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Dexter: Hungry Man (2009)
A true reflection of why Dexter is such a great show
This is, without a doubt, my favorite episode so far of Dexter. All the elements that make up good TV can be found here, from the dramatic twist involving our lovely reporter Christine, to the wonderful family moments seen towards the end.
For so long this season, our main murderer, Dexter, has looked to Arthur Mitchell as a sort of guidance for how to deal with his family and "hobby," believing Mitchell to be nearly perfect in that respect by being able to work and keep his family together, all while committing horrific murders to relive his childhood. It seemed like Mitchell's life was too good to be true to Dexter, and with all things that appear too good to be true, it was. It turns out that, although very happy and loving on the surface, the Mitchell family lives in constant fear of their patriarch and his abusive ways. Whether it's Rebecca, being locked in her room or Jonah, suffering sever physical abuse at the hands of his father, the Mitchell family is constantly terrorized by Arthur. The explosion at the dinner table was a wonderful job of acting by all involved and shows just how easy it is to set off an abusive "family man." The simple fact that, while saying what they were thankful for, nobody mentioned Arthur prompted a melt-down from young Jonah, who was fed up with his father's ways. Eventually, Jonah breaks the vase holding his aunt Vera's ashes, causing Arthur to go ballistic and choke Jonah, which would have likely killed him had Dexter not intervened. All this, started because nobody said they were thankful for Arthur.
Then, cut to the Morgan home. We learn that Cody, Dexter's adopted son, has fallen through the roof of Dexter's new shed, the place where he hides his weapons and blood slides. When Dexter comes back from the Mitchell house, he sees a small bruise on Cody's cheek. Cody apologizes to Dexter for damaging the shed, causing Dexter to tell Cody that, as long as he's okay, nothing else matters, not the shed, not the blood slides that could have fallen out of the A/C unit, not Dexter's weapons hidden trunk's false bottom that could have been revealed, had Cody fallen on the trunk and broken it. Then, we get to Thanksgiving dinner in the Morgan household and Rita offers to go around the table and say what everyone's thankful for, which Dexter completely opposes, and so they decide not to do it. Except for little Cody. Sitting at the kid's table, not even having been asked to say anything, the little boy stands up and basically shouts out "I'm thankful for Dexter!" The Morgan's and the Mitchell's could not be more juxtaposed families. On one hand, you have a family that reminds you of every serial killer story before, with a man who is friendly, volunteers his time to the needy, is active in his congregation, has a wonderful wife and two polite, well-mannered kids. But when you scratch the surface, just a little bit, things aren't as nice and happy as they seem. On the other hand, you have Dexter, the serial killer who is so out of touch with humanity that even he can see it, and his family, the wife who kissed another man, just a short while before he gets home, a sister who spends most of her time at the house working, a rowdy little step-son, and a rebellious teenage step-daughter. But beneath all the quirks, all the flaws, and all the blood, this is a family that loves each other, a family that is glad to have one another around and in their lives.
This is why Dexter is such good TV to watch. It's not all about the fact that he's a serial murderer killer. Yes, that character arc is wonderful to see and it's a great premise for the show, but the thing that makes this so much more than just an average show with an interesting premise is the amount of details that make it just like any other show. Family, work, stress, the concept of how to make time for the people in your life while still being yourself and doing things that you like doing. The idea that our lives don't have to look like they came out of some Martha Stewart magazine. That's the reason people love Dexter so much. A serial killer who only kills murderers? Sure, that'll attract a lot of viewers and people, but the reason that so many people not only watch this, but love it, is because of all the other stuff going on.
Castle: 47 Seconds (2012)
Proof of a terrible season, so far
Let me start off by saying that I'm a huge fan of Castle. I own the first three seasons on DVD, I've seen all the episodes of Season 4 so far, so I'm in no way saying that it's a bad show. What I am saying is that the writing has just simply turned crappy and this episode is living proof for a few reasons:
1. It isn't fun anymore. Remember when it was a show about a lovable boyish man who, thanks to some string pulling, got to ride along with a cop and solve crimes? That was Castle Seasons 1-3. Now, there are no jokes, no lightheartedness, nothing to balance out the seriousness of it.
2. It's no longer centered around crime. Early episodes of Castle were all about catching the killer and restoring justice for the victim and their family, with the really personal stuff being shown as a sub-plot. Now all you get is Castle pining for Beckett who may or may not love Castle back and Castle having to deal with the fact that he won't tell Beckett that he loves her, with the actual crime taking a back seat.
3. The murderer is a total surprise, just not in a good way. Originally, I liked Castle because it was a show that helped you figure out who the culprit really was. They built up evidence, slowly leading you to the conclusion of who the murderer was, but that's all changed. Remember this episode? The reporter was the accomplice? You mean the one who appeared for the first thirty seconds and then disappeared until her interrogation? Yep. No longer is this the show that made you feel smart for slowly but surely discovering the killer, but rather it's the one with the last minute twists put in place for shock value. This episode is a perfect example. As far as we know, the reporter had no motive, and no opportunity to set off the bomb. Then we discover both at the very end. Motive: wanting to advance her career which is stagnant. Opportunity: she just so happened to have gone to the same college as the recruiter of the protest (the college that has around 20,000 students) and they just so happened to be friends who met for drinks. The only real clue we get of any connection between the two is that the victim made a phone call right before the bomb went off and our lovely reporter received a call before she started filming. That wasn't the only episode either. Remember last week, when the killer was the financial adviser, who we only discovered was the murderer toward the very end? Or the one before that when we didn't even meet the murder suspect until the episode was half over with? Hopefully, in the future, the writers will go back to the old way of solving crimes on TV.
4. Castle is a writer, or at least he *was* a writer. One of the fun things about the show was that whenever a new piece of information popped up, Castle had some wild, crazy, awesome theory that, while usually never true, added an air of fun and let you remember who Castle is. He's not some tough cop who's been hardened by the dirty world of crime, he's this youthful, immature, optimistic writer with a huge imagination and a boyish charm that could melt a heart of ice. It was wonderful because it provided a wonderful contrast of Beckett's "evidence is everything" attitude. The victim wasn't killed by his wife, it was super Nazi secret spies wanting a computer chip in the victim's brain. Now, there's no real fun theory about spies, aliens, conspiracy theorists, or anything. It's just three cops and their rich friend who provides no unique insight. Castle is no longer a writer, he's just a guy who's been there for a while and gets to stay for some reason. There hasn't been any mention of a new Nikki Heat book in a long time and, aside from a real quick favor for Martha's "friend," there's been no real mention of Castle being a professional novelist.
So, that's it. Those are my reasons. Hopefully, though, this is just the dark before the dawn. Next episode looks to be promising (it's already aired, but I haven't had a chance to see it) and the episode after looks to be even better, featuring Nathan Fillion's (Castle's) old acting buddy, Adam Baldwin, who played Jayne Cobb in Firefly, a show starring Fillion as Capt Malcolm Reynolds. So, maybe we're looking at a dark past with a bright future ahead of us. One can only hope.