First Blood (24 Oct. 2010)

Dexter tries to convince Lumen to return to Minnesota but isn't having much success. She is intent on finding the other men who abused her and kill them and Dexter realizes that perhaps the... See full summary »

Director:

Romeo Tirone

Writers:

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

Stars:

Michael C. Hall, Jennifer Carpenter, Desmond Harrington

Cast

Episode cast overview, first billed only:
Michael C. Hall	...	Dexter 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
Julia Stiles	...	Lumen Ann Pierce
Peter Weller	...	Stan Liddy
Maria Doyle Kennedy	...	Sonya
April L. Hernandez	...	Off. Cira Manzon (as April Hernandez Castillo)
Raphael Sbarge	...	Jim McCourt
Katherine Moennig	...	Michael Angelo
Chris Payne Gilbert	...	Robert Brunner
Saxon Trainor	...	Hotel Clerk

Storyline

Dexter tries to convince Lumen to return to Minnesota but isn't having much success. She is intent on finding the other men who abused her and kill them and Dexter realizes that perhaps the only way to save her from herself is for him to do the killing for them. When he realizes she has a bead on Boyd Fowler's former prison cell mate - a convicted rapist - he decides to do the deed himself. He quickly realizes however that the man could not have been one of her attackers. Debra meanwhile continues her investigation into the rash of be-headings which lead the police to what may be the killers first victims. Lt. Laguerta begins to act strangely and staying out late leading Angel Batista to think she may be seeing someone. Quinn's attempt to contact the Trinity Killer's family forces Laguerta to suspend him without pay. He has other plans to pursue Dexter however.

---

Plot Keywords:

centrifuge | gas mask | female vomiting | man wearing a towel | facial scratch | 

---

Genres:

Crime | Drama | Mystery | Thriller

---

Certificate:

TV-MA

Details

Country:

USA

Language:

English

Release Date:

24 October 2010 (USA)

Filming Locations:

Long Beach, California, USA

Company Credits

Production Co:

John Goldwyn Productions, Colleton Company, The, 801

Technical Specs

Runtime:

50 min

Sound Mix:

Dolby Digital

Color:

Color

Aspect Ratio:

1.78 : 1

Did You Know?

Goofs

The driver's license for Lumen Pierce (Julia Stiles) list her as being 5'3". Julia Stiles is in fact 5'8".

---

Soundtracks

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

User Reviews

Clumsy writing but captivating modern fairytale, sugary and salty arcs, flourishing Julia Stiles, intriguing dual elements and Desperate "BatisGuerta" V

And the last show standing is… Dexter ! Of course. Who could give up on Dex and his spicy sister ? The Beauty and the Beast proved once more that our favorite serial is not ready to jump the shark, but definitely in shape to annihilate it like if it was a giant school of piranhas. Of course I wish they would also take care of Batista & LaGuerta but after watching this installment I've definitely changed my mind about their relationship. Yes, they deserve their own spin-off. Because it would be the perfect way to get ride of them ! Seriously their arc wasn't as painful as in Practically Perfect so it's not that bad. In fact since the previous episode I'm even starting to consider its potential considering the impact it had on other characters.

As for the rest it was wicked as usual but I couldn't help noticing a few mistakes and inaccuracies. In the third episode I already noticed that what Jennifer Carpenter said about a corpse wasn't compatible with Deb's development. She knows her investigation can lead to innocent people being killed so she should be more careful. Still her chemistry with Masuka was excellent and I really enjoyed their slightly underground story. The filming was also quite expressive, front Carpenter and back tattoo. Shame on sexy TV ! Otherwise these funny moments couldn't hide an other major issue. In fact I'm starting to question the writing because it's getting clumsy. In season 4 after Dex stang Trinity and had to go back to the police station the last escaped and didn't go back to his vehicle. It wouldn't have been secure and logical. In First Blood a similar event occurred but its development went the other way, the wrong one. Game over, insert coin ! We should also question LaGuerta and the other detectives behavior regarding Dexter. Quinn is on his tail but what about her ? Has she forgotten about Doakes ? I don't ! So I wonder if she'll wake up anytime soon because for the moment this season has far too many plot holes. Julia Stiles is convincing and touching as Lumen Pierce but even an ivory beauty can't hide the seams of the rag she wears. So I really hope the writers will pay more attention to these details in the upcoming episodes because I like to think that most viewers are as demanding as I am.

Still the dual contents should be deep and fascinating enough to captivate your soul. From the rainbow baby to the predictable but twisted ending there were plenty of bitter sweet ingredients. One disturbing scene with Lumen was also quite intense and long enough to rise my heartbeat rate in a split second ! Last but not least the mirroring pattern used to develop Dex and Lumen is intriguing. Indeed it's like if they were enduring the same painful journey, life, but with opposite experiences of it. In fact it's quite interesting that the writers have decided to play with the fairytale ambivalence. What if Lumen was the Beast ? Does Dex want to become a Beauty ? I can't wait to get answers and of course ask more questions !