Dexter (Season 2)

One of my favorite episodes of Dexter's first season is Return To Sender, which has him frantically try to cover his tracks and avoid being found out by the police. Season 2 is that episode extended over a whole season, and it's amazing. 

Season 2 starts with the police department uncovering all of the bodies that Dexter has ever killed, kickstarting an investigation into who they call the "Bay Harbor Butcher". This essentially makes Dexter the antagonist of the season, and that just leads to an incredibly gripping dynamic as he tries to derail the investigation. The tension slowly rises throughout the season with the last few episodes feeling almost claustrophobic in how monitored and close to be outed Dexter is. I definitely wasn't expecting that Dexter would almost be found out so early in the show though. With six seasons left, I can't help but wonder if the writers set the bar too high. Like with many of these types of storylines, there is a lead detective who's heading the investigation, Lundy. Usually the detective ends up being a massive jerk or secretly corrupt, but I actually like how Lundy is a genuinely nice guy and a smart detective. It really illustrates how Dexter is the bad guy here. On the other hand, there is also Doakes who's much more of a cowboy cop type. I don't like Doakes, him stalking Dexter under a fairly ableist motivation ("He's a freak show!") made me lose any potential sympathy for the guy. However, I'm glad it seems the writers knew this since the second half of the season had his actions end up being the thing that got him framed as the BHB. 

Season 2 also does an amazing job of fleshing out its characters and taking them to some really new and interesting places. Dexter's relationship with Rita gets strained throughout the season, between her believing his secret is that he does drugs, her awful mom coming over, and him cheating on her with her fake sponsor Lila. Lila is an interesting character, very annoying but purposefully so. She's a representation of Dexter's worst impulses, and she and Rita perfectly illustrate his whole arc about figuring out if he should double down on being the Bay-Harbor Butcher or start trying to "recover". Meanwhile, Debra dealing with the Ice-Cream Killer event is also really compelling and outside of the iffy age gap, I really like how healthy and supportive her relationship is with Lundy. And characters like LaGuerta and Batista have subplots that have them make some really fascinating decisions that might not paint them in the most flattering light. That's really what I love about this season, it's not just recreating what worked in Season 1. Season 2 of Dexter does new things with the story and characters and nails pretty much all of it.

This season was very consistently strong, but these episodes are the highlight:

Dex, Lies, And Videotapes: From this episode onwards, the season becomes nearly perfect. Dex, Lies, And Videotapes is a big turning point from the season, between Dexter and Rita's uncomfortable breakup and Doakes finally starting to get in trouble for harrassing Dexter. But outside of all that, Dexter trying to delete a videofile captures the same tense energy I loved in Return To Sender, and I love the idea of a mock killer that actually idolizes the Bay Harbor Butcher as a vigilante.

That Night, A Forest Grew: This was a fantastic continuation of the previous episodes and easily one of the most important episodes of the season. Once again, I was very happy to see Doakes get fired even though he was egged on by Dexter. This is the episode where you start to realize just how dangerous Lila is, as well as when Lundy and Debra get together. But the best part is the whole manifesto plot that is mostly really funny until it leads Lundy to realize the BHB is in law enforcement.

Resistance Is Futile: First, I love the Borg reference. Second, this was a fantastic episode, easily my favorite yet. It's probably the climax of the season, as Dexter and Rita start to reconnect and make up and Doakes officially gets framed for being the BHB. I love the several fakeouts where you think Dexter was finally found out. The final scene was also fantastic, an intense confrontation that leads to Doakes getting captured by Dexter, kickstarting the rest of the season.

Left Turn Ahead: While the big reveal last episode about Dexter's father was a massive gut punch, I found this episode even better. Dexter dealing with the thought that he caused his father to commit suicide inspired him to start seriously considering turning himself in, leading to a pretty affecting "Dexter's last day" episode. Outside of that, the tension continues to rise as we get some great set-up for the finale, between Lundy getting evidence Doakes might be innocent and Lila finding Doakes. Also, I really like how supportive everyone was of Batista's situation this episode, I found that really sweet.

The British Invasion: While I kinda wish the Bay Harbor Butcher storyline wasn't resolved so early, this was a really satisfying finale that tied up all the loose ends super neatly. The first fifteen minutes were the highlight for me, especially the faux happy ending that led to a silly retread of the title sequence. However, I also really liked Debra's goodbye with Lundy, LaGuerta dealing with Doakes' death, and generally the final few minutes that killed off Lila and resolved the character arcs for both Debra and Dexter damn near perfectly.

Overall, Season 2 of Dexter is everything a great second season should be. It takes everything that was established in the first season and expands on it all, with fantastic character arcs, a tense and gripping main storyline, interesting "antagonists", and a phenomenal last few episodes. This was a fantastic season of television that I think will be hard for Dexter to top.

5/5 Stars