Dexter

"Beauty and the Beast"



The episode's title is a reference to Dexter being the "Beast" (as he is a killer and is somewhat possessed with a Dark Passenger), and Julia Stiles' character, Lumen, being the "Beauty" (as she is innocent, young, and a woman).



In this episode we learn many things about Lumen, but even more about Dexter--that he has changed from being a cold, lonely serial killer to a loving parent who wants to form relationships and have a family. Dexter in himself is a kind and caring individual to those that are justifiably innocent in terms of his strict Code, and he generally wants to do good. The whole means of justifying his killing is a sense of vigilantism mingled with what he deems as justice, and his Code is one that is meant to protect the good and the right. It is no surprise, to me at least, that Dexter would eventually evolve in this way and move on to want to create his own family and children--to be able to harness and behold the innocence in which he protects and shields with his acts of violence (except, ironically, at the end of Season 4 where Rita is killed by Trinity simply because she's Dexter's wife).



Basically, if Dexter didn't have a means of justifying his reasons for killing, he would most likely believe that he was no different than those who murder and commit crimes. It's important for him to seperate himself from those that he kills in this way; by having a family, he reasserts his justification by having the innocent, those that he kills to protect, around him. By having Lumen and Harrison, Dexter is allowed a sense of tribute to his deeds, as those that are innocent are protected by his killing of murderers.



Dexter learns more about Lumen's life and consequently forms a bond with her by showing her the remains of Boyd Fowler's other victims, saying that she, too, would end up like all the other girls. Lumen realizes that Dexter had saved her, and she warms to him--I hope that she takes Rita's place and acts as a central of a nuclear family.



Also Dexter wouldn't be able to survive as a single dad without the help of his nanny (who's name I can't remember, kind of embarrassing, heh). Hopefully Lumen will help out with Harrison, too, and perhaps act as Dexter's love interest.



Also I believe that Lumen can act as a means of Dexter's retribution, as she has been tortured and harmed by others--the killing of those that have hurt Lumen, that have robbed her of her innocence (as Dexter's had been taken away when he was a small child, and the way that Harrison's had as well), he will redeem himself with revenge and cleanse Lumen of her psychological scars. By doing this, Dexter will feel whole again, and feel as if he has done something meaningful.

Since the beginning, from the first moment, I was waiting for the thrill, excitement and suspense, from the moment I read the title "Beauty and the Beast" I've expected a nice, strong, very enjoyable episode, and I wasn't disappointed; in fact, I was shocked, thrilled with this creative plot and unexpected turns of the story line.



Simply, it was a wonderful episode, in a season full of surprises, in a great show.

This is how the stories should be told, this is how the acting should be done, by genius writers, skillful actors and creative directors.



The performance of the characters was great, Dexter, Lumen and Quinn, all of them have done well; Quinn remembered me of Doakes and his doubts about Dexter, and I was wondering:

Will Dexter take a blood drop from Quinn's face at the end?

Well, let's see!!

I've been reading and hearing about a lot of complaints in regards to Season 5 of Dexter so far. I do admit that the show likely peaked with last season. John Lithgow brought an eeriness and intensity to the show that will always be impossible to match. However, I'm finding myself intrigued as to where the show could be going from here. Now that Dexter has officially met Lumen and has learned somewhat about her, it's still difficult to see where everything. And that's a good thing. Tonight wasn't quite as tense as last week, mostly because the pacing was a little off, but I still was glad to see the show keeping its cards held close to its chest.



Dexter brings Lumen to his original kill room for Boyd and attempts to learn about her more before doing anything. Despite Harry warning him that she could reveal everything to the police, he seems more interested in figuring out who she is. We learn she's Lumen Pierce and is unable to return home for some reason and was taken against her will by Boyd Fowler and tortured. What's even scarier to ponder is how she immediately assumed she was going to be sold. Lumen appears very damaged, and seeing how Dexter interacts with her throughout the season should be interesting. Julia Stiles did a great job in this role, and hopefully the writers can keep her interesting throughout the season instead of dropping the ball like they did with Jimmy Smits as Miguel Prado. The end scene was particularly great, especially because we see Dexter's mind slowly working through different scenarios. To me, it seems as if Dexter may see Lumen as a chance for redemption; he can't get redemption for Rita anymore, but perhaps he can help this women.



Unfortunately, the episode cannot fire on all cylinders this week. I really wish the writers could make Batista and LaGuerta into meaningful characters again. Remember back in Season 1 when Batista had an ex-wife he missed and a daughter he rarely got to see and the Ice Truck Killer stabbed him? He was a character with a background and something to lose if something happened to him. And LaGuerta had a history with Doakes and an on-going rivalry with the chief of police. The characters had have been dumbed down to the point where nothing they do seems to be important. And it's not the characters that need to be blamed. If anything, it's difficult to make anything else going on in the show as interesting as Dexter's life. The show is so great at making Dexter's life interesting that everything else just seems.. lackluster.



I will say that I am still excited to see how Quinn's investigation turns out. I sort of assumed that something would stop Jonah from answering Quinn's question, and sure enough, a cop stepped in and stopped him from learning about Dexter's role as Kyle Butler. However, now that he's suspended, it leaves him plenty of room to do his own investigation. And the Santa Muerta killings may seem boring to some people, but tonight's scenes with Deb and the new cop and the guy with the machete was as suspenseful as any other drama show. I'm looking forward to see how the show can revolve this.



Overall, the episode was good. The show still has a lot to live up to from last season, but as long as people are patient and give it a chance, I'm sure that it'll have plenty of surprises in store for us.

Beauty And The Beast, WOW what an episode. Perfect Episode because though there are some recurring themes, such as Quinn suspecting Dexter and seemingly falling into Sgt. Doakes. The way that the story lines were interwoven was well calculated for suspensful entertainment! I really enjoy watching this series because as crazy as some of these scenarios seem to the average viewer, these events do happen in the real world to real people. The writers, Actors and Directors have a lot of talent to pull off such a well crafted series and this episode pays homage to that. I wasn't sure which way things were going to go, just like in real life there were many possibilities. This episode saw Dexter struggling with his interpretation of Harry's code after finding a girl Boyd had locked up. Should he just finish her off and be free and clear, or try to figure out who she is and what she knows? I was surprised a little with how little of the Nanny story line we saw, and that she quit because Dexter betrayed her trust. I think the universe is looking out for Dexter in some way. The end of the episode was very good, and perhaps foreshadows a few possible futures.

OMG!!! I think this season is getting better with each chapter, at the begginening I thought it was going to be a weak season after that abysmal first chapter. but then I saw the next three episodes and I was like "OH I wasn´t waiting something like that"



I think this season is going to be great, actually, I didn´t like nor season tree nor season four, but this one is going to reapir that bad taste that thouse season gave me, probably this one is going to be as great as season two was, that in my opinion, season two was the best season from the entire show.



P.D: I´m from venezuela, I´m not an expert writing in English, please forgive my mistakes

Well, it took four episodes, but we finally got the right Dexter we all know and love here tonight. I am not much of a Julia Stiles fan, but she was good here, and Michael C. Hall is still good, despite the weak material he has been given this season. I have to reference the TV.com article though, saying that just about all of the other characters should be killed off. The supporting cast just bugs me so much and this is a problem as a show can only be a one trick pony for so long. Great episode here, but stop with the Batista and Maria stuff!

Dexter deals with his mysterious find in the last episode and struggles to make a connection with her as he learns her new identity. Quinn pursues the Kyle Butler lead by trying to approach Jonah Mitchell and it may cause serious consequences. Dexter also tries to makes amends with the babysitter after having suspiciously stayed out all night but convinces her to stay on as a "leap of faith." Deb follows a lead on the Santa Muerte killings and has a serious encounter. But the most powerful moment of the episode is Dexter's struggle to connect with Lumen, the victim, and how distant his character is from the rest of humanity. Him showing her the bodies of Boyd's other victims was powerful and now that they finally have a connection and her assertion "there were others" that did this to her are we looking for a network of killers like Boyd in the torture/murder business or could it be something else entirely? But this is definitely giving Season 5 a new direction from previous outings in Dexter's story and I can't wait to see more.

La Belle et la Bête, probably the best French fairy tale to depict the bolt from the blue encounter between Julia Stiles character and Dexter. Was she convincing as Lumen Pierce ? Definitely ! They found the perfect match to Jennifer Carpenter and Michael C. Hall olympic skills. To tell the truth so far I had only seen her in teenage movies, 10 Things I Hate About You and Save the Last Dance. But after watching one of them I remember telling my sister she would be the next big star. Of course I had a crush on her and wasn't objective but now I realize that she proved I was right because her performance was both disturbing and heartbreaking. The poor scared kitten trapped in the monster lair ? I've probably thought way too much time to Masters of Horror's Jenifer but I suspected her profile to be as wicked as Lila Tournay in season 2. Of course she's nothing like her because it would feel like déjà vu but you should definitely be excited by her past, present and future. This installment was about the second, hand in hand with our favorite cereal daddy, but we also had a furtive glimpse at the others. She should instantly grow on you and her fate is so intriguing that the inevitable ending was painful, the good way. My only complains would be about a questionable lighting in a building and the relatively predictable development even if it was twisted enough. I think they could have put some extra efforts to puzzle us even more. However the action was so intense, even more than in past episodes, that there was little room to think straight. With an obsessed Quinn on Dex's tail like Doakes was, Deb investigating the creepy case in her crispy way and the baby at home to take care of I already predict a captivating season ! Even the whole "BatisGuerta" gibberish is starting to make sense but I wouldn't mind a Head First Death™ for our two luv birds.

Dexter season 5 is getting better and better. So much drama and suspense at the same time you never know what's gonna happen next, I really hope this season can continue its top form and deliver more fantastic episodes. Julia stiles is a great actress and has made her pressence known, and feels right at home amongst the other actors on Dexter, I think she will replace Rita and do a fine job at that, This episode reminded me of the episode where Dexter held Doakes as prisoner, I must admit we've seen a lot of our favorite characters die but in a surprising kinda way Dexter isn't backing down and in my opinion it is better than ever and doesn'tlook like it's gonna slow down anytime soon, but only time will tell.