Because he’s a sick fuck?
He must fetishize body parts so making the cast of Deb’s fuels his nasty kink. He may also be setting her up as a future target. He mostly killed hookers before, right? I bet there’s some hooker casts in his collection somewhere too.
You know, I wanted to watch this show when it first came out, and didn’t. I tried to watch the episode where Dex is swimming and couldn’t get past 5 minutes of it.
Last week when I was off sick, I watched the first five episodes “on demand”.
I’m hooked! I LOVE this show.
I wish my fiance and I would have started watching it together so I have someone to talk to about it.
I just watched Sunday’s episode.
So happy about the identity of ITK. I like their little Craig’s List messages.
I got spoiled watching so many episode’s back to back. Now I have to wait almost a week! 
Are the writers trying to redeem Dexter? It’s an interesting discussion over at tv.com - is he really as “empty” as he think he is, or was he “broken” by his childhood? Are they dangling the possibility of his redemption in front of us to keep us hooked, only to smash it later? (If so, how Joss of them!)
This week, how creepy was it that Deb admitted to feeling a connection? Imagine how that will strike her in hindsight, later on.
My question is more along the lines of how much of his situation can be laid at the feet of Harry? It seemed like, after Harry found the animal graves when Dexter was very young, that he made no effort to get the kid any help whatsoever. Instead of getting him into therapy or even consulting with any sort of medical or mental health professional at all, Harry immediately went into training mode. I don’t know a lot about sociopathy, like how well it responds to treatment, but if Dexter truly is a sociopath then training him how to be a better serial killer is a really fucked up parenting choice.
Well, maybe Harry was a product of his time: before the Oprah-tization of America, I mean.
Whether or not it is accurate (is nostaliga ever?), the “good old days” are often portrayed as being populated by quaint pragmatists. Another example is Idgie’s family in Fried Green Tomatoes, who embraced the fact that she was “unconventional” and accomodated her.
Dexter’s reaction to therapy suggests that he thirsted for it, because he’d never encountered it before. I don’t think Harry didn’t pursue it because it geniunely didn’t occur to him.
Whoops, please remove that “don’t” from my last sentence. That is what I DO think.
I think he’s making a special present for Dexter. That’s why he told him they’d “share a cold one” soon.
The prognosis for treating sociopathy with psychotherapy is extraordinarily poor, but it’s *still *a fucked up parenting choice. His stepdad seriously gives me the creeps. He was a cop WAY too long.
Assuming that Dexter is approximately the same age as the actor portraying him (Hall is 35) then Harry would have discovered the animal graves in about, what, 1980. give or take a few years? I think by 1980 the idea that disturbed children might benefit from therapy was pretty well accepted. In fact I went to a child psychologist for a few sessions when I was around young Dexter’s age (not for sociopathy though). The MacDonald triad, of which cruelty to animals is one, was developed in 1963 and clearly Harry was aware of it since “animal graves” immediately equaled “serial killer” in his mind.
In that case, since you are making perfect sense, please allow me to lean more heavily on the second half of my post.
It’s a convention in certain types of storytelling that parents of “unusual” children move to accomodate them rather than forcing them to conform. This is step three of the Hero’s Journey; “Supernatural Aid”. My point is, without Harry doing what he did, there would be no story. Sure, in real life, it would be pretty fucked up, but it’s just tv. I think it serves the story very well.
Oh, I agree that it serves the story, but even within the context of the story it’s fucked.
Aye, but there’s the rub… Harry was a cop… and he knew that the ‘letter of the law’ couldn’t always be counted on… I think (hope) that we’ll see Harry actually sent Dex on a few ‘missions’… Harry was creating his own little vigilante, and ensuring that he wouldn’t get caught.
If ya can’t cure’m, encourage them!
We kind of already did. Dexter’s first kill was the “Angel of Mercy” nurse who was poisoning Harry and other patients. IIRC Harry told Dex in so many words to take her out.
I’m impressed with how much thought gets put into this show. That first kill, for instance, was pretty sloppy as compared to his later ones. Obviously he didn’t really know what he was doing yet. A nice touch.
I was kind of disappointed that Creepy Prosthetic Guy turned out to be the ITK. It seemed too obvious. I have a prediction, though:
Dexter will figure out who the real ITK is. But he’ll realize that Deb would be totally squicked if she ever found out she was boning a serial killer. So Dex will have to make ITK disappear without the cops (and therefore Deb) ever finding out who he was.)
Another enjoyable episode this week, although maybe a notch or so below a few of the others. Dexter is still a quite a few steps behind the ITK (who’s name escapes me atm). The ITK being able to track down Dexter’s father almost makes you wonder if they are somehow related. Some nice scenes like the packing where Dex and the ITK are the ones doing the cutting, taping, and tying.
Is the doc’s name Rudy?
Yeah, the scene with both of them cutting, tying and wrapping was good, and not overplayed, which made it even better.
I’m dying to know what kind of murder scene would squick out our Dex!
I wasn’t so hot for the Doakes and Angel side-story. Do you suppose that’s all we’ll hear of it? Was it filler?
Was last night the first episode where Dex didn’t kill anybody?
I don’t think so. It was the ninth episode. He’s killed the guy in the first ep who killed children, the husband-wife human traffickers, the drunk driver, the nurse (from his younger years), and the therapist from last week. Who am I forgetting?
I don’t recall his killing anyone the week that the ITK wannabe was captured. He was planning on killing the teenager he’d spared before but didn’t. Come to think of it, did he kill anyone the first time the teenager was targeted? I don’t remember.
I was coming here specifically to comment on the tying-cutting-taping scene. Genius.
Doctor Rudy is playing the part just ever so slightly creepier than i’d like. The whole hugging Dexter didn’t quite ring true to me and there were a couple of other false notes which I’m not quite remembering. Plus I think Doctor Rudy totally wants to do Dexter, and not in a nice normal kill him and drain his blood sort of way.
Side story with Angel and Doakes was a big meh. I’m assuming they’re setting something up for later. I have a thought about Doakes and how he reacts to Dexter in light of Doakes’ own little execution but it’s not quite gelling. Something about how like may be recognizing like and vigilantism.
Paul can go away any time now. The story’s not interesting me. Maybe if Dexter kills him and Rita finds out about it and is totally OK with it that’d be interesting.
There was the guy who did the snuff videos too. That was where we found out that dogs don’t like Dexter (he broke into the guy’s house and the dog came after him). I’m pretty sure that was also the first episode, but it may have been the second.
I’m coming to this thread late, but as some who read and enjoyed Darkly Dreaming Dexter, I’d just like to say I’m absolutely loving this series. Michael C. Hall and Julie Benz are amazing in their roles and deserve as many awards as the academy can throw at them. I also love that, while the writers are sticking to the main plot of the book, they’re doing a very good job of not only fleshing it out, but also giving the other characters backstory and side storylines - something the book was guilty of overlooking. Saying that, I’m not particularly enjoying the Rita’s ex-husband storyline, but there’s always going to be something about any TV show that doesn’t sit right with someone.
I’m looking forward to seeing where the series goes after they’re done with the plot of Dreaming. It’ll be interesting to see what the writers can do when they’re pretty much given free reign.
What about the sequel, Dearly Devoted Dexter?