For all we know, when Harry walked into the container and saw the boys, he could’ve caught Rudy/Brian further hacking up the corpses. Just a thought. I’m sure more will be revealed next season but I tend to lean towards there being a fairly solid explanation as to why Harry did not take Binney (how cute was that?) in along with Dex.
I also have a sneaking suspicion that Debra did hear some of what was being said between the two brothers. She opened her eyes just in time to see Dex blocking Rudy’s knife thrust. If she had just then woken up, I doubt it would’ve registered what was happening.
I think she knows a little more about Dex than we realize but keeps it under her hat because Dex is all she has. But that’s just my barnyard opinion.
I wasn’t overjoyed at the “revelation” that Rudy was Dex’s brother but I think the writers did a great job with it. I enjoyed the episode and can’t believe how fantasic this show is. Next season seems so far away.
I liked the ep, but I’m still pretty confused about Rudy/Bryan. Why was he an amputee fetishist? Because he saw his mother dismembered? I guess that would probably be it. Clearly he was a doctor–I doubt even he was good enough to fake working at a hospital–did he assume the identity of Rudy before going to med school? And uh, how did he go to med school if he was in County until he was 21? I guess he could have buckled down and worked hard, but that seems an awfully big hurdle to overcome.
First off, I really liked this episode and love the show.
That being said, I think Nuveau Geek has a good point, the timelines don’t quite work, but I’ll bet that’s just one of those glitches.
What bothered me more is that if Rudy is so hot on his younger brother, why did he wait all of these years to find him? I can’t help but believe he either would have figured out some way to find him much earlier, or else insisted long and legally enough until they told him, or at least told Dexter someone was looking for him. But again, I’m willing to let this one go because they did a good job on the story.
I think Dexter really is a psycho, because that’s what the story is about. He likes killing. Remember him telling Rudy that even though Dex kills bad people, that’s not why he does it. The fact that events made him that way is realistic, but I think we’re supposed to believe it was set before Harry took him in.
He wasn’t a doctor. He was a technician who fabricated prosthetic devices. I couldn’t find the qualifications for a prosthetic tech in Florida but googling around I found them for a couple of other states (Oklahoma for one) and there’s no requirement that a prothesis fabricator be a medical doctor. Some of the cops called him Doctor Something as a nickname but that doesn’t mean he was a doctor.
There’s a difference between “psycho” and “likes to kill people” and “sociopath” or “antisocial personality disorder.” Clearly Dexter is deeply disturbed but he doesn’t appear (assuming the Wikipedia article is accurate) to be diagnosable with APD. He’d have to have three or more of the following:
failure to conform to social norms with respect to lawful behaviors as indicated by repeatedly performing acts that are grounds for arrest
deceitfulness, as indicated by repeated lying, use of aliases, or conning others for personal profit or pleasure
impulsivity or failure to plan ahead
irritability and aggressiveness, as indicated by repeated fights or assaults (both physically or mentally)
reckless disregard for safety of self or others
consistent irresponsibility, as indicated by repeated failure to sustain steady work or honor financial obligations
lack of remorse, as indicated by being indifferent to or rationalizing having hurt, mistreated, or stolen from another
He has (1) and to an extent (7) but none of the others. He does lie but that’s to cover up his criminal activities, which pretty much every criminal does so I can’t see counting that as a criterion. Again, I lay a huge amount of the blame for his current condition at the feet of Harry. Maybe police department insurance in the 80s didn’t cover mental health visits but that’s still no excues for not getting Dexter into therapy instead of teaching him to be a better killer.
Yeah, but Paul sure is, isn’t he? That’s a serious limitation of the DSM-IV, IMO. There’s APD, which fits (conservatively) 85% of males in correctional institutions, but no diagnosis for Batshit Crazy Cold Blooded Serial Killer. While Rudy/Brian fits the diagnosis roughly, it doesn’t really capture him either. I think impulse control is key. Most serial killers have it. Your average APD diagnosed individual does not.
While therapy may well have been helpful for Dexter, it clearly did nothing for Rudy, and he obstensibly had 15 years of it. Still, it wouldn’t have hurt to try, and he certainly could have been pointed in the direction of some sublimation-likely professions (butcher? Meat packer?).
All that aside, what a great series! Very entertaining. I’m hoping for the first book as an xmas present and will have to think long & hard about buying the second before the series resumes. Do I want to know?
I was kind of disappointed Rita didn’t lob the shoe in the trash. Or the fireplace. I think I would have. And Deborah is still with us sigh. My best advice to her at this point: get a girlfriend.
Wait, I just thought about this some more. I can’t believe that Harry wasn’t REQUIRED to put Dexter in therapy. Wtf???!!! I would think that would be as much a requirement for a kid who has sat in his mother’s blood for two days as a new pair of pants. Play therapy can definitely be helpful for children as young as three. Any clinician glancing at the case would have considered separating the two brothers at that point to be criminal as well. Maybe if you were going to lobotomize them both, what Harry did would have been a conceivable plan, but otherwise:
From the sound of it, Rudy was kept in a state facility for the minimum time he state was legally required to keep him. He was pronounced “cured” when he turned 21 but who knows if he actually got therapy while he was locked up? And, after all, Rudy might actually be a true sociopath (or whatever term you want to use) where Dexter isn’t.
And not having read the books I’m really hoping that the series explores more in that direction. Dexter is already questioning Harry and his code. I would love to see him delve into the other decisions Harry made for him. Dexter believes he’s a sociopath and that he can’t feel but he clearly realizes that he has developed feelings for a number of people around him. Exploring how that reality conflicts with the way Harry programmed him would be fascinating.
Not to be jumping in late or anything, but I was really annoyed that the Ice Truck Killer turned out to be Dexter’s long-lost brother. A bit too deux ex machina for me. I’m surprised no other Dopers have posted feeling the same thing–didn’t it seem like a cheap “out”?
I’ve seen the comments and predictions about the possible brotherly connection leading up to the “Born Free” episode, but was surprised no one else shared any disappointment with it once it aired.
It seemed kind of desperate to me, akin to adding a baby in a tired sitcom to try and revive ratings. Dexter was good enough without having to resort to the long-lost-brother cliche. I can see them doing the fellow-serial-killer-wants-to-impress-you-oh-look-it’s your-pause-BROTHER in later, tired seasons of the show, but not the first.
It’s a great show regardless, but I’m hoping there aren’t any more plot lines like this next season.
There were other hints about it being a brother… similar killing styles (they both dismember the bodies)… I don’t really see it as a cop out, as the entire season was really about Dexter discovering more and more about himself… including the things Harry didn’t tell him.
IOW, I liked it, especially the way it was actually handled in the last episode… it wasnt dwelled on, but it really opened alot of questions for Dex, his “you have to be put down” statement… the angst, etc… had it been “any other serial killer”, Dex wouldnt have had any questions about his decsision in the end.
I would have considered it a cop-out if it had been random, if it had just happened to be his brother, but I can buy the idea that the killings all along were for Rudy to get his brother’s attention.
As I took it, Rudy had decided on this way to re-connect with his brother, that he had been watching him, not knowing what he really knew, or that he would even care, and figured out (maybe the same way Dexter figures it out for the people he kills) what his brother was.
Again, I liked this show a lot, liked the different slant of not a plain serial killer, but not a purely avenging killer, but something intriguingly inbetween.
But I still wonder why Dexter didn’t just plant a secret camera in his apartment.
As a person who considers morality to be an aesthetic, rather than an ethical, issue, I like the moral ambiguity of the show. (Same reason I liked the movie, Sling Blade.)
I was okay with the long lost brother plot, but maybe that was because I had read all the spoilers and was ready for it.
When I rewatch the first season, I might be even more accepting. We were given some hints. Well, not really hints, but we had Dexter constantly talking about how alone he felt, cut off from normal society, not even connecting with his sister. So with that in mind, the surprise brother and Dexter’s reaction to him isn’t a contrivance – it supports the story.
Sorry to bump this but I wanted to join into the discussion. I just started watching Dexter on Showtime on Demand last week. I’m up to episode 8 (and had to check airdates on the IMDB to ensure I didn’t read anything in the thread starting episode 9 or later).
I love this show. Love it. An intruging premise and good plots to keep me coming back to get to the next episode. I have to restrain myself from watching them all at once.
That said, I had a big problem with episode 8: shrink wrap. Here are my issues:
Dexter usually does a good deal of background work to make 110% certain the person he’s going after is guilty of a crime and worthy of being killed. Here, Dexter watched 3 videos (conveniently all edited to start playing at the crucial point where Dexter needed to gather information) and that’s the sum total of his evidence.
Dexter normally allows his victims to have one last word. It’s the final nail in the coffin to ensure that, yes, they did it. They’re admitting it right now to Dexter (and the audience). Here, the psychiatrist got no last word.
Let’s face facts: the psychiatrist didn’t kill these women. Was it unethical? Yeah, he’ll lose his license. Was it illegal? Probably, but that’s for a judge and jury to decide. Compare this guy to all the others who literally did kill their victims. But the biggest point is this
Dexter kills when the people are beyond the reach of the law. Wasn’t that part of the Code of Harry? Yet what does Dexter do here with his rather circumstantial evidence? The case on these women isn’t closed! How easy would it be for him to go to his sergeant, say “look what I found! These three women all have the same doctor. I don’t think it was a suicide after all.” They go get a search warrant, find the camera and it’s game over. Dexter didn’t bother doing that.
