Dexter: Smokey and the Bandit (2011)
Season 6, Episode 3
Philosophical but predictable subplot, déjà vu impression but welcomed changes, messy editing, intriguing Travis but anecdotic religious arc
18 October 2011
How do you want to be remembered ? What heritage will you leave to future generations ? These deep and philosophical questions were asked in this third episode when I thought the season would mostly focus on religious and spiritual topics. Such a systemic approach was definitely welcome because now most people should be able to relate to Dexter's quest to get ride of his Dark Passenger. Yes because even if Lumen hasn't been mentioned yet, how disrespectful, she showed him the way toward the light. Let's also not forget the benefic impact his love story with Rita had, even if it ended tragically. But her Lemon Tree keeps growing and last summer it gave us the juiciest fruits ever !

So the legacy subplot was inspiring and should get your attention. However it was predictable from the very beginning so its outcome didn't surprise me. Viewers who have followed Dex since its first encounter with the Ice Truck Killer know better. Don't under estimate us writers ! To sum things up the twist I was expecting all along never happened. Otherwise it pointed out the complex relationship we have with old people. I still remember a short story from Night Shift, a Stephen King's collection. It's about a society where grandparents are killed by the new generation, their own children, to control demography. Sadly our reality isn't far from the fiction at times and this installment tried to express how aging can be tough for some individuals. And it became even more controversial when Dex had to look himself in the mirror !

But in the end these few interesting elements weren't enough to hide the fact that the show is getting old. If you think about it things haven't drastically changed since the earlier seasons. Hopefully Deb got promoted and her new career as a lieutenant is double-edged. It was entertaining to see her slightly struggle and it should be moving in the upcoming episodes because yes Deb rocks and Jennifer Carpenter is Talent, even if she isn't voluptuous enough (Guest comment by Vince M.). A new recruit also has potential and its first encounter with our favorite lieutenant, damn I already miss her as detective, could have been over the top if such sexist situations were history. In the end it was chuckling and the scene was well acted on both sides, specially our tiny bratty – almost super deformed – Deborah Morgan.

As for the religious arc its development was anecdotic compared to Dex's usual serial killing session. The editing has also never really been one of the series strongest quality but I found it more messy than usual. It just didn't fit properly with the other arcs and the cliffhanger was thrown into the mix in the worst fashion. In fact even Dex's side was awkward. Still I'm starting to find Travis Marshall interesting. His sister was introduced in the previous episode and here we learned why he was chosen by Professor Gellar. I also think Colin Hanks is probably not such a bad choice after all because he seems to be the actor for the job. What the writers have planned for him also intrigues me. Does he have a Dark Passenger of his own ? Will he ever realize that what they're doing is wrong ? Wait… we still don't really know what they're up to. I just hope they won't harm his lovely sister. No Gellar said she can't be saved so let's slice her life ! Please God protect her I have done very bad things so I should be the one to get punished. Sorry, I just missed the One Masuka Show this time even if he was featured for some seconds. However what his precious student did and revealed definitely came from nowhere and I can't thank her enough for that because references to past seasons can only appeal long time fans.
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