One thing that I was waiting to see was Rudy setting off Dexter’s SK-DAR (SK = Serial Killer). Maybe it’s more of a Killer-DAR in general. Normally Dexter can pick out the killers (and the frauds). Doakes seems to have the ability too, but Rudy slipped by him as well (they met in the hospital several times from what I remember). It makes me wonder if it will be part of the story or if it’s something about the characters that was ignored for the story.
Good point, I forgot there was a second book. Ah well, I haven’t read that one, so if they do go that way, it’ll all be new to me 
Dexter ‘should’ have recognized the knots that Rudy was using to tie the records… he ‘should’ve’ put together the old lady calling after the cable man… other than that, truly creepy stuff…
I wonder if we’lll get more of the backstory on Dex’s bio-dad… and just how did Rudy know to track him down? Dex had no clue he was alive/who he was, very little chance that there were any records of him in his apartment…
And I don’t think ITK fits any more… this guys got quite the body count… felt bad for little old lady from accross the street… she’s a goner fo’sho.
I am surprised no one else has posted yet. This past week’s episode on 12/3 was a doozy. The previews were even better!
Spoilers for the episode follow so be warned…
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I really thought that the divorced detective was going to die in this episode. I like his character and I am glad they didn’t kill him off.
Dexter is showing even more emotion in this episode having a panic attack at the crime scene.
The guy he works with has some of the best lines in the show. He had a few great ones at the crime scene as well as when he was talking with the divorced detective about amputee fetishists.
Questions I have, things I wonder about:
How does the ice truck killer know so much about Dexter’s life? He knew about his real father and kills him. He knew that Dexter’s mom was killed with a chainsaw. (At least I gather that is what happened in the flashback.)
Why are they showing the whole pissing match between the lieutenant and captain? It adds nothing to the story line.
Why is Dexter’s sister such a bitch? I don’t know if it is the actress or how it is written but man I would have told her she was way out of line a few times this episode.
This has not been explained yet.
I don’t think Debra was completely out of line. Remember, she has been living in Dexter’s shadow her whole life and now the guy she falls for is more interested in Dexter than her. I guess I’d be pissed too.
I am so glad Angel didn’t die. His character is awesome.
I think it’s pretty clear that Dex’s mom was hacked up with a chainsaw. I wonder who the guy was lying on the floor in the room with her and Dex. I wonder if her killer will be some big reveal or if it’s moot.
It’s kind of frustrating that the normally observant Dexter is so distracted by his issues with his biological dad and with his flahsbacks that he didn’t even notice the cuts Rudy was making into the steak. I was yelling at the t.v.
I want to know why the person who killed Dexter’s mom left him alive. Seriously - he’s a witness! And if you’re the kind of person who is capable of hacking up a defenseless woman alive, I doubt you’d have a problem icing a child, even if you had to do it in a less violent manner.
I’m guessing the killer (Dexter’s father?) was interrupted before he could get to Dexter.
I just wanted to give a big “Thank-you” to Showtime, because all I could see when I would close my eyes to sleep was The Boy in the Blood and Dexter’s mother telling him, “Close your eyes. Mommy loves you.”
spoilers…
It seems clear to me that Rudy was somehow involved in Dexter’s mom’s death. Obviously he wasn’t the killer because he is roughly Dexter’s age but there is a second body on the floor so I figure either Rudy is related to it or he’s related to the killer. I suppose it’s even possible that he was in the room too.
The only thing that really throws a wrench into that is that Rudy seemed surprise that Dexter freaked out when he saw the blood. I dunno actually? Was that surprise? It was sort of a strange reaction.
But yeah, the chainsaw comment was too much of a coincidence, Rudy is the child of somebody involved in the murder of Dexter’s mom.
This is my guess about what happened in Dexter’s past…
-Dexter’s mom has left his father and remarries or dates another man.
-There is a second baby involved and that is Rudy. Dex has a brother!
-Dexter’s father get’s all OJ on everybody and kills his and Rudy’s mom and Rudy’s father.
-This would explain why Dexter wasn’t killed and why Rudy was angry enough at Dexter’s father to kill him. It also makes sense that Rudy would have gone through something traumatic in his past to make him have the urges Dexter has. It would also help dexter appreciate his adopted father a little more.
The people who read the book are probably laughing at me right now but that’s my guess.
Drm, I haven’t read the book but I’m not laughing at you either. It’s a plausible theory. I just hope you’re wrong.
Drm, I haven’t read the book but I’m not laughing at you either. It’s a plausible theory. I just hope you’re wrong. I really would hate to see any connection like that between Rudy and Dexter. It just seems like a slasher flick cliche or something. Harry knew all about Dex’s past but chose not to tell him everything. Dex never really dug into it because he believe Harry never lied. I’m sure it wasn’t hard for Rudy to do some digging and find out that Dex’s mom was killed with a chainsaw.
The Chao Goes Mu,
I suppose it is possible that Rudy just feels some sort of Kinship with Dexter. I can understand you not wanting to see any connection seeing as it would be kind of tough to continue the series but a connection with Dexter is the only thing that makes any sense to me.
What I DON"T want it to be is that Dexter killed somebody Rudy knows/loved.
Drm,
I agree. That would be a complete cop-out on the writers’ part if Rudy interest in Dex is based on some type of vengeance. What I’d like to see is no other connection than Rudy just having an admiration/fascination with Dex as one serial killer to another. Rudy is enjoying the “game” and right now he has the upper hand in that game.
The Chao Goes Mu
Yeah, I guess what kind of throws me is that Rudy killed Dexter’s biological father. If I recall correctly (and I may not), Dexter’s biological father wasn’t killed the typical ice truck killer way which means that Rudy didn’t want that one to be public knowledge for some reason. For me, that one signalled more emotional involvement in this other than some serial killer respect thing.
You might be right…all I really care about is that the story is good and makes sense.
I could be waaaaaay off, but I don’t think Dexter’s bio father would have spent as much of his natural life out of jail as he did, if he’d been the chainsaw-wielding maniac.
He died relatively young as a free man, right? It is possible that he “got away with” the murder and went to jail for something else, but imo that would be cheap storytelling.
That being said, it will be interesting to find out what else, if anything, Dex remembers about that night - the murderer being interrupted is plausible, so does Dex remember being “rescued”? If he was saved by Harry, that would explain his devotion to him.
Dexter spends so much time saying that he is incapable of feeling anything, but if that is true, why does he care so much about what Harry thought of him?
IANAClinical psychologist, but I don’t think Dexter is a “true” sociopath.
I agree - I don’t think Dexter is a reliable narrator on this point. I admit to myself that I am waiting for Dex to be “redeemed”. Look at how he plays with Rita’s kids, how he flirts and jokes. He cares about Deb, in the sense that he desires her happiness and her opinion of Dex matters to him.
It could be argued that he is only doing this to look “normal” and hide, as Harry taught him. But he consistently goes out of his way and spends precious time and energy on these social connections. He seeks these connections, something in him wants them.
Imo, Dex is damaged, not broken.
And I have to say again, if that is in fact the case, I lay a lot of blame for Dexter at Harry’s feet.
I think the assumption the writers are counting on us to make is that whatever “broke” Dex was witnessing the murder of his mother. You could argue that Harry exacerbated it by helping Dex go down a path of alientation, rather than attempting integration, but imo that’s overthinking things.
Oh, I agree that witnessing the murder is what “broke” Dexter. Hasn’t he said that he has no memory of the first several years of his life? And now he’s recovering flashes. I disagree that it’s overthinking it to place a good chunk of the blame on Harry. I’ve said before that had Harry gotten Dexter into counseling after discovering the animal graves instead of training him how to be a stealthier killer then Dexter would be a lot better off.