	Astor Bennett
Preston Bailey	...	Cody Bennett

Storyline

Dexter stops by Arthur's house for a visit and realizes that though Arthur is in appearance the happy family man, he is in fact terrorizing his family. According to Arthur's son Jonah, they are all regularly beaten. Jonah is afraid to confront his father and invites Dexter for Thanksgiving dinner. The confrontation between Arthur and his family forces Dexter to take action. While Dexter is away for lunch with the Mitchells, neighbor Elliot kisses Rita and she clearly lets him, though she immediately regrets it. Meanwhile, LaGuerta and Batista finally admit to what has been obvious for some time. Elsewhere, Joey Quinn spends the holiday with his reporter girlfriend Christine Hill, but he clearly has commitment issues and is starting to feel hemmed in. After he leaves, she gets a surprise visit from her father.

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Genres:

Crime | Drama | Mystery | Thriller

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Certificate:

TV-MA

Details

Country:

USA

Language:

English

Release Date:

22 November 2009 (USA)

Filming Locations:

Long Beach, California, USA

Company Credits

Production Co:

Showtime Networks, John Goldwyn Productions, Colleton Company, The

Technical Specs

Runtime:

51 min

Sound Mix:

Dolby Digital

Color:

Color

Aspect Ratio:

1.78 : 1

Did You Know?

Goofs

When Dexter walks back into the Mitchell house and asks Jonah what happened to his finger, Arthur is seen holding a beer glass. In the next shot of Arthur, he is eating nuts out of his hand, and no beer glass is visible in his hand or on the table.

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Quotes

Vince Masuka: Chocolate Lava Cakes. My specialty!
Debra Morgan: You have a specialty?
Vince Masuka: A river of chocolate love that melts in your mouth!
Debra Morgan: Wow!
[smiles wryly]
Debra Morgan: You can make anything sound perverted!
Vince Masuka: [with a typical Masuka shit eating grin] It's a gift!

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Connections

References Rain Man (1988)

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Soundtracks

"Blood Theme"
(uncredited)
Written by Daniel Licht
Performed by Daniel Licht

User Reviews

A macabre nightmare of a family.

Around the time of season 3, I honestly felt like Dexter had kind of grown soft. This may have been due to my continued exposure to it, but the tension and horror just wasn't there anymore. As season 4 began to unfold, I felt that the character of Trinity (John Lithgow) was a possible attempt at recapturing that horrific power of the first season (and to an extent, the second season). This episode fulfilled it, and took it up about 6 notches. While the Angel/LaGuerta scenes, the Masuka/Rita/Debra/Elliot/Kids scenes, and the Quinn/Hill scenes (including the huge reveal at the end) were nice for character development, the true core of the episode came from the scenes involving Dexter getting to the bottom of the Mitchell family. The way that Arthur uses his family takes Dexter's season 1 "cover" ideas, and twists them into a strange psychological world that is easily the most terrifying element of the entire series thus far. Mitchell's wife and daughter are practically puppets bent to serve his will, while his son retains an independent spirit that can only be quelled by brutal beatings and injuries inflicted by his father. Dexter himself becomes so disturbed by the events in the house that he almost kills Trinity right then and there. True standout performances from Michael C. Hall, John Lithgow, and Brando Eaton only increase the power of this episode. Easily the most frightening and psychologically powerful episode of Dexter, and the best episode since the epic season 1 finale.