After three consistently strong seasons I came into season 4 with nothing to worry about in theory. However my own lack of imagination perhaps made me wonder what the writers could do to make this show keep going – surely they could not come up with another 12 hours of television that grips and engages as well as they have done thus far. In another show the 4th season addition of a baby and a guest star in Lithgow would perhaps smack of obvious plot devices to make things happen (the baby) and freshen up the cast to get viewers watching again (Lithgow), but for Dexter neither of these things are true because there is nothing weakening about this show that needs to be artificially propped up.
Season 4 sees Dexter struggling to carry his dark passenger while living in his new suburban home as a clean-cut family man and father of a new-born infant. At the same time the retired Frank Lundy returns to Miami to follow what he believes is a serial killer that murders in groups of three all over the country. Of course there is a lot more going on in and around this central plot in the way that Dexter viewers will be used to now. It continues to be incredibly engaging and satisfying and as before the season long narrative is rewardingly good. Considering the trend now for "a case per week" shows, Dexter could easily be another one of those, with a victim each week providing the action while slowly moving characters forward in a bigger picture – thankfully it is much stronger than that and all the better for it.
Here the season long thread of Trinity ties in perfectly with a lot of other things going on – Dexter's own struggle to balance "family" with "serial killing" for example, Debra's emotions over the return (and then loss again) of Lundy. The only thing that didn't really ring true for me was the journalist being Trinity's daughter – that seemed a jump but the next episode moved quickly to shore it up so it didn't bother me too much. That each thread works well within the other and as stand-alones the show is made stronger and more engaging. As a result we don't need a shocking cliff-hanger to feel satisfied or involved – one episode ends with Dexter's own amusement at the thought that he might have human characteristics ("huh" he says as the episode ends) and this is as strong as some of the more impacting conclusions.
Speaking of "impacting conclusions" I have to talk about the season finale. Personally I found it a little underwhelming and surprisingly empty for a show that delivers so consistently. Rita's death is Dexter's fault – just like Doakes' was, but yet where I felt a strong response to the latter, the former left me cold. OK she is a little bit of a damp character but it was so sudden and then the show ended that it didn't have time to soak in. Likewise the final scene with Trinity – it was the last 10 minutes of the episode and it could have done better with more time for the two great actors to work off one another for one last time. Season 5 picks up just where this one left off, so the tester will be if it can deliver the heart that I felt was missing in Rita's death – I feel confident it can but I was still a little disappointed by how this twist was done.
As ever the cast are strong here. Hall is brilliant in his scenes and his narration. He continues to get his delivery just right for the character and does the writing justice – here we have a character that is driven to kill others, fakes most of his emotional interactions but yet the viewer is with him the vast majority of the time. Lithgow is a great addition; he is great across the whole season whether showing fear, vulnerability, rage or just pure evil – he convinces in all his states and grips the eye in every scene. Yet again Carpenter has another strong season and is better yet again. This season hands her a lot of emotion to deliver on and she could have not only hammed it up but also gotten into a rut of repeating her delivery. Instead she is convincingly real and her emotions feel as raw and natural as they should. Below these Benz continues to be OK but it is hard not to feel that season 5 may be better without her from a story-telling point of view; Oz colleagues Velez and Zayas have some sappy material but it still works. Lee is funny while Harrington is solid enough although I suspect season 5 will make more of his soured relationship with Dexter and give him more to work with. Remar may only be in flashback but his contributions are always important and his restraint is very much appreciated as his role is essentially the "code" part of Dexter's subconscious.
Dexter was a show that I came to very late and got into very quickly when I did. It has amoral content but yet it is easy to be emotionally involved; it is not a thriller but yet it grips at times while all the narrative threads are engaging and work well together. It is simply great television and season 4 marks itself as yet another consistent quality delivery and another reason to sing the praises of Dexter to those not watching. Season 5 started in the US not too long ago and, despite my reservations over the twist made in this season, I am very much looking forward to following this show into the next season.
Season 4 sees Dexter struggling to carry his dark passenger while living in his new suburban home as a clean-cut family man and father of a new-born infant. At the same time the retired Frank Lundy returns to Miami to follow what he believes is a serial killer that murders in groups of three all over the country. Of course there is a lot more going on in and around this central plot in the way that Dexter viewers will be used to now. It continues to be incredibly engaging and satisfying and as before the season long narrative is rewardingly good. Considering the trend now for "a case per week" shows, Dexter could easily be another one of those, with a victim each week providing the action while slowly moving characters forward in a bigger picture – thankfully it is much stronger than that and all the better for it.
Here the season long thread of Trinity ties in perfectly with a lot of other things going on – Dexter's own struggle to balance "family" with "serial killing" for example, Debra's emotions over the return (and then loss again) of Lundy. The only thing that didn't really ring true for me was the journalist being Trinity's daughter – that seemed a jump but the next episode moved quickly to shore it up so it didn't bother me too much. That each thread works well within the other and as stand-alones the show is made stronger and more engaging. As a result we don't need a shocking cliff-hanger to feel satisfied or involved – one episode ends with Dexter's own amusement at the thought that he might have human characteristics ("huh" he says as the episode ends) and this is as strong as some of the more impacting conclusions.
Speaking of "impacting conclusions" I have to talk about the season finale. Personally I found it a little underwhelming and surprisingly empty for a show that delivers so consistently. Rita's death is Dexter's fault – just like Doakes' was, but yet where I felt a strong response to the latter, the former left me cold. OK she is a little bit of a damp character but it was so sudden and then the show ended that it didn't have time to soak in. Likewise the final scene with Trinity – it was the last 10 minutes of the episode and it could have done better with more time for the two great actors to work off one another for one last time. Season 5 picks up just where this one left off, so the tester will be if it can deliver the heart that I felt was missing in Rita's death – I feel confident it can but I was still a little disappointed by how this twist was done.
As ever the cast are strong here. Hall is brilliant in his scenes and his narration. He continues to get his delivery just right for the character and does the writing justice – here we have a character that is driven to kill others, fakes most of his emotional interactions but yet the viewer is with him the vast majority of the time. Lithgow is a great addition; he is great across the whole season whether showing fear, vulnerability, rage or just pure evil – he convinces in all his states and grips the eye in every scene. Yet again Carpenter has another strong season and is better yet again. This season hands her a lot of emotion to deliver on and she could have not only hammed it up but also gotten into a rut of repeating her delivery. Instead she is convincingly real and her emotions feel as raw and natural as they should. Below these Benz continues to be OK but it is hard not to feel that season 5 may be better without her from a story-telling point of view; Oz colleagues Velez and Zayas have some sappy material but it still works. Lee is funny while Harrington is solid enough although I suspect season 5 will make more of his soured relationship with Dexter and give him more to work with. Remar may only be in flashback but his contributions are always important and his restraint is very much appreciated as his role is essentially the "code" part of Dexter's subconscious.
Dexter was a show that I came to very late and got into very quickly when I did. It has amoral content but yet it is easy to be emotionally involved; it is not a thriller but yet it grips at times while all the narrative threads are engaging and work well together. It is simply great television and season 4 marks itself as yet another consistent quality delivery and another reason to sing the praises of Dexter to those not watching. Season 5 started in the US not too long ago and, despite my reservations over the twist made in this season, I am very much looking forward to following this show into the next season.