Episode Title: “A Beautiful Day”
Writer: Scott Buck
Director: Keith Gordon
Previously on “Dexter”:
Episode 7.12 “Surprise, Motherf***er”
There was a moment in last night’s season premiere of “Dexter” that could have been a very effective cliffhanger if not for two things: Showtime spoiling the twist weeks ago and the earlier parts of the episode that completely telegraphed where the story was going.
That’s how it goes with “Dexter” as a series. Occasionally it shows signs of the life it once had. But more often than not, the details drag it down.
Full spoilers lie ahead for “A Beautiful Day,” so if you missed the season premiere of “Dexter” then you should probably skip this review or else Harrison will follow in his dad’s bloody handprints.
Picking up about six months after the seventh season, the story finds Dexter Morgan (Michael C. Hall) enjoying his life without any remorse for the death of Maria LaGuerta. Whereas his adopted sister, Debra Morgan (Jennifer Carpenter) has quit her job in Miami Metro and she’s apparently doing drugs and sleeping with Andrew Briggs (Rhys Coiro), a repeat violent criminal.
When a new serial killer pops up, Dr. Evelyn Vogel (Charlotte Rampling) comes to Miami Metro and offers her services while intentionally unsettling Dexter. The entire mystery about Vogel’s behavior was a heavy-handed and obvious, even if Showtime hadn’t revealed her connection to Dexter. If the creative team and the network had shown any subtlety, that would have been a powerful moment.
Instead the most effective parts about this episode deal with Dexter and his unraveling emotional state. Harrison’s old enough now to speak to Dexter and smart enough to notice that his dad has flashes of scary anger. Dexter also has a hard time understanding why Debra isn’t able to simply shrug off LaGuerta’s death the way that he has. And even Debra telling Dexter that she hates him and that she shot the wrong person doesn’t really get through to him. It just makes him angrier.
Dexter’s monstrous side asserts itself during a harrowing road rage scene in which he nearly chokes a man to death. Only the man’s child inadvertently saves his father from Dexter. Even the hallucination of Dexter’s dead dad, Harry Morgan (James Remar) calls Dexter out for that one.
The threat of mob hitman, Javier Guzman (Nick Gomez) actually gives Dexter a legitimate reason to fear for Debra’s life. But Dexter can’t seem to stop himself from killing Briggs in front of her… while Harrison was waiting outside in the car! Worst… Bring-Your-Child-To-Work-Day… Ever! Having Harrison wander off was a little cliche, but I loved the image of Dexter holding his son while his hands were still slick with Briggs’ blood.
I’m not a fan of Debra’s whining, but her downward spiral had a few interesting beats. Debra’s working as a freelance private investigator now and she was attaching herself to Briggs to get a break in a major jewelry robbery that he committed. Debra not only seems to be sleeping with this dude and sharing his drugs, but she’s broken up about it when Dexter kills him. She says that Briggs made her feel alright. Debra is clearly punishing herself for what she did to LaGuerta. And apparently, a lover like Briggs is all she thinks that she deserves. The surprising thing is that Briggs seemed genuinely concerned for Debra’s well being during his meeting with Guzman.
The biggest mistake that “Dexter” makes (and it’s the same error that “True Blood” is often guilty of) is that the creative team assumes that the audience cares about the supporting characters as much as they do for the main characters. This year’s edition of “Who’s Sleeping With Quinn?!” features Jamie Batista (Aimee Garcia) as the unlucky girl.
Think about this for a second. Garcia was upped to series regular this season… just to get her in bed with Joey Quinn (Desmond Harrington)?! That’s incredibly skeevy and the show itself seems to realize this when it depicts Jamie naked on top of Quinn while still covering her breasts.
The subplot of Angel Batista (David Zayas) was another misfire because Zayas’ performance didn’t convey the full extent of Batista’s anger and grief over LaGuerta’s death. Angel almost seems disinterested at times, but that’s partially the writer’s fault. Zayas doesn’t have a lot to work with here.
Jacob Elway (Sean Patrick Flanery) briefly appears as Debra’s new boss, but he left no impression one way or the other. He was just kind of bland.
Dexter’s emotional breakdown at the end almost pulls this episode together. Debra angrily tells Dexter that he was the one that needed her in his life… and he realizes that it’s true. Dexter is also losing control of his darker impulses in front of his son… and even Angel. If Angel was a better detective, he should have immediately picked up on Dexter’s incriminating statement. Instead, Angel just tries to get Dexter to accept an ugly ass vase from LaGuerta’s collection because that’s what passes for supporting character arcs on this show.
