Monday, October 19, 2009
Uncategorized "Dexter:" Season 4, Episode 4
Posted by Curt Holman @Curt_Holman on Mon, Oct 19, 2009 at 9:00 PM
“A deadly game of cat and mouse” served as a frequent tag-line for TV crime shows, especially in the era of “Columbo” and “Mannix.” Overuse has turned the phrase into a kitschy cliché -- would the abbreviation ADGOCAM be worth coining? -- but it aptly describes the juicy suspense of a good “Dexter” episode. “Dex Takes a Holiday” offers deadly games that pit Dexter against police office Zoey Kruger in the “A” storyline, and Lundy vs. Trinity in the subplot. Part of what makes them engrossing is the way in both cases, hunters turn into the hunted. Neither of these games has "mice."
John Dahl directed the episode, which could explain why the sleuthing and suspense scenes felt particularly taut. Dahl helmed such cult neo-noir flicks as The Last Seduction, which featured a feral femme fatale performance from Linda Fiorentino. Zoey Kruger may not be in the same league, but at least she provides Dexter with a formidable opponent this season. Kruger wields a badge, a gun and some fairly keen predatory instincts of her own. Dexter explains to the ghost/memory of his stepfather Harry that he targeted Kruger as a "challenge," but she seems almost too much for Dexter’s lethal stay-cation project while Rita and the kids are gone for three days.
Kruger catches onto Dexter’s surveillance and sinister intentions early on, but when they first meet face to face, she flirts fairly outrageously. It was another reminder of the show’s tendency to present the overheated sexuality of a soap opera. (Remember how Lt. Laguerta seemed to always be coming onto Dexter on the first season’s early episodes? What was that about?) Given how by-the-book she is in her relationship with Angel these days, she’s undergone nearly a 180-degree personality change. While most of this episode showed Dexter spying on a woman, men in the soapy supporting cast observed women as well: jealous Anton pointed out that Deb twists her hair when she talks to Lundy, while Angel noted that his boss and secret lover LaGuerta makes a little sound before delivering bad news.
Harry, the ghost/memory/imaginary version of Dexter’s stepfather, points out the similarities between Krueger, who killed her spouse and daughter, and Dexter, a murderer with his own family. “Dex Takes a Holiday” tests Dexter’s devotion to Rita and the kids, and he’s almost surprised to discover how much misses them when he’s gone. I like the way Dexter reaches this epiphany during the “kill ritual.” Michael C. Hall always captures Dexter’s chillingly ferocious emotions in these scenes (the leather apron alone can make you queasy), which remind us of how ugly and undomesticated Dexter’s true personality can be. In sharp contrast to Krueger’s cold-blooded killings, the “real” Dexter admits how much he cares for his family – although one has to admit that absence makes the heart grow fonder.
I liked the detail that Dexter’s biological son, Harrison, left a handprint in red paint on the mug from the kids, hinting that he has an aptitude for blood, too. I’m less certain about the moment when the light through Dexter’s blood trophy shone a red dot on Krueger’s forehead: could it pay homage to the bindi of a married Hindu woman?
In the major subplot, Trinity picks a fight with a back alley tough, suggesting that his murderous cycle has a masochistic element that Lundy doesn’t know about. His remark, “It’s your fault” to the stranger may support the theory that his frequent bludgeoning victims represent his father. When Trinity happens to bump into Lundy (whom he recognizes from the newspaper photo), he’s already plotting an ambush that Lundy doesn’t see coming. Almost certainly Trinity shot Lundy and Deb in imitation of the Vacation Murders to get rid of his pursuer and “provide a narrative” for the police to pursue a false lead. I’d hate to lose Lundy off the show, but his murder would, in effect, raise Trinity’s profile as Season Four’s Big Bad.
Naturally, the unseen shooter guns down Lundy (probably fatally) and Deb (probably not) right when the whole love triangle seems to be resolved. When Deb tells him, “Don’t go disappearing on me again,” it’s like that observation from Scream, that characters in horror movies always get killed after saying “I’ll be right back.” Much as I like the way Keith Carradine and Jennifer Carpenter play off each other, the oh-so tragic outcome reminds us that “Dexter” the show is shameless in a way that Dexter the character never is. It's like we're the mice and the show is the cat.
Image courtesy of Showtime
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