Paul Levinson's Infinite Regress

reviewing 3 Body Problem; Black Doves; Bosch; Citadel; Criminal Minds; Dark Matter; Dexter: Original Sin; Dune: Prophecy; For All Mankind; Foundation; Hijack; House of the Dragon; Luther; Outlander; Presumed Innocent; Reacher; Severance; Silo; Slow Horses; Star Trek: Strange New Worlds; Surface; The: Ark, Day of the Jackal, Diplomat, Last of Us, Way Home; You +books, films, music, podcasts, politics

George Santayana had irrational faith in reason - I have irrational faith in TV.

Sunday, December 12, 2021

Dexter: New Blood 1.6: Breaks and Arm Breaks

Well, it really hit the fan in Dexter: New Blood, the sixth episode in what is the best reboot I've ever seen (or at least, easily tied with Battlestar Galactica). All the characters are performing at their peaks.

[Spoilers ahead ... ]

Dexter is sharper than ever. His explanation to Angela about why he adopted the Jim name and persona was perfect. He told her the truth about everything other than being a serial killer. There was therefore so much truth in what he told her, that the sardonic voice in his head -- his voice, not Deb's -- was silent. I also liked that he intervened and stopped Kurt from killing Molly the podcaster. The thing to remember about Dexter is that, other than his being a serial killer, he's a good guy (and, actually, since he kills bad people, one could argue that the serial killer part of Dexter is good, too).
Harrison hasn't killed anyone yet, as far as we know, but I don't think so. He seems too stunned when he gives into his dark passenger and breaks the wrestler's arm (who had it coming, since he head-butted Harrison). He's pretty clearly a kid struggling with his dark impulses, as his father realizes. The question is whether Dexter will be able to prevent Harrison from going completely over to the lethal side (I'm guessing he won't). And on another Harrison topic: creds to him for spending the night in bed with Audrey. She, by the way, is the only one he's been honest with about wanting to hurt people.
Kurt has now been frustrated in his serial killing three times in a row: 1. Last week, he shot his victim in the eye (not the way he wants to kill his women captives). And this week, 2. The young woman's boyfriend shows up at the wrong time, and 3. Dexter interferes with Kurt's move to kill Molly. There must be a lot of pent-up rage and desire to kill in Kurt at this point.
Angela turning to Dexter, not Jim, for help at the end was good to see. But that may not be entirely good for Dexter. Angela is calling upon Dexter's expertise as a forensic specialist. But when Dexter goes down that route, he's getting much closer to his own killing instincts than when he was Jim. Angela could well sense some of that. On the other hand, since Dexter now knows Kurt is the serial killer who got Iris, Dexter can easily work with Angela to nab Kurt -- which Dexter wants to do anyway, since he doesn't like Kurt's influence on Harrison -- and that could keep Angela too occupied to suspect Dexter of his past .... Nah, thinking about that, it's just a matter of time until Angela begins suspecting him.

See you back here next week!

See also Dexter: New Blood 1.1: Back with a Vengeance ... Dexter: New Blood 1.2: Dark Tendencies ... Dexter: New Blood 1.3: Fathers and Sons ... Dexter: New Blood 1.4: Harrison and Kurt ... Dexter 1.5: No Satisfaction for Serial Killers