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Dexter Season 6 Episode 2

Once Upon a Time...

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AIRED: Oct 09, 2011

8.4

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Episode Summary

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In order to solve the mysterious murders, Homicide asks for the help of Brother Sam, who Dexter knows used to be a serial killer. Debra has two proposals, one personal and one job-related.

FAN RECAP

Fan Episode Reviews (5)

Once Upon A Time...

10

By TrueTvWatcher, Nov 24, 2011

Once Upon A Time... was a perfect episode of Dexter and I really enjoyed watching this episode because it blended the original feel of the show with new plot twists and great character development. There were some interesting surprises and the over all story was excellent, the acting was superb, and the episode was filled with great scenes. It was interesting to see the different decisions Deb had to make. Dexter makes some discoveries of his own. I look forward to watching the next episode to see what happens!!!!!!!!!

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Satan In a Sunday Hat

8.5

By Neksmater, Nov 24, 2011

Mos Def (the very best rapper/actor around) guest starred this week as Brother Sam, an ex con turned holy man who runs a body shop run by other ex cons. He has a connection to the fruit vendor killed last week and he says he hasn't seen him in some time. Travis continued down his dark path and we saw a new side to him when he went to visit his sister and had dinner with her in which she compelled him to stay. Travis and Geller have begun to build a church of some sort or have inhabited one that was already there and began moving plastic dummies into there (huh?). I'm sure that will be more elaborated on, Geller confronts Travis that his sister can not be saved and that he is in charge of Travis and that Travis is a recent convert which means that there was some catastrophic event that took place that made him do these things which I hope they will truly elaborate on. While Dexter sees it fit to follow Father Sam and be proved wrong that he is indeed not the unrepentant killer he thought he was Deb deals with a marriage proposal from Quinn and the offer of being Lieutenant by Matthews which was supposed to go to Batista. Deb tells Quinn she can't marry him and takes the job with Angel's blessing and the fact that Angel handles it so gracefully and still mad just not at her just shows how solid and good Angel is in a room full of people that truly do bad things. I'm glad Quinn got the shaft and I have as much empathy towards him as Dexter does, he doesn't understand Deb and if she can't give him more than she can give tough tacos dude. The fact that Brother Sam turned out to be legit by saving his employee from drugs and even offering his life to protect him show that he is indeed a changed man or at least one who tries to fight his inner darkness. Dexter tries to deal with showing Harrison his monster side but in the end he knows he had to play make believe with Harrison to turn out normal and unlike him. Masuka learns more about the snakes and Travis claims another victim with a rock and Masuka's new intern (the hot one) catches him looking and seems to go along with it. But Angel's right she's just a lawsuit waiting to happen and I smell all sorts of bad coming from that if it happens. Before the worlds of Travis/Geller and Dexter and his team collide I'd like them to flesh out Travis a little more but especially Geller who has the least bit of dimensions at this point at why he does what he does. Anyway, certainly a better episode than last week but anything with high school can be a detractor.moreless
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8.0

By thefanof, Nov 24, 2011

I do not like the religious overtone that appears to be a huge part of this season, but that's really the only thing I didn't like about this episode. This episode set the tone for the year, and I really liked it, despite the fact that not a lot happened. You had the good mystery as to whether Mos Def's character is really good or bad, and you had a nice fight scene and staredown, albeit one oddly short. I think I laughed at Deb's lines tonight more than I have maybe ever.

This is Dexter at its best. Strong writing, strong acting, nice mystery.moreless
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Dexter looks into Brother Sam, a man he once had theopportunityto kill.

8.0

By JaCkKbAuEr2424, Nov 24, 2011

I think people gave last week's premiere the short shrift; it wasn't nearly as boring as some people made it out to be. Of course, I found the previous season openers to be more exciting, but that doesn't mean I wasn't intrigued by what we saw in "Those Kinds of Things." But this episode takes all of the little threads we were given in the first episode and elaborates on them, also throwing in some new characters and character developments for the actors who haven't been given as much to do.

Dexter learns that a man he once had the chance to kill and failed to has been released from prison. His name is Brother Sam (Mos Def) and his story is that after killing people and being put in jail, he found God, got released and now helps troubled individuals from heading back to jail by running a car shop. Dexter pursues Sam, as usual, and begins gathering information on him in typical Dexter fashion.

If that were the end of the story, I'd agree about the boring nature of the season, but Tim Schlattmann, the writer for this episode, shakes things up by having Brother Sam not be a bad guy but a true example of someone who is evil being reformed. Mos Def does a great job with the role, playing him up as a weary former criminal who has to fight day in and day out to resist the evil urges he feels. How he'll fit into the rest of the season has yet to be revealed, but I'm intrigued enough to give the show a chance to flesh it out.

Meanwhile, while mostly everyone will likely complain about all the time given to the supporting characters, I have to say... I can't complain. Besides Harry, all of the supporting cast got interesting moments. Okay, I can't say I love the character of LaGuerta, but Deb becoming lieutenant over Batista and refusing to marry Quinn sets up an interesting dynamic, one that I can't say irritates me. A show can't just ride on the back of one actor and I like that the show is trying to make the other characters people worth caring about.

I think the crux of the season will be on how the writers flesh out Hanks and Olmos' characters. We learn that Travis (Colin Hanks) is a pupil of sorts, following around Olmos' character and doing odd jobs for him that have to do with religion (and murdering people). What I liked most about this episode is that we actually got a tiny glimpse into Travis' life. Last season, with Jordan Chase, him and his friends were these lifeless evil men who raped and killed people without caring whatsoever what they did. They gave us no insight how a group of men could consistently remain so evil over time and what compelled them to do so. They sortof did, but I wasn't convinced. The show focused too much on Julia Stiles to give us a truly great villain. Trinity had a great backstory as to why he was so damaged, and I hope we get something like that here. And it's a good start: Travis has a sister who misses him, there's some tension between the two and Travis obviously seems torn between her and Olmos. I hope we continue to get an insight into these guys.

Right now, Season 6 is off to a good start. I wouldn't say great, necessarily, but definitely good.moreless
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Dexter in his sixth season incarnation is still reinvigorated to do his work. As planted in the first episode he is searching as to how he might balance being a worthy father to Harrison. Dexter wants to find balance switching victims suddenly.moreless

8.0

By AudioFileZ, Oct 11, 2011

Dexter isn'tinfallible, we see,yet his new control allows him to save a marked victim while realizing another is actually worthy for his dark passenger to snuff. By being more flexible we see more evidence of the newly self-assured Dexter introduced in the season opener. He aborts his initial prey by heroically saving him, standing up against a small gang of thugs. He plays it perfectly and is rewarded by a unquestionably worthy kill.

Deb is quite central in episode two as turns down Quinn's marriage proposal while being elevated to the department's newLieutenancy;a left field promotion snatching the position from the obvious heir apparent, Batista. A promotion which also could be tainted by mysterious inter-office politics and her youthful inexperience. Viewers just naturally know this will have many future repercussions, not the least of which may be foisted upon Dexter.

The new serial killers, played by Edward James Olmos and Colin Hanks, are not yet clearly in Dexter's, or Miami PD's sights , but a confrontation is certain. Olmos questions Hank's sincerity which propels him to deliver their next victim who we are, as of this episode, not sure how he fits with whatever agenda they're on.

All of the above mentionedoccurrences serve as transitions, if you will, ones which cast shadows over how Dexter moves forward. The large questions they introduce provide endless possibilities: Episode two certainly presents more questions than answers. Dexter is still transitioning himself as well, as a father, figuring out how to give Harrison a proper raising. Though this episode is a bit slow, it isimmeasurably important in raising so many potential conflicts and questions. Yes, there is one more dark murder notched, but the real action lies in the future episodes. As such,it is a solid episode and a more excellent set-up by building more of the unknown. We are sure to stay tuned.moreless
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Cast & Crew: STARS

EDIT

David Zayas	Angel Batista
James Remar	Harry Morgan
Jennifer Carpenter	Debra Morgan
Lauren Velez	Lt. Maria LaGuerta
Michael C. Hall	Dexter Morgan
Desmond Harrington	Joey Quinn

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Cast & Crew: RECURRING AND GUESTS

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Geoff Pierson	Chief Thomas Matthews	Guest Star
Aimee Garcia	Jamie Batista	Guest Star
Molly Parker	Lisa Marshall	Guest Star

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Colin Hanks and Edward James Olmos on De...

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James Remar and Michael C. Hall on Dexte...

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Michael C. Hall on Dexter from "Once upo...

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Trivia, Notes, Quotes and Allusions

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TRIVIA (0)
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QUOTES (4)
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- Brother Sam: (to Dexter) You don't fight like a lab geek.
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- Dexter: Omar did not have this coming. His demons were gone. Men can change. Men maybe... but what about a monster?
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- Dexter: As much as I want Harrison to stay this way forever, from now on, the only wolves in his life have to be the stuff of fairy tales.
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- Dexter: (voice over) Rituals are important. Not just for a serial killer.
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