Dexter (Season 7)

DEXTER, SEASON 7 (TELEVISON)
Paramount Home Entertainment

Release date: June 3rd, 2013
Running time: 600 minutes

Creator: James Manos, Jr.

Cast: Michael C. Hall, Jennifer Carpenter, Lauren Velez, David Zayas, James Remar, Yvonne Strahovski, Ray Stevenson

At one point or another, we’ve all done things that fall into the category of “questionable legality”, haven’t we? But admitting to that and saying you’ve committed a crime are two different things. Some crimes are victimless; like not paying for a piece of fruit you’ve eaten while in the supermarket, or jay walking. Then there are other crimes, such as assault, kidnapping, rape and murder. In these crimes there are victims. Lots of victims.

Dexter Morgan (Michael C. Hall) is a fellow who should be more than a little familiar with crime, especially murder. Having worked as a blood spatter analyst for a number of years, the widowed father knows exactly what the odds are of being caught, tried and convicted of crimes such as murder. Still, that hasn’t thwart his desire to kill those who escape being brought to justice.

After uncovering the identities of the Doomsday Killer last season, it all ended on a nail-biting cliffhanger when his sister Deborah (Jennifer Carpenter) walked in on him finishing up work for the day. It was a moment we all knew was inevitable and for six seasons the show has brilliantly worked its way up to it. Season 7 picks with the aftermath and the consequences of Deborah knowing what her brother moonlights as, and covering up for him as long as he promises not to do it again. It’s not that simple though. Dexter’s “dark passenger” continues to ride with him and this latest season continues to make out protagonist walk a fine between sane and insane, and juggle the many different sides of his now unravelling life.

While much of the seventh season deals with Debra coming terms with Dexter’s activities, as well as the remnants of her romantic feelings toward him, the focus shifts to the Koshka Brotherhood, the Ukrainian mafia, and a ruthless crime boss by the name of Isaak Sirko (Ray Stevenson). He targets Dexter as part of his vendetta against Miami Metro and anyone else who had anything to with the murder of Viktor Baskov (Enver Gjokaj), his business associate. At the same time, LaGuerta (Lauren Vélez) starts her own investigation after finding a blood side in the church where Dexter killer Travis Marshall. This leads her to the conclusion that Doakes (Erik King) wasn’t the Bay Harbour Butcher after all and that the killer is still at large.

Added to that is that introduction of a new love interest for Dexter. Hannah McKay (Yvonne Strahovski) is tall, blonde and beautiful, but she’s also a killer, and when Dexter takes an interest in her, first it’s about getting her on his table, and then in his bed when he has a change of heart. Though they try to keep their relationship a secret from everyone, including Debra, we know there’ll be a moment when he’ll have to do some more juggling to keep Hannah and Isaak out of each other’s paths.

While there’s much to cover in season 7, it did get off to a shaky start with a lot of the drama unfolding between Dexter and Debra and I found myself wondering if the action could keep me entertained, but by the third episode, Buck the System, the pace picked up with the hunt for Ray Speltzer (Matt Gerald), a killer who targets women. When he slips through the system after being freed on a technicality, Debra finds solace in what her brother does. It gets even more interesting with the episode Chemistry when she goes as far as urging Dexter to kill Hannah. There’s no love lost between the two women and as the episodes progress the tension between them steadily escalates.

What really kept me hooked though was watching LaGuerta trying to put the pieces together in order to clear Doakes’ name. Now it’s not just Dexter trying to cover up his tracks, but his sister begins to play an active part too, despite her hating him and herself for it. As the show makes its way to another nail-biting finale we get to see all these strands come together. For a show that’s built up a reputation for killing off a major character in its finale, Dexter, Season 7 doesn’t disappoint, reaching a conclusion that will leave many fans shocked.

Michael C. Hall plays the character showing much conflict in his actions. Since the show’s first season we’ve seen him grow and become more confident in the killer’s skin, but we also see him wondering if he can ever have the life he dreams about, the life he actually once had before Trinity took it from him. Jennifer Carpenter shows another side to her character as well when she finds out the truth about her brother. For Debra, who’s always done things by the book, to suddenly start throwing caution to the wind, is quite a surprise, but that’s how much she loves him.

The show’s creators have done a great job with the writing and setting us up for the final season. Despite a slow start, season 7 proved to be as exciting and explosive as ever.

Patrick Samuel

The founder of Static Mass Emporium and one of its Editors in Chief is an emerging artist with a philosophy degree, working primarily with pastels and graphite pencils, but he also enjoys experimenting with water colours, acrylics, glass and oil paints.

Being on the autistic spectrum with Asperger’s Syndrome, he is stimulated by bold, contrasting colours, intricate details, multiple textures, and varying shades of light and dark. Patrick's work extends to sound and video, and when not drawing or painting, he can be found working on projects he shares online with his followers.

Patrick returned to drawing and painting after a prolonged break in December 2016 as part of his daily art therapy, and is now making the transition to being a full-time artist. As a spokesperson for autism awareness, he also gives talks and presentations on the benefits of creative therapy.

Static Mass is where he lives his passion for film and writing about it. A fan of film classics, documentaries and science fiction, Patrick prefers films with an impeccable way of storytelling that reflect on the human condition.

Patrick Samuel ¦ Asperger Artist

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