Ok, first off, a quick rundown of the premise for this season. Dexter, who is now a husband and father, is trying to give suburban life a shot. He has everything he could possibly want: a loving wife, great children, and a good career. However, soon his Dark Passenger’s cries for attention cause Dexter to wonder if this is the life he really wants or not. Meanwhile, a dangerous new adversary returns to Miami after 30 years to finish a lifelong cycle of killing…

I’m going to go ahead and run through this season’s flaws, mainly because they were few and far between. I honestly did not like the LaGuerta/Batista love story subplot. It had almost nothing to do with everything else in the season and it was almost like the writers wanted to put some filler into a few of the episodes. Next season will probably play with their whole marriage thing, and how neither one of them will like it, and we’ve seen it a thousand times before. The only reason that it might be worth it will be because the writers of this show can make it somewhat interesting. Also, I did not enjoy how Astor was used in the first half of the season. Now that we have Daddy Dexter, he obviously needs to be put into situations that will show he’s a good father to her, and also cody and Harrison. But they couldn’t resist the cliche of preteen drama, so Astor hated basically everything that Dexter was trying to do for her. The lowest point was when she begged for an iPod, and I started to get worried that it wasn’t going to be a fulfilling season.

Despite these very few flaws, this was a near perfect season. Michael C. Hall was superb in his portrayal of our dark hero, so much so that he was recognized for his performance at the Golden Globes this year. Keith Carradine, what little bit he was back, also brought a new layer to his Agent Lundy, and we realized that he was a truly great character, but his life was sadly cut short. Other good performances include C.S. Lee and James Remar, as Masuoka and Harry respectively. Julie Benz’s Rita was rather underused this season, but she did her best to hold her own, all the way through to the shocking end.

Two actors really broke through this season that made it so worthwhile. Jennifer Carpenter, playing the always feisty Debra Morgan, stole many of the scenes she was in. It was by far the best story she had been given to work with. Not only did she have to deal with Lundy’s return and sudden death, but then she had to put together the pieces as to why the shooting happened and she showed a lot of range. I’ve never cried during this show until this season. It was when Deb broke down to Dexter in the parking lot where she was shot and Lundy was killed. I do admit I shed a few tears as she was because her performance hit home and put Lundy’s death into perspective for everyone; She cheated on Anton with Lundy, and ended up paying the price for it. It was depressing, but a smart move on the part of the writers.

Without a doubt, the best performance goes to John Lithgow’s Trinity Killer/Arthur Mitchell. It was perhaps the most disturbing, morbid, and terrifying villains in recent television history. His meticulous, calculating kills were but a small part to his madness. As the season progressed, it was revealed that his victims meant something pertaining to his own life: the bathtub murders represented his sister who died after slipping in the shower(which young Arthur accidentally caused), the seemingly suicidal mother represented his own mother who jumped off a building, and then the middle-aged man who was beat to death was a parallel to Arthur’s father, who he himself killed. After this initial cycle was studied for the majority of the season, Dexter discovered there was a fourth victim which started the kill cycles; a ten-year old boy, representing Arthur himself. These death scenes were always worth a good shudder and were executed brilliantly.

The truly horrific part of this whole thing was the way Arthur treated his family. They all feared him, most of all his wife, his daughter developed a sexual obsession with any man who payed her attention because she was cut off from the world, and his son was the only one who wanted to put a stop to the madness. The torture came to a head in the now infamous episode, “Hungry Man.” This thanksgiving special found Dexter pulling double tine, trying to be at his own thanksgiving dinner, and also Arthur’s in his pursuit to understand the man behind the monster. During the course of their awkward and disturbing day, Arthur’s daughter came onto Dexter, who was given a blessing by her mother as long as he didn’t tell Arthur; Arthur broke his son’s finger as soon as Dexter left the room; he called his wife a cunt to her face after wondering why no one side they were thankful for him; and then ultimately tried to kill his son before Dexter put a stop to all of the madness and had to make a hasty escape. It is without a doubt one of the best episodes of this season, if not the series.

One of the constant themes I saw this season dealt with the possibility of being alone. Everyone entered a situation where they questioned if they were better off spending life alone, with no one to love. Dexter had the obvious problems of juggling his Dark Passenger with his family, and for a while, he thought that the only person worth listening to was the Passenger, though he knew it would devestae his family. Deb also had to confront this problem after she found herself with no one to love after Lundy’s death. Hell, even Lundy figured it was better for him at one point because he knows he cared more about the job than people. The only one who had a somewhat decent relationship was Quinn, who dated reporter Christine Hill, and even that blew up in his face. Ultimately, it comes down to that no one can truly deal with people and relationships the way they want to, so they should just try their best to make it work, which was a struggle for every character to understand.

Another them I noticed was that Dexter’s need to kill turned damn near into full-blown addiction this year. He intentionally planted evidence to throw the police off just so he could have a kill all to himself, which repeatedly blew up in his face(See: Benito Gomez, Arthur Mitchell). However, in the season finale, he realized how much he’s let his Passenger control him and he could see a brighter future, one where he didn’t have a Need to kill. This bright vision came crumbling down soon after.

After disposing of Arthur’s body, Dexter returns home to finish packing for his honeymoon getaway with Rita, who he thinks has already made it to their destination. He checks his voicemail to discover that she was late for the early flight, and she booked a later flight and came home to wait until it was time to go again. Dex gave a quick smile, then called Rita’s phone to let her know he was on the way. After placing the call, Dexter hears a familiar ring coming from the kitchen. When he walks over, he discovers Rita’s phone and purse still there. And that’s when he hears it. Harrison’s crying from the bathroom drives Dexter to find him…only to realize he’s sitting a massive pool of blood. Dex looks over to see Rita, lying motionless in the bathtub, killed in the same manner as one of Trinity’s victims.

Dexter’s obsession with being the one to kill Arthur ended up being his worst nightmare. He lost his wife, and now his son will most likely grow up to be like him, right down to being “born in blood.” Harry was right; Dex might not be able to have it all while the Dark Passenger is around.

I think John Lithgow said it best after the finale: “I do not envy the writers for next season.” How are they going to handle this situation? Is she really dead? Was it all a dream? How will Dexter deal with being a single father? Will Rita be used the same way as Harry, but on a more encouraging, reasonable level? One thing’s for sure; I cannot wait until September to find out.

Overall, this was one of the best seasons of Dexter yet. Shocking, disturbing, and suspenseful, it had all the elements a show like this needs. This easily gets a 9.5/10 from me, and I cannot wait to see what’s being cooked up for Season Five.

P.S. As many of you know, Michael C. Hall recently revealed he’s undergoing treatment for Hodgkin’s Lymphoma. On behalf of the writers here at Loaded Couch Potatoes, we’d like to extend our thoughts and prayers to him  and his family during this trying time. Get well soon, Michael. We all believe you can defeat this Dark Passenger.

In this episode, Dexter is recovering from a vicious car accident that left many of us wondering if Benito Gomez’s body was still in the car. Now, we have our answer…

It’s not often that I fear for the life of our titular hero because of the obvious reason. However, after the season premiere, I was genuinely worried that the writers of the show had suddenly decided to have a Dexter-less season of Dexter. However, I, and I’m sure everyone else, was relieved to see that he had suffered only a mild concussion, and a bit of memory loss. Oh yeah, and not knowing whether or not the body of the man he had just killed was still in his car. We quickly learn that the body was, fortunately, not in his car which leaves Dexter wondering just where he could’ve left dear old Benny.

After a quick stay in the hospital, and a fib to Rita, Dexter goes on the hunt for his latest victim’s whereabouts, not completely sure where to begin. Or at least, Dexter wants to start searching. But, LaGuerta has other things in mind for him. The Vacation Murderers, as they come to be called, have struck again, and of course there is blood, so Dexter is dragged away from his pursuit for a short while. While at the crime scene, Dexter spots Quinn in a very troubling situation; he spots him stealing money from the victim’s hotel safe, which launches Quinn on an overly nice campaign towards Dex, most likely trying to be sure that he doesn’t run off and tell the proper authorities. In the past, I felt bad for Quinn as he simply seemed like a misunderstood bystander. However, now, I’m not so sure. I’m going to keep an eye on him in future episodes because I have a bad feeling he will cause an unfortunate amount of trouble for our sociopathic hero.

Meanwhile, Batista and Laguerta are still trying to work out what kind of relationship they have. Laguerta wants to keep it as private as possible, while Angel doesn’t care who knows. I don’t know about you guys, but I’m kind of already getting sick of this storyline. I don’t see it playing out in a way that will benefit the show.

I’ve got to give credit to the producers of this show; they know how to cast a villain. John Lithgow as the Trinity Killer is atsoundingly creepy and disturbing. He bgins stalking his next victim, Tarla Grant, a middle-aged mother of two. Lithgow plays Trinity as cold, calculating, meticulous, and with a dash of insanity. I’m really curious as to how this season will play out with Trinity involved. I’m starting to get the sneaking suspicion that by the end, everything will change.

After some time, Dex is finally able to get away from work for a little while so he can start searching for Benny’s body. He returns to the scene of the crash; no body turns up. He goes to the pharmacy he visited after, still finding nothing. His first visit to the abandoned boxing ring yields no results, except for an unfortunate spot of blood on the mat. The whole way. Dex begins questioning how accurate and efficient he will be with a family now. Even Harry warns him that he might not be able to balance work, a family, and his extracurricular activities. It seems that our hero has a lot to think about before he can continue doing what he does best.

Also, Rita catches Dexter in his lies that he told her after his accident. Not only was he injured, but she discovers that the car was all but destroyed in the accident, even though Dexter told her that it was a fender bender. Though Dexter was easily able to get out of trouble for those lies, it’s the first time that Rita has ever had to question how much she knows about the man she married. I believe that, as the season goes one, the show will play with that idea a little more.

Finally, after all is said and done, Dexter finds the body at…the abandoned boxing ring. When he goes back a second time, he sees the spot of blood again, even though he had cleaned it. He realizes that, in his hurried state, he knew that it would be to dangerous to take the body with him, so he made a pulley system and lifted the body to the ceiling. Goof fortune has almost always smiled on Dex when he was in a tight spoit, and this time was no different, though I’m sure that now he will make sure to be even more careful to take care of his late night activities.

Overall, I thought this was a very well done episode. The Laguerta/Batista storyline will most likely get old. And I suspect that Trinity’s activities are only going to get more troubling from here on out. Yes, it seems that Dexter will most certainly have his hands full this season, and I will watch every step of the way.

“Talk about your blood bath!”  – Vince Masuka

The first episode of Dexter delivered no more and no less than what I have come to expect from this Showtime series.  And that is meant as a good thing.  Many shows change with time, and it doesn’t even feel like any time has passed since season 3.  The writing, directing, and style are all what makes this show so unique.

All our favorite characters are back as well.  Michael C. Hall reprises his role as the lovable serial killer Dexter.  The show starts off with a classic “predator” scene of Dexter driving.  Usually he is driving to find that perfect guilty victim, but tonight it turns out he is just trying to get little “dex” to sleep, his 3 month old son Harrison. 

Meanwhile, a new murder is unfolding else where.  John Lithgow shows up this season as the ultra creepy “trinity” killer.  Lithgow is just the sort of high caliber actor this show should and does attract (like Jimmy Smitts of Season 3), and I can’t wait to see his performance unfold through out the season.  The little bit we saw of him this episode was creepy and down right disturbing.  And in my opinion, Dexter is always balanced best by a more disturbing killer. 

As always there was plenty of humor in the episode, more humor than any serial killer based show should be able to pull off.  My favorite scene was in the beginning of the episode, when Dexter is going through the same scenes in the opening credits, only nothing is going right.  He misses when he slaps at the mosquito, his shirt has a baby barf stain, and his shoe lace snaps.  Not to mention that he doesn’t look like a high alert killer, but a over worked father of three.  Poor Dexter!

The poor sleep deprived dad does eventually pull off a “by the code” kill.  He plays it safe as always, or as he says he’s “killing for two” now.  After screwing up on the witness stand (because he’s over worked), Dexter tracks down his prey and finds a abandoned boxing ring for the deed.  We see more of the “clean-up” scene in this episode than we ever have before.  But after leaving the scene, and going to the all-night pharmacy for Rita and the baby, he falls asleep at the wheel!  The car flips and it is obvious Dexter is not walking away from this one. 

So, for the preview of next week?  Although it’s not totally clear in the episode, we do find out that Dexter’s body bags where in the car.  Uh-oh.  Despite his slasher habits I’m always completely on the edge of my seat hoping he doesn’t get caught or killed along the way.  Season 4 is off to a very thrilling start!

http://www.sho.com/site/dexter/comiccon/home.do?source=m_dex4_home_aug09_cconvideos

‘Tis awesome:

The article — which might be considered to contain spoilers, so visit it at your own risk — indicates that Lithgow will be featured in all twelve episodes of the upcoming fourth season, which begins airing on Showtime on September 27.

For images of the 7″ figures — as well as the company’s selection of Dexter bobbleheads — head over to Entertainment Earth.