Well, not so long ago I was lamenting (in a way) that I had not seen the purpose for the Mos Def character. Big reveal with the latest, greatest installment. Must say that I found his death-bed challenge to Dexter to be brilliant. Now that was a worthy goal -- to set up a figure who had walked both roads, light and dark, and came out in the end gravitating toward, supporting, and promoting the light, then challenge Dexter to do the same -- that was a perfect device for this season of exploring spiritual foundations. The execution of it left something to be desired of course, but this was one of the best plot contrivances in some while.
One thing which stood out to me was we gain the sense that our dying brother has in mind that forgiveness means absolution and therefore release from possible retribution, but I don't think I find forgiveness followed by summary execution to be incompatible. That Dexter read his challenge as having to "let go" of the obligation of killing Sam's murderer, makes clear that Dexter interprets what he is doing as something along the lines of divine justice, in other words there is a meting out of recompense to balance the violated scales. You took something to which you were not entitled, I take something from you. Eye for an eye -- can't get much more Biblical than that. It almost implies a not necessarily mature emotional component, along the lines of earlier references to Dexter's emotional connection to his kills.
In the eyes of the law, such retributive justice would ideally be at complete remove from emotion -- the clinical application of statute removes the convicted from society as a protection, even possibly learning experience toward rehabilitation, but not intended necessarily to grant emotional release to the victimized, otherwise we might let them decide upon and inflict the judgment. But here we see that Brother Sam recognizes the potential for Dexter's dark passions to intercede and would wish he not engage that way. He wants Dexter to let go of follow-up, but I think it possible that Dexter could well forgive in his heart, then calculatedly impose sentence, just as he seemed to do with Lila -- Dexter certainly understood, even empathized with and appreciated her killing Doakes out of a sense of protecting him from that imminent danger, but was nevertheless fully compelled to enact the inevitable, inexorable mechanics of THE CODE. But alas, that was in the days of a taut, cohesive DEXTER and Dexter.
But let us say forgiveness equals letting Nick continue to roam this earth, Dexter attempts to reconcile what he knows with allowing this, but fails. In a similar depiction to the Rankin interlude, we see an altogether too despicable display which puts Dexter over-the-top and demands instant justice. This frames the way Dexter views all of his kills in a way I don't think we have seen before. If Dexter has sense of anger and injustice, and that propels him into action, it would seem something much more admirable than how he got started along this path, killing defenseless animals and admiring those who preyed on the weak and totally helpless. If this was the direction which Harry pointed him toward, then we say Harry triumphed and DID foster and nurture the light in Dexter, but against that revelation, within this episode we have the Harry character saying he DID NOT see the light in Dexter as contrasted to Brother Sam seeing it.
Here is where the execution leaves a little something to be desired. I think we were supposed to gain the sense that Brother Sam saw through to Dexter's soul, even possibly might have understood Dexter's murderous potential, whereas Harry, who was in a much better position to see the experimenting innocence of a boy discovering himself and the world, could not see light in there...don't quite buy that. In fact the whole Brother Sam vehicle was pretty forced overall -- I forgive it due to time constraints and given the function that he served, but I can't say I ever much believed that Dexter would gravitate toward this guy without much better reason than what was presented. He did not know if the guy still had murderous impulses yet let him into proximity with Harrison even after suffering all that guilt over putting Rita in the situation which got her killed. Then has this unique and deep connection to him in the end...? But those are trifling criticisms when this latest installment turns out to be one of the best we have seen in some long while.
If only DEXTER could stay away from disastrous departures of logic and just plain weird, lazy writing, we might have something of the classic DEXTER we knew. Just as example, we have Deb as Lt. speaking to the assembled troops: Why would the Doomsday Killer have us trigger the kill, as in the angel lady dropping by trigger and bleeding out? Mr. Man new guy strides over triumphantly and reads from scripture words to the effect "You must go back and report to many peoples and nations and languages and kinds." Deb: "So I'm guessing we're those people...." Question asked and answered? That was a totally nonresponsive non-sequitur. Scripture says report to many peoples and that is the reason the killer makes the cops trigger a kill versus killer does it himself in private (Deb's question to the group)? Makes no sense whatsoever, yet it satisfies everyone in the room?
This season is filled with crap like that just dumped in there, like they hired a new writer mid-sentence who did not understand where they left off. Another example is that utterly weird interlude of stealing the ITK hand. I agree, that whole bizarro meandering unrealistic idiotic routine seems to have been some sort of way to get us to think about the reintroduction of bro, but what a disastrous path to get there. To begin with, without a provenance, such an item would be virtually worthless, just a mannequin hand with painted nails -- she would have been much better off with the actual ID. And why didn't she take that too? But to even think she would take anything defies logic, then to sell it? -- something she professed to have obsessive connection to? Wow, bad bad bad. And in the end we get Musuka saying to new intern (because he seems to know how to type on a computer) that he wants the object back. Intern says get it from buyer. Masuka says something like "I tried. You have to give the site which is selling before they agree to auction it." What? That makes absolutely no sense to me, but what does intern guy do? He wipes it off the internet of course as well as breaking federal law to hack Masuka's credit rating! Good enough! You're hired!
So fair to say plenty of just really bad in there with what I happily report as much improved DEXTER of latest, and none too soon....
One thing which stood out to me was we gain the sense that our dying brother has in mind that forgiveness means absolution and therefore release from possible retribution, but I don't think I find forgiveness followed by summary execution to be incompatible. That Dexter read his challenge as having to "let go" of the obligation of killing Sam's murderer, makes clear that Dexter interprets what he is doing as something along the lines of divine justice, in other words there is a meting out of recompense to balance the violated scales. You took something to which you were not entitled, I take something from you. Eye for an eye -- can't get much more Biblical than that. It almost implies a not necessarily mature emotional component, along the lines of earlier references to Dexter's emotional connection to his kills.
In the eyes of the law, such retributive justice would ideally be at complete remove from emotion -- the clinical application of statute removes the convicted from society as a protection, even possibly learning experience toward rehabilitation, but not intended necessarily to grant emotional release to the victimized, otherwise we might let them decide upon and inflict the judgment. But here we see that Brother Sam recognizes the potential for Dexter's dark passions to intercede and would wish he not engage that way. He wants Dexter to let go of follow-up, but I think it possible that Dexter could well forgive in his heart, then calculatedly impose sentence, just as he seemed to do with Lila -- Dexter certainly understood, even empathized with and appreciated her killing Doakes out of a sense of protecting him from that imminent danger, but was nevertheless fully compelled to enact the inevitable, inexorable mechanics of THE CODE. But alas, that was in the days of a taut, cohesive DEXTER and Dexter.
But let us say forgiveness equals letting Nick continue to roam this earth, Dexter attempts to reconcile what he knows with allowing this, but fails. In a similar depiction to the Rankin interlude, we see an altogether too despicable display which puts Dexter over-the-top and demands instant justice. This frames the way Dexter views all of his kills in a way I don't think we have seen before. If Dexter has sense of anger and injustice, and that propels him into action, it would seem something much more admirable than how he got started along this path, killing defenseless animals and admiring those who preyed on the weak and totally helpless. If this was the direction which Harry pointed him toward, then we say Harry triumphed and DID foster and nurture the light in Dexter, but against that revelation, within this episode we have the Harry character saying he DID NOT see the light in Dexter as contrasted to Brother Sam seeing it.
Here is where the execution leaves a little something to be desired. I think we were supposed to gain the sense that Brother Sam saw through to Dexter's soul, even possibly might have understood Dexter's murderous potential, whereas Harry, who was in a much better position to see the experimenting innocence of a boy discovering himself and the world, could not see light in there...don't quite buy that. In fact the whole Brother Sam vehicle was pretty forced overall -- I forgive it due to time constraints and given the function that he served, but I can't say I ever much believed that Dexter would gravitate toward this guy without much better reason than what was presented. He did not know if the guy still had murderous impulses yet let him into proximity with Harrison even after suffering all that guilt over putting Rita in the situation which got her killed. Then has this unique and deep connection to him in the end...? But those are trifling criticisms when this latest installment turns out to be one of the best we have seen in some long while.
If only DEXTER could stay away from disastrous departures of logic and just plain weird, lazy writing, we might have something of the classic DEXTER we knew. Just as example, we have Deb as Lt. speaking to the assembled troops: Why would the Doomsday Killer have us trigger the kill, as in the angel lady dropping by trigger and bleeding out? Mr. Man new guy strides over triumphantly and reads from scripture words to the effect "You must go back and report to many peoples and nations and languages and kinds." Deb: "So I'm guessing we're those people...." Question asked and answered? That was a totally nonresponsive non-sequitur. Scripture says report to many peoples and that is the reason the killer makes the cops trigger a kill versus killer does it himself in private (Deb's question to the group)? Makes no sense whatsoever, yet it satisfies everyone in the room?
This season is filled with crap like that just dumped in there, like they hired a new writer mid-sentence who did not understand where they left off. Another example is that utterly weird interlude of stealing the ITK hand. I agree, that whole bizarro meandering unrealistic idiotic routine seems to have been some sort of way to get us to think about the reintroduction of bro, but what a disastrous path to get there. To begin with, without a provenance, such an item would be virtually worthless, just a mannequin hand with painted nails -- she would have been much better off with the actual ID. And why didn't she take that too? But to even think she would take anything defies logic, then to sell it? -- something she professed to have obsessive connection to? Wow, bad bad bad. And in the end we get Musuka saying to new intern (because he seems to know how to type on a computer) that he wants the object back. Intern says get it from buyer. Masuka says something like "I tried. You have to give the site which is selling before they agree to auction it." What? That makes absolutely no sense to me, but what does intern guy do? He wipes it off the internet of course as well as breaking federal law to hack Masuka's credit rating! Good enough! You're hired!
So fair to say plenty of just really bad in there with what I happily report as much improved DEXTER of latest, and none too soon....
