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- TV Series: Dexter
- Episode: If I Had a Hammer
- Starring: Michael C, Hall, Julie Benz, Jennifer Carpenter, C.S. Lee, Lauren Velez, David Zayas
- Written By: Clyde Philips
- Directed By: Romeo Tirone
- Network: Showtime
- Series:
Dexter: If I Had a Hammer
Dexter builds a house, and a shed By
Stephen Lackey
November 02, 2009
Dexter Review
© Showtime
The core of this series is and has always been Dexter Morgan’s internal struggle. Throughout each episode, the narrative is always pushed forward by Dexter’s internal commentary. His internal dynamic isn’t just at the core of the show this week, it’s at the forefront and it was humorous at times and fascinating at other times. This week, Dexter does as predicted; he moves closer to Trinity to learn more about him rather than just killing him off. Dexter has enough evidence to give him cause to do his work but this killer has managed to establish a life that Dexter hasn’t been able to succeed at. Sure, Dexter has a wife and kid, and a couple of adopted kids, but his family is far from a success. Dexter doesn’t understand the simplest of dynamics of a family and kids. Some of the most fun of this episode is seeing Dexter unintentionally make his relationship with his wife worse. Dexter’s greatest weakness, basic human interaction, is laid out in this episode for anyone paying attention to see. Luckily for Dexter at this point no one that matters seems to notice. Trinity has a truly happy family, a fulfilling life outside of the killings, and in Dexter’s eyes, a perfect mask. Dexter’s time with Trinity and a little work in therapy with his new wife actually helps Dexter.
This episode has literally everything in it that makes the show great when it’s all working. There’s the interpersonal life of Dexter, his obsession with killing killers, and even the procedural elements. Everything well mixed keeps the show from becoming a stereotypical procedural such as CSI and this episode is a text book example of the show done right. Dexter gets into the blood lab and busts some fake heads to determine what sort of hammer was utilized for the most recent Trinity murder even though he already knows the exact hammer, all part of his cover. This show is still a cop show too and when that work is part of the show but not overbearing it’s interesting and it deepens Dexter’s character.
Other puzzle pieces start coming together brilliantly this week as well. It seemed awfully convenient that everyone believed that the tourist killer was the one that attacked Debra and Lundy. Dexter saw the truth in only seconds. Dexter is brilliant but the team he works with is full of smart people that should have questioned the attacks when they happened. It’s possible that those involved were thrown off their game because a cop and FBI agent were the victims. Nevertheless, the situation is taken care of this week when the truth of who the attacker was becomes apparent to someone other than Dexter (you guys can spoil it in the comments but I’ll consider those that may not have seen the episode yet).
As always happens in the show, Dexter and Rita finally make up, and the ultimate solution to Dexter’s problem with giving up his apartment is interesting to say the least. If there’s one complaint, it’s that there should have been one quiet moment with Dexter locking down the apartment for the last time. The exodus of that apartment signifies a major change in the series and should have been given due time on screen. A lot happens in this episode though and there just may not have been enough time. This doesn’t even get into the new direction of Laguerta and Batista’s relationship. The final scene between the two of them is obviously a red herring. Honestly, as much as these sorts of minor stories are necessary for the characters to all have some depth and meaning, this one is just not that interesting. The two actors are great though and the end of this episode may set a pace for the story to finally get a little more interesting. Overall, this is a really good one.
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I agree, this was a very good episode. I didn't have as much problems with the Laguerta and Batista, tourist killing storyline as much as Stephen did, but I think in prior seasons the supporting cast's stories were a bit stronger.
Still, great to see Trinity hiding in plain sight. And the change that came over his face (spoilers from here on out, folks) when he saw Dexter holding his sister's cremated remains was awesome. I didn't expect Dexter to draw Trinity out like that at all.
And Dexter getting his own shed was a nice touch. But how much do you want to bet Rita has an extra key?