Dexter: Our Father

Rita: "God created pudding. And then he rested."This opener was fun to watch and there was tons of future plot set-up. No one-two punch like the Hefty bag discovery in last season's opener. Unless you could call "I'm pregnant" a one-two punch. In keeping with the episode title, fatherhood was a general theme. Dexter was Cody's substitute father on "Dad Day," with an amusing and

Dexter: The British Invasion

Dexter: "The truly tragic thing would be to let his sacrifice go to waste. There's only one way I can think of to honor him. I have to embrace my freedom."Was I right, or was I right? I'm seldom able to figure out how these things end, but I could see what happened to Doakes coming a couple of episodes ago. At least he died quickly, poor guy. I wonder if Maria will ever be able to get

Dexter: Left Turn Ahead

Dexter: "For such a neat monster, I'm making an awfully big mess."Not a jaw-dropper, which was sort of what I was expecting of the penultimate episode of the season. But it still explored a compelling topic: Dexter seriously considering turning himself in. Very seriously. To the point of power of attorney for Deb and giving his car to Rita. He was actually going to do it.And it felt

Dexter: There's Something About Harry

Dexter: "Harry always said there were plenty of people who deserve to die. But no matter how hard I close my eyes and wish, Doakes isn't one of them."Clever, clever Doakes. He was calculating and calm (at least up until the point where Dexter killed the drug dealer), playing every possible card he could think of with his deadly adversary, our hero. Like dropping that bombshell about

Dexter: Resistance is Futile

Dexter: "Nice. My subconscious isn't even bothering with symbolism."As episode climaxes go, this one was pretty massive. What a monster dilemma.Those final scenes were just stunning. Dexter was so calm when Doakes caught him actually tossing Hefty bagsful of Jimenez into his boat. Why so calm? Probably because Dexter had already experienced total deer-in-the-headlights terror earlier that

Dexter: Morning Comes

Deb: "Bay Harbor Butcher is one of our own."Lundy: "We keep this to ourselves for now. Just the three of us."Angel: "I'm going to go tell it to a bottle of scotch."Yeah, I'd say we could see a bad moon rising, and trouble on the way.Dexter was trying to "recover" from his addiction to killing. And who did he choose as a sponsor? A psycho pyromaniac who was channeling Glenn Close in Fatal

Dexter: That Night, a Forest Grew

Dexter: "You really have a way. You know that?"Lila: "A way of what?"Dexter: "Whatever the hell you want."Raucous sex. That was different.Lila just destroyed an $18,000 windfall, burned up her apartment, and endangered lives because Dexter didn't answer his cell phone. Lila is not a sane person. She must have killed her boyfriend. And Dexter can't see her for what she is. Yet. That last

Dexter: Dex, Lies, and Videotape

Lundy: "Maybe the Butcher is having an identity crisis."Dexter: "It's entirely possible."This episode was obviously about confusion, defiance, and angst, and pretty much at a teenage level. Dexter didn't have a normal adolescence; this emotional chaos and loss of control is a whole new thing for him. (Lila even said maybe Dexter was a late bloomer.) And he made some interesting choices at

Dexter: The Dark Defender

Maria: "Should I call the Superfriends for help?"Dexter: "No, I got it covered."Dexter. Keeping Florida safe from armadillos.Is Dexter indeed a twisted sort of superhero? He's right that the comparison to comic book superheroes is dead on: tragic beginnings, secret identities, and so on. Dexter is indeed larger than life, and he does save the innocent. He's even kind to strangers,

Dexter: See-Through

Vince: "Diatoms. Eukaryotic algae."Dexter: (to himself) "Okay, this is the first time I regret not being a bigger nerd."What did "See-Through" mean? Maybe it was that no one seemed to be seeing what was really going on inside everyone else. The detectives and five of the victims. Deb and Lundy. Deb and Gabriel. Maria and Pascal's fiance. Even Harry and young Dexter.Or maybe it was that

Dexter: An Inconvenient Lie

Dexter: "Still, I wish my own sister weren't hunting me. Makes for an awkward family dynamic."Wow. Rita's happy, Doakes is suddenly off his back, and Dexter can kill again. Twelve step programs really do work.Since most of his life is a secret, one might think that everything that comes out of Dexter's mouth is a lie. In fact, he lies almost entirely by omission. (He also tells the truth

Dexter: Waiting to Exhale

Dexter: "And now, all my secrets are floating to the surface. Where is the orderly, controlled, effective Dexter? How did I lose him? How do I find him again?"The Bay Harbor Butcher. It has a ring to it. Maybe not as euphonious as the "Ice Truck Killer," but hey.At least Dexter can "close the deal" now. Tell me again if that's a good thing or a bad thing? Although it was certainly a

Dexter: It's Alive!

Dexter: "I'm coiled and ready to strike. Although a spare will do."I can't believe that I actually felt bad that poor Dexter couldn't kill anyone. It's so twisted. I love it.They found Dexter's stash o' corpses! What a shocker. There were sooo many Hefty bags down there; it looked like a lot more than thirty. This is an absolutely fascinating plot development. I guess we're going to

Dexter: Born Free

Dexter: "I can't. Not Deb. I'm very... fond of her."Brian: "You can't be a killer and a hero. It doesn't work that way!"Wow. They built up to this episode for the entire season. And what a fabulous payoff it was. When I saw season one the first time, I wasn't writing about it; I was just gulping down one episode after another, like visual candy. And I did not see that revelation coming.

Dexter: Truth Be Told

Dexter: "I do know that Deb's fallen for you. Hard. You hurt her..."Rudy: "And you'll hurt me."Dexter: "Something like that."Rudy: "Oooh."The mask came off. Rudy fulfilled Debra's fondest dream, and then he did much, much worse than break her heart.Since kidnapping Debra was practically a declaration of war, I had to assume at this point that Rudy was after Dexter for something more than "

Dexter: Seeing Red

Doakes: "Something finally got to you. I guess you're human, after all."Three-year-old Dexter saw his mother dismembered with a chain saw. As far as heavy-duty revelations go, that's massive. Unthinkable, in fact. (And I thought I had a rough childhood.) And it raises oh, so many questions. If Dexter experienced such an extreme trauma at such an early age, it stands to reason that the

Dexter: Father Knows Best

Dexter: "How did a death turn into a couples weekend?"There was something completely bizarre about two serial killers and their girls spending the weekend together. Cleaning up after someone's death, which was oddly appropriate.Harry lied to Dexter about Dexter's biological father, and that really shook both Dexter and Debra. Why did Harry lie? Especially since Joe Driscoll cared enough

Dexter: Shrink Wrap

Dexter: "I can't kill Meridian yet. I need another therapy session."Oh, my. How I love this episode. Dexter's sessions with misogynist killer shrink Emmett Meridian were just wonderful. Dexter kept taking control of the conversation, and Meridian kept taking it back and calling him on it; it was like verbal chess. Meridian was so perceptive and such a good shrink that Dexter couldn't

Dexter: Circle of Friends

Dexter: "Hardly looks like a guy capable of terrorizing Miami. A science camp, maybe."This one was about mistakes. Letting Jeremy go was a mistake. Neil Perry was a mistake, too. Dexter, who needed to connect to someone, tried to reach out to two other killers that he thought were like him. But they weren't like him at all.As soon as I saw the ridiculous taxidermy whatevers, I knew Neil

Dexter: Return to Sender

Dexter: "Nothing lasts forever. Just ask a Ford Pinto. Eventually, most serial killers get caught. And there's really not much of a retirement plan."I really loved the correlation between Bob the goldfish refusing to be flushed and Valerie Castillo unexpectedly returning from her watery grave. And it was fun watching Dexter desperately trying to cover his tracks while investigating one of