Episode 1
In this first episode, the trajectory for season six of Dexter promises to send our serial killing protagonist into uncharted territory. In previous seasons, he has grappled with family, fate, and friendships, in addition to an ongoing battle with his “dark passenger”, but now we see Dexter primed to wrestle with religion. This episode seems to beg the question, “What kinds of things do you believe in, and why?” Early in the episode Dexter states he believes in nothing. As a spiritual blank slate, he is a great litmus test for the 3 perspectives on God we are offered from Deb, Batista, and Joe.
His nihilistic agnosticism is laid bare early in the episode, and his sister presses him further, saying his belief system sounds cold, empty, and similar to something you would teach a puppy. Are we to pity Dexter, believing in something so simple and hopeless? Yet how many people have this view of God, as a stern taskmaster who is looking only to scold us when we make a wrong move? For Deb, there is more to life than Dexter’s hollow explanation, though she cannot articulate what. When Dexter asks Batista about faith we are treated to a horrifyingly awkward display of apologetics. Batista’s answer comes a little closer to articulation than Deb, but his feeble attempts to rationalize Catholic dogma are laughable. For some Christians this scene might be uncomfortably familiar.
The final perspective on faith, one that is theologically sound, is ironically offered from Joe right before Dexter kills him. This is ironic because to end up on Dexter’s killing table one must commit murder, and Dexter must have proof of this sin. Part of what allows the audience to root for Dexter is a strong conviction and adherence to his code. While it is not the code of society, Dexter practices what he preaches. Joe does not. It is pitiful to hear Joe admit to killing his wife (“it was cheaper than divorce”) and proclaim God’s forgiveness in the same breath. However, this scene challenged me precisely because everything Joe said was true. Joe knew the truth but did not live it; am I guilty of the same hypocrisy? What good is espousing proper doctrine if I do not live it? Jesus did not deal kindly with religious hypocrites and neither does Dexter. The killing blow is dealt, literally to Joe and symbolically to his system of beliefs, in spectacular fashion. As Dexter bashes his head in with a hammer, Joe frantically shouts, “I have been washed by the blood of the lamb, and He will protect me!” Well, either Joe wasn’t or God didn’t.
(For more information on this episode, visit Showtime’s episode guide.)
Episode 3
This episode shows Dexter continuing on his quest to figure out the meaning of life. What is it that gives meaning to his existence? Dexter always functions as a blank slate of emotion and desire, simultaneously being completely devoid of any personality, making him boring, and driven by a pure code of conduct and singular focus, making him utterly fascinating.
Deb is the counterbalance for Dexter. Dexter’s inability to feel human emotions is juxtaposed by Deb’s inability to hide hers. It his helpful to see both ends of the spectrum on this show, and most viewers get to place themselves somewhere in the middle. Dexter’s lack of meaning in his life is contrasted here by his coworkers. Batista’s mid-life crisis muscle car, Quinn’s meaningless sex, etc., all show how we attempt to derive a sense of identity and meaning from everyday existence. This episode gives Dexter space to pause and gaze into his possible future and see what awaits him if he continues down his current path.
The “Tooth Fairy” inspired a teenage Dexter to keep a scrapbook of his killings, but as Dexter gets to know his former idol layers of mystery are peeled back and replaced with ugly, uncomfortable truths. The truth that he will not be able to kill forever. The truth that a secret life of murder puts a strain on relationships until you are left all alone. The DDK (doomsday killers) commit heinous acts of violence but at least they are living for something bigger than themselves. The 4 horsemen tableau…wow. Brother Sam proves that he is not afraid to die. But when the Tooth Fairy asks Dexter, “When you can do this anymore, what will you have then?” Dexter is caught off guard. The Tooth Fairy has allowed Dexter to see a vision of his life if it is followed through to its logical conclusion-and it is empty.
This meaninglessness is beautifully illustrated when Dexter’s box of slides spills all over the floor. How do you make sense of the world? What are you living for, and what will happen when it all comes crashing to the ground?
(For more information on this episode, visit Showtime’s episode guide.)
Episode 4
In this episode we see Dexter finally begin to accept the fact that he does not have all the answers. This gradual revelation is sandwiched between two people who possess confidence of faith-Brother Sam on one side, and the DDK (Doomsday Killer) on the other. Both risk much for what they believe, whereas Dexter struggles with the realization that he is not always in control.
Dexter’s interactions with Brother Sam in this episode are quite poignant. (it is not often that we meet someone cooler than Dexter, but Mos Def is perfect here.) Incidentally, their major conversations take place in a similar arc of Jesus’ ministry. First, at a baptism Sam convinces Dexter that he actually does believe in something bigger than himself. Then at Sam’s shop, where he does ministry, they discuss the nature of faith. Finally, in a hospital, Dexter’s son experiences near-death and miraculous resurrection. Is this parallel (baptismal announcement, ministry work, death & resurrection) a sign of growth for our hero? Unfortunately, Dexter’s revelatory moment comes in the form of a Hollywood cliché’- “I don’t know if you are there, God, but if you get me out of this jam, I’ll do anything!” I’m pretty sure Bart Simpson offered this trite prayer about every other episode.
The perception of a God who functions as an exchange of goods and services has persisted throughout history; it will be interesting to see if the name of Jesus comes up by the end of the season. Regardless, Sam gets Dexter to acknowledge that we all believe in something, and you better be sure that something is worth everything. But how can we ever be sure? When the doctor informs him Harrison will be OK, Dexter awkwardly mumbles “Thank God!” This episode posits that when we surrender to the illusion that we are in control, we have no need for God, but eventually that illusion will evaporate. The show wants the audience to see how conflicted Dexter is now-is his faith in science being replaced, or possibly supplemented, by a faith in God? Is tragedy the only way God can speak to us? Will we stop to listen to him otherwise?
(For more information on this episode, visit Showtime’s episode guide.)
Episode 6
This episode begins with a good old fashioned free will vs. predestination dilemma. Are we in control of our own destiny, or is our future already planned out? Dexter ponders these things as he stalks Travis through the market. Dexter believes we are defined by our choices, not a higher power. His relationship with brother Sam has led to ongoing doubt in his own mind – is there only darkness in him, or is there still good, as brother Sam seems to think? No sooner has Dexter asserted the power of choice then he gets a call that Sam has been shot. He immediately chooses to leave Travis to go to his hurt friend. It seems as though Sam is having more of an effect on Dexter than he might realize.
This inner struggle is also seen in Travis. His own goodness is constantly at odds with the evil of Professor Gellar, and this episode finally sees his inner goodness win a battle. His release of the woman (who was captured to be branded as a whore) also coincides with Dexter’s own brightest moment. Brother Sam’s dying was what was needed for Dexter to let Nick (the one who killed him) go. Dexter decides, against all odds and instinct, to listen to Harry (his guardian angel) and, just this once, let Nick go. To those of us accustomed to Dexter’s awesome brand of vigilantism, this is a bit of a shock. Is his spiritual struggle having a real effect on his actions?
Of course the power scene at the end negates all of this. Dexter confronts Nick, who says he killed Sam because, although he was baptized, nothing in his life changed. This certainly rings a sour note for those of us who have seen (or are?) Christians whose lives change very little after knowing Christ. Nick continued to act the part of a repentant Christian, but in his heart he was angry. I must admit, the scene when he puts his head down in ostensible shame, and comes up laughing, produced a very, very dark emotion in me. Dexter felt it too, as his dark passenger came roaring back with a vengeance, and he immediately drowns Nick at the very spot he was baptized. When he turns around to see his older brother (Season 1 villain “Ice Truck Killer”) as his new passenger, we are left with the clear message that without the intervention of light, dark actions beget darker ones still.
(For more information on this episode, visit Showtime’s episode guide.)
Episode 8
Brother Sam’s funeral is incredible. I cannot recall a movie (let alone a television program) that allowed a chapter of the bible to be read aloud in its entirety. We rarely get scripture allowed to stand on it own, with no subjective associations. Usually when audiences are presented with a Bible verse it is being abused by a sociopath of some sort (Samuel L. Jackon’s character in Pulp Fiction comes to mind). The scene is quite tense – the waters are calm, but Dexter is troubled. He is given a Bible, but it is literally stained with the blood of the man who tried to help him. A man whose dying wish was for Dexter to let go of his burden, his dark passenger, and allow light to overtake him. What will Dexter do with the scripture and mandate that has been handed down to him?
Apparently he will bend scripture to fit his purposes. Using James 4:17 to convince Travis to help him kill Gellar might seem clever to Dexter, but Christians might get a sick feeling in their stomach. How many evil deeds have been perpetrated throughout history in the name of God, with scripture being taken out of context to help support them? On a smaller scale (but just as troubling), what scripture, theology, or rationale do we latch on to in order to justify our selfish actions? I know I have cited Jesus overturning the money changers’ tables at the temple as an excuse for my own violent actions.
This episode also featured something Dexter fans would have never guessed – Dexter confessing all of his murders to a priest! Of course, he achieves this cathartic release without any consequence, as the priest who absolves him has severe Alzheimer’s and lives in a nursing home. It is a clever moment in an otherwise typical track-down-the-villain’s-lair sequence. Once Dexter reaches the church and recruits Travis to help him, he states that killing Gellar will elimate one small bit of darkness from the world. Is it ever our job to eliminate what we perceive as darkness? There are valid points from across the spectrum ranging from just war to pacifism, but how is a follower of Christ to know when/where/how God might work through us, if God ever does, to bring light into the darkness?
(For more information on this episode, visit Showtime’s episode guide.)
Episode 9
Dexter and Travis are now working together; each man has his own dark passenger which oscillates between controlling and controllable. The title of the episode is somewhat misleading, a fact we discover in shocking fashion at the end of the episode. I have to say, I did not see it coming. It has been a while since a show left me standing on my feet, clutching my own hair with my jaw dropped. I couldn’t concentrate for two days. This now means that Travis’ hallucinatory relationship is just like Dexter’s. Travis has Gellar; Dexter has Harry. It is a figment of his imagination, based on a real, influential person from his past, who now offers advice, counsel, and occasional rebuke on his path. Dexter, though a mass murderer, has a more healthy grasp of Harry’s presence and voice in his life than Travis, who cannot distinguish between realities.
I wonder how many of us behave as though we still have a presence in our lives that actually left us years ago. Perhaps one’s parents never expressed approval and that leads to a workaholic who is trying to earn the respect they never got as an adolescent. Maybe unrequited love at a young age causes one to seek fulfillment in the arms of many others later in life. These seem like the kind of wounds Jesus so desperately wants to heal in us. How would we behave differently if, instead of a disapproving parent, friend, or lover, we had God standing next to us during tough times saying, “It’s alright, I love you. No matter what.” I know I would act with more patience, grace, and peace.
At this point in the season, Dexter is mostly following a similar arc from previous season – who will catch the bad guy first, Dexter or Miami Metro? The crucial scenes in this episode take place at the church, which is somewhat analogous to how the show has represented traditional religion itself thus far. It is a hollow, empty creation of man, long since abandoned by rational people, only occupied now by crazies. While frowning upon traditional religion, Dexter is still espousing adherence to a moral code; its just a moral code with few absolutes.
(For more information on this epsiode, visit Showtime’s episode guide.)
Episode 12
The season finale ends with a nice purgatory metaphor for Dexter. He is floating aimlessly, not alive but not yet dead, in the wake of his own sins (it is the same spot in the ocean he drops his bodies off). He is left to ponder his own existence, the world without him, and his legacy.
Again we see Harrison, Dexter’s son, returning as his only sense of purpose or direction. While others pursue righteousness or pleasure, Dexter only wants to create a better world and healthier environment for his son than he himself had growing up. Most importantly, he wants to make sure his son grows up without the dark passenger his adopted father cultivated in him. Unlike traditional religious practice, Dexter does not want to pass on his beliefs to future generations; in fact, it is the opposite. When he is rescued and sitting alone with Harrison, he says, “If some God or force did save me today, I’m sure it was for you and not for me.” God sacrificed his son Jesus to save all of humanity. Dexter will sacrifice all of humanity to save his son.
This, of course, contributes to the climactic showdown at the end where Travis is holding Harrison hostage on the rooftop. When he ends up on Dexter’s killing table at the end there is a bit of interesting dialogue. We have a condemnation of religious intolerance, a bit of eastern yin/yang philosophy, disarming of the power of faith, and some free will vs. fate, but Travis finally does get one thing right. His dying words are, “This is not how it’s supposed to be!” This sentiment is surely felt by believers and atheists alike, the idea that there is something not quite right with the world. Yes, there is beauty and truth, but our hearts can sense that the kind of evil we find is simply not right. How do we account for it?
This season ends boldly with Dexter perhaps more out of his element than ever before. Until now he has operated with relative anonymity, secrecy, and freedom. Whenever someone from his dark side (villians) crossed over into his light side (his real life and day job), he eventually kills them before they reveal his secret. But when Deb (the closest thing he has to an authentic relationship) walks in and clearly sees his serial killing side, he can no longer live a dualistic life. His worlds come crashing together. It is fitting then, that Dexter’s last words of the season, and consequently his first words as a a vulnerable, exposed man, are quite simply, “Oh, God…” As a theologian, I have to wonder – Is this a trite last-ditch plea for any help, or has Dexter actually undergone a personal transformation that results in some kind of acknowledgement of a higher, transcendent force? As a Dexter fan, I have to wonder – what the heck is Deb going to do? This reaffirms my love/hate of season cliffhangers, especially since this one has been six seasons in the making.
(For more information on this epsiode, visit Showtime’s episode guide.)