TV Review: DEXTER - Do You See What I See? 7.11

As you know I have been missing Ray Stevenson’s Issak Sirko from Dexter, last week just wasn’t the same in what has been a brilliant season so far. Turns out, we were all too quick to judge because in “Do You See What I See?” I think Dexter went about delivering us with one of its best episodes this season. I am genuinely sitting with bated breath to see what is going to happened in next week’s finale “Surprise Motherf**ker”. The seasons big bad seemed so obvious at the beginning of season 7 but now it looks like Hannah McKay (Yvonne Strahovski) will take that role as this week Dexter had her busted for the murder of Sal Price. Many think that producers have also given us a nod that a big character will be killed off by the end of this season, we know Batista will be leaving, but how?

I thought a little way into this episode that maybe the review I read last week could be right, would they kill off Debra? I suppose they still could but now that Hannah McKay is behind bars, any immediate threat to her is already quashed. Deb will be gunning for La Guerta in the season finale that’s for sure, she has promised Dexter that Harrison will not grow up without a father, that could really put her in the firing line to be either shot or arrested, she is an accessory to murder remember? Debra has also helped Dexter plant all of the evidence in the boat house to prove beyond reasonable doubt that Sgt James Doakes was the Bay Harbour Butcher.

What is going to be interested going into the season finale is seeing whether or not Hannah will keep quiet about Dexter, other than Debra she is the only one who knows who he really is. It was brilliant the way they started the episode, Dexter 15 years on living happily ever after with Hannah, whilst a teenage Harrison stepped out for Basketball practice. Dexter was allowing himself to imagine the future for the first time, a future which included he and Hannah being “normal”, a thought that Dexter has never allowed to enter his head, even when he was with Rita. I so wanted to believe that Hannah was not responsible for spiking Deb’s drink, and I still think that there will be a twist to come in the finale regarding that. Maybe Hannah didn’t do it, what do you think? As much as I didn’t want to believe she done it, I still couldn’t believe it when Dexter turned her in to police, has he gone mad? The one woman who could ruin him with what she knows, and also the one who is not afraid to do anyone over in order to protect herself, I just can’t wait to see how this pans out next week.

What has been bubbling brilliantly all season long is La Guerta’s investigation into the Bay Harbour Butcher, wanting to prove that her good friend Sgt Doakes was innocent. She brought ex Captain Matthews in on the investigation and she was very quickly amassing some very good circumstantial evidence against Dexter Morgan. Matthews sort of warned Dexter about her “crazy” theory, but I can’t help but think that Matthews has his own hidden agenda in all of this, one which could prove a massive turning point in the season finale. La Guerta pulled off a master cross over during this episode, she needed to prove once and for all that her suspicions about Dexter are true. The best way to do that, get Hector Estrada released from prison, on what Dexter thinks is the justice system being too soft once again. La Guerta new that Dexter would want him dead and she got her wish, almost catching Dexter in the act and being one of the very few people to see his kill room. Of course she didn’t catch him, but it pretty much goes to prove that her theory is correct.

There are certainly some nail biting moments to come in what looks like it will be one of the best Dexter season finales yet. Will Doakes be back? Will Dexter get arrested? Well, for Doakes to have survived that blast in the cabin would be something of a miracle and for Dexter to be arrested could prove a bit of a boring season 8. I can’t help but think that little sneak peak at the finale may just be Dexter imagining how things could go, but of course I could and probably will be wrong, to see Doakes back would be amazing, the guy is still a legend after all.

Amongst everything that was brilliant with this episode it was still good to see a little light hearted entertainment, Masuka dressed as an Elf, anyone?? He was doing the rounds in the office seeing who would join in secret Santa, a cool reminder that Miami Metro are not really that busy these days with no season serial killer to catch, as La Guerta is the only one looking into the Bay Harbour Butcher case. And what was with all of the Christmas decorations? Dexter always enjoys it’s season finale in December but I can’t remember them ever having so much to do with Christmas in the show.

A brilliant episode paving the way for a brilliant season finale which I’m sure will see Dexter collecting some of those fake passports and foreign currency before hitting the road, on the run from Miami Metro. What did you think of “Do You See What I See?”? One of the best episodes yet? Your Comments are welcome as always.

TV Review: DEXTER - The Dark...Whatever 7.10

I think this will probably go down as the least enjoyable episode of Dexter’s seventh season so far, I really didn’t feel like there was a whole lot going on here. It seemed like it was taking a step back towards the days of seasons five and six with Dexter questioning the killer inside him, otherwise known as his “Dark Passenger”, a scenario which new girlfriend Hannah McKay found totally ridiculous. “The Dark… Whatever” was ultimately an episode of Dexter questioning whether he even has a dark passenger at all, and thanks to a few “chats” with Hannah and Harry he came to realise that maybe he is the “monster” that he has talked about so often in the past. I still enjoyed this episode immensely, and I suppose there is no point on dwelling in characters gone, but one thing I have to say is that Issak Sirko (Ray Stevenson) was a big miss this week and it felt like the writers were attempting to fill the void with lesser story lines.

This episode did set a couple of things in motion, most important of those is the ever increasing threat of La Guerta and Matthews finding out that Dexter Morgan is the Bay Harbour Butcher. As yet they don’t know for sure, but I have said for weeks now that the circumstantial evidence is certainly mounting up against him and following this instalment I now think that this seasons finale named “Surprise Motherf**ker” will be the big reveal to all that Dexter Morgan is a serial killer, that story will roll into season 8 for sure but I’m not sure as yet how it will run, as always I can only speculate. I can’t really see them arresting Dexter by the end of this season or at the beginning of the next, what I think will happen is that Dexter will go on the run, we saw at the beginning of this season in “Are You…?” that he has a massive stash of fake passports and foreign currency. Personally, I think that will be a great story line as Dexter will be doing exactly what he done at the beginning of this seasons, squirming to get out of situations, he’s always better when he is having to dodge bullets.

What was the point of Hannah’s father (Supernatural’s Jim Beaver) being involved here? He served no useful purpose other than Dexter quenching one of his cravings. You knew from the off that this guy was no reformed character, can I borrow $20k? Of course you can! Yeah right, your reformed dad has turned up after years, he was a dick when you were younger and now he wants $20k to invest in some crab business or something like that. I knew where this was going from the moment he arrived at Hannah’s door.

The same could be said for The Phantom Arsonist, a character who was introduced a few episode’s a go for no apparent reason whatsoever, turns out this was to fill this weeks void of no Issak or other Ukrainian mobsters to be dealt with. I actually thought the fire safety guy would be the arsonist as Dexter thought, but it was a good enough little twist I suppose which led to the real criminal, a guy who had offended as a child but been clean since leaving his stint in juvenile detention, you see where we’re going with this? Yes, that’s right as a kid The Phantom Arsonist also enjoyed the same urges as Dexter, what was no great surprise was to see this dude on Dexter’s table by the end of the episode, only to let him go before killing Hannah’s father. The arsonist was introduced only for Dexter to realise that his “Dark Passenger” did not exist, a thing he really already knows, right?

I have speculated in the last few weeks also that Hannah might be the first of Dexter’s love interests for a while to make it through to another season of the show. I don’t necessarily think that has changed but maybe she won’t be with Dexter, maybe she will be behind bars giving up Dexter to save her own ass, especially now he has killed her father. Although I don’t think Dexter lied to her about what he had done, he told her she’d never have to worry about him again, now reading between the lines when your boyfriends a serial killer you should get what that means. Rolling towards this season’s finale is certainly going to be fun and I can’t wait to see how it works out, roll on next week’s “Do You See What I See?”.

Thank You CBS ACTION For Bringing Sgt Doakes Back to our Screens

If you don't live in the UK then you probably don't know what I'm talking about, CBS Action is one of the many free-to-air TV stations we receive here. I'll be honest this channel along with it's counter parts CBS Reality and CBS Drama are ones I've never really checked out before, the reason? Well, generally there is not much on them, not that I'd like to watch anyway, but now it seems they are taking a big leap into bringing the UK some quality American TV shows for free. To start off they have hit the ground running with none other than Showtime's Emmy and Golden Globe winning drama Dexter. If your a big Dexter fan like me then you'll know already that season 7 is currently airing in the US, here in the UK we are awaiting the premiere on FX (soon to be FOX) who currently have the rights for the latest series' of big US TV shows including The Walking Dead, Sons of Anarchy, Burn Notice and of course Dexter. It was a great surprise for me when flicking through my Sky EPG to see Dexter's first ever episode had just started on CBS last night, of course there was nothing else on so I just dove right in.

I've already seen the first season of Dexter and you can check out my "Pilot" review of the show HERE, but if your not a fan and have always thought about watching the show then this is a great opportunity, especially if you don't have pay-per-view TV. CBS will be airing Dexter's first season at 10pm every weeknight. You may as well come back here and check out my reviews of each and every episode as you go, and be sure to join in the comments and let me know what you think. I have actually seen the "Pilot" episode of the show a bunch of times now, being so far into the show as I am it kind of takes a new angle for me every time, but the last time I watched it I actually read the script first, not normally my thing but if your into TV and you have seen Dexter, or any show for that matter do a search for the script online. Honestly, you think watching the show a bunch of times brings something new? Read the script, I promise you won't be disappointed.

Sgt James Doakes

To the title of this article now, you haven't seen Dexter? Then you don't know who Sgt James Doakes (Erik King) is. Well, let me tell you if you that Dexter is worth checking out for him alone, his witty one liners and personal hate of lab geek weirdo Dexter Morgan (Michael C. Hall) is brilliant, don't like Doakes to start with? Don't worry neither did I but the guy quickly grows on you and he's almost a legend between Dexter fans, most probably because he is so "plot" involved (don't take that literally) even now in the latest seasons, I really can not say anymore than that without spoiling it for you.

The plot of season one introduces us to Dexter Morgan as an adult but through flashbacks you quickly learn that he was adopted by a cop Harry Morgan (James Remar) when he was a young kid. Harry learns that Dexter has an urge to kill and helps him out by teaching him firstly how not to get caught, but secondly that he should live by a code. What's the code? Well, he only kills people who have escaped justice, more importantly killers who slip the net of Miami Metro police department who Dexter works for as a blood spatter expert. Season one of Dexter sees him go after the Ice Truck Killer, a fellow serial killer who really is a little to close to home, I've posted the trailer for you to check out below, and once again thank you CBS Action.

TV Review: DEXTER - Helter Skelter 7.9

Wow, what a brilliant episode, unfortunate though. Issak Sirko has met the end of his story line and with that goes one of Dexter’s best ever “big bad’s”. Ray Stevenson has genuinely been one of the best characters I have seen in Dexter for a long time. Season 7 as a whole has been on another level compared to the previous two and Stevenson is a big part of that. Was Issak Sirko the season’s “big bad” though? It certainly seemed that way for the most part, but in the last few episodes it seemed like it would go the way it did in “Helter Skelter” with Issak and Dexter almost becoming friends, or at least enemies who learnt to trust one another with Dexter even learning a thing or two. Maybe we have been guessing the “big bad” wrong all along, maybe it’s nightclub boss George Novikov (Jason Gedrick) who is really the bad guy here, after all it initially seemed that Sirko had been sent to Miami to get George to clean up his act, however in “Argentina” it was George who called home and effectively ordered the hit on Issak.

I can’t think that Dexter will let George get away with killing Issak, yes he did him a favour and certainly got rid of a headache but you can’t help but think that he might end up on Dexter’s table before the finale of this seventh season. Quinn is in way over his head with George, this week throwing him through a window before beating him to a pulp, and I wonder if comments I made a few weeks back about writers throwing us a clue that Angel Batista may be getting killed off is going to happen? I said then that it would be some balls up made by Quinn which resulted in someone shooting Batista by accident, that someone may be George giving Dexter an even bigger reason to treat him to a night out on his table. As always I’ll probably be completely wrong but at least its fun to get some ideas going.

It will be interesting to see how they move the Dexter and Hannah story along now, Dexter is clearly head over heels in love with Hannah, but is that feeling mutual? I’d say probably not following their embrace at the hospital, Hannah seemed a little awkward to me. I thought last week that Hannah may be one of the only characters who rolls into another season, setting up an “ideal” life with Dexter and Harrison, but now I’m thinking that may not be the case. It’s one of those where I really don’t know how there going to go with it and I guess we will just have to wait and see. If anything I’d say that her Lila side may come out a little more, especially now that the threat of Issak is out of the picture, what will keep us entertained until the season finale?

Well, there’s always La Guerta who is all but convinced that she will be re-opening the Bay Harbour Butcher case, her primary target? Dexter Morgan. Now of course she has the help of her former boss Captain Matthews, who will help her out on the case in return for his old job back. I can’t see that being much of an exciting race to the finale can you? As yet La Guerta has nothing but circumstantial evidence against Dexter, eg; he moved his boat to a new marina about the time of the investigation. I’m thinking that Matthews might figure Dexter out before La Guerta does, after all it’s been proved in the past that she’s not exactly the best detective in the world. If Matthews, or anyone else does find out it will of course be in the season finale. Again, I may be totally wrong about it but it’s worth a mention to see what you think.

I hope that the excitement does not drop out this season now that they have done with the Issak story, I’d hate to think they got rid of him to early when all along it looked like he would be the usual suspect for Dexter’s kill table in the season finale, but I guess that’s a good thing because non of us now know where they are going with the story, we can only guess as I’ve done above. Dexter has been panned especially last season for becoming to predictable, there was nothing predictable about the way Issak was killed in this episode (not even by Dexter) and I think the writers are really working on making us sweat about what’s coming next. My favourite thing about tuning into this season so far was to see a Dexter showdown with Issak, as for next week I don’t know what to expect, I just hope it’s a good as season 7 has been so far.

“Helter Skelter” was a brilliant episode, where we were served up some brilliant scenes between Dexter and Issak and some real unpredictability in the way in which Issak was killed off, I loved this episode, I’m loving this season and I just hope things continue to get better and better as we roll towards the end of a season that has re-affirmed Dexter as the best show on TV.

TV Review: DEXTER - Argentina 2.8

I really don’t feel like there is all that much I want to say about “Argentina”, I thought it was a very good offering and I really enjoyed it but it did seem a little slower than what we have been used to so far in season 7. “Argentina” seemed to really step away from the main story this week for us all to become more involved in the character study side of things, and of course with the return of Astor, Cody and Harrison this weeks action was a little think on the ground. You would probably go with me and say though, the bar sit down between Dexter and Issak has to be one of the best scenes I have ever seen, Ray Stevenson really is an amazing actor as is Michael C. Hall, but Stevenson has you believing every word that comes out of his mouth, this guy is so convincing and it’s a shame that Dexter will probably end up killing him in a couple of episodes time.

But, what if Dexter didn’t kill him? What if Dexter manages to talk Issak around? After all the Koshka brotherhood wants him dead now anyway. There have been references made by Issak that in another set of circumstances he and Dexter could have been very good friends, no doubt using Dexter’s masterful killing and crime scene cleaning skills to help mask what the Mob had done, and let’s be honest there wouldn’t be many people who Issak Siko rolls with that wouldn’t fit Dexter’s code. So, that would maybe be good if we got to see Dexter helping Issak find his “Argentina”, that could maybe happen, as seen in the preview for next weeks episode Issak decides to invite himself around to Dexter’s apartment for “a chat”, I guess we’ll have to wait and see what that’s about.

Of course Dexter seems to have already found his “Argentina” in Hannah McKay (Yvonne Strahovski), but let’s face it she’s not exactly Rita or Lumen is she? Hannah is the first woman who accepts Dexter for exactly what he is in every aspect of his life, or at least it seems that way for now, his kids have only just come back on the scene and it’s yet to be seen whether or not she accepts that side of his life, and even if she does I don’t think Hannah is a sit in with the kids while Dexter is out doing his thing. Hannah seems to like Dexter as much as he likes her but it’s not something you can see lasting, but you never know. Lumen is one of the characters we thought may roll into another season of Dexter, that didn’t happen but maybe Hannah is here for the remainder of this show.

Now onto Debra and Dexter, finally eight episodes in she has told him the reason she came back to the church at the end of season 6, to tell him she loved him. Now, like many of us watching Dexter really didn’t know what to do with that, a little taken back maybe but clearly not in love her. I have heard plenty of people moaning about this story line, I wouldn’t say that I like it and that I don’t find it a little weird but I do think some people are to hung up on it. I guessing that following Dexter’s almost nothing response that it probably won’t be brought up again, but who knows?

Now as Debra sits and ponders where to go next with the current Dexter situation it’s clear that she is not doing one side of her job properly, other than smoking pot on the balcony with Astor she has also left La Guerta to get on with her Bay Harbour Butcher investigation. She did tell her to leave it alone, but she should have guessed that wouldn’t happen. Now for the last couple of weeks everything that La Guerta has uncovered links back to Dexter Morgan, nothing illegal as yet, but still very good circumstantial evidence that he is the Bay Harbour Butcher. This week’s final scene was La Guerta at Dexter’s boat “Slice of Life”, could she be guessing that the name of his boat has even more meaning to it now?

So, to cap it off, I wasn’t blown away by this episode but I still think it was very good, La Guerta and her Bay Harbour Butcher case look as if they will be setting up the basis of the season 8 story, Issak probably won’t be around for season 8, which is a shame because this guy has brought some intensity to the show, Dexter doesn’t love Deb in any way other than his sister and Hannah may just be taking Bay Harbour Butcher punches with Dexter, like I said above I guess we’ll just have to wait and see.

TV Review: DEXTER - Chemistry 2.7 - Do What You Do Dexter

“Chemistry” is perhaps the slowest episode we have had in season 7 so far, but don’t let that deter you interest, the developments in the story in  during this episode are simply mouth watering and right now I can’t even begin to think where season 7 will end up in four episodes time. How will they close out this season? What might roll into the eighth? All we can do is guess and speculate and as usual I’m going to do all of that below whilst also talking through some other points from this brilliant episode of Dexter.

First off I have to start off at what for guys may well have been the best bit, Yvonne Strahovski naked, you have to admit it guys, and girls actually she looks good. Now that I’ve mentioned her we should probably start there, Hannah McKay the ultimate Femme Fatale, we knew that Hannah was going to be romantically linked to Dexter during this season but what we were not expecting was for Dexter to fall in love with his murderous counterpart. As always Dexter got it right Hannah is a killer and she never stopped killing, now she just poisons people, very cleverly though so much so that it’s untraceable and she never gets caught. It’s going to be interesting to see where they take this story, especially now as Debra has ordered that Dexter treats Hannah to a date on his table, will he do it? I doubt it.

Debra has had an interesting journey, from being utterly horrified on discovering that her step brother and love of her live is a serial killer she moved onto trying to help him, realising he was beyond help she moved onto allowing it to happen as long as she had nothing to do with the rituals, now she has stepped up one more, she wants nothing to do with it but after Hannah escaped justice yet again she has told Dexter to kill her. It’s unlikely I think, that Dexter will kill Hannah, she is the first of all the female partners in his life who accepts him for what he is on both sides of the law, what’s more likely to happen is that Debra will turn full circle herself and kill Hannah when Dexter refuses to do it. any thoughts?

What has been bubbling away brilliantly in the background is the story of Ukrainian Mob boss Issak Sirko (Ray Stevenson), one of the most convincing bad guys I have seen in Dexter and someone who poses a real threat to Dexter. I absolutely love this character and the two coming together in the restaurant was probably my favourite scene during this episode, you could liken it to the sit down between Robert De Niro and Al Pacino in Michael Bay’s Heat, that’s how powerful it was as Dexter described crushing Vincent’s scull with a fire extinguisher, the clearly shaken Issak replied with “your going to regret you ever shared that with me”, just after Dexter explained that he would be dealt the same had give or take the fire extinguisher.  

Things are really racing towards what is surely going to be one of the best season finale’s ever with season 7 of Dexter. What is going to happen? Well, we don’t know of course but right now I think that Hannah will be killed by either Debra or Issak, especially if Issak learns of Dexter’s love for her as he took away Vincent. What ever way they do it you can be sure that the last four episodes are going to be nail biting, especially in relation to the Dexter and Issak story, not only are we being taken back to season 2 with nods to Lila but now Dexter and Doakes, as Dexter finds himself with a worthy adversary who will stop at nothing to get to him.

Just to top all of that off Dexter now has another problem, La Guerta refused to leave the Bay Harbour Butcher case alone, even after her and Debra had talked about it not having any fresh leads. She reviewed the evidence one more and came across the boat moorings at the marina, and whose name is on the list? Of course, Dexter’s, if she wants to do this properly though she can’t go screaming Dexter’s name from the roof tops, she need to do it quietly. For this reason I think this is one story line which will be rolling into the eighth season with maybe even the FBI and Agent Lundy getting brought back into the show to investigate Dexter without the knowledge of Debra.

I can’t believe that after the summer we had of eager anticipation waiting on the start of season 7, we are sat here already talking about possible outcomes of it already and debating what may just keep rolling. Season 7 has been the best one of Dexter for a long time barely coming up for air and the writers have stopped at nothing to continually deliver problems for Dexter to deal with. It would seem the net is finally closing on our favourite serial killer and I can’t wait to see how they are going to wrap things up. La Guerta on the table anyone?

TV Review: DEXTER - Do the Wrong Thing 7.6

As always after watching Dexter I turn to some reviews of the episode, in this case that episode was “Do the Wrong Thing”. Another solid episode of season 7 which continues to get better and better, one of the reviews I read actually says that this season may be even better than the fourth with John Lithgow’s now almost legendary Trinity killer. I haven’t seen season 4 so I can’t compare, but what I am getting this season especially after this episode is shades of both seasons 2 and 5, why? Thanks to Miss Strahovski of course, the beautiful Hannah McKay who Dexter got to grips with this week in a rather hands on moment. Lila (season 2) or Lumen (season 5)? I have said in reviews all along that she would probably turn out to be a loony like season 2’s Lila, I still stand by that but Dexter unwrapped her from his table in this episode after around forty minutes of dialogue between them which now puts her more in the light of Lumen.

Lumen (Julia Stiles) even got herself a mention in this week’s episode as the great “chats” between Dexter and Debra continued with her grilling him on moving Lumen into the house where the Trinity killer killed Rita. I still think that Hannah is going to prove more of a Lila type who Dexter will eventually have to deal with, lets just hope its another good few episodes yet because lets be honest guys we wouldn’t mind seeing that every week would we? She was in that TV show Chuck apparently, never seen it but feel a box set coming on!

Going back again to last weeks “Swim Deep” I said that I was going to miss Ukrainian Mob boss Issak Sirko (Ray Stevenson), the guy is a real power house actor in my opinion and he has certainly brought some intensity to scenes which involve him and Dexter. Last week it looked like his story was all done and dusted, but the writers have thought up something even better, keep Issak Sirko, get him off at trial and get Joey Quinn to help, finally something for Quinn to do other than meaningless stories which are not involved in the plot, he had that in season 5 remember? With his theory that Dexter is odd, whatever gave him that idea?

I actually like that they have done that because Dexter now has a whole host of problems coming at him from different angles, the Bay Harbour Butcher case, Debra, Hannah, Issak and now Quinn who doesn’t seem to know what he’s getting himself into. I don’t like it because I want Dexter to get caught, I like it because Dexter is best when he is having to think fast. Like I mentioned above I have read other reviews one which states that the writers are giving us a nod during this episode that they will be killing off Angel Batista, I hope their wrong but you can’t help but think that Quinn is going to go and do something stupid resulting in him being responsible for Batista’s exit from the show.

There has not been an episode yet that I have thought was just ok, all of season 7’s offerings up to now have been brilliant episodes leaving you wanting more every week. I can’t wait for Issak Sirko to come back into the main story fold and at this point Dexter is so unpredictable its hard to see where they are going to be when we get to the season finale, we know there is an eighth season of course but Dexter certainly has some holes to get out of by the time we get there. Roll on season 7 and next week’s “Chemistry”, I can’t wait.

TV Review: DEXTER - Run 7.4 & Swim Deep 7.5

I wouldn’t say that I’m quite over the distinct lack of enthusiasm just yet (I’m not talking about Dexter, go read the link) but lets just say I was very bored the other day and decided that I owe it to my main commenter Ruben to get my thoughts down on paper in relation to Dexter’s fourth and fifth episode “Run” and “Swim Deep” respectively. I am really enjoying season 7 of Dexter a comment I’ve made in just about every review up to now but for me 7.4 “Run” has been one of the most exciting so far, I know 7.5 “Swim Deep” was also very good but I’ll get to that in a moment. I suppose the Speltzer (Matt Gerald) story line would not be something that was just allowed to go away when he escaped during “Buck The System”, but I didn’t expect it to come back so quick and in such an action fashion, I’m glad it did though as Speltzer is the story which is going to help Debra understand about the gaps in the American legal system.

“Run” actually started in a completely different way to what I imagined it would, with Speltzer being captured by Crockett and Tubbs aka Quinn and Batista and then sent to prison for his crimes when Debra wound him up during an interview, a very satisfying little scene I thought. However, no sooner was Speltzer in custody he was released thanks to some over zealous policing methods and him failing to say that he understood his rights. That was all sufficient to prove Dexter’ point though, and now he had Speltzer all to himself.

It didn’t go where I expected it to from that point as Dexter was the one who found himself captured and having to “Run” through the maze as Speltzer played a game of cat and mouse with him, this was really good and was probably just a little reminder to us all that Dexter is a worthy physical adversary for anyone.

When Dexter offed with Speltzer I thought it was a great scene, one of the best Dexter kills scenes that I have seen. The way Dexter mimicked Speltzer as he lay on his table screaming, I thought it was brilliant, last time I saw Dexter that un-composed was during season 6 when he drowned Brother Sam’s (Mos Def) killer. Not only did Dexter get rid of a problem in Speltzer but he has also decided to do away with one of his own rituals, his trophy blood slides were incinerated along with Speltzer. A way for Dexter to be more careful, I’m pretty sure that’s the idea. I don’t even remember him calling Debra but she was there to pick him up very happy that her brother has just committed another murder.

“Swim Deep” was another brilliant episode, now that Dexter’s done with Speltzer he had Ukrainian Mob boss Issak Sirko (Ray Stevenson) to deal with, and deal with him he did, even without killing him, it was brains instead of brawn for Dexter on this occasion in a move that will pay off for a very long time. I was expecting a brilliant scene to come our way as Issak lay in wait for Dexter returning to his apartment, but instead what I got was still a brilliant scene just not how I’d imagined it. Dexter noticed instantly that his curtains had been messed with, left a message on his voice mail and lured Issak out into the open, “Hello handsome” were Issak’s words when he finally came face to face with Dexter.

It was a brilliant move from Dexter which saw Issak brought over to the wrong side of town and walked straight into a rival drug cartel’s bar. The likely outcome, they will kill Issak, Dexter has done nothing wrong and his problem is rid of. Problem is Mr Sirko can kick some serious ass, or shoot some, whatever but I’d say it’s a good job he’s in prison now as Dexter may have found this guy a handful.

Clearly from this episode Hannah (Yvonne Strahovski) is going to be the main character this season, I see another Dexter/Lila thing going to happen here. Dexter has already figured out that the story she is telling in relation to her involvement in various murders is lies, what we don’t know yet, is she still doing it? Maybe she is, either way I can see her involvement in the show growing in the next few episodes. You can’t help but think that Debra will become involved in the story between them at some point, she did with Lila but at that time she didn’t know her brother was a killer, maybe Debra will have to kill Hannah to protect Dexter, I guess we will wait and see.

I am still loving season 7 of Dexter, it really has been brilliant up to now and I’ve no doubt that will continue. La Guerta is on the verge of having the Bay Harbour Butcher case reopened and now that Debra has herself involved in that she can feed Dexter with the information he needs to protect himself. I wasn’t expecting the Louis and Issak stories to be done with so quickly and you know what? Like Brother Sam in season 6 I’m going to miss Issak Sirko.

TV Review: DEXTER - Buck the System 7.3

Dexter would get boring awfully quick if Debra wasn't to release him from her constant watch, and I'm pleased to report that "Buck the System" went all out with what may well be a very important showdown between Dexter and Deb. Dexter is a serial killer, she knows that now, but can she accept it? This episode was brilliant in exploring the question (for Debra) is Dexter a necessary evil? The code ensures that Dexter satisfies his urges by only killing people who have slipped through the justice system, his ways may be illegal but it is a lot more effective and in this episode Debra saw that, as the girl killed at the end would have been saved had she let Dexter act earlier as he had suggested. The thing which I really liked here was Deb's realisation when Dexter told her about all the hunches he had passed onto Miami Metro in the past. Maybe from here we can move onto Deb always taking his advice in murder cases, she would become the most successful lieutenant Miami Metro have had in a while.

What is Debra going to do about it though? I'd say there is not really a great lot she can do now, she has not said she agrees with what Dexter does but she understands why he does it. Would she really blow him in now? I don't think she would, she has known about it to long and stands to loose a lot, her job obviously but more importantly the man she trusts and cares about more than anyone. What I also really liked about this episode was Dexter taking Deb along to the bar where he was stalking his next victim, explaining his process on how he must be sure that the person has committed the crimes they were suspected of. Without any real action season 7 really has started well and now that Mob boss Issack Sirko (Ray Stevenson) knows the name Dexter Morgan who works for Miami Metro things look like they are only going to get better.

It was good to see the back of Louis this week, since the season 6 finale I have been wondering what his problem was with Dexter, does he know? Nope he didn't know a thing, turns out he was just a dick. Had they kept him in the show it would have been interesting to see how Dexter would have dealt with him, he's not the usual bait that Dexter would go for, but that's not a concern now, because thanks to Mr Sirko we won't be seeing him again. It was really good the way Dexter dealt with him in the beginning, seeing the violent approach didn't help Dexter posted the hand from the Ice Truck Killer Investigation back to Masuka whilst also posting his video diary to Jamie, thanks to Dexter Louis lost his job and extremely FIT girlfriend in one swoop, then to top it off as he tried to sink Dexter's boat "Slice of Life" Issack put a bullet in his head, I had one of those moments when I saw the mob heading for the boat, "is that Louis?" "Yeah it's Louis" "Great he's going to get shot".

Now with Dexter free to roam as he pleases and his name known to Issack I think things are going to get really interesting, I wouldn't imagine that Mr Sirko is the type to walk into Miami Metro and say to someone, excuse me, that chap Dexter who works here, he killed my friend, you know? The who shot your colleague? Of course that's not going to happen, a good game of cat and mouse is going to ensue and for the first time (I believe) Dexter is going to find himself up against an organised crime group, one where more than one person will be in search of his head. A note on the mobsters, Ray Stevenson is a pretty convincing gangster wouldn't you agree?

We also got moved onto what will be the love story side of things this week when we met Hanna McKay (Yvonne Strahovski). There was a clear attraction between her and Dexter and all that remains to be seen now, is she the new Rita? Or, maybe another Lila the pshyco from season 2. I think for now I will go with the latter, it may well turn out that she was actually the brains behind the outfit back when she went with last week's murderer who wanted some "Sunshine and Frosty Swirl". It was a brief meeting and the lines she had were limited but I have a pretty good idea that Dexter may be back for some gardening advice when off duty next week.

So, to cap off another solid episode from Dexter and no signs that it will be returning to poor form, which even when it was "poorer" it was still good. As always I am waiting with baited breath for next week's episode "Run" and I can't wait to see what it's got to offer. How about you? What do you think of Dexter season 7 so far? Your comments are welcome as always.

TV Previews: DEXTER 7.3 - Buck the System, HOMELAND 2.3 - State of Independence, REVOLUTION 1.5 - Soul Train

Dexter 7.3 - “Buck the System”

I have been hugely impressed with Dexter since its return to our TV screens a couple of weeks back, last weeks “Sunshine and Frosty Swirl” saw Debra taking on babysitting duties in an attempt to rehabilitate her serial killer brother, of course we knew that would never last and this week Dexter is at breaking point wanting Debra to back off before something bad happens, I can only presume he means him killing her as apposed to drugging her food. “Buck the System” looks like another great instalment with Louis getting creepier than ever and Dexter's new love interest Hanna (Yvonne Strahovski) joining the cast.

Homeland 2.3 – “State of Independence”

If you didn’t see Homeland last week then boy did you miss a treat, that reveal at the end with Saul Bresnan finding out that his paranoid partner Carrie had been right about the loyalties of Sgt Nick Brody all along, wow. This show really is brilliant but so far I’m not really feeling the need to write about it every week (think I’ll leave that to real writers). This week’s “State of Independence" like all the other shows looks like a brilliant episode which can’t be missed as the net will surely be closing in on Brody, but, where does the story go from here?

Revolution 1.5 “Soul Train”

You may remember from my review of “The Plague Dogs” that I have a new found desire to watch this show, it delivered its best episode yet as far as story line and character development goes with the previous episode. The story of Miles Matheson was one of those stories that was looking continually promising as the group made their way across America in search of Danny Matheson, currently being held captor by Militia Captain Tom Neville. “Soul Train” looks like it will be delivering that story line a little further as Neville and Miles Matheson come face to face in what looks like another classy episode of Revolution which will be packed with action.

TV Review: DEXTER - Sunshine and Frosty Swirl 7.2

Following on form the impressive season 7 premiere “Are You…?” Dexter was back this week delivering us some “Sunshine and Frosty Swirl”, a weird name for a TV episode I thought but as always the reference was made apparent and could quite possibly have given us a little glimpse as to what we should be expecting from these final two seasons of the show. On saying that there is still an awful lot of stuff (character wise) to wade through before we start with any of that and as always I’m going to put forward my idea of how I think things may go from here.

It goes without saying really that the most impressive scenes in season 7 so far have been the “show downs” between Dexter and Debra, the beginning of this episode was brilliant picking up exactly where we had left off, "Dexter, are you a serial killer?" - "Yes" Running out the house and onto the street to thrownup Debra displays every emotion possible before eventually calming down and applying some rationale, after all accusing your brother of being The Bay Harbour Butcher in the middle of the street is probably not the best way to keep Dexter out of prison. Debra has now given Dexter an ultimatum, either live with her 24/7 while she councils him and attempts to cure his serial killing ways or she turns him, would she really though? I mean I mentioned last time round Debra is now an accomplice in Travis Marshall’s murder, I’m pretty sure she would end up in prison too. I think if Dexter where to leave then she probably wouldn’t go to the police, but it’s not a scenario Dexter has ran with yet, for now he is happy to inject Debra’s steak and sneak out the house while she is comatose.

Quite possibly the most intriguing part of this weeks episode was the little side story of the prisoner who decided to shed his “dark passenger”, come clean and tell police where he had buried the bodies. Not the case of course, the guy just wanted out for some “Sunshine and Frosty Swirl”, and then to throw himself in front of a truck. It was his conversation with Dexter that was the best bit though, when he explained how his partner Hannah (Yvonne Strahovski, joining the cast as Dexter’s love interest later in the show) could now only see him as a killer, how he lost everyone he loved because of what he’d done and now there was only one person left to kill, himself. Not the route that I would like to see Dexter take and in all honesty I don’t think he will, Dexter is a lot stronger than that and he lives by Harry’s code, I hope that was shoved in there to let us think that is what will happen.

I have been saying since the middle of season 6 that Masuka’s intern Louis really gives me the creeps, I have also been posing the question (as have many others) how much does he know? Turns out probably not all that much, mind you I still can’t stand the prick. However, I don’t think he does know the full truth about Dexter, like Doakes I think Louis knows there is something odd about him but can’t get a handle on it, Louis though, is just a computer geek who for some reason likes to antagonise Dexter, he clearly doesn’t know who he is messing with, but Louis does not fit in with “Harry’s Code” meaning that Dexter can’t just go kill him, well he could and in all honesty I wish he would, but that’s the thing about making promises that you probably don’t intend on keeping. For me the best scene in this episode was the one where Dexter broke into Louis’ flat, charged at him and pinned him to the wall, he even lifted him off the floor at one point, Dexter’s a bad ass!

I also like the introduction to crime boss Vincent Sirko (Ray Stevenson) this week, it looks like he is going to be a real challenge for Dexter as he joins the ranks of the few “Big Bad” conquests who are physically a challenge for Dexter to over power. And Mr Sirko wasted no time in showing us just how dangerous he can be when he rammed a screw driver into the eye socket of someone who he thought had talked to police, note to Dexter, don’t leave any of your tools lying around. This is still a bit of a side story really and will no doubt develop over the season or maybe even the final two seasons depending on how the story line goes, away from the mob boss Dexter also has LaGuerta to worry about, she is awfully close to figuring that Sgt Doakes was not the Bay Harbour Butcher and has contacted the FBI with a view to having the case reopened, that in turn could force Debra’s hand on what she does with Dexter as she is Lieutenant after all, Dexter on the run would be a real great story I feel, a two season man hunt, possibly?

Unimportant to the plot but great to see on weekly TV is Quinn (Desmond Harrington) and Batista (David Zayas), although they are investigating Mike’s murder and looking into the mob bosses at the club they are not really central to the plot yet, I say yet because once the cards start to fall things will lead them back to Dexter (I think). Thing is Quinn and Batista are worth watching along with Masuka for the comedy value alone and I’d miss them if they weren’t involved every week.

This was another solid episode of Dexter as expected and I’m really looking forward to seeing where the show will take us, Dexter on the run is definitely the most appealing to me. How about you? What are your thoughts on season 7 so far? Your comments are welcome as always.

Side Notes;

Does Dexter ever look after Harrison? The price of child minders these days! Jamie must be costing Dexter and absolute fortune in child care expenses.

I suppose like they used to say in Everybody Loves Raymond, its no really about the kids.

TV Review: DEXTER - Are You...? 7.1

Dexter’s sixth season was admittedly poorer than what we have been used too, but during those final few episodes Showtime pulled off a major coup in agreeing terms with it’s star Michael C. Hall and having him sign up for two more seasons of Dexter, everyone’s favourite serial killer. Season six may have been a poor showing but the final scene of Deb walking in right as Dexter plunged his knife into the chest of Travis Marshall left fans both old and new gasping for air at the though of what season seven might have in store for us. All summer we have been teased by Showtime of a major showdown between Debra, now Lieutenant of Miami Metro and her adopted brother Dexter, aka The Bay Harbour Butcher, season 7 premiered with “Are You…?” to massive audiences and as promised it did not disappoint in any way shape or form.

Starting in a completely different vain from what I was expecting, the show recapped on the events of season 6 before braking into the season premiere with Dexter frantically driving along the freeway towards Miami International airport, “oh no”, Deb has gone and done it I thought, she has reported Dexter to Miami Metro and he is going on the run, turns out that was not the case at all, following his check in we were taken back to the final scene of season 6 and the promised showdown between Dexter and Debra, from there this episode just got better and better with the final scene again leaving us gasping for air and a real taste of what we can look forward to in the coming episodes.

It seems that Dexter is at his best when he’s not contemplating whether or not he should be a serial killer, the seasons before this (notably five and six) where Dexter has been questioning his Dark Passenger have not been as good, yet this opening episode of season 7 proves that Dexter is best when he is having to scramble, think about it, in season 2 Doakes was well onto Dexter and that is up there as one of the best seasons of Dexter ever, why? Because Dexter was caught out and every episode was a constant battle in order for him to stay one step ahead of the game, now, even bigger than Doakes, Debra knows, not just about Travis Marshall (who she is now an accessory too) but the fact that her brother is a serial killer and her father, also a respectable law man trained him in how not to get caught.

What I have always really enjoyed about Dexter are the flashback involved, if you remember I only started watching in season 5 at which point there were no real flashbacks, just moments where Harry (James Remar) would appear and have a conversation with Dexter, they were also brilliant but when I was catching up with seasons one and two during the summer the flashbacks to Deb and Dexter’s childhood were brilliant and season 7 has brought all of those back, Deb now knows why she could never have a dog in the house for instance. I’m really looking forward to seeing how these go through the season and it was also brilliant to see Debra taking herself back to season one and how she was thrust up in plastic on Rudy’s table, things where falling into place throughout the whole episode.

As always we were introduced to the season seven protagonist, this year it’s Ukrainian mobsters, one who Dexter killed during this episode and the others who will now no doubt be paying a visit to Miami to find out who bumped off one of their own in an airport departure lounge, a little unrealistic in how Dexter got away with it but at least he used a fake passport, doesn’t count for the CCTV that would be littered all over the airport but never mind it was fun all the same. Who will be the protagonist though? Ukrainian Mobsters? Debra? No doubt the mobsters will be involved but in season 2 Dexter’s main focus was always on Doakes and the investigation by Lundy, I doubt that he will kill his own sister and the fact that she helped him cover up the murder of Travis Marshall makes it harder for her to now go to police, she is involved in the murder as much as he is, she even bought the gasoline to set the fire.

As always with Dexter there are going to be side story’s, the first to mention is Masuka’s dick of an intern Lewis, who had my suspicions going last season, he seems to have some sort of personal hate campaign against Dexter sending him the hand from the Ice Truck Killer investigation and then in this episode cancelling one of his back accounts (I suppose the point may be revealed later), don’t really get that as yet. Then you have LaGuerta, she found the blood slide at the scene of Travis Marshall, why she chose to conceal it as apposed to just having Masuka run the prints is anyone’s guess, remember she has never been convinced that Sgt Doakes was the Bay Harbour Butcher.

The season seven premiere delivered everything that it promised throughout the summer, only I was expecting maybe a little more of a dramatic showdown between Dexter and Debra in the church, the pacing was brilliant though and we now can look forward to a full season of Dexter ducking and diving, trying to convince Debra that there is good inside of him, after all he only kills certain kinds of people, roll on next weeks “Sunshine and Frosty Swirl” I can’t wait.

Weekly TV Previews: Will REVOLUTION Get Any Better? PERSON OF INTEREST Finding Mr Finch, VEGAS and There Back DEXTER Season 7, HOMELAND Season 2

Hello and welcome back to the regular Fall TV season feature here at Movies Music & Television of the weeks TV previews, like always I will preview the next episode of all the shows currently under review here at MM&T as well as the shows which I’m watching but maybe not writing about every week. This is the first one back since last Fall so some shows (Dexter/Homeland) are yet to premiere on their respective networks, there for not to much to give away right now, but we’ll get through what we can, here goes;

Revolution – No Quarter 1.3

Following two episodes of Revolution I’m yet to be enthralled by what’s been on offer, best way to put it, is that in my opinion it’s been mediocre when compared to other works from J.J. Abrams, that’s not say that it can’t get better and in all honesty I hope it does, I touched on the subject in my review of “….” That there are plenty of avenues for the show to go down and hopefully it will do that. In respect of this review, well it does not really give much away other than Miles (Billy Burke) telling Charlie (Tracey Spiridakos) that the futuristic USB stick has the ability to turn the power back on and give the US it’s power back, take a look and let me know what you think.

 

Person of Interest – Bad Code 2.2

It goes without saying that Person of Interest is the best show that J.J. Abrams has on TV right now and the season 2 premiere did not disappoint in any way whatsoever. Reese was back to doing what he does best in kicking ass whilst Finch was off being all mysterious and wisdom like fencing off against computer hacker Root (Amy Acker). It seems that season 2 will deliver action, drama and mystery at the same level and above from what we got during season one and I can’t wait. “Bad Code” sees the hunt for Mr Finch head to Texas and possibly the first opportunity for the Machine to act outside of its usual jurisdiction of New York, amidst the kick ass who thinks Reese will be successful in finding Finch this week?

 

Vegas – Money Plays 1.2

From all of the pilot episodes I have seen so far in this Fall season this one has by far impressed me the most, it delivered a classy first episode which saw a weekly crime procedural mix together what should be a longer running feud between law enforcement and a local Mob boss, I’m hoping the weekly procedural side of things drops like I said in the review and hopefully we concentrate more on the bad guys v good guys side of things. The latest offering from Vegas “Money Pays” looks to continue in the light of the “Pilot”, plenty of kick ass from Dennis Quaid and a weekly procedural, I don’t mind that to much if like Person of Interest they can keep the focus on the main story behind the characters, take a look at the preview. 

 

Dexter – Are You…? 7.1

Without doubt the biggest returning show of the Fall season is Dexter, hype has been building since last December when Dexter Morgan plunged his knife into the chest of Travis Marshall’s chest, only to be caught by his sister and Miami Metro Lieutenant Debra Morgan, finally part of Dexter’s secret is out but now Dexter must fight even harder to stay one step ahead of Miami Metro and more importantly his sister, who can never find out the full truth behind Miami’s best blood spatter expert. Being the first episode I can’t find a direct trailer for the episode but this is the latest preview available from three days ago, enjoy.

Homeland – The Smile 2.1

Homeland was without doubt the biggest new drama to hit screens last Fall, from start to finish it was brilliant, it had you constantly guessing, is Nick Brody (Damien Lewis) a terrorist? Or is CIA Agent Carrie (Clare Danes) as crazy as everyone thinks she is? The question was answered during the season 1 finale when Sgt Brody was preparing to blow up the US President and a roomful of his representatives, of course he didn’t go through with it but now he has an even bigger position of power, spurred on terrorist Abu Nazir, Sgt Brody is now a US Congressman with an influential voice in US politics. Again like Dexter I don’t have a trailer for the first episode but this latest teaser really promises that Homeland will once again be hard hitting and possibly even better than season one.