Two episodes into the highly anticipated second season of Dexter, and some ugliness is rearing its head. Id like to emphasize that these episodes may be very different when they do officially air in September. Lets take a quick look at the incidents of bad writing that really kneed my jumblies.
In the first episode, Its Alive, a little girl seeing a crime scene where her brother has been hacked up with a machete makes a sad face while being comforted by her mother. Dexter, seeing this, states something along the lines of, I know that look, as the screen momentarily fades out to show us Harry carrying Toddler Dexter out of that bloody shipping crate. Thats silly and manipulative. How could Dexter have known the look on his very own face as he was being carried out of the box? Thats a memory that was repressed up until just a month ago in the shows timeline. I understand the sentiment, that he knows how that girl must feel, but he used dumb language, and the show used a lame expository device to get the idea across.
(Current explication: Needless, obvious expository devices really grind my gears. Dexter, by the nature of the story, won't be picking up a whole lot of brand new, never seen season one viewers. Therefore, Dexter is really aiming for a teensy tiny insignificant niche of the viewership (tiny enough that it may not even exist) with a piece of exposition that sticks out like a sore thumb. This is really small potatoes, so. . .)
In the second episode Waiting to Exhale the Miami Popo are watching a video made by a suspected gang enforcer that is wanted in relation to a murder that occurred a day previous. This tape, offered up by the enforcer and his lawyer, is supposed to prove that the suspect wasnt at the scene of a shooting. Upon seeing the video is timestamped, the cops quip that anyone can change the time on a camera to suit their own needs. Then the suspect holds up a newspaper in the video. Dexters sister, Deb, grabs a copy of the paper from the day before, purportedly when the video was shot and exclaims that yes, the newspaper displayed in the video is from the same day that matches the timestamp. Thats apparently reason enough to release the suspect. They said it was simple to fudge timestamps, but in the World of Dexter it is apparently a logistic impossibility to nab yesterdays paper from the recycling bin in order to make a video proving ones innocence.
(Current explication: This is just retarded, and I hope the preview episode was just incomplete footage, or something with an editing error or something. What happens in that scene doesn't make sense)
Dexters writing has always lagged a bit in comparison to its plotting and concept; this is especially evidenced in the last two episodes of season one. Those episodes, luckily, moved quickly enough and provided enough viewer service and satisfaction that the little holes and questions were negligible in light of the enjoyment the final product delivered. Here, in these first two fairly slow, welcome back episodes, such issues stick out more, and the fact that they are up to four episodes in a row with some sort of sketchy writing has me a little worried.
Also, all the neat little conflicts brewed in the final episode are cleaned up quickly and in generally unsatisfying ways. Ritas husband dies (off camera, even!) in jail. Doakes apparently just gets bored of following Dexter around after an episode. Dexter convinces his dear Rita that his increasingly weird behavior is a result of drug addiction. I thought these little cliffhangers would be built up into season-long conflicts or themes, but the notable breadcrumbs have already been eaten up. Neatly, but too tersely. There were three nice threads for development wasted right there, and I certainly hope that whatever theyve abandoned them for can possibly live up to what Ive been imagining for the past six months.
(Current explication: I stand by these complaints, too. I misrepresent Dexter "convincing" Rita there, but you folks get the point. It's more playing along with than it is convincing. Anyway, I was a bit hasty declaring this complaint, but going by tone, I think they are, aside from the addiction thing, pretty much done with the shaz setup in the mini-cliff hangers. I could be totally wrong, too, of course, and even if I'm right, that doesn't mean that what they have planned isn't awesome or anything. Just disappointed those threads went next to nowhere)
Another couple of things these two episodes, particularly the second one, have me worried about are the continuation of the flashbacks of Harry along with daydreams of Brian (the Ice Truck Killer) popping up to harass Dexter. I think the latter has been dealt with at the end of episode two, but Harry is still up in the air at this point. Id like to think that all the Harry flashbacks in season one were offering us a sort of primer on Dexter, but at this point, we know all we need to know about the character, and the flashbacks sticking around seems like a holdover, a tradition. Granted, he has only appeared in three segments in these two episodes, but it shows Harry is still on the writers minds, even as Dexter makes some of his least Harrys Law-worthy kills yet. It should also be noted that one of the key take aways from season 1 is that Dexter lost his unwavering trust in Harry, which makes the continued attention these flashbacks get questionable.
(Current explication: I understand the show is probably struggling with identity a bit. They have abandoned the books so they have no real guide rails aside from the past, which features those flashbacks. Those flashbacks, though, served a purpose to the narrative of the first season. They are done. One of the big points of season one, book and show, is that Dexter no longer fully trusts Harry, so keeping the flashbacks around seems more a practice of habit than something that needs to be there. We'll see. The Brian issue, I am confident, is done in episode two. I just thought it was kind of unnecessary when I wrote up my initial impressions. No worry on that point anymore.)
Also, theres no new music. I certainly hope this is just a result of the episodes being early. Actually, apply that last statement to everything I said in this post.
Current explication: Honestly, aside from that nonsensical scene, this is my biggest complaint.)
Dont get me wrong, despite it showing some seams, the shows off to a nice start. Even the first season had a little trouble at first.
, but having several writers and directors, there may be flux.
