Season 8 Episode 1 - A Beautiful Day

Basq

Right, the last 12 episodes of the show begin!

Here's hoping the show ends on a high.

I see the opener has leaked a little early..

Bloc Party!

Thought it was alrite. The trailer gave away a good bit of the episode in my opinion

Hande hoche!

Fairly good start to the series. Quinn appears to have eaten a sandwich or two. Also glad to have Mathews back.

wandatowell

WOW! I totally forgot Dexter Season 8 was starting this week!

Thanks OP, will report back with my findings

Wurly

Just watched this episode. Agree that the trailers gave a lot away.

I can't get over the pace that they've set. I thought it was excellent. Cant wait for next week.:):):):):):):)

Paul1990

Anyone know what time this is on?

R019912

Cracking opener to the season, sets it up very nicely.

(This opinion has possibly been skewed by seeing Aimee Garcia with no clothes on :P)

Mr E

That was fantastic. Highlights were Deb's password and the ending (the first time in a long time that I've sworn out loud at a cliffhanger).

Wurly

I missed the password part... What was it or is that a spolier for everyone else??

tvnutz

really good opener. Deb is really going through a lot and it was done really well. Also great ending, wasn't expecting that at all. The fact that it is the last season will keep the tension levels high,I am really curious as to how the will end it.

Jimmy Bottlehead

I'm wondering will Dexter end up on Evelyn's table now that he's broken the code and become a 'bad guy'? Or is that too obvious?

OctavarIan

Jimmy Bottlehead wrote: »

I'm wondering will Dexter end up on Evelyn's table now that he's broken the code and become a 'bad guy'? Or is that too obvious?

I think the twist at the end was more hinted at the fact that she obviously had a role in Dexter's upbringing from a very young age. Given her background it wouldn't be surprising if she invented the 'code' in the first place. I doubt she partakes in any killing herself.

Interesting though why Dexter would be raised with code and not his brother. Must have been too old for it.

SureYWouldntYa

Harrison has grown an awful lot in the last 6 months hasn't he

Terrific opener, hope this season gives the show the ending it deserves

syklops

OctavarIan wrote: »

Interesting though why Dexter would be raised with code and not his brother. Must have been too old for it.

Brian was too badly affected by the effects of the storage container to be allowed to be fostered out and was hospitalised instead.

Backstreet Moyes

I thought it was a poor enough episode. I watched it drunk i have to watch it again seems like i can't remember most of it.

snausages

Hande hoche! wrote: »

Fairly good start to the series. Quinn appears to have eaten a sandwich or two.

Yeah, he looked awful last season. He says that he was 'hefty' in season 3 but I thought he looked great back then.

pixelburp

I dunno, by the 7th series it was hard to watch 'Dexter' and not feel genuine antipathy towards the main character. Part of the success with older seasons was the complexity of Dexter, the idea that an obvious psychopath may redeem himself by some of his actions, and that an audience might become sympathetic - even supportive - of his attempts to flee justice. You figured his deeds would eventually catch up with him, but you didn't wish it happen too fast.

Series 8 seems to confirm that entire strand has well and truly drifted off by now. There really is little remaining of early Dexter now, he's beyond all redemption or sympathy now and to be honest I'm just ticking off episodes til we (hopefully) see closure for the series.

I never honestly expected any form of happy ending - how could you? - but Dexter is now such an obvious cancer in peoples' lives that when Deb said she shot the wrong person, I found myself agreeing with her; she really did make a mistake.

As for the Deb material itself, it feels like that thread has been stretched thin for the last two seasons, and is now entering a third. We've seen Deb go off the rails before, this is nothing new, but the angst over the discovery of Dexter's secret is getting a bit much. She's a decent actor, but it feels like Jennifer Carpenter's default expression is 'distraught'.

gavmcg92

wow, just wow.

Really enjoyed that episode. Has started the season at a great pace.

Also... Aimee Garcia is hawt!

Also also, cracked up when he got Deb's password. So her.

SureYWouldntYa wrote: »

Harrison has grown an awful lot in the last 6 months hasn't he

Terrific opener, hope this season gives the show the ending it deserves

Going by the clips at the end, it's going to be a pretty good end to the series.

Shane St.

Good opener. Good to have it back.

Kirby

"F*cking password." :P:D

Classic Deb.

Mr E

Guys, I've deleted a few posts. Getting around geographical restrictions is against the charter.

Wurly

Mr E wrote: »

Guys, I've deleted a few posts. Getting around geographical restrictions is against the charter.

Oh dear. Sorry. I should know better. /slaps own wrist!!

gavmcg92

Mr E wrote: »

Guys, I've deleted a few posts. Getting around geographical restrictions is against the charter.

Apologies E.

grames_bond

excellent start to the season! Cannot wait for the rest - proper "holy f*ck" moment at the end - has me very intrigued for next week!

On another note - I don't watch the "next time on dexter" moments - so can we keep chat about them spoilerised - as it is for future episodes?! (I havent see nany chatr yet - I am just getting the request in early! )

vitani

OctavarIan wrote: »

I think the twist at the end was more hinted at the fact that she obviously had a role in Dexter's upbringing from a very young age. Given her background it wouldn't be surprising if she invented the 'code' in the first place. I doubt she partakes in any killing herself.

That's what I took from it. That Harry went to her for advice when Dexter was still young. I'd be delighted if that's the case because I always felt uneasy with the way Harry handled Dexter's psychotic tendencies. If there was someone pulling his strings the whole time, it makes more sense.

I also wonder if there's other people out there that she gave 'codes' to.

Other thoughts:

I love Jennifer Carpenter. She's one hell of an actress.

How awkward was that scene where they're all standing by the bench, talking about the last six months? Surely there's better ways of doing exposition.

SureYWouldntYa

grames_bond wrote: »

excellent start to the season! Cannot wait for the rest - proper "holy f*ck" moment at the end - has me very intrigued for next week!

On another note - I don't watch the "next time on dexter" moments - so can we keep chat about them spoilerised - as it is for future episodes?! (I havent see nany chatr yet - I am just getting the request in early! )

there wasn't a "next week on Dexter" for this episode

Ms Happy

SureYWouldntYa wrote: »

there wasn't a "next week on Dexter" for this episode

It was a "this season" I think?

grames_bond

SureYWouldntYa wrote: »

there wasn't a "next week on Dexter" for this episode

there was on a different version i saw (well not saw as i turned it off but you get me!)

the original leak didn't ill give you that! I am also saying it for future purposes as i hate the way showtime show too much in the "next week" segments!

FlyingIrishMan

Great start, there are some great theories going around on the Dexter subreddit already.
I love this picture that was posted:

http://i.imgur.com/24eTm1m.jpg

gavmcg92

SureYWouldntYa wrote: »

there wasn't a "next week on Dexter" for this episode

There was an overview of this season. Some great snippets in there. Really has me geared up for the rest of this season.

syklops

FlyingIrishMan wrote: »

http://i.imgur.com/24eTm1m.jpg

What does this mean?!?

Was that intentional or a writer dropping the ball?

Lovely Bloke

It wasn't a WTF moment, anyone who thinks so needs to go back to special school.

It was obvious from the start that that woman was going to have Dexter in her sights, I mean she literally did at the briefing, they couldn't have been more obvious, they even did that schtick of a close up on a face, then a close up of another face, omg, are these people linked in some way in this story. Lazy writing, lazy directing. Wonder what she knows though, probably Harry told her all about Dex when he was having an affair with her.

Debs. We get it, she can make a funny face. She can also seemingly make funny moany noises - wtf?

Dexter's "kill" was rubbish - give us a proper Dex kill in the first episode of the last season ffs.

Oh, is the baddy going to be the long dark haired Latino guy? How original, they should have gotten Razor Ramon to play him, he always had that look down.

FlyingIrishMan

Baldy Conscience wrote: »

It wasn't a WTF moment, anyone who thinks so needs to go back to special school.

It was obvious from the start that that woman was going to have Dexter in her sights, I mean she literally did at the briefing, they couldn't have been more obvious, they even did that schtick of a close up on a face, then a close up of another face, omg, are these people linked in some way in this story. Lazy writing, lazy directing. Wonder what she knows though, probably Harry told her all about Dex when he was having an affair with her.

Debs. We get it, she can make a funny face. She can also seemingly make funny moany noises - wtf?

Dexter's "kill" was rubbish - give us a proper Dex kill in the first episode of the last season ffs.

Oh, is the baddy going to be the long dark haired Latino guy? How original, they should have gotten Razor Ramon to play him, he always had that look down.

So I take it you didn't enjoy the episode?

syklops

It wasn't a WTF moment, anyone who thinks so needs to go back to special school.

I feel sorry for you.

pixelburp

'Special School' is needlessly insulting, but it was pretty overtly telegraphed in the Police-room that Charlotte Rampling's character either knew or suspected something about Dexter. Maybe it wasn't scripted that way, but the camera-work in that scene was deliberately fashioned to make the viewer believe that everything she was saying was directed at Dexter; there was simply no other way of interpreting it & it became a case that one simply waited for the inevitable moment where they spoke alone and she revealed whatever it is she knew...

vitani

pixelburp wrote: »

'Special School' is needlessly insulting, but it was pretty overtly telegraphed in the Police-room that Charlotte Rampling's character either knew or suspected something about Dexter. Maybe it wasn't scripted that way, but the camera-work in that scene was deliberately fashioned to make the viewer believe that everything she was saying was directed at Dexter; there was simply no other way of interpreting it & it became a case that one simply waited for the inevitable moment where they spoke alone and she revealed whatever it is she knew...

While I agree that it seems obvious and inevitable, had we not seen the rest of the episode, that scene could also have been interpreted as Dexter being paranoid.

syklops

Hindsight is 20/20.

Its very easy to say, "it was so obvious X would happen. Look how superior I am".

I'd have more respect for the poster if they said:

baldy wrote:

I just paused this at ~12 minutes in to the episode to call that blonde chick is so obviously into Dexters past and knew harry and knew about the code, and has Dexters early drawings showing death and murder.

Rosy Posy

A good start to the season- I like the way that the dynamic between Dexter and Deb has changed throughout the show. If she really hates him that much and doesn't give a **** about herself there's nothing stopping her from dobbing him in. I wonder if it would come to that and if Dexter would ultimately bump her off to stop her?

One thing that kind of hacked me off was that I would have liked to see exactly how they covered up La Guerta's death and the immediate aftermath of that- surely there would have been some kind of trace on the bullet to show that it had come from Debs' gun, and don't police officers have to fill out a shedload of paperwork every time they discharge a firearm? I mean obviously they'd be equal to doing it but I didn't like how they glossed over that part.

pixelburp

syklops wrote: »

Hindsight is 20/20.

Its very easy to say, "it was so obvious X would happen. Look how superior I am".

Not defending the manner in which the poster made his point, clearly it's plain rude to other posters & needlessly smug, but calling 'hindsight' is somewhat ignoring 7 seasons of Dexter and years of TV narrative: how could a person not call on the fact the mysterious & just-arrived expert on psychopaths wouldn't have some entanglement with Dexter.

Every single season thus far has introduced us to Dexter's prospective arch-nemesis in the first episode and the formula is so tight that when the episode started that back & forth between Rampling's character and Dexter, it was pretty obvious that she either knew something or else would else be the 'Big Bad' that Dexter would have to deal with. I actually laughed when it happened because it seemed so on the nose; oh hey, do you think she's actually addressing Dexter directly with her big speech... why yes!

syklops

pixelburp wrote: »

Not defending the manner in which the poster made his point, clearly it's plain rude to other posters & needlessly smug, but calling 'hindsight' is somewhat ignoring 7 seasons of Dexter and years of TV narrative: how could a person not call on the fact the mysterious & just-arrived expert on psychopaths wouldn't have some entanglement with Dexter.

How could I not call it? I dunno. Maybe I'm not as smart as you.

To me, it was an end of episode revelation which I thoroughly enjoyed.

pixelburp

syklops wrote: »

How could I not call it? I dunno. Maybe I'm not as smart as you.

To me, it was an end of episode revelation which I thoroughly enjoyed.

Relax, I'm not trying to diminish your enjoyment, we can debate the episode without getting defensive or picking on a bad turn of phrase I was simply making the point that it was visually telegraphed in the police-room, and there was precedent for this kind of thing across Dexter 1-7, so there we are.

To be fair the revelation certainly set up the next few episodes, I wonder if we might see the infamous code be challenged, or even destroyed; any complaints I have about the episode are around Dexter the character himself, not who or how the big plot arcs are revealed.

syklops

When Lundy arrived to track down the Bay Harbour Butcher, who was Dex, I didnt immediately jump to the conclusion that they had met before.

I've only watched the episode once, and it moved fast enough that I didn't have time to analyse every moment of it. The 53 minute episode felt like about half of that.

I also don't think she is his arch-nemesis, as you put it. Quite the opposite in fact.

pixelburp

syklops wrote: »

When Lundy arrived to track down the Bay Harbour Butcher, who was Dex, I didnt immediately jump to the conclusion that they had met before.

Huh? Sorry, that wasn't the point I was making at all; it was simply that the scene in the crime-room was staged to telegraph to the audience that the psychologist was speaking indirectly to Dexter; that she either knew him, or suspected him of his secret. 'Foreboding' I guess you could call it - something was clearly up & there was more to that scene than simply "hey, it's a new character". That's all. That she knew Dex & his father couldn't have been known for sure, and look forward to seeing how that pans out, and what effect that has on the Code, not to mention his relationship with Ghost-Dad.

syklops wrote: »

I also don't think she is his arch-nemesis, as you put it. Quite the opposite in fact.

I don't mean a literal arch-nemesis, but she knows the truth; she's a roadblock, antagonist, potential problem, whatever you want to call her; but nearly every character who knew the truth - who wasn't family or a lover - has become a perceived threat to Dexter, whether it's a immediate one like Trinity, or a floating background threat like Lundy. Again, we'll see how it plays out; but that's just my immediate presumption. That's the fun of watching broadcast TV in sequence I guess

zl1whqvjs75cdy

I'm kinda getting more annoyed with Lundys character now. This woman clearly sees straight through dex, Maria also figured it out. Lundy, apparently the best serial killer hunter ever, didn't twig it. Maybe his involvement with deb clouded his judgement but I dunno if I buy that.

the_monkey

I don't think it was _that_ obvious that the Doctor knew Dexter allready, you could say the same about Lundy in Season 2 when he arrived at the office to catch the bay harbour butcher.

the_monkey

Aaron Shallow Salamander wrote: »

I'm kinda getting more annoyed with Lundys character now. This woman clearly sees straight through dex, Maria also figured it out. Lundy, apparently the best serial killer hunter ever, didn't twig it. Maybe his involvement with deb clouded his judgement but I dunno if I buy that.

Maria figured it out with a huge piece of evidence (the blood slide) - hindsight is perfect.

zl1whqvjs75cdy

the_monkey wrote: »

Maria figured it out with a huge piece of evidence (the blood slide) - hindsight is perfect.

Ah true enough forgot that.

Backstreet Moyes

Aaron Shallow Salamander wrote: »

I'm kinda getting more annoyed with Lundys character now. This woman clearly sees straight through dex, Maria also figured it out. Lundy, apparently the best serial killer hunter ever, didn't twig it. Maybe his involvement with deb clouded his judgement but I dunno if I buy that.

Didn't Maria stumble upon a blood slide and this new woman obviously has known about him from his younger days.

snausages

So Harry's code is probably this new woman's invention then. It's likely that Matthews has known all along about Dexter's killing.

AlmightyCushion

syklops wrote: »

Brian was too badly affected by the effects of the storage container to be allowed to be fostered out and was hospitalised instead.

Crazy theory here but maybe it was an experiment to see how a child traumatised like that would function with the right guidance/ see if the code works. The brother is the control.

How Soon Is Now

The way they introduced this new character and the looks she was giving Dexter and visa versa threw out her first scene you could tell there was something up !!

Clearly not as straight forward as how they ended up but it was either a case of **** this woman knows something about me or **** this woman will and can see right threw me....

Deb done my head in threw out that episode infact i noticed every female they had in certain kinds of scenes just kept making stupid over the top noises !! Batista s sister i forget her name was at it as well.

I caught the season preview at the end and kinda wished i hadnt as it REALLY previews the spine of the season.

But at the same time i imagine it probably wont turn out to be as straight forward as it looks.

Anyway i enjoyed the first episode mostly and from the looks of things im really hoping it will be a great final season and a good end to what was for the most part a great show that unfortunately was probably ruined for most by some really awful seasons mixed in with some great ones.