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Tuesday, October 4, 2011

Dexter Season 6 Premiere Recap by Gracie

Welcome, new editor of our blog, Gracie! Follow her on twitter and read her recap about episode 6.01 "Those Kinds of Things":  "The episode opens with Dexter standing alone in an empty area, clutching his chest, calling 911 to report he’s been stabbed – certainly a bold stroke for an opening. We are fooled into thinking for a split second that Dexter is actually hurt, as when the EMTs arrive, he is collapsed on the ground, breathing heavily. …But then, in true Dexter style, he stabs them both in the neck with M99 as soon as they kneel over him. He proceeds with his double kill – murdering the both of them with defibrillators. How gruesome. Truly, this opening scene was like taking deep breath of fresh air – Dexter only made one solo kill using his standard MO last season, and within the first five minutes he’s already made two. It’s already back to the Dexter we know and love, the Dexter who captivated us in the earlier seasons. And you can already tell he’s darker and cleverer than ever before.

We cut to him disposing the bodies, and returning home to his infant son. It turns out that since a year has passed, the old nanny is gone, and Dex has hired coworker Angel Batista’s younger sister Jamie to take care of Harrison. Her outfit is a bit “skimpy,” for lack of a better word, but Dexter assures us it’s not what we’re thinking (namely, that they’re not sleeping together.) It’s immediately apparent that Jamie is an incredibly happy and bright young woman – just the kind of person baby Harrison needs in his life. We find out in a later scene between Jamie and Angel that Jamie is keenly aware he disappears at odd hours, but attributes it to him needing time alone because of all the awful things that have happened to him recently, while Angel jokes that he needs a hobby. Oh, Angel, if only you knew. Read more after the jump below...



Dexter and his sister Debra go to check out a preschool for Harrison, because Harrison is getting older. It’s a catholic preschool, which Dexter has been referred to by Angel, and awkward conversation with a nun ensues as Dexter reveals he is neither Catholic, nor protestant, nor Jewish, nor Muslim. He believes in, well… nothing. As they leave, he discusses with Deb how he thinks it’s important that Harrison is brought up with a set of guidelines, because he realizes he can’t raise Harrison the way Harry raised him. She likens it to raising a puppy, clearly finding it strange that a man like Dexter would want his child to go to such a religious school.

Next we find out that Lieutenant La Guerta has received a promotion. It seems that she and Captain Matthews may be a little too friendly, but we find out moments later that La Guerta is just blackmailing him to get a higher position. Can’t say I’m surprised, but this does mean we need a new Lieutenant. La Guerta seems to be aiming towards giving Angel the job – and we also discover that they’ve just divorced. Speaking of relationships, it turns out that Quinn and Deb have remained together over the year time jump.

Back at Miami Metro, we discover that Masuka has begun teaching classes at a University, and is preparing to hire a new intern. Moments later Dex walks in and informs Deb that he’s going to his high school reunion. Deb doesn’t really understand why (she jokes that he’s hoping to get laid), but Dexter lets us in on the secret that he’s tracking down an old classmate who he thinks killed his wife. He plans to go to the reunion to get a sample of his blood, to match the DNA samples.

At the reunion, Dexter is surprised that everyone keeps noticing him. He just can’t seem to get away from people, but they’re all interested in talking to him because they’ve all heard the tragic story about his wife. There’s some (much needed after season 5) fresh humor as Dexter tries to navigate himself through this awkward social situation. It’s something we haven’t seen for a while, and again, it’s like a breath of fresh air – back to the Dexter we know and love. In the end, he ends up having to sign up for a flag football game later that weekend when he fails to get a drop of his potential victim, Joe’s, blood.

Now, we can’t forget about the brilliant performances of two of this season’s guest stars, Edward James Olmos and Colin Hanks. The creepy factor is high. We see them collecting black freshwater snakes in a river, and then we see Hanks’ character prepare to disembowel a fruit vendor. When Miami Metro gets to the crime scene, the mess Hanks has left is honestly… revolting. The intestines are left in a scale, but there is no body to be found. It’s actually quite nauseating – already some of the most gruesome stuff we’ve seen on the show. Later on in the episode we find the actual body, which washes up on shore, and it appears that those freshwater snakes have been sewn into the gutted intestines. Again, it’s literally nauseating. Masuka’s new intern seems to agree – he passes out, and Masuka decides he wants to pick the “hot” intern instead. Oh, Masuka.

Back at the high school reunion, Dexter engages himself in a game of flag football, which, needless to say, he is really quite awful at. He manages to elbow Joe in the face and give him a nosebleed, and runs up to wipe his nose for him. Kinda creepy – Joe seems to think so too – but hey, he’s a serial killer. He’s done much creepier. The DNA turns out to be a match and he goes back to the high school to catch Joe unaware and M99 him, but an extremely pushy woman interrupts him. She keeps flirting with him, dragging him into a classroom. He insists he doesn’t have time to hook up with her, but in his head tells us, “Stop talking, Dexter,” and just enjoys it. Again, the series has returned to some of the playfulness it had before, and it’s really quite thrilling.

After the girl leaves, Dexter gets ready for his kill and convinces Joe to meet him somewhere, while pretending to be someone else. He M99’s him and wakes him up while wearing a panther mask (again, that’s creepy, Dex!) and proceeds to have that ‘pre-kill’ conversation. He asks Joe how he can do what he did but still believe in God, and Joe claims that God forgives. Dexter’s not buying it, and proceeds to stab him in the heart when Joe starts spewing things like “God will smite you with swords and rocks and thunder!” What a clean, and satisfying kill; and honestly, the conversation beforehand was one of the best in a while. One of my favorite things about Dexter’s kills have always been the conversations he has with his victims, because they’re the only people he’s ever 100% open with, and we hardly got any of that last season. These are the scenes where he bares his soul and grows the most, and well, I missed them. A lot. But again – everything is returning to true Dexter form, while the story remains fresh and new, and better than ever!

Then, we’ve got a scene with Deb and Quinn out for dinner. Quinn is acting weird, and Deb doesn’t get it. He goes to the bathroom for a moment, and we find out that he’s planning to propose to Debra… but right when he walks out, a gunman walks into the building and begins shooting randomly. Deb, prepared as always, whips out her gun and starts shooting, bringing him down by getting him in the knees. What an unpleasant way to have your proposal spoiled! Poor Quinn.

Also during the episode, Dexter has quite an entertaining conversation with Angel where he asks Angel to explain religion. Angel struggles to explain about how these things just matter to people, and it’s all based on faith. Dex does his best to understand, but it ends, of course, with Dexter thinking that it makes no sense. Classic Dexter. Despite this, at the end of the episode, we do find out that Harrison has gotten into the Catholic preschool Dex wanted him to go to… because as Dex is keenly aware, maybe Harrison will grow up to be one of those people who cares about “those kinds of things.”"

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1 comment:

  1. Congrats Gracie! Not a bad first recap. I was wondering (I'm asking here cause I don't tweet, lol) will you add any theories that you may on the episodes in future recaps? I love dissecting the show to find any foreshadows or clues with the characters and story lines.

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