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Friday, February 17, 2012

POLL: What Did You Think of Mos Def's Role As Brother Sam?


Two months after the end of the sixth season of Dexter, let's share our thoughts about the guest characters of the season. On May 11, 2011, Showtime announced that Mos Def will be joining season 6 of the show in the role of "a hardened ex-con who claims to have found religion". Was his character as good as you expected? Vote below, and tell us your opinion in the comment section.


15 comments:

  1. Loved his character!
    He was a great contrast to the two (or one) religious nutcases slash extremists slash do people really behave like them slash I surely hope not.

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  2. A video of Brother Sam on Youtube (8 minutes and 17 seconds)..I found it the other day, it is pretty good.

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    1. Here is the link...sorry i forgot it haha http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=RD7pHsjVPzQ&context=C3560b90ADOEgsToPDskLsSy9-P8M0WJ_bBanc0dTB

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  3. I don't know what the point of writing such a great character, if they killed him in only 5 shows. That was just enough time to get to know the character, so it didn't even upset me when he died. I just felt like they missed the opportunity of having Mos Def on, just to send him off so suddenly. I feel the same way about them casting Edward James Olmos, because him and Michael C. Hall were unable to have any interaction, since Gellar was already dead. Why bother casting such talent, if the character can't interact with with the leading actor?

    Brother Sam and Dexter did develop a certain kinship with each other, but it just ended too abruptly. Also, Dexter learned nothing from Brother Sam.

    "I should have never listened to Brother Sam. From now on, I'm only putting faith in myself."

    That one line made the character of Brother Sam seem like a massive waste of time, because Dexter didn't learn a thing from him. I didn't need to see Dexter find Jesus, but a little acknowledgment that Sam changed his life would have been nice. That should have caused Dexter to question whether he should be killing people, if they can sometimes be rehabilitated. Dexter just rejected Sam and went back to square one, like Sam never entered his life.

    In retrospect, it just doesn't seem like Dexter learned anything new in season six. It was supposed to be a spiritual journey, but that journey never even got of the ground. What Dexter did learn was that all he has to pass on to Harrison is as much love and understanding as he can. I just have to wonder why it took so long for Dexter to realize that amount of truth. He sould have came to that conclusion almost immediately, because that's exactly how Harry raised him.

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    1. The entire point of season six is that it's all a massive waste of time. Dexter learns nothing, and he admits that. Brother Sam, Gellar, Travis, all of them served to knock Dexter's character down, rather than build it up. When he talks about passing on love to Harrison, it's probably one of the saddest realizations of the series...because Dexter's given up on himself. Refer to the Travis Kill if you don't believe me: "If there's a purpose to my darkness...it's to put some balance to the world" (I'm paraphrasing, of course).

      S6 was about how nothing matters but Harrison matters to Dexter. Nothing else has a point, not even Dexter himself.

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    2. That was the point silly. Dexter has lost faith. He no longer cares. He is lost. He even said it. He has become everything he hates. His dark passenger has beaten him.

      Telling Debra that he loved her and then killing Travis in the church where Deb told him to be, was his subconscious making one last desperate grab at humanity. The light inside of him that Sam talked about on the porch, "even if it is only a flicker", reached for Debra.

      Season 6 was deep and mature - definitely a season that really resonated with those of us who are a little more mature, who have been through the shit in life and understand what loss means - and what returning to the same old well and pleasing yourself by giving into your darkness costs. Which is why, even though it has it's critics, on most polls it ranked just ahead of season 2 by fans, trailing only 1 and 4.

      There are parts of season 6 that are my favorite moments in the history of the show. It has matured and come of age, kind of like Deb.

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  4. He could have been a bad guy of the season instead of Travis Marshall.

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  5. Bro Sam had faith in Dex and yes he told him there was a light in him too. I would like to see Dexter reflect on the peace Sam was trying to get him to understand. Sam should be included in S7 (as a reflection) b/c the religious door has been opened and the writers/producers need to do something with that b/c it is a loose end. Dex has dismissed it for too long having discussions with Deb, Sam, Angel and a Nun. I'd like to see them do something more with that part of Dex's self discovery.

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  6. Anon at 4:47

    Not a bad request at all. You sound perfectly reasonable to me. :)

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  7. I think Brother Sam might have been more interesting -- not that he wasn't interesting -- if it was unclear whether he was a part of DDK or not. He was really only mysterious for "Once Upon a Time." Dexter came to the conclusion too fast that he shouldn't kill Brother Sam. Brother Sam fits the code, regardless of Dexter's feelings on the subject. The code is still important to Dexter, but he doesn't strictly abide by it anymore. It seems Dexter is starting to recognize the value of human life, but I'm not sure that's a good thing, because it only clouds his judgement.

    Dexter is now able to look passed his victim's past mistakes, but it's a double edged sword -- in turn, it is causing Dexter to be far too careless in his ritual. It's like the writers had to dumb Dexter down a little to make it conceivable that he could be caught. At least with Debra now knowing the truth, DEXTER (the show and the character) can start adapting and evolving and hopefully start shaking things up again.

    Also, this new development of Debra witnessing Dexter murdering someone, has a lot of potential for new and exciting stories. Personally, I think it would be great if Debra tried to convince Dexter to give up custody of Harrison and to turn himself in. Harrison is bound to Dexter by blood, so I imagine Harrison would mean more to Dexter than Debra ever could (just as it should be for a parent and their child.)

    I'm getting way the hell off subject here, but I have one more thought:

    A lie that I could see Dexter telling Debra in the church, would be that he has only been killing "bad guys" ever since Rita died. Dexter could keep Debra from the truth -- that Harry had anything to do with channeling Dexter's proclivity toward taking lives. Something tells me that Dexter would want to keep that to himself as long as possible, as a way to protect Debra's image she has of her father. That image is already tarnished, but when she learns of Harry's involvement it might just send her over the edge and tear her apart. Though, at the same time, I can see how that would be helpful for Debra, because she could then get over the idea that Harry was perfect and she can start living for herself, rather than feeling like she is only living in Harry's shadow.

    Obviously, I am still a fan of the show. There are some things I do not like about the direction the show is headed, but the positive still outweighs the negative by a large margin. The easiest way for me to just deal with it and stick with the show, is knowing that the writers can't satisfy everyone; that would be impossible. My excitement has been building ever since the ending of season 5, when Dexter blew out the candle. At this current trajectory, I'm confident that we will again see an improvement into season 7.

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    1. There's just no reason for Debra to learn everything about Harry's involvement, just yet. I think that should be reserved for season 8. It's just more entertaining if Dexter covers up one lie with many more, so he doesn't have to lay all his cards on the table right away. I want to see it drawn out a little to build some tension, so when the house of cards does fall, that it is completely destructive. I want the show to really punch us in the gut with these final two seasons and rip our hearts out by killing our hero in the end. That might make me somewhat of a masochist, but I never expected this show to have a happy ending.

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    2. I don't think it'll have a happy ending, but I don't necessarily think it will be Dexter that bites the dust. I think that, possibly, near the end of the eighth season--maybe in the last episode--Harrison or Debra dies, or maybe both. And then, the show will end almost exactly the same way as it began, with Dexter sitting in his car and driving to his next kill, having learned nothing.

      It would be a supremely tragic way to end the show, IMO.

      But, most of the writers seem to be softening up on Dexter, to the point where Scott Buck even said that he could say a happy ending for Dexter. I think the only person on the set who seems to think Dex is going to get screwed big-time is Michael C. Hall. But, who knows? Ultimately, the success of next season hinges on how the writers handle the evolution of Dex and Deb's relationship.

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    3. Some of your comments are interesting Nicholas, but at the same time I also see some of the erroneous flaws in logic that are so common among a certain fans.

      #1 Being that their idea of a logical plot is more important than the emotions of the characters. And that this code is somehow sensible or righteous. It is NOT. Dexter is fucked up, Harry was fucked up, and Deb is fucked up. PERIOD. As Harry said, this has always been about something "Deeper" - and that deeper is need.

      The show is about blood and need and humanity. It is not a detective procedural about who discovers what when. The discoveries are all tied to emotional revelations, they ALWAYS have been since season one. Dexter did not figure out who the ITK is by being clever, it was his emerging repressed emotions and memories that led him there. Deb did not discover Dexter through detective work. It was her EMOTIONS that led her there. There is an ongoing disease of the mind in some of the Dexter community, that the macguffins of the show are just as important, or more important than the characters.

      Here your interest in the plot development dominates your understanding of character and you completely missed something important. This: Debra asking Dexter to turn himself in, would be WORSE for her than Debra asking Dexter to put a gun to his head and blow his brains out. She would be asking him to go to prison and die and she would be asking him to destroy his family forever. This character loves him too much to allow that to happen. At the worst she will be conflicted about what to do, but that is the extent.

      Watch the characters - this is Dexter, not Sherlock Holmes or CSI or Law&Order.

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    4. I approach talking about Dexter's code like it is the right thing, because that is how Dexter sees it. I don't agree with what Dexter is doing and I want that to be very clear. In the end, I understand that it is only a tv show. In the context of it being a television show, I am on Dexter's side 100%. There's no place for a person like Dexter in the real world. The show does a very good job of showing us that.

      Plot is everything, so I don't know what you're getting at there. Plot should always be logical, as well, or it runs the risk of looking ridiculous.

      I only said it would be interesting if Debra "tried" to convince Dexter to turn himself in. I'm not saying I want Dexter to listen, because that would be very boring. Debra asking Dexter such a thing only adds to the drama.

      I pretty much agree with everything else you wrote.

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  8. I personally didn't care very much for Brother Sam's character or Mos Def as an actor. All he did was give Dexter a new perspective on killers. Even killers can change and have remorse. Sam is just an example of a killer who wasn't really meant to be one. Dexter's code does include making sure someone is likely to kill again. He likes to think that the world will be better without that person, in turn giving him the satisfaction of being a 'kind' killer.

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