Dexter: Season Two, Episodes 1 and 2

[note: season one spoilers follow in this review of season two]

About Dexter: An affable Miami forensics expert moonlights as a serial killer of criminals who he believes have escaped justice. Based on a series of popular novels by Jeff Lindsay.

It's Alive!

Episode: 13   

Sunday - September 30, 2007   

Dexter's (Michael C. Hall) in a bit of a slump, after having killed his murderous brother Rudy (Christian Camargo) at the conclusion of Season One: Not only does he get a gutter ball during the big bowling game (the forensics team's name is "Bowl Till You Bleed"), but his body dump site is discovered (at the bottom of the sea…and, at first, is believed to be that of the Ice Truck Killer), and he finds himself impotent in every way (at slaying, and sex).

In this episode, we learn that Dexter's sister Deb (Jennifer Carpenter) is so traumatized by her personal relationship with Rudy that she's had to move in with him… and it's not an ideal roomie situation. Dexter's fragile girlfriend Rita (Julie Benz), is struggling with the fact that the father of her children, Paul (Mark Pellegrino) is back behind bars, and his acerbic coworker Sergeant Doakes (Erik King) is more suspicious of Dexter's actions than ever.

There's a cool voodoo vibe to this episode.

Waiting to Exhale

Episode: 14   

Sunday - October 7, 2007   

Dexter still struggles with his recent past, and finds more suspicion cast upon him — from Doakes of course, as well as a new addition to the show, Special Agent Lundy (Keith Carradine), and even a 6'9" murder suspect, Little Chino (Matthew J. Willig) he himself is tracking! On top of that, Rudy's ghost pays a visit, and things change drastically for Paul, which… you guessed it… makes Rita suspicious of Dexter.

Doubt and mistrust definitely seems to be the theme of Dexter so far this season. Not only is Miami's coolest killer suspected in a variety of crimes by various people, but the new lieutenant suspects her boyfriend of cheating, and pretty soon a character played by Jo Beth Williams will come to some deductions of her own.

The premiere episode of the new season shows Dexter in a much more unsure, weaker posture. He's still a likable and interesting character, but a little bit of this "new" Dexter  will go a long ways, so let's hope he pulls himself up by his bootstraps soon. Another thing I thought, although there are over five minutes of recap from the first twelve episodes at the beginning, is that it would be pretty hard to find your footing as a newcomer to the series in Season Two.

The second episode continues on the theme of Dexter-doubt, adding some somewhat tedious subplots focusing on other characters (I don't really care too much about Maria's trials and tribulations), as well as the "ghost" of Rudy (something already done to death on Hall's previous cable show, Six Feet Under… enough is enough with this; so many other programs — supernatural [Ghost Whisperer] and non- [Rescue Me] have followed suit —  and resorted to this ploy, it's no longer nifty).

While I did enjoy the first two episodes over all, I am not entirely sure about the direction it's headed… I'll proceed with suspicion (look for my reviews of episodes three and four soon).

Dexter's second season premieres September 30 at 9PM on Showtime. You can view the first episode in its entirety by clicking on the Showtime Dexter website, then typing in Killer Shows.

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Reviewed by Staci Layne Wilson