Dexter - Season Two

The cool thing about the second season of Dexter is that it makes the first season better because of all the things it set up for us. As we open, basically everything Dex did last season comes back to haunt him: being unable to kill because of his showdown with the ice truck killer, all of his victims being discovered at the bottom of the ocean, Doakes becoming so suspicious that he begins tailing Dexter, Rita's ex husband biting the dust in prison (and that entire Paul storyline last season being a nice setup for the "Dexter pretending to be a druggie" arc this season), and so on. While the arc of season one felt like an open and shut chapter, it's nice to see that it's still completely relevant to the following chapter.

While last season was mainly to establish Dexter's rules and his process for killing, his decision in the finale led us to this season's purpose, which was to establish who Dexter actually is beneath Harry's code. As his secrets come frighteningly close to being exposed, we learn more about him because you can tell a lot about a person from how they react when cornered.

I found it funny in one episode when Angel introduced himself as "Dexter's best friend" because season one had spent so much time telling us that Dex is a loner and only puts up with people for appearances, but by the end of the season I realized Angel was probably right. The only people who can come close to being considered Dexter's friends are his co-workers, and out of them he is closest with Angel. In the last few episodes he was even showing signs of caring about him, and really I think that's what this arc was getting at. In the past Dexter was pretending to care so as not to seem like a psychopath, but we've slowly been watching him develop some feelings as he learns about himself thanks to Lila (it's amazing how they turned that around on me, because when she was first introduced I thought she was cool and then by the end of the season I couldn't stand her).

It looks like Doakes is dead. If so, I will miss his hilarious bursts of anger and swearing. In his honour, I have prepared a special tribute video. Special Agent Lundy was also a cool addition and I hope to see him back sometime. I know I'm behind on this show but I'm looking forward to the next seasons.

Best Episode: From now on (and retroactively, watch for that post) when I review TV shows on DVD, I'm going to name what my favourite episode was from that season. For the second season of Dexter, it's "Left Turn Ahead", which contains a humourous sequence where Dexter imagines different outcomes in telling Deb he's the Bay Harbor Butcher, and possibly my favourite Doakes quote ever ("Suck ma dick, muthafucka, you understand that shit?").