TV Series Review: DEXTER – Season 4 (2009)

The most personal of storylines for the title character in the long running Showcase TV Series DEXTER, comes in the form of Season 4.

So far Dexter’s been through a lot. Murders, serial killers, and his own disturbed past, however nothing can prepare him for what’s to come in this season… fatherhood? Yes. The last season saw the marriage of Dexter and Rita with a new baby on the way as well. This Season shows us how that really affects Dexter.

The opening scene of Episode 1 captures it perfectly, as it’s a play on the shows usual opening credits, showing Dexter’s meticulous routine. However here, we see him trying on food stained shirt, stepping on toys on the way to work, and not being able to find his keys.

It’s all a part of his life now as he’s moved in with Rita and has to juggle the life of a lab technician, husband and father… on top of the always constant role of serial killer. It’s a great season.

perfect family… kinda.

The long arcing story of this season deals with the return of a character from Season 2, Frank Lundy. Former FBI Agent Lundy returns to Miami chasing a serial killer known as The Trinity Killer, that he’s been hunting, whose crimes go back 30 years.

During all this he obviously finds himself back in the good graces of Dexter’s sister Debra, along with a kinmanship with Dexter, who just wants him off his back.

FBI Agent, sister-lover…

Again, like every season, the main character evolves here. He’s finally accepting that his father’s teaching of him always having to be a loner is wrong. He’s trying to live the normal family life, while also juggling his ‘dark passenger’… the killing of people basically. This season sees Dexter fucking up a few times, as his simple life has gotten way too complicated for him to handle.

A common theme throughout the series has been how he never truly feels accepted for who he really is (a murderer) by people who love him and are close to him. He’s always afraid that the truth will cause all those people to lose him. On top of juggling fatherhood, Dexter goes along with Lundy’s investigation into the Trinity only to discover something a lot more serious.

Dexter finds out that the Trinity killer is a family man, a well-respected member of society who, on his off time… murders people. John Lithgow is the guest this season as the brutal killer and suburban family man. Dexter feels that he has to learn from him, find out how he’s able to juggle the two aspects of his life, in an attempt to better handle his own life. However, getting too close and not killing him when he got the chances, complicates things for Dexter.

Season 4 of DEXTER is awesome, because it starts unraveling all the tightly wound aspects of Dexter’s personality established in the seasons prior. His desperate need to bond and learn from this Trinity killer causes him to make major fucks up that threaten the people closest to him.

Season 4 is also unique as it’s the only season so far that ends in a massively heartbreaking cliffhanger. Other seasons wrap up the story arc very neatly and usually end with a monologue by Dexter of all the things he’s learned and how he’s evolved. However, season 4 will most definitely cause some tears and frustration.

Get Season 4 on Blu ray