Conscience is a Killer
By Steven Lloyd Wilson | Posted Under Trailers | Comments (15)
The first trailer for season five of “Dexter” debuted over the weekend at Comic-Con and is now up on the Internet. Just to put a caveat on it: if you are watching the show, and haven’t gotten to the last few minutes of season four, you really do not want to watch this trailer, or read the text below.
Looks like the murder of Rita is bringing the pressure back onto Dexter again, via Quinn this time instead of Doakes. Of course the catch is that this time, Dexter really didn’t do what he’s being suspected of. It feels like the show is on a cycle, slowly circling towards an end point. Or you might just argue that it’s repetitive. The authorities get closer, Dexter gets more human, the pressure eases off, Dexter experiences new found freedom, rinse and repeat. At first glance, the trailer could almost play bit by bit from Season 2: Dexter is suspected by Quinn/Doakes, he’s free of Rita because of death/breakup, and he buries himself in ?/Lila. If they’re playing a similar iteration, the question is, what does Dexter lose himself in? What is the intoxicating danger that makes him less human even as he becomes more human in the complimentary half of the cycle?
My guess is that the teased bits of Dexter being actively suspected for Rita’s murder is going to run its course within a few episodes, but that Quinn’s not going to be convinced just like Doakes wasn’t before. My hope is that they’re moving towards an ultimate goal, that there’s an intersection between those paths of becoming human and getting caught. There are two cop out endings to this show: trail off with Dexter continuing to kill, or trailing off because he decides not to anymore. The first renders the entire show pointless, and the second is a mockery of any actual development of the main character. The sinner doesn’t get to earn a soul and then ride off into the sunset.
Each Time You Like, Share, Tweet or Stumble a Pajiba Post, An Angel Does the Paul Rudd Dance
← Give 'Em the Old Razzle Dazzle | Mad Men, Season 4, Episode 1, "Public Relations" | "Do You Think There's Such a Thing as Evil?" I Do Now | "Let Me In" Trailer →
Comments
Posted by: Brian at July 26, 2010 10:15 AM
I disagree about the ending where he stops killing. He admitted that he wanted to stop towards the end of season 4. His character has come to the point where he may actively not want to kill anymore. The catch is that his life with Rita was the trigger for no longer wanting to indulge his dark passenger. *SPOILER ALERT* That she died will certainly forestall or push off his desire to lead a normal life and not kill. You may be right that he shouldn't stop killing, but what adds to his complexity is the fact that may desire a life without killing.
You only mentioned two obvious endings, but I had always considered him dieing as an option. Not sure how that would work but perhaps his kid is threatened and he dies defending him...kind of like the end of the Road to Perdition. I get the impression that his goal would be to save his kid from the life that he has had to live.