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Dexter Season 2 Episode 9

Resistance Is Futile

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9.4

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Episode Summary

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AIRED: 11/25/07

Dexter realizes it won't be easy to end things completely with Lila. Dexter tries to stay ahead of the investigations, as the manhunt for the Bay Harbor Butcher intensifies. An enemy of Dexter figures out his secret.

Fan Episode Reviews (30)

Doakes knew there was something about Dexter and now he sees the real Dexter.

10

By DexterMorgan2, Feb 13, 2013

After the last episode someone was going to figure out Dexter's secret and it turns out to be Doakes who has been watching Dexter for along time but he never suspected him to be the Bay Harbour Butcher Dexter gets really lucky in this episode when Doakes had taken his slides but they was found in Doake's car so everyone now believes he is the Butcher It was made to look like Dexter was getting arrested where he finds the slides had gone He was even apologizing to Deb but she didn't know what he was on about The question is now is what will Dexter do with Doakes?moreless
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Things are really heating up, I think this has to be one of the most suspense filled episodes yet.

9.5

By DoddsDonnelly, Jul 01, 2011

I can't believe who they fingered for the killer. serves the cop right for being so into it without any back up. Pride cant kill anyone. I can't wait to see what happens with Dexter and Doks. I wonder if her is going to kill him or find a way to set him up. He shot so he has to cover it up some way. I hate the new girl she needs to back off she is starting to drive me crazy and Dexter's "best friend" is a fool for keeping her around. I can't believe that rita is going to take him back the easy. she needs to make him work harder.moreless
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Great episode - but I hate "Lundy"

9.5

By foothilldave, Jul 01, 2011

Great episode with almost every element (except a Dexter murder). Finally we see Dexter genuinely afraid he is about to be found out. I liked the effects technique where when he was at his most shocked it looked like he was underwater or something - so you could feel his unreal feeling. I loved Deb and her reaction to Dexter telling her to stay clear ("F U" - no "F U twice..."). Only negative to me is the "Lundy" (K. Carradine) charactor. He seems way too wooden even when he tries to lighten-up. I blame the actor's skills. Probably no accident KC is type-cast as the boring straight-arrow FBI agent.moreless
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Secret is out..

9.5

By Parricida, Jul 01, 2011

Wow.. SO much has been happening and this episode really looked going bad. Going really bad. The start, the way those feds just came and took him and then putting him there in that room with a box and they way the story worked out. That was probably the most intense moment. But it had such a brilliant and dark atmosphere. I mean. This was so over-the-edge pushed storyline as it can be without Dexter really getting caught so it was just so good to watch. I think that they have been wanting to do all season, drive us that way and the end, on the everglades. I did not believed when I saw Stokes there. And I thought Stokes is dead man but no.. he has to kill him. The only way to keep the secret. I like the dilemma they had put Dexter. It is as high stakes as it can get.moreless
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Caught Written by Melissa Rosenberg Directed by Marcos Siega

9.0

By shawnlunn2002, Sep 05, 2008

Lundy: "What exactly is Sergeant Doakes' problem with you, Morgan?"

Dexter (voice over): "I kill people for a start".

Now that we're at the end of the season things just keep on getting hotter in Miami with the Bay Harbour Butcher saga. Doakes found Dexter's little slide collection and the previews looked to show that Dexter's days were finally numbered.

Of course with three episodes actually left in the season would the writers be able to do something like this right now? Probably, given that deaths of main characters are no longer relegated to season finales anymore but given that trailers also tend to be misleading it's a certainly that Dexter might not be in trouble after all.

However having him believe that things weren't looking great for him is not a bad thing. In some ways I feel Dexter's recklessness this season deserves some form of reprimanding and having him spend a good portion of the episode thinking he was screwed was good for him.

Even Dexter himself was beginning to realise the value of Harry's code once again. His anger towards his foster father might not have gone away but it's good that Dexter realises that obeying his code was necessary. Then again having FBI agents following you would do that.

Lundy certainly had his reservations about Dexter and after such a disastrous interview it's easy to see why Dexter believes that Lundy has it out for him. After all, Lundy is yet another person who Dexter hasn't been able to fool and after coming across as incompetent with blood work, Dexter has every reason in the world to take Lundy as a serious threat.

It also doesn't help that the FBI tailing even extent to having some geeky lab technicians going over Dexter's things. If that wasn't worrying enough, Dexter then has the misfortunate of being escorted to the station in the middle of the night by some of the feds himself.

In the trailer we saw Dexter coming face to face with his slide collection on Lundy's desk and it did look like Dexter's days were numbered. However here, it turns out that Lundy believes it's Doakes who is the Bay Harbour Butcher and that Dexter is potentially his next victim.

Seeing as Dexter is the kind of bloke who would never see himself as a victim, it's amusing that the FBI having been trying to protect him as opposed to deliberately stalking him. Even when Lundy is telling Dexter about Doakes' sordid past, I was wondering how much did Lundy believe that Doakes was the Bay Harbour Butcher?

All season when Dexter and Lundy have had any scenes together, there was always that feeling that Lundy was suspicious of Dexter and even now I still think there's an element to him that thinks Dexter isn't quite there.

It could also be argued that Doakes taking the heat for Dexter is a cop out. I'm still undecided but given that this show is destined for a third season, I'm not broken up that Dexter managed to wriggle out of this one. In fact there's almost something comforting about this new lie as such.

First off all, the idea that Dexter could be the target of a serial killer brings out the protective side of Deb. All she wants to do is keep him safe and Dexter rejects her so that he can keep her safe. Of course the funny thing is that Deb isn't actually in danger, at least not from either Dexter or Doakes anyway.

Then Dexter gets to have some fun with the lab technicians. Given that Lundy has him analysing all of his slides, Dexter takes a childish pleasure in giving the techies the grunt work. Not that I blame Dexter seeing as that lot were actually quite annoying and also there's Dexter's need to ensure that he doesn't become a suspect either.

However it's the Feds that make me laugh the most. In the car he's talking to Rita on the phone and one of them dishes out some savvy love advice but soon enough, Dexter is able to evade them when he has some errands to run on his own. When they're tailing Dexter privately, they're efficient but when Dexter really knows that they are there, he's able to dupe them big time.

As for Doakes, if ever there was an episode that divided me on what this character's fate should be, it's this one. When this show first started I thought he was a one dimensional loud mouth and nothing more. Over the course of the season, the writers have developed enough to make him a bit more sympathetic.

Even though I do side with Dexter in any battle, the question is – does Doakes deserve to take the heat for him? Of course not. The guy's obsession to nail Dexter might have led to his downfall but from here on in, I just know that Doakes' fate is going to be cruel and undeserved.

With the exception of Maria, I think it's sad that everyone seemed so quick to believe that he was the Bay Harbour Butcher. In fact I actively loved Maria for trying to defend Doakes and a part of me hated Lundy for the callous way he reacted when she asked for him not to publicly name Doakes as the Bay Harbour Butcher.

Another thing that has worked brilliantly this season was the continued exploration of Maria and Doakes' friendship. Due to their actions and the way they tend to treat others, it's unsurprising that the two of them were friends – no-one else could really tolerate or trust them.

In fact I even felt sorry for Doakes during his last conversation with Maria. It would make sense that she would try and get him to turn himself in – she's been spending the better half of the season trying to save him in one way or another and Doakes has repeatedly been ignoring her. Perhaps if he had listened to her maybe once, things wouldn't have gone so wrong for him.

It's funny that Doakes went to all the trouble of breaking into Dexter's place in an attempt to get dirt on him, only for that dirt to be used against him. However the last ten minutes of this episode led to some of the most thrilling stuff this series has ever done in the short amount of time that it's been around.

Dexter went back to the Everglades to get rid of Jimenez's corpse and instead he got a gun toting Doakes to contend with. I don't know why but I was kinda shocked that Doakes seemed surprised that Dexter was the Bay Harbour Butcher. By contrast, Dexter's comment that he never held the fact that Doakes was suspicious of him seemed more consistent.

The tense part of the episode was seeing the two of them fight and Doakes winding up in a cell. Dexter can't keep him hostage forever nor is it likely that Doakes will make it into the next season. The question remains is how will Doakes leave the show. Does Dexter end up killing him or letting Lundy and company send him to jail?

Then again, there's also the Lila option. If she's crazy enough to burn her place down and set Jimenez on Dexter for attention, then who's to say she won't kill Doakes in an insane attempt to convince Dexter that she truly loves him. We know the girl is off her rocker and now that she's descended into stalker mode, who only knows what she'll do next.

This week she made a poor effort to try and get Dexter jealous by flirting with Angel. I like Angel but I had to admit that I found him irritatingly stupid here. I know he's desperate for something good to happen (he spent the good part of the season yammering rubbish that talk show hosts tend to use) but is he that deluded in thinking that Lila is a solution.

Dexter told him to be careful and Angel casually ignored his advice. It doesn't take much of a genius to realise that Angel is going to regret not listening to his friend. On a plus side though, Dexter has managed to get back together with Rita so the sooner Lila is out of the picture, the better.

As for Deb her relationship with Lundy is certainly interesting. Professionally it's a bad idea and even Deb realises that when she's reluctant to go public with it. I'm actually surprised that Lundy wanted to but like Maria and Doakes, Lundy isn't the kind of person who worries about his co-workers think.

Deb on the other hand clearly does given that she spends a good portion of this episode thinking that everyone knows about her and Lundy. However none of them actually did until Deb blurted it out to Maria. It'll be interesting to see how they treat her now that they know about it.

Also in "Resistance Is Futile"

The opening sequence saw Dexter dragging Jimenez's body through the office. Of course Dexter then complained about the lack of symbolism.

Rita: "You're in the same clothes as last night. You slept here?"

Dexter: "Not intentionally".

From Lundy's files on Doakes, we learned the man had a father who was a butcher and some more details on his other profession.

Rita: "Means a lot to me Dexter but it doesn't change the fact you slept with another woman. I can't forget that".

Dexter: "I don't expect you to".

Leonard: "Tell me James, are you in trouble?"

Doakes: "No but someone else is gonna be".

The FBI agent who advised Dexter on the Rita issue made me laugh. Although it's not a significant scene, I enjoyed that witty exchange.

Lila: "There's still work we can do together".

Dexter: "I am who I am and don't want you coming near me or my addiction".

Lundy: "We tried to keep an eye on you from a distance".

Dexter: "The undercover cars?"

Lundy: "Not undercover enough".

We finally got some Harry flashbacks in this episode when a younger Dexter witnessed the execution of man by electric chair.

Dexter: "I have an even bigger favour to ask".

Deb: "Name it".

Dexter: "Move into that apartment for me".

Doakes: "I just want you to know you meant a lot to me, more than you'll ever know. I want to thank you for that".

Maria: "What does that mean?"

Even if I didn't know that Doakes, Maria was right to ask Lundy about not revealing the Bay Harbour Butcher's identity. I do hope that Lundy doesn't turn into Tom.

Rita (to Dexter): "I'm not gonna fight them anymore. I think we should together tonight and talk".

Dexter (re himself/Rita): "We're getting back together".

FBI Agent: "Communication is the key".

Lila pretended to use her decorating skills as a means of getting her claws into Angel.

Doakes: "Jesus Christ, Morgan. Jesus **** Christ. You're the Bay Harbour Butcher".

Dexter: "I really hate that name".

Doakes: "Jesus Christ, man".

Dexter: "You said that".

Chronology: A day or two since the events of "Morning Comes".

I thought that last week was brilliant but "Resistance Is Futile" really has seen this series soar to new levels. With Dexter just barely evading being caught, it'll be incredibly interesting to see how the Doakes problem is dealt with.moreless
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Cast & Crew: STARS

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Michael C. Hall	Dexter Morgan
Julie Benz	Rita Bennett
Jennifer Carpenter	Debra Morgan
Erik King	Sgt. James Doakes
Lauren Velez	Lt. Maria LaGuerta
James Remar	Harry Morgan

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Cast & Crew: RECURRING AND GUESTS

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Brian Scolaro	Lab Tech #1	Guest Star
Eli Goodman	Detective Weiss	Guest Star
Adam Lieberman	Federal Agent	Guest Star
Preston Bailey	Cody	Recurring Role
Christina Robinson	Astor	Recurring Role
Jaime Murray	Lila Tournay	Recurring Role

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Trivia, Notes, Quotes and Allusions

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TRIVIA (3)
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- In this episode, we see that Dexter's box of blood slides is nearly full. However, in Waiting To Exhale the box is only half full, and Dexter has only killed three people since then (Hicks, Olson, and Jimenez).
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- Doakes departs for Haiti from the Opa-locka Airport, 10 miles north of Miami.
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- Dexter's victim count is 47: he uses 46 test tubes to take samples from his slide collection, and we know he killed Rudy, from whom he did not take a blood sample.
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QUOTES (7)
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- Deb: I wondered if maybe you were also cheesed about my whole not-disclosing thing. I don't want you to think I'm unsure or... embarrassed or anything.
  Lundy: Why would you be embarrassed? I'm hot!
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- Deb: What's going on in there?
  LaGuerta: You tell us.
  Deb: Why would I know?
  Angel: Come on. You're Lundy's pet.
  Deb: Fuck you.
  Chico: Seriously, what's Lundy got, or is he just blowing smoke?
  Deb: Seriously, I don't know. But if he's got something, it ain't smoke. Lundy's too good to blow smoke.
  Angel: Man, no wonder you're his pet.
  Deb: Fuck you twice.
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- Doakes: Jesus Christ, Morgan. Jesus fuckin' Christ. You're the Bay Harbor Butcher.
  Dexter: I really hate that name.
  Doakes: Jesus Christ, man.
  Dexter: You said that.
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- Dexter: (to Rita) I feel... such regret, which is rare for me.
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- Lundy: What exactly is Sergeant Doakes' problem with you, Morgan?
  Dexter: (voice over) I kill people, for one.
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- Dexter: (about Lila) She's not really a decorator.
  Angel: It's not really my apartment that I want decorated.
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- (speculating on the identity of the BHB)
  Detective Weiss: What about Stanbauer in Impound? Dude's a freak.
  Chico: I bet it's Wico from Records.
  LaGuerta: Chico, please.
  Chico: What about Lauren in narcotics?
  Dexter: (voice over) Or it could be that murderous Morgan in blood spatter.
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NOTES (0)
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- ADD NOTES from this episode.
ALLUSIONS (1)
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- Title: Resistance Is Futile
  
  The phrase is a classic Sci-fi quote. It (or a form of it) has been used in many shows including Dr. Who, and many incarnations of Star Trek.
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