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1.12 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. When I started writing reviews, though, I saw clues everywhere and couldn't believe I'd missed it. Rudy had to be someone from Dexter's past, so it made sense that he was Dexter's brother. Christian Camargo as Rudy looked a bit like a darker version of Michael C. Hall. It was even possible to feel sorry for Rudy/Brian. Both brothers experienced the ultimate horror in the cargo container, but Dexter was adopted by a wonderful family and had a foster father who loved and accepted him as he was, while Brian was shipped off to grow up in a mental institution. Brian never had a chance.

Brian's love for Dexter was visible throughout the entire first season, if you look for it. In the pilot, he gave Dexter a doll, which was a sort of twisted, big brothery thing to do. (The chopped up doll represented their ultimate connection: their mother being dismembered in front of them.) Their different reactions to the extreme trauma of what happened to them was expressed through homicide, but differently. They both dismembered, but not in the same way. Brian drained the blood out of the bodies, while Dexter became a blood spatter specialist. Blood was, understandably, tremendously important to both of them, and they both found different ways to control it.

Again, the "unemotional" Dexter showed constant emotion, so frantic about Deb that his singleminded determination to find her almost made him one of the Brian's victims. Putting Brian "down" was quite possibly the hardest thing Dexter has ever had to do. And yet, I knew all along that Dexter would never kill Deb, even for something as huge as a "blood" brother that knew and loved his secret self. Brian wanted Dexter to kill Deb because it symbolized Dexter discarding his fake life as a Morgan, but Brian miscalculated. He didn't realize that Dexter does have feelings, and that he's closer to Deb than anyone else on earth -- even if she doesn't know his darkness. I think a part of Dexter really wanted to be with Brian, but knew he could never do it. Again, Dexter is not the sociopath that Brian was.

Outstanding performances. Michael C. Hall was just amazing, expressing an entire range of emotions while still retaining Dexter's emotional straightjacket. Jennifer Carpenter did some outstanding work, nearly all of it behind a great deal of duct tape. And Christian Camargo was just so damned likable as Rudy/Brian, as well as believable as the worst of killers. The scenes between the two brothers were exceptional in content as well as the range of emotion. Brian's death scene in particular was strangely intimate and touching. Dexter was clearly upset, but never faltered. Brian was oddly accepting.

In other news, Paul emerged from his stupor, put two and two together, and came up with Dexter. And now we have the tale of the missing shoe. (A dropped shoe. How metaphorical of them.) They had to leave us with something for the next season, and Rita looking at that shoe was a big one. Along with Doakes, who has now seen behind Dexter's mask. Loved that scene, too. Dexter took Doakes down. Special forces Doakes. That was impressive. Doakes was certainly impressed.

I loved that final scene with the "We heart Dexter" and "Way to take out the trash." Confetti, appreciation, and acceptance for Dexter as he really was. He will never have that acceptance. No one will ever really know him. But Deb, whom he rescued, was with him in that fantasy. And in a way, so are we.

Bits and pieces:

-- Laura Moser wore different colored fingernail polish on each finger, which was where Brian's obsession came from. I don't know if it was conscious casting or not, but Rita resembles Laura Moser. Rita even has two kids. I want a girl just like the girl who married dear old dad.

-- Dexter fooled Brian with Brian's own prosthetics, including the ones of Deb's legs, I assume. The "Jiminy Cricket" comment pointed to our continuing Pinocchio theme. Brian and his fake limbs was the little wooden puppet who would never, ever be real.

-- If you think about it, Brian the serial killer and Deb the cop, Dexter's siblings, represent the two sides of Dexter himself. Dexter chose the good side of himself when he chose to save Deb and kill Brian.

-- Dexter let Rita see a little of what he was feeling. He nearly cried in front of her. That was big. Another emotional step toward humanity for Dexter.

-- Another song title as the episode title.

-- I finally understood the plastic wrap. It doesn't leave ligature marks. I can be slow at times.

-- Esme Pascal, the new lieutenant, sized up Maria and gave her a lot of credit. Esme might not be so bad.

-- Angel's roomie in the hospital kept saying "she knows." Deb did know. Angel got to be heroic; he was the one who figured out what Rudy/Brian was.

-- I had never put it together before, but Dexter wears light-colored clothing at work, but dark when he's "off the clock", or himself. He wore brown in most of this episode.

-- "Dearly damaged Debra." More alliteration, like the book titles. I've chosen not to read the Dexter books. I don't want future plotlines to get spoiled for me.

-- Laura's last name wasn't Driscoll. Was Joe Driscoll Brian's father, too, or were they half-brothers? Did Brian kill his own father?

Quotes:

Deb: "This isn't you."
Rudy/Brian: "I'm pretty sure it is."
Even wrapped up in duct tape, Deb just couldn't believe her perfect boyfriend was the Ice Truck Killer.

Dexter: "Thanks to Rudy, now I know where dearly disturbed Dexter was born. Born free of all that's human."

Dexter: "No cameras, no patrols, no dogs. With billions spent on homeland security, it can't be as easy as a couple of snips. So much for the War on Terror."

Doakes: "Lab geek, my ass."

Doakes: "You trying to be smart?"
Dexter: "Not trying, no."

Rudy: "I got it for you, actually."
Dexter: "I'm really more of an apartment person."

Brian: "Mom always told me to look out for you. Imagine how I felt when I tracked you down and found out you were exactly like me."
Dexter: "I don't have to imagine."

Brian: "You can be yourself with me. Your real genuine self. Takes the breath away, doesn't it?"

Brian: "You don't have a code. Harry did. He's been dead ten years. You can't keep him sitting on your shoulder like Jiminy fucking Cricket."
Another Pinocchio reference.

Deb: "Back the fuck off my brother. He just saved my life! He's a fucking hero!"
I loved the way Deb just screamed this at Doakes.

Deb: "Dad would be so proud."
She was right. Harry would have been, too.

Dexter: "I can give you more tranquilizer if you want. It's a service I don't usually offer."

Rita: "How's Debra?"
Dexter: "She has all her limbs."
Rita: "Thank God she's alive. The poor thing must be a mess. Falling for a serial killer?"
Dexter: "What are the odds?"

Dexter: "My tragedy is that I killed the one person I didn't have to hide from. And I'm the only one who mourns him."

I just have to say again that the writing, the pacing, the acting, the way the story spun out over twelve episodes, was just exceptional. This season of Dexter was an extraordinary viewing experience, and I honestly don't think they can top it. Five out of four stars,

Billie



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