“Dexter,” the show about the serial killer Showtime junkies all know and love, returned with its sixth season last Sunday. Fans tuned in to follow the beloved mass murderer on Showtime as he embarks on controversial new adventures. The trailers and teasers indicate a theme of spirituality throughout the upcoming episodes. Friends and foes alike challenge Dexter to discover his own religious beliefs instead of worshipping the code of Harry – Dexter’s deceased father.
Since the show’s first air in 2006, the program has accumulated a largely positive reception, including two Primetime Emmy awards amidst 11 nominations. The show stars Michael C. Hall as Dexter Morgan, the notorious protagonist. Dexter is a crime-unit blood spatter analyst by day and a vigilante murderer by night. Over five seasons Dexter has battled multiple notable antagonists, including his brother, his coworker, his friend, his girlfriend, his role model and all the other murders in a 100-mile radius of Miami, Florida. The fifth season ends with Dexter in a good place, with everything going for him and nothing standing in his way.
Seasons 1 and 4 are regarded as the two best seasons due to their ability to captivate the viewers to the point of obsession. In season one, the Ice Truck Killer is hunted by Miami Metro Police and Dexter struggles to make sense of the “code of Harry.” The code consists of a set of principals for Dexter to follow to insure he stays out of trouble, with the number one rule being “don’t get caught.” In the fourth season, recurring guest star John Lithgow plays Arthur Mitchell, who starts out as a role model to Dexter but ends up being a villain that gave the fans chills. However, Dexter does manage to adapt his code from what he learned from his role-model-turned-nemesis.
“Those Kinds of Things,” the season six premiere, reveals Dexter in the opposite way the audience last saw him: down and out. The suspense is built up like in most episodes but eases as it’s apparent that “Dexter” is still the same guilty pleasure. The viewer wants to hate him, but can’t seem to do so. New character Jamie Batista (Aimee Garcia) – sister of Lieutenant Angel Batista – is Dexter’s son Harrison’s new nanny. Dexter and his sister Debra visit a preschool for Harrison, which forces Dexter to acknowledge his religious beliefs. The Catholic preschool seems like the perfect place for Harrison and also acts as a sendoff for the religious themes of the season.
Unnamed characters emerge as clear adversaries for this fall’s season. The first murders of the season are not conventional to Dexter’s style, but fit the code. The second murder of the show brings Miami Metro together; a brutal intestinal resection is committed by the unnamed characters and leaves Miami Metro with a couple clues to their purpose. The third victim of the season is an unexpecting peer of Dexter’s from high school. The man fits Dexter’s code of being guilty of a selfish murder.
Expectations are high for this season and were certainly met during the first episode. No matter what is considered to be the best part of the show, everything that makes “Dexter” so enthralling was found in this specific episode. Suspense, intrigue, confusion and thrill left viewers wishing we did not have to wait a whole week to see what happens next. The quick trailer at the end of the episode did not help that impatience, either. It leaves us with more questions: Are there two villains this season? What sort of religion does Dexter decide is appropriate? Why do we always end up hating Maria LaGuerta?
Out of four stars, this episode gets three. It is highly recommended but also requires prior knowledge of the earlier seasons. “Dexter” is not a show you can jump right into without getting lost. It’s pretty gory, but that should come as no surprise to those who know what the show is about. The show is rated MA, which is equivalent to an R-rated movie. The next episode will hopefully identify the unnamed characters and leave us equally as excited as last Sunday. “Dexter” airs Sundays at 9 p.m. on Showtime.
Kelsey Laning can be reached at [email protected].
