Dexter S5E01 Review - "My Bad"
 |
| Dexter looks on at another person's funeral. Image courtesy of Showtime. |
Well, what can i say. This week's premiere of Season 5 of Dexter was quite interesting...and quite awesome to boot. I suppose it would be best to provide a brief summary of the events that occurred in this episode. Beware, spoilers ahead!
First and foremost, the episode was primarily about Dexter and his coming to terms with the death of Rita and his associated guilt at not being there to protect her from Trinity. Additionally, we were also treated to some flashbacks of Dexter and Rita's first date, which Dexter was using as a cover to stalk a new target.
On a secondary note, Deb and Quinn's story-lines were set up for the season, mainly with Deb's role helping Dexter take care of Harrison, and Quinn investigating into Rita's murder. Unfortunately, no Julia Stiles yet, but she will most likely be making an appearance hopefully next week, or the following one - we will just have to wait and see what happens.
Okay, now for the review itself. From a critic's standpoint, i believe that the episode did a great job in wrapping up the Rita character's storyline, and she was sent off with a fond farewell. However, in terms of setting up the character's roles for the current season, i think that this was done well, however not exceptional.
One example of this is Deb's role in this episode. She plays temporary nanny to Dexter/ fuck buddy to Quinn and, while it does set up the premise for most of the season, i was kind of expecting more from her character. However, to be fair, with the phenomenal amount of actors and actresses signed on for the season, i think it will be quite hard to fit everything in and assign each character a role without being repetitive.
That leads me to my next point. The timing of the show. I know it's way too early to call yet, but i have a growing suspicion that this season may have timing issues similar to Season 3's debacle with Jimmy Smits's character and subsequent storyline. I do acknowledge the fact that we still have eleven more episodes to go, but i just hope that the producers (and Clyde Phillips as consultant) can keep this season fresh and entertaining while at the same time honoring their commitments to time and balance.
Overall, these are my marks for the first episode of Season 5:
- Potency of the season's theme in the episode: *****
- Editing/Scenes of Relevance: ****
- Main character's effectiveness in role/connection with audience: ****
- Secondary character's effectiveness in role/connection with audience: ***
- Music/Visual Effects: *****
- Potency of all storylines & relationships between characters in the episode: ***
Episode Marks: 24 / 30
Grade Percentage: 80%
Well, we still have eleven weeks of fabulous television ahead of us, so until next week, stay safe and enjoy! xD
