Jamil Scalese">
Psycho Drive-In logo
Search
  • PDI Press
    Featured
    • ON SALE NOW! NOIRLATHOTEP 2: MORE TALES OF LOVECRAFTIAN CRIME!!

      Jamil Scalese
      December 31, 2018
      News, PDI Press, PDI Press Catalog
    Recent
    • ON SALE NOW! NOIRLATHOTEP 2: MORE TALES OF LOVECRAFTIAN CRIME!!

      psychodr
      December 31, 2018
    • VOICES FROM THE NIGHT: The Living Dead Tell Their Stories

      John E. Meredith
      October 31, 2018
    • American Carnage: Tales of Trumpian Dystopia

      psychodr
      March 24, 2018
    • PDI Press Catalog
    • PDI Press Writers
      • Fiction
  • Columns A-D
    • A Fistful of Dollar Comics
    • ABCs of Horror
    • All Binge… No Purge
    • Anything Joes
    • Beautiful Creatures
    • Big Eyes Smart Mouth
    • Big Sleeps and Long Goodbyes
    • Cahiers du Horror
    • Dispatches From the Field
    • Drive-In Saturday
    • Dungeons & D-Listers
  • Columns F-P
    • The Final Girl
    • First Looks… Second Thoughts
    • The Flesh is Weak
    • Innocence and Experience
    • Lost in Translation
    • Page to Screen
    • Popcorn Cinema
    • Psycho Essentials: The ’80s!
  • Columns S-Z
    • Schlock & Awe
    • Shakespeare on Film
    • Shot for Shot
    • Sick Flix
    • Unnatural Selections
    • Versus
    • Video Word Made Flesh
    • We Got Lists
    • Women in Horror
    • The Xeno File
    • Zombies 101
  • Reviews
    Featured
    • Psycho Goreman (2021)

      Jamil Scalese
      February 12, 2021
      Movies, Reviews
    Recent
    • Psycho Goreman (2021)

      Nate Zoebl
      February 12, 2021
    • Advance Review: Bad Girls (2021)

      Paul Brian McCoy
      February 9, 2021
    • Shadow in the Cloud (2020)

      Nate Zoebl
      February 2, 2021
    • Books
    • DVD/Blu-ray
    • Movies
    • TV
    • Series
  • Interviews
    Featured
    • Interview with Indie Horror Master, Chris Bickel

      Jamil Scalese
      July 13, 2018
      Interviews
    Recent
    • Interview with Indie Horror Master, Chris Bickel

      The Final Girl
      July 13, 2018
    • David Black: Carnies, Carnage, and the Creative Chaos of Darkness Visible

      Dan Lee
      March 7, 2017
    • Jaiden Kaine joins the Marvel Universe as new Luke Cage baddie, Zip

      Andre Lamar
      September 29, 2016
    • SDCC 2016 Interviews: The Cast and Creators of Batman: The Killing Joke

      Jason Sacks
      July 28, 2016
    • SDCC 2016 Interviews: The Cast and Creators of Syfy’s Van Helsing

      Dave Hearn, Paul Brian McCoy
      July 27, 2016
    • Wondercon Interview: The Cast of Damien

      Gary Richardson, Laura Akers
      April 16, 2016
  • News
    Featured
    • John Wick: Chapter 3 – Parabellum arrives on Digital 8/23 and 4K Ultra HD, Blu-ray, DVD and On Demand 9/10

      Jamil Scalese
      July 30, 2019
      DVD/Blu-ray, News
    Recent
    • John Wick: Chapter 3 – Parabellum arrives on Digital 8/23 and 4K Ultra HD, Blu-ray, DVD and On Demand 9/10

      psychodr
      July 30, 2019
    • X-Men: Dark Phoenix arrives on Digital 9/3 and 4K Ultra HD, Blu-ray and DVD 9/17

      Paul Brian McCoy
      July 16, 2019
    • Avengers: Endgame arrives on Digital 7/30 and Blu-ray 8/13

      psychodr
      July 16, 2019
    • Trailers
  • Psychos
  • Merchandise
Breaking
  • Psycho Goreman (2021)
  • Advance Review: Bad Girls (2021)
  • Shadow in the Cloud (2020)
  • Promising Young Woman (2020)
  • Possessor: Uncut (2020)
  • Wonder Woman 1984 (2020)
  • RSS
  • Facebook
  • Instagram
  • Twitter
  • Tumblr
  • Who We Be
  • Contact
  • PDI Press
    • PDI Press Catalog
    • PDI Press Writers
      • Fiction
  • Columns A-D
    • A Fistful of Dollar Comics
    • ABCs of Horror
    • All Binge… No Purge
    • Anything Joes
    • Beautiful Creatures
    • Big Eyes Smart Mouth
    • Big Sleeps and Long Goodbyes
    • Cahiers du Horror
    • Dispatches From the Field
    • Drive-In Saturday
    • Dungeons & D-Listers
  • Columns F-P
    • The Final Girl
    • First Looks… Second Thoughts
    • The Flesh is Weak
    • Innocence and Experience
    • Lost in Translation
    • Page to Screen
    • Popcorn Cinema
    • Psycho Essentials: The ’80s!
  • Columns S-Z
    • Schlock & Awe
    • Shakespeare on Film
    • Shot for Shot
    • Sick Flix
    • Unnatural Selections
    • Versus
    • Video Word Made Flesh
    • We Got Lists
    • Women in Horror
    • The Xeno File
    • Zombies 101
  • Reviews
    • Books
    • DVD/Blu-ray
    • Movies
    • TV
    • Series
  • Interviews
  • News
    • Trailers
  • Psychos
  • Merchandise
Home
Reviews

Dexter 7.09 “Helter Skelter” & 7.10 “The Dark… Whatever”

Jamil Scalese
December 8, 2012
Reviews, TV

Wow. What a time to take a week off.

In a two episode span this season of Dexter took another sharp left turn, the first being the introduction and courtship of Hannah McKay, and this one… well, we’ll discuss that later (more accurately, I’ll type words at you).

When we last left our dashing anti-hero he found himself head to head with brutal Ukrainian crime boss Isaak Sirko, a fierce man still heated at Dex for the savagely murdering his lover Victor. So the next logical step is for Isaak to target Hannah, right?

Right, and that’s exactly what happens, except Victor uses Dexter’s newest fling as leverage for the killer’s help. Due to his erratic nature while pursuing the dude who smashed in his boyfriend’s skull Isaak becomes a hunted man by two expert assassins employed by his former cartel. Isaak convinces Dexter to help him exterminate the two men by holding Hannah hostage, and after some mulling over how he truly feels about his new beau, and if he should save the life of a man who wants him dead, Dexter begins the hunt

dexter709

In the process the adversaries become comrades, finding similarities in their lives and methodologies.  When Dexter completes the task Isaak even let’s him go with immunity, relinquishing his anger and agreeing to free Hannah from captivity.

THEN YOUR BOY GETS SHOT.

It’s not a legendary TV moment or anything but as far as season structure I’m still a little shocked the season’s prime antagonist bit the bullet way before the season finale. Isaak is shot by George, a meddling underling pissed Quinn punched him the face a lot of times really hard (then Quinn shoots him and covers it up in the next episode. But really, who cares?). It’s an uneventful death, and Dexter grants a simple dying wish for his former opponent by dumping him in the section of ocean where he left Victor’s body.

isaak

Now what? That’s the question afoot. A recent trend in serialized TV is the rapid advancement of narrative, or essentially, delivering the goods before the audiences expects them (which is an artistic response to milking a season drip by drip. I feel like I could write an essay contrasting the plotting differences between Lost and Breaking Bad. Please don’t hold me to that.). With the death of the major antagonist the focus distills to the other major strands built through the Fall, and the first of those is the Dexter/Debra relationship.

Evolving tremendously throughout the season the interaction between the siblings is at its most tense in this couplet of episodes. Debra admitting she loves Dexter has twisted their relationship, making all interactions that much more anxious, and frankly, a little angry. Dexter smoothes things over by telling his sister he understands the feeling, but that doesn’t stop Deb from getting foul-faced whenever Hannah is mentioned in conversation. The police lieutenant continues to pester Hannah for her poisonous past, and promises her brother she will not back off. The Dex/Deb/Hannah triangle is set up to be a large factor in the near future.

Dex Pix

Dexter doesn’t seem to care…about long term consequences that is. He is blindly chases his feelings for Hannah, confused as he ever has been. Through dealings Isaak the man who once claimed to be an empty vessel now begins to unravel his affections, and eventually admits to his new lover that she makes him feel safe, and later in “The Dark… Whatever” the two unveil their love to each other.

The first hard slant of the season involved Hannah’s arrival, and fittingly she is the impetus for the second. After Isaak’s death the season landscape looks a little barren with three ‘sodes left, but that’s because, for one of them at least, Dexter’s opponent is himself.

Hannah unlocks a large revelation for Dexter by asking a simple question: what the fuck is the Dark Rider anyway?

dark rider

The ambiguous concept has rattled around in the voiceovers of our hero many times in seven years, and personally, I remember the relationship between Dexter and Dark to be one of my first big questions about the nature of the show. I’m not entirely sure how many Dexter fans know about the alternate path of the source material novel series. In those books author Jeff Lindsay explains the origin of Dexter’s bloodthirsty hobby recipient as some kind of ancient demon. It’s a highly controversial development, one the show has avoided completely.

However, this is the first time that material is even broached in the slightest. No, Dex never mentions demonic spirits, but the thought of possession, or complete evil, compelling him to habitually kill is debated internally. Hannah tells Dexter that his impulse is his, not the drive of a separate entity. The new girlfriend attempts to build a better Dexter by asking why he’s so adamant about chasing down another criminal (this time an arsonist), is it because he must or because he wants to?

“The Dark… Whatever” ranks as one of the most introspective episodes yet, diving very deep in the psyche of Mr. Morgan and how he’s viewed himself over the years. Ghost dad Harry, generally a very pessimistic spirit, actually convinces Dex that the impulse to kill and the so-called Dark Passenger are unrelated. Also, Harry points out, the DA is about as real as talking to your dead dad… and then he disappears. The way it’s typically shot, we rarely see Dex actually spacing out while in conversation with Harry, and I think it’s important we are shown that.

Dex Civil

I used to feel that Harry was part of the Dark Passenger (in early season Harry would persuade Dexter to kill, but in a protective, fatherly “you need to do this” sort of way), but I’ve backed off that in the last few years. Still, the connection between the two is strong in the episode, with Harry blinking out while Dexter debates the concept of an evil force compelling him to end lives. Are the writers telling us ghost Harry and the Dark Passenger two sides of the same scale? What happens when you remove the scale completely and replace it with a hot blonde?

That’s the question we’re left with in this episode. To show us just how far our hero has journeyed, he opts out of killing the arsonist (don’t worry, y’all, we still get a fantastic “table moment”) and instead murders Hannah’s father, a deadbeat conman played by the great Jim Beaver. Clint in no way meets Code Criteria, he’s just a dick, but Dexter chooses to kill him to protect his loved one, and leaves the amoral criminal to the police. Dexter’s grave epiphany: without a Dark Passenger he has nothing to blame for killing hundreds of people, he likes to kill and he does it because it makes him happy.

What strikes me is that the show seems to celebrate the character going off the rails. Seriously, that was my first thought, Dexter is off the fucking rails. He fails to adhere to his father-given Code, which decrees you only take the life of those who take lives. And he does it for a woman! I mean, chicks are great and love is grand, but that’s some certified, Investigators-brand psycho shit. Or really romantic. My emotions are so twisted on this one

dexter-292

Seven years in and I’m wondering if the show has completely lost its figurative mind. The main lynchpin was that Dexter only preyed on those who were more morally depraved. Sure, Hannah’s pops was a son of a bitch and threatened to expose his daughter’s second murder (at a summer camp) if he didn’t get what he wanted, but it’s tough to swallow that sickening death. I don’t feel sorry for Clint; I’m worried about the precedent.

With major villains dying and new relationship surviving the dust settles to reveal the uber-plotline of the season:  LaGuerta’s Bay Harbor Butcher case. Built up piece-by-piece, we finally get some major progress when we find a desperate Captain Maria LaGuerta asking her greatest enemy, former Captain Tom Matthews, for help. At each other’s throats since episode one, the two poetically come together to descend on the killer under their noses their entire careers.

The two go to the site of Doakes’ death in season two and discover the place has a serious connection to Dexter’s childhood. Putting more pieces together, Matthews exposes LaGuerta to the truth about Dexter’s childhood, from his mother, to his brother and so on. LaGuerta narrows in on Dexter at that point, refusing to ignore the mounting evidence that Dexter Morgan is an active and dangerous serial killer. The current Captain is convinced, but the former one, in the arrangement with LaGuerta to regain his lost pension, is a tad skeptical. Still, Tom never has been a fool, and doesn’t deny the evidence looks sky-high against the family friend he’s witnessed grow up.

Checking It Out

Crazy-crazy developments for the show. The topics and attitude surrounding these last ten episodes feel like a final season, and from what I understand the showrunners have promised at least one more crop of episodes next year. Still, this does feel like the last few twists on the Dexter carousel.

After these two hours my mind remains spun around a Slice of Life-load of ominous question: Is the murder of Clint a sign for what’s to come? Are the creators of Dexter transforming the beloved serial killer of Miami into someone deserving of death? How does Dexter eliminate LaGuerta and Matthews without looking like a complete bastard? Is our long loved dark hero becoming the villain?

With the Code apparently on hiatus, and his biggest threat ever right over his shoulder, I’ll be intently hoping that the character I’ve watched for this long either does the right thing, or goes out in a violent blaze of glory. Either one is fine.

(Visited 78 times, 1 visits today)
Dexter 7.09 "Helter Skelter" & 7.10 "The Dark... Whatever"
3.5Overall Score

Share this:

  • Tweet
  • Share on Tumblr

Like this:

Like Loading...

Related

DexterJamil Scalese

The Vampire Diaries 4.07 “My Brother’s Keeper”
Once Upon a Time 2.09 “The Queen of Hearts”

About The Author

monsterid
Jamil Scalese
Edge Cutter / Shadow Emissary

Jamil Scalese would rather watch reruns of Frasier than catch up on media he's tragically behind on. Follow his weak tweets @jamilscalese

FACEBOOK

FACEBOOK

Daily Top Ten

  • Advance Review: The Legend of Tarzan (2016) Blu-rayAdvance Review: The Legend of Tarzan (2016) Blu-ray by Paul Brian McCoy
  • 31 Days of Halloween: Day 08 – Warm Bodies31 Days of Halloween: Day 08 – Warm Bodies by Paul Brian McCoy
  • Advance Review: Bad Girls (2021)Advance Review: Bad Girls (2021) by Paul Brian McCoy
  • The Hills Have Eyes (1977) vs The Hills Have Eyes (2006)The Hills Have Eyes (1977) vs The Hills Have Eyes (2006) by Corin Totin
  • Unnatural Selections: Two-Headed Shark Attack (2012)Unnatural Selections: Two-Headed Shark Attack (2012) by Brooke Brewer
  • Sense8 1.06 "Demons"Sense8 1.06 “Demons” by Mike Burr
  • Gehenna: Where Death Lives (2016)Gehenna: Where Death Lives (2016) by Brooke Brewer
  • Lost in Translation 241: Thunderbirds (2004)Lost in Translation 241: Thunderbirds (2004) by Scott Delahunt
  • Second Chance 1.08 "May Old Acquaintance Be Forgot"Second Chance 1.08 “May Old Acquaintance Be… by Shawn Hill
  • Women in Horror: I Spit on Your Grave (2010)Women in Horror: I Spit on Your Grave (2010) by The Final Girl

PDI Press Bestsellers

Entertainment Earth

Weekly Top Ten

  • Everybody Dies: Hamlet at Elsinore (1964)Everybody Dies: Hamlet at Elsinore (1964) by Rick Shingler
  • Sick Flix: Salo, or the 120 Days of Sodom (1975)Sick Flix: Salo, or the 120 Days of Sodom (1975) by Corin Totin
  • Women in Horror: I Spit on Your Grave (2010)Women in Horror: I Spit on Your Grave (2010) by The Final Girl
  • Advance Review: The Legend of Tarzan (2016) Blu-rayAdvance Review: The Legend of Tarzan (2016) Blu-ray by Paul Brian McCoy
  • The Final Girl: I Spit on Your Grave (2010)The Final Girl: I Spit on Your Grave (2010) by The Final Girl
  • The Searchers: A Quaint and Polite Film about Racism, Rape, and RemorseThe Searchers: A Quaint and Polite Film about… by Thom V. Young
  • Unnatural Selections: Two-Headed Shark Attack (2012)Unnatural Selections: Two-Headed Shark Attack (2012) by Brooke Brewer
  • House of Wax (2005)House of Wax (2005) by The Final Girl
  • The Hills Have Eyes (1977) vs The Hills Have Eyes (2006)The Hills Have Eyes (1977) vs The Hills Have Eyes (2006) by Corin Totin
  • Advance Review: Bad Girls (2021)Advance Review: Bad Girls (2021) by Paul Brian McCoy
Entertainment Earth

Latest Reviews

  • Psycho Goreman (2021)

    Nate Zoebl
    February 12, 2021
  • Advance Review: Bad Girls (2021)

    Paul Brian McCoy
    February 9, 2021
  • Shadow in the Cloud (2020)

    Nate Zoebl
    February 2, 2021

Latest Columns

  • Everybody Dies: Hamlet at Elsinore (1964)

    Rick Shingler
    February 19, 2021
  • Anything Joes: S01E11 – G.I. Joe #3 / The Trojan Gambit

    Greg Engle
    February 17, 2021
  • Sundance Film Festival 2021: Judas and the Black Messiah (2021)

    Peterson Hill
    February 4, 2021

INSTAGRAM

psychodrivein

Today at http://psychodrivein.com Everybody Dies: Today at http://psychodrivein.com

Everybody Dies: Hamlet at Elsinore (1964)

The fact that Hamlet at Elsinore was filmed at the ACTUAL Elsinore castle creates a striking verisimilitude.
---
Read more of Rick's article at the link in our profile!

#ShakespeareOnFilm #Shakespeare #WilliamShakespeare #Hamlet #HamletAtElsinore #ChristopherPlummer #MichaelCaine #DonaldSutherland #RobertShaw
Today at http://psychodrivein.com Anything Joes: Today at http://psychodrivein.com

Anything Joes: S01E11 - G.I. Joe #3 / The Trojan Gambit

Greg and Jaren discuss the giant robot invading The PIT, and explore how science fiction fits into the G.I. Joe universe.
---
Listen to the guys discuss this comic at the link in our profile!

#AnythingJoes #GIJoe #MarvelComics @anythingjoespod
Today at http://psychodrivein.com Psycho Goreman Today at http://psychodrivein.com

Psycho Goreman (2021)

Psycho Goreman is like a gloriously inappropriate Power Rangers episode for adults.
---
Read more of Nate's review at the link in our profile!

#PsychoGoreman #StevenKostanski #OwenMyre #MatthewNinaber #NitaJoseeHanna #AdamBrooks
Today at http://psychodrivein.com Advance Review: Today at http://psychodrivein.com

Advance Review: Bad Girls (2021)

Bad Girls is a kaleidoscopic fever dream of rapid-fire cuts, over-the-top violence, psychedelic drug orgies, raging punk metal screams, and dashes of existential angst.
---
Read more of Paul's review at the link in our profile!

#BadGirls #TheThetaGirl #ChristopherBickel #MorganShaleyRenew #SenethiaDresch #ShelbyLoisGuinn
Today at http://psychodrivein.com Sundance Film F Today at http://psychodrivein.com

Sundance Film Festival 2021: Judas and the Black Messiah

The standout performance in Judas and the Black Messiah is Kaluuya as Fred Hampton.
---
Read more of Peterson's review at the link in our profile!

#Sundance #Sundance2021 #SundanceFilmFestival #SundanceFilmFestival #JudasAndTheBlackMessiah #ShakaKing #DanielKaluuya #LaKeithStanfield #JessePlemons
Today at http://psychodrivein.com Anything Joes: Today at http://psychodrivein.com

Anything Joes: Adroit Theory G.I. Joe Glass Set Unboxing

Greg takes a quick look at the recently released Adroit Theory 7 piece glassware set.
---
Watch Greg's unboxing video at the link in our profile!

#AnythingJoes #AdroitTheoryBrewing #Beer #Glassware #GIJoe @anythingjoespod
Today at http://psychodrivein.com Sundance Film F Today at http://psychodrivein.com

Sundance Film Festival 2021: Ailey (2021)

Ailey might not break any narrative and cinematic ground as a documentary, but it is a gorgeous evocation of artistry.
---
Read more of Peterson's review at the link in our profile!

#Ailey #SundanceFilmFestival #SundanceFilmFestival2021 #Sundance2021 #JamilaWignot #AlvinAiley
Today at http://psychodrivein.com Anything Joes: Today at http://psychodrivein.com

Anything Joes: Top 10 G.I. Joe Classified Figures of 2020!

Greg & Jaren share their thoughts on the top 10 best releases from the G.I. Joe Classified line last year.
---
Watch Greg and Jaren count them down at the link in our profile!

#GIJoe #GIJoeClassified #AnythingJoes @anythingjoespod
Today at http://psychodrivein.com Shadow in the C Today at http://psychodrivein.com

Shadow in the Cloud (2020)

Shadow in the Cloud would have been better with a little more pruning, a little less Max Landis, and some tonal consistency.
---
Read more of Nate's review at the link in our profile!

#ShadowInTheCloud #ChloeGraceMoretz #RoseanneLiang #MaxLandis
Today at http://psychodrivein.com Sundance Film F Today at http://psychodrivein.com

Sundance Film Festival 2021: Jockey (2021)

Clint Bentley’s sophomore effort, Jockey, is a handsome and elegant character study that finds an aging horse jockey towards the end of his career.
---
Read more of Peterson's review at the link in our profile!

#Sundance2021 #Sundance #SundanceFilmFestival #SundanceFilmFestival2021 #Jockey #CliftonCollinsJr #ClintBentley #MoisesArias #MollyParker #AdolphoLevoso
Today at http://psychodrivein.com Sundance Film F Today at http://psychodrivein.com

Sundance Film Festival 2021: Passing (2021)

Passing is an extraordinary directorial debut.
---
Read more of Peterson's review at the link in our profile!

#Sundance2021 #SundanceFilmFestival #SundanceFilmFestival2021 #Sundance #Passing #RebeccaHall #RuthNegga #TessaThompson #AndreHolland
Today at http://psychodrivein.com Anything Joes: Today at http://psychodrivein.com

Anything Joes: S01E10 - Winterfest

Greg and Jaren recount their time at the first G.I. Joe Convention of 2021, Winterfest.
---
Listen to @anythingjoespod at the link in our profile!

#AnythingJoes #GIJoe #Winterfest
Load More... Follow on Instagram

TWITTER

My Tweets

Look Who's Talking

Amari Wolfe
Amari Wolfe - 12/11/2020
Popcorn Cinema: Santa Claus Conquers the Martians (1964)
Don't know why, but the mention of Whammo Air Blasters made me laugh until it hurt. Very nicely...
mega leo
mega leo - 12/5/2020
Women in Horror: I Spit on Your Grave (2010)
To torture someone takes a cold kind of sadism. One that exceeds rage or revenge. One that shows a...
Dignan
Dignan - 10/29/2020
Nosferatu (1979)
Thanks for that, I can never seem to nail down that movie!
RSSTwitterFacebookinstagramtumblr

Archives

Large_rectangle_336X280
All work on this site is Copyright © each individual writer.
  • PDI Press
    • PDI Press Catalog
    • PDI Press Writers
      • Fiction
  • Columns A-D
    • A Fistful of Dollar Comics
    • ABCs of Horror
    • All Binge… No Purge
    • Anything Joes
    • Beautiful Creatures
    • Big Eyes Smart Mouth
    • Big Sleeps and Long Goodbyes
    • Cahiers du Horror
    • Dispatches From the Field
    • Drive-In Saturday
    • Dungeons & D-Listers
  • Columns F-P
    • The Final Girl
    • First Looks… Second Thoughts
    • The Flesh is Weak
    • Innocence and Experience
    • Lost in Translation
    • Page to Screen
    • Popcorn Cinema
    • Psycho Essentials: The ’80s!
  • Columns S-Z
    • Schlock & Awe
    • Shakespeare on Film
    • Shot for Shot
    • Sick Flix
    • Unnatural Selections
    • Versus
    • Video Word Made Flesh
    • We Got Lists
    • Women in Horror
    • The Xeno File
    • Zombies 101
  • Reviews
    • Books
    • DVD/Blu-ray
    • Movies
    • TV
    • Series
  • Interviews
  • News
    • Trailers
  • Psychos
  • Merchandise
%d bloggers like this: