TV Review: DEXTER - Born Free 1.12

DEXTER: - "I've lived in darkness a long time. Over the years, my eyes adjusted until the dark became my world and I could see. But then Rudy turned on the light. He flooded my memory and now I'm blind".

I was compelled to watch Dexter from the beginning following my interest in season 5, since then Dexter has become my favourite show on TV, I love it and can’t wait for season 7 to start on 30th September this year. Season 1 had me hooked from the word go, right from Dexter narrating as we rolled past Miami’s night lights. For me season 1 arrived with the mighty impressive mid-season “Return to Sender”, the first episode where Dexter was sloppy almost getting caught and pricking the attention of Sgt Doakes to believe that something doesn’t quite sit right with everyone’s favourite blood spatter expert.

If you thought the build up to the finale in “Truth be Told” was impressive then “Born Free” didn’t stand to disappoint you in any way, shape or form. By far the best episode of the season and I think up there with the most impressive episodes of Dexter full stop, “Born Free” is a thrill ride from start to finish with brilliant acting from all involved and building to one mighty showdown between two psychotic killers, one with “Code” and one without. You really can’t ask for anymore in a season finale, and I can’t wait to start again with season 2’s box set ready to go.

Dexter is now aware that his sister Debra is in a very bad situation, although at this point he only thinks his sister is with Rudy and has no idea that he is in fact the Ice Truck Killer. Dexter is now in a race around Miami working out the clues left for him by Rudy
desperately trying to figure out what the connection is between the two. As Dexter says in the narration I posted above, his mind is flooded, he is blind and eventually all the clues lead him the house where he and biological brother Rudy were born, what would Dexter do? Turn to a killer without code? Or, turn against his brother and stick
with the family he knows best?

Not only was Dexter in a showdown with Rudy here, he also faced problems from Sgt Doakes, a character who I didn’t afford much time in earlier episodes but he has certainly grown on me throughout the season. Doakes is brilliant for the one liners and his discomfort with Dexter is done all that more convincingly than Desmond Harrington in
Dexter’s later seasons. In “Born Free” Doakes is there to provide the laughs once again when he believes Dexter is hiding something from the police “Lab geek my ass” is the line of choice. Doakes is definitely a character I’m looking forward to seeing more of in season 2.

What made this episode was when Dexter finally pieced everything together and ended up at the home which he grew up in, the moment he walked through that gate a flashback to his mother in the garden with multi coloured finger nails, letting us know where the Ice Truck Killer had drawn his inspiration from . But, there was still one more mystery, how did Rudy know so much about Dexter? We find out, and in spectacular fashion too, unlike in season 6 where we all knew Gellar was not real from about the third episode I don't think anyone guessed that Rudy was in fact Dexter's brother, had I not seen season 6 before this one I probably wouldn't have guessed myself. Cue an emotional chat between Dexter and Rudy, who wants his brother to join him in killing Debra however Dexter denies the invitation saying "I'm very fond of her", that moment where Dexter catches Rudy's arm, right when he's about to put the knife into Deb was brilliant and the short struggle afterwards allows you to think momentarily that the story of the Ice Truck Killer may run into another season.

Not in Dexter, when we see Rudy break into Dexter's apartment in the night and stab prosthetic body parts which he believes to be Debra, Dexter has outwitted his pshycotic brother and duly sneaks up behind him knocking him out and killing Rudy in his own refrigerated lair. It was a brilliant end to what was a brilliant first season of my favourite show.

Like I said above, I can't wait to get started on the second season, quite how I'll find the time to watch it with all the other TV on right now I don't know but for Dexter I'm sure I'll make time.