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Tuesday, November 30, 2010

Dexter - Episode 5.10 ''In the Beginning'' - Recap


Recap: ''Sex, Lies and Videotape''. After last week's gasp-inducing final minutes -- when Jordan Chase all but declared war on Lumen and Dexter -- we knew something big was going to go down this week. Little did we know that episode 10's biggest moment would be less about Dexter and Lumen's destruction and more about the pair's union -- in the bedroom.
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But there's so much to cover before we get to that, like Lumen's first kill, Deb's spot-on theory about a vigilante killer, and Liddy's highly incriminating new evidence that's going to bite someone in the ass sooner than later.

First, we picked up with Dexter shipping Harrison off to Orlando to his grandparents' house as a precaution following Jordan's threatening conversation with Lumen. Hopefully the cute little tyke isn't there too long; if Astor was any indication, the grandparents don't have a shining track record in the child care department.

As if parting from his son for the first time since Rita's death wasn't enough to poop on Dexter's day, he arrived at work to find out that the team was once again investigating Cole in the barrel girls case.

Dexter seemed surprised to learn this, but I'm fairly certain they pointed this out in the last episode. Correct? Then again, maybe he was too distracted by the situation with then-missing Astor to note it.

Dexter knew they'd never track Cole because he had already thrown the smug jerk's body into the sea in pieces. But Deb and Quinn were none the wiser, so they were shocked when they went to Jordan's Apple-sponsored office and found out Cole had been missing for two weeks. Deb was quick to jump on Jordan (not literally) for failing to report Cole's sudden departure to the police, and her curtness earned her a spot on Jordan's bad side. She knew Jordan was involved somehow, but in the absence of real evidence, they moved on to Cole's house in search of a lead and found much more than they'd hoped.

First there was the blood -- Cole's blood. It had been left there from the night Dexter and Lumen had broken into his house, and Lumen had hit Cole to save Dexter. "You don't miss a thing," Dexter told his sister, before adding in his head, "…unfortunately." Deb's increasingly sharp instincts only created more problems for Dexter and Lumen as the investigation went on, with the most notable threat to their cause beingDeb's theory that there were two good guys on the hunt for the raping bastards: the police and a vigilante killer. Her hypothesis was later supported by a fact first pointed out by Masuka: There had been 12 locks of hair at Boyd's house but 13 known victims, meaning one had gotten away. She also pieced together that rapist DDS from a few episodes back was also connected to the crime. So with two suspects vanished and one dead, it was a more than suspect situation, argued Deb.

I've always admired how Deb uses her brain on the job. She thinks about the cases -- unlike the other detectives who seem to sit around in their oversized, ill-fitting shirts waiting for evidence and leads to come their way. She is and will always remain the only person capable of piecing together Dexter's second life. And it seems more and more like that's the path this storyline is headed. Anyone else have chills?

Along with the blood, the team also unearthed Cole's DVD collection, and we're not talking romantic comedies and Jerry Bruckheimer flicks. Cole had kept recordings of all 13 brutal tortures -- Lumen's included. (Even though we only heard the sounds, but they still made my stomach churn.)

The discovery of the DVDs was a problem because Dexter knew that Deb would recognize Lumen on disc No. 13. To prevent this from happening, he destroyed a DVD, labeled it "13," and replaced it with the actual disc. (This seemed a bit too easy, especially since many police departments have people who can recover destroyed info and someone could have easily realized the disc was empty.) Once he had the real recording in his possession, Dexter gave it to Lumen and let her decide what to do with it.

The disc was the exclamation point on what had been a long day for Lumen. During Dexter's lunch break, the pair had gone to the home of Emily Birch (the woman whose blood Jordan kept in a vial around his neck) and had tried to speak with her, but they only got a door slammed in their face after Lumen had tried to get her to ID the remaining people in the old photograph they had found at Cole's. Upon seeing the photo, Emily had become frazzled and turned them away, and Lumen had spent the rest of the day running into dead ends on her quest for more information about the mysterious woman.

When Dexter presented Lumen with the disc, the weight of it all crashed down on her. Whereas most people have the luxury of only living traumatic events once (and "luxury" is a term used loosely), Lumen had hers documented. A portrait of the most horrific moment of her life. The day she went from a woman to simply "No. 13." She broke down. "You've been my only way through this," Lumen told Dexter, crying. He looked at her with his signature look of bewilderment and sympathy -- the one that portrays his sadness and confusion about normal human reaction -- and he told her: "I guess we both met each other at the right time."

Yeah, it was obvious that they'd get it on later.

The next day, while Dexter did a little damage control at the station, Lumen paid Emily another visit -- this time with the torture video in hand. Once she showed it to Emily, she was invited in, and Emily shared her horrific story.

Emily had been a camp counselor when she was attacked by the group of teenage boys in the picture, including formerly chubby Jordan Chase (then called Eugene Greer). She was drugged and tied to a bunk while the boys assaulted her -- all except Jordan. "He got them going. He told them to 'seize their desires,'" Emily told Lumen. Nauseating.

Even more disgusting was the episode's subsequent revelation that Emily was still in contact with Jordan and that they had sick attacker-victim relationship where she sought his approval, and he treated her like a living trophy of his second existence. The most poignant look at their "bond" came when Emily hinted she was jealous of Lumen. "Emily, you know that no one could take your place. You know that, right? We have a bond that no one could ever break," Jordan told her.

Back on the case, Lumen shared with Dexter the name of the final unidentified person in the photo (which Emily had told her as part of a set-up arranged by Jordan): Alex Tilden (Scott Grimes, aka ER's Dr. Archie Morris). Deb and Quinn (who were back on speaking terms for business purposes) also picked up this trail and went to the bank where Alex worked to question him. Meanwhile, before he returned from work, Dexter and Lumen went to his house on a fact-finding mission -- as always, Dexter wanted secondary proof of Alex's guilt. In this case, a box of 13 pieces of jewelry that Dexter and Lumen found at Alex's house was the verification they needed.

The next day, following a tense office confrontation with Jordan, Dexter and Lumen prepared to go kill Alex. It would be Lumen's first kill, and she dressed appropriately in clothes that can only be described as a female take on killer gear (which did not involve a Henley) and a pair of murder gloves (a gift from Dexter). "You look…perfect," Dexter said.

Outside, in an unmarked pervert van, Liddy unwrapped his greasy cheeseburger under the glow of his laptop that was streaming the action inside Dexter's apartment. (If Dexter and Lumen don't eventually kill this creep, his arteries will certainly get the job done.) He had rented the equipment using a forged document with Quinn's signature and had set it up inside Dexter's apartment. As he watched Dexter show Lumen the proper way to use the knife, his mouth went slack jawed. "Oh, my goodness."

Another vehicle-based lurker was waiting for Lumen and Dexter once they reached Alex's house: Jordan Chase. But he wasn't there to spy or kill; he merely wanted to note their arrival. It was his cue to call Deb and Quinn and tell them a bogus story about Alex trying to make contact with Cole regarding a flight. He had hoped it would make him look like a concerned, willing-to-help citizen, and it worked. Moreover, he wanted them to rush to Alex's house and catch Lumen and Dexter in the act. That didn't work out as planned, though.

Alex arrived and was taken to the kill room, which they had set up in a neighboring unoccupied home. So when Deb and Quinn arrived, all they saw was Alex's abandoned car and a fresh female footprint (left by the still-novice Lumen).

Back in the kill room, Alex tried to bargain with Lumen and Dexter to no avail. He offered money. He offered Jordan. He shouldn't have wasted his final breaths. Lumen climbed on top of the table as a clearly nervous and sweat-soaked Dexter looked on, and in one quick swoop, plunged the knife into Alex.

Back at the house, Lumen was flying high after her kill. Clearly healed (at least, a little) by the experience, she moved toward Dexter and removed his shirt after removing her own. Dexter did nothing to resist.

We left off with the killer twosome having, well, a twosome. For both, it was a healing moment, and for Dexter, it was an eye-opener. "With Lumen, I'm someone different. In her eyes, I'm not a monster at all."

Um, to echo Deb's statement last week when she thought Dexter was sleeping with Lumen, is it still maybe too soon? You be the judge, readers. Also, ponder with me: What will Liddy do with this new info? Will he get it into anyone's hands before dying (because we all know it's going to happen)? Do you think Deb is on the trail to catching Dexter? Did you miss LaGuerta and Batista in this episode (total screen time < 3 mins)? What do you think of Lumen the killer? Do you like her paired with Dexter? And did Jordan Chase/Emily freak you the f--- out?

Source: ew.recaps.com

2 comments:

  1. John: I admire your recaps. They tell it all. While reading one can visualize the whole scene over again. Good work.

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  2. John: I am a rider from Brazil, and I like very much your reviews.

    answering your questions: I didn't missed Laguerta-Batista at all, but I do missed Masuka's jokes...

    I like, and hope that the relation between Dex and Lumen find a way to go long....

    and Chase always freak out me...

    thanks

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