Showtime’s hit series Dexter, based on the character created by Jeff Lindsay in the novel Darkly Dreaming Dexter, may be one of TV’s most groundbreaking shows, but it wisely knows where to pay homage.
Classic Matinee Serials Inspire Storytelling
As the classic Saturday matinee serials concluded with suspense, leaving the audience feverishly anticipating next week’s instalment, almost every episode in the relentlessly taut series about a serial killer ends with a cliffhanger. Season 1’s episodes often ended with a revelation involving information about Dexter’s intricate past and season 2 constantly threatened to bring his secret life down on him, as the FBI continued -and almost succeeded- in closing in on him.
Dexter’s fourth season is under way and the season premiere ended at the cliff’s edge as Dexter, desperately trying to squeeze in a kill following a day at work, is called by wife Rita and instructed to pick up some medicine for their baby. As he drives home with the medicine in the car, he drifts out of consciousness and rolls his car. The sleep deprivation which led to the accident causes more problems than the cost of a new paint job and the episode ends with the possibility emergency responders to the crash site may discover Dexter’s victim is still in the car in assorted garbage bags. He never had time to dispose of the remains!
Dexter is Balancing too Much
On the Oct. 4 episode Dexter is transported to the hospital in a state of panic, not because he’s rattled by the accident, but because he urgently needs to get to the body before the authorities do. He leaves the hospital and tracks down his car only to realize the only black bag in his car contains his “kill tools” but the ones containing the most needed evidence are gone.
Meanwhile, John Lithgow continues to bury the memory of his 3rd Rock From the Sun character Dick Solomon by portraying the slick and sick Trinity Killer, a moniker given to him by Special Agent Frank Lundy (Keith Carradine, reprising his role from season 2) for his proclivity to kill in threes. Trinity appears to have some some method to his madness, but it’s creepily fun to watch the details of this monster unfold with an aura of mystery. Some of the best entertainment is knowing what will happen, but not knowing how and the likelihood of a showdown between this long-sought killer and Miami’s darkest blood spatter analyst is looking highly possible.
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