Breaking Bad, Bitch!

I'm back! At long last. I wish I could say I was doing something fun and exciting in the three months since my last post, but the truth is that I just sort of lost the urge to write anything. This was, when all is said and done, a pretty shitty summer movie season; I tried my best to not think about movies too much. You can check out my reviews over at BackRowCritics to see how well I did with that.

I return now because the new and final season of Breaking Bad starts in less than a week. At this point, you either know what Breaking Bad is and you probably love it, or you've still somehow never heard of it. I'm not here to talk about its merits or my anticipation for the final season, or any of that. You can find that anywhere on the internet.

I actually wanted to talk about something I don't really see anyone ranting and raving about (granted, I don't look very hard). And that's the character of Hank Schrader. Breaking Bad has always had a diverse and interesting supporting cast -- Saul, Gus, Mike, and to a lesser extent, Skinny Pete, Badger, Jane, Gale, and Tuco. But in my mind, Hank is like the third corner of a triangle opposite Walt and Jesse.

Yea...this guy.

I argue that Hank's character, his transformation during the five seasons of the show, and his relationship with the 'main' characters is just as profound and ambitious as the dynamic between Walt and Jesse. In the first season, Hank comes off as kind of a goofball DEA agent. If anything, it seems that his existence is completely contrived; we have a show about a chemist who wants to cook meth, so of course his brother-in-law is a DEA agent. And at first, Hank is the comic relief supporting character, balancing out the irritating wife Skyler and her sister Marie.

But we quickly realize that Hank is not only a fantastic detective, he is also incredibly human. He never honestly suspects Walt of cooking meth; it would just be ludicrous. However, he is dedicated to his work. He gets an enjoyment out of catching bad guys and locking up 'monsters'. And then, when he tracks Jesse's car to Hector Salamanca's house and ends up killing Tuco out of self defense, his entire life changes. The near death experience jump starts his career investigation while at the same time initiating him into the brutal realities of the drug trade creeping up from below the border. Things only get more disturbing for Hank when he is promoted and sent to El Paso, where he barely survives a violent cartel 'message'. In season three, Salamanca's sons attack Hank, on Gus' orders, shooting him four times. He manages to kill both of them and survive, only to continue his hunt for Heisenberg.

What's fascinating about the show is that every step of Hank's journey is inadvertently orchestrated by Walt. It is never as simple as Hank being hot on Walt's trail. Hank's life, his security, his sanity, and his career have all been put in jeopardy because of Walt's decisions. By season five, though he's still cracking boner jokes and razzing Steve Gomez, Hank is a completely different person. His transformation has been just as remarkable as Walt and Jesse's.

And this, hopefully, is why the second half of season two is going to be so memorable. In that last scene -- of Hank on the toilet, of all places -- he realizes that not only has Heisenberg been under his nose this entire time (much like his boss learned of Gustavo Fring earlier in the season), but every little thing that has happened to him in the past couple of years, for better or worse, has been because of Walt. It was searching for Walt that led to the confrontation with Tuco, Walt's idea to pretend Marie was in a car accident, which ended in Hank putting Jesse in the hospital, Walt's situation with Gus that set the Salamanca brothers against Hank. It goes on and on. I cannot wait to see what these next eight episodes bring. To think Hank is just going to throw a pair of handcuffs on Walt and call it a day is way too easy.

From what I read, people always seem to say 'are you on Walt's side or Jesse's side?' Well, I am on Hank's side.

The actor who plays Hank is Dean Norris. He is also currently on the show Under the Dome, and is easily the best actor on the show (unfortunately, that isn't saying much). My reason for this post is because the actor and the character both deserve more credit. Gus is possibly my favorite TV villain; Saul Goodman is getting a spin-off series; Cranston wins an emmy just about every year. But where is the love for Hank?

Anyways, Breaking Bad.

They do good things. They read...

I read! Whole books sometimes. It's kind of a new thing for me. Reading always seemed like a chore for high school English. 'Read two books by the end of each quarter and take some pointless test on them for a grade.' It wasn't until after college that I got bored and started reading. And I haven't stopped. I obsessively have to get through a story as quickly as possible. And if it's a series, well...look out. I read Foundation by Isaac Asimov. Two weeks and fourteen books later I had read the entire Foundation series. Oops.

And on that note, let me get to the point of this post: Stephen King. My mom is a huge fan of his, and so I have been familiar with his work since long before it was appropriate for me to read it. I'm not going to review his work or anything like that. Not in this post anyway. It's just I realized how impressive it is that he is still relevant. This guy has been writing for what, forty years now. He has no problem producing a 1000-page epic novel every year or so, with other short stories and volumes in his Gunslinger series to fill the time between. I won't say all of his work is pure gold, but you have to hand it to the guy for having so many original stories. Chances are, if you somehow do not know him by name, you have seen his work in one form or another.

What I find even more impressive is how so much of his work is constantly being adapted to film and television. And it shows no sign of slowing down. Carrie was already a movie, but is now being remade. Under the Dome, published only in 2009, is being made into a (mini-)series, starting this summer. They are now almost definitely remaking Cujo. The Shining is getting a prequel movie, and there is a separate documentary out now about the Kubrick adaptation of the novel. I had heard a few months back some rumors about rebooting It and/or The Stand, which were both miniseries in the 90's.

It must feel really cool to sit back and see how people are still being fascinated and terrified by your storytelling. And to know that your characters -- Carrie White, Jack Torrance, Annie Wilkes, among others -- are among the most compelling (and disturbing) literary characters of our time (in my humble opinion). If you haven't read any of his works, get on it. Be it horror, sci-fi, or fantasy, his work is easy to read and will draw you in. You'll be finished before you even realize how quickly the shit hit the fan. Just be sure to keep a nightlight plugged in.

Just Take One Dip and END IT

I officially have too many posts dedicated to The Walking Dead. However, I decided after my last one -- which pointed out how boring and nonsensical the middle episodes of the second half of this season have been -- that I would need one more follow-up after the season finale, just to see if the story redeemed itself in the final episodes. As it turns out, it didn't. I was pretty frustrated by where the show has been headed (nowhere), but the season finale seems like the final nail in the coffin. The new writers don't seem to know how to create and maintain a story, let alone an interesting one.

The entire season has been building intensity between Rick's group and the Governor, who has proven again and again that he's completely insane. We should have learned our lesson in season two, when way too many episodes were dedicated to the same thing: Shane going against Rick. We all knew Shane's death was coming because he became so illogically disagreeable that there was just no place for him in the group. Now we have the Governor, who is senselessly evil. From the very beginning, Michonne suspects that he is crazy, and we side with her because, well, she has a cool sword. Other than that, there is no revelation of his motives or what makes him evil. He's just 'the bad guy.' So by the end of the season, he should be dead, right? And it should be some epic battle between him and Rick, or at least their respective groups. Of course, we're expecting other casualties along the way. That's the fun of the show, right? And there haven't really been any deaths recently, with the exception of Merle a week before.

There are also the comics to consider. Will this finale in any way bring us back around to something even resembling the source material?

The answer to both of these questions is a resounding NO! Rick and the Governor don't even see each other face to face. The Governor and his people storm the prison, which apparently Rick's group has booby-trapped and temporarily vacated. Some teargas cannisters explode and the Governor is forced to retreat. And...that's it. That is the resolution to the conflict that has been building for months. No one dies. No one of importance anyway. I guess we're supposed to assume some of the Woodbury people get killed at some point; Maggie and Glenn shoot at them all for a while as they run for their trucks. Rick and the others aren't even around.

The Governor leaves, alive. Down the road he decides to open fire on all of his people, because he's evil, and that's what an evil person would do. For some reason, none of them fire back. And the Governor and his two main henchmen drive off. Rick shows up at Woodbury and invites all the remaining people -- including Tyreese -- back to the prison.

And if that sounds out of character, it should. Rick has proven time and again that he doesn't care about other survivors. If anything, they represent a threat. But I guess they saved all of his character development for this last episode, where he completely changes his mind and rescues a bunch of women and children that for months had been told to fear him and his people. Also, Carl shoots an innocent kid, only reinforcing what we already know, which is that he has lost his humanity. Except even this is inconsistent with a scene earlier in the episode where he was lovingly cradling a picture of him and his parents.

As for the comics, I guess the writers just use them as toilet paper. The whole point of the prison shootout is to get Rick and Carl out of the prison and on the road alone, so the story has somewhere to go. Now they are still there, with an even larger group. People who should be alive are dead, and people who definitely need to die are still breathing. At least at the end of season 2, they got off of that unbearable farm. I'm not sure where they plan on taking the show next season, but I am starting to lose interest. There was no cliffhanger, other than the Governor still being alive. I hope we don't have to sit through another season of him trying to attack the prison. Then again, I'm not sure I'll even watch next season.

Anyways, this show has been moved to my WHAT THE HELL HAPPENED? list, right there with Dexter and True Blood.

The Show is Written ABOUT Zombies, Not FOR Them

Look, I hate to do this before the season is over. But I am having trouble holding my breath for the rest of season 3 of The Walking Dead. And besides, I haven't written anything in a while.

What the hell is going on? The show just came back a few weeks ago from its midseason break, and absolutely nothing has happened since. The last three weeks in particular seem to have been written with the sole purpose of wasting time until the season finale. If you haven't seen them, let me recap.

Episode 11: "I ain't a Judas"

GOVERNOR, to Andrea: If you go to the prison, that's it. Don't come back. You will be our enemy.

ANDREA, looking shocked and ambivalent: Okay.

[At the prison]

ANDREA: I'm alive!

RICK: Meh.

ANDREA: The Governor is a good guy. I slept with him, I should know.

MICHONNE: He's crazy.

MAGGIE: He tried to rape me.

GLENN: He had Merle try to feed me to a walker.

RICK: He came here and opened fire on unarmed men and women walking around in the daylight.

ANDREA, looking shocked and ambivalent: You're all wrong. He doesn't want a war. I have to go.

RICK: If you're one of us, you'll stay. If you go, that's it. Don't come back. You will be our enemy. [Andrea leaves]

RICK: We will kill the Governor, first chance we get. Nothing will change my mind about that.

[At Woodbury]

GOVERNOR: You're back.

ANDREA, looking shocked and ambivalent: Did you really try to kill Glenn, rape Maggie, make Daryl and Merle kill each other, and shoot unarmed men and women?

GOVERNOR: ...

ANDREA, looking shocked and ambivalent: You're not a monster. Let's have sex.

THE END

Episode 12: "Clear"

[Rick, Michonne, and Carl are in a car.]

RANDOM, DESPERATE SURVIVOR ON THE SIDE OF THE ROAD: Help me! Help! PLEASEEEEE!

RICK: Ignore him. I hate everyone. We need to learn to leave people behind. By the way, Michonne, I don't trust you.

[In some town]

MORGAN, disguised with mask: Hand over your guns, or die!

RICK: No!

[Bullets. Michonne teleports to a rooftop. Morgan walks out on the street and Carl shoots him.]

CARL: I shot him.

RICK: Carl, my helpless son who used to run through the zombie-infested woods around Hershel's farm, and then through the dark zombie-infested hallways of the prison, completely unattended, are you okay? Are you mentally scarred by any of this?

CARL: It's what mom would have wanted.

RICK: Michonne, I trust you now, babysit my son for a while. [Michonne and Carl leave.]

RICK: Morgan, it's me, Rick.

MORGAN: I don't know you.

RICK: Yes you do!

MORGAN: Okay, I know you.

RICK: Come back with us.

MORGAN: No.

RICK: I never leave a man behind! We have to hold on to our humanity.

MORGAN: What about that survivor on the highway? The one who, even though we are now over a year into the zombie apocalypse, is still helplessly running around trying to figure out what's going on, while I, a civilian, have managed to stockpile a room full of automatic weapons, carve hundreds of spears out of broom handles, as well as capture a bunch of rats and rodents to use as bait?

RICK: Okay, you're right. I'll see ya later.

[Meanwhile...]

CARL: I have to kill all the walkers in this diner that has no significance to viewers.

MICHONNE: I have a better idea. [Michonne teleports in, gets whatever Carl wanted, and teleports back.] Here you go.

[Michonne and Carl return to Rick.]

RICK: Okay let's go. I hope nothing at all of importance has been going on with the prison or Woodbury.

[As they drive away, they pass the random, desperate survivor on the side of the road, who has since been disemboweled. After a full year, he hasn't even learned to run from a walker.]

THE END

Episode 13: "Arrow on the Doorstep"

[Rick shows up at some factory, with Hershel and Daryl. The Governor is already there. Andrea arrives with Martinez and Milton.]

[Outside]

MARTINEZ: Fuck you!

DARYL: Fuck you!

MILTON: I am a man of science. Can't you tell by this notebook! We don't want to fight.

HERSHEL: Neither do we. I am missing a leg, and am therefore the sensible one of the two of us.

MILTON: We're not so different.

HERSHEL: Yea, but we're going to have to kill each other anyway because we need a season finale.

[Inside]

RICK: Who arranged this meeting?

GOVERNOR: I will gladly kill you and all of your friends, just because I don't give a shit.

RICK: I won't let that happen.

ANDREA, looking shocked and ambivalent: Look, I believe that...

RICK: Shut up!

GOVERNOR: Go away!

[Andrea goes outside]

HERSHEL, to Andrea: You belong with us. If you're one of us, you'll stay with us. If you go, that's it. Don't come back. You will be our enemy.

ANDREA, looking shocked and ambivalent: I think I'll come with you.

[Inside]

GOVERNOR: Okay, I am a man of my word. And I think, sitting down like this, with a table and chairs and everything, you have no reason not to trust me, even though I keep smiling maniacally every time I say something that is obviously not true.

RICK: You're right. I trust you. What do you want?

GOVERNOR: Michonne. Let me rape and torture that bitch, and you can keep the prison.

RICK: Hm, that is some noble reasoning. I'll think about it.

[Rick, Hershel, and Daryl go back to the prison. Andrea, Martinez, the Governor, and Milton head back to Woodbury.]

ANDREA, looking shocked and ambivalent, to the Governor: How'd it go? What's the plan? Everything work out?

GOVERNOR, smiling maniacally: Ohhh yes, it's been worked out. Worked out real good. Mwahahaha!

THE END

So we have three full 42-minute episodes of characters saying one thing and then doing another for really no other reason than to take up time. I find it irresponsible that AMC or the writers or whoever would push for an extended season of 16 episodes, knowing that there's not enough story to fill it.

Now, I have also read the comics. And I appreciate that the TV series is a completely different story, and therefore I will not stress over the immense liberties being taken with the source material. But one thing that gets me is that the characters are actually more interesting on paper. In the comics, we see that the Governor is insane and not just because Michonne gets a bad feeling about him. And Tyreese, that dude who just wandered into the big gaping hole in the prison at the end of the first half of season three, is supposed to play a huge role in defending the prison. In the show, he and his group represented a huge cliffhanger before the break. But instead they tossed him and the others out after one episode, and he is only mentioned again once since then. The same goes for Morgan. Why bother mentioning the character again if you're just going to drop him at the end of the episode. What a waste of time.

In the show, they managed to drag Hershel's farm out for an entire season, when in the comics the group wasn't there for very long. And yet they WERE at the prison for a pretty long time time. And a lot of interesting stuff happened to them. But the writers opted to cut out all of the good stuff, and throw in a bunch of dead ends and plot holes. And worst of all: where are the zombies!? For three seasons, the show has sacrificed any significant character development to showcase the blood and gore. But in the last few episodes we have been seen an walkers, let alone feel threatened by or afraid of them.

I certainly hope they put the next three episodes to good use. They can only build up tension between Rick and the Governor so far without actually doing anything. And that's what everyone is waiting for.

It's about nothing! (Finding Bigfoot)

This post is about the show Finding Bigfoot on the Animal Planet. I like to think of this show as the smart man's Jersey Shore. It is a show that you know is going to be awful. And then you, for some reason, turn it on just to see how horrible it is. And while, yes, your expectations are confirmed and the show is laughably bad, you find that you can't look away.

Four adults, who consider themselves professionals of something, go all over the country trying to find evidence of the sasquatch. And even though, season after season, episode after episode, they find absolutely nothing, they are all convinced that everywhere they go, sasquatches are close by. Their methods for discovery include: 1) listening to hillbillies and young children describe easily contrived stories about seeing giant hairy monsters in the woods, 2) going into the woods at night and screaming at the top of their lungs (because they honestly believe that this attracts bigfoots) while often mistaking each other for sasquatches on an infrared camera, and 3) sidestepping every remotely scientific approach to each situation. And yet at the end of each episode, the lead member of the team sums up the episode by saying that after all that, there is definitive evidence that sasquatches exist in that area.

My favorite part of the show is how they use the made-up word 'squatch' -- as a noun, verb, and adjective -- to evade actual observations. For example, they often say an area is 'squatchy', which apparently means that a sasquatch COULD live there. But they do not give guidelines for what makes something 'squatchy'; it seems like the only requirement is trees. When they walk around in the woods, it is called 'squatching', and when they see anything at all, it is usually a 'squatch'.

But while watching this show, I had an epiphany. There is so much more to this show than four lonely idiots getting paid to yell at trees in the dark. It is actually about THREE lonely idiots...and the smartest bigfoot ever. You see, the fourth member of the sasquatch team is a guy named Bobo. Yes, Bobo (no last name). He is a giant, hairy buffoon who hulks around and says little, and yet mysteriously seems to have the most first-hand experience when it comes to sasquatches. And why is this? Well, the answer is obvious. Bobo himself is a sasquatch, and the show documents him infiltrating the world's leading bigfoot research team (probably) and sabotaging their "research" in order to keep the trail cold on the search for his enigmatic brethren.

This show is a real-life Breaking Bad. Bobo is the elusive Heisenburg, hiding his true identity in plain sight. Just as Walter stays close to his brother-in-law in the DEA to throw them off his trail, but occasionally remind them that he is still out there, Bobo, on the surface, is a hardcore sasquatch fanatic, but behind the scenes, he is manipulating his teammates and destroying any evidence before the team gets too close. Whereas Walter is hiding the fact that he cooks meth, Bobo is hiding the fact that he is actually the missing link.

When viewed this way, the show becomes so much more prolific. At every turn, you see the gears turning behind Bobo's blank drool-covered stare, as he choreographs an elaborate waltz around the obvious truth. And the fascinating part is that, unlike shows like Breaking Bad and Dexter where the character with the second life is the (anti)hero, here this revelation is not made clear; the audience is as in the dark as the rest of the team. I wonder how long until one of the team members gets too close; will Bobo cook up some ricin poison, or, more simply, will he just eat them?

As it all comes crumbling down!! (Zombies)

Let's talk about zombies! I am right now watching a show on the history channel - scratch that, the history 2 channel - entitled 'Zombies: A Living Hostory'. Now we all know that at some point a few years ago all of these educational networks gave up on actually having informative, scientifically thought-provoking shows and documentaries and began an arms race of crappy reality shows and made-up history. The history channels have devolved into programs limited to nazis, aliens, nazi aliens, the apocalypse, and the nazi alien apocalypse.

The fact that this entire month is devoted to shows about the end of the world is no surprise. What I find remarkable is how prevalent the idea of zombies has become as the most likely cause of the end of the world. And I think this faux documentary I am watching accidentally explains why zombies are on everyone's mind: zombies are the manifestation of all of mankind's deepest fears. They carry disease that cannot be cured, their weapon is infection and cannibalism, they cannot be stopped, and they may have been a product of our own creation. These themes have been drilled into our souls for thousands of years (apparently).

And so I have to hand it to George Romero for understanding those innate fears and creating the modern idea of the 'zombie'. It is a creature and an idea that will always be around in some form or another, because humans will always, at their core, be afraid of the same things.

I used to spend hours in college discussing zombie outbreak plans with my friends; how would we get weapons, where would we get food, who would we trust, and where would we make our last stand. (In fact it's ironic that this is my shortest post so far and yet I could write pages and pages about my thoughts on zombies.) Now, with zombies becoming such a mainstream idea on television and in the movies, even my parents are (jokingly?) brainstorming strategies for the apocalypse. There is an entire brand of real, live ammunition called Zombie Max and targets that are shaped like blood-thirsty walking dead. There are 'zombie runs' all over the country where you can run a marathon through mud and over obstacles while being chased at top speed by awesome people in makeup. I mean, the very thought of zombies proves to be much more infectious than the zombie plague itself (fingers crossed).

So I also think that since zombies represent all of mankind's deepest fears, the way people have been manipulating it into pop culture is a brilliant way of dealing with those fears. At this point we are so desensitized to the gore and horror of a zombie apocalypse, that if it should actually take place, not only would we be prepared for the shock, we may even be more anticipatory of the social breakdown.  In fact, at this point, I would prefer dying in a zombie apocalypse than, say, a nuclear explosion or a giant meteor, because at least I get to experience the fantasy that we all share, that of gunning down everyone in my community that I hate.

Why am I watching it? Because it's on TV. (Dexter)

Since this is my first official blog post, I feel like I should start out by telling a little more about myself and about the things I expect to write about. This post is about the television series Dexter. The tedium of the college dorm and a mostly uneventful social life resulted in many hours spent browsing Netflix for something to kill time. Anyone with a Netflix account knows that they pretty much gave up on streaming quality movies and are more focused now on television (something I will probably end up writing another post about someday). The first series I introduced myself to were Dexter and Breaking Bad. (There was also the month I dedicated to watching all seven seasons of Nip/Tuck, but we don't like to talk about that). Breaking Bad, now probably my favorite show - alongside The Wire - will also most certainly be the topic of discussion further down the line, especially once this ridiculous full-year mid-season break comes to an end next summer.

I digress. I first started watching Dexter on Netflix just before the fourth season began on Showtime. Despite being a soulless killing machine who constantly reminds us via inner monologue how emotionless he is, Dexter was surprisingly easy to relate to. (I guess I'll keep this as spoiler-free as possible. Though I would expect anyone who hasn't seen the show to have given up on this post by now.) Suffice it to say that season 1 had a fair share of twists and turns and, as one of the first and only mature dramas I had seen, it quickly became one of my favorites. Seasons 2 and 3 each deviated from the first in quality, and maybe the reason I didn't stop watching the show back then was because I raced through those three seasons in time to jump into season 4, which was easily the best of the series. I also enjoyed season 5.

But the fact is, Dexter should have ended with the fourth season. Dexter is a sociopath who has to kill in order to satisfy the urges of his "dark passenger". We find out early on in the first season that he got this way because of an incident that occurred when he was a little boy, and throughout his childhood and adolescence his foster father policeman Harry gave Dexter a "code" to live by that would channel his urges into intelligent assassinations and prevent him from death or capture. That is the premise of the show, and every season Dexter ends up in a battle of wits with some other serial killer, begins doubting Harry's code, attempts to learn and evolve from the villain and, in the end, realizes that the only way to defeat the foe is to listen to Harry's (in the form of Dexter's conscience) advice. Meanwhile, there is usually a female interest who, on some level, seems to understand and accept Dexter (though in season 3, instead of a love interest it was a friend: Miguel Prado).

The most obvious reason the show should have ended years ago is the fact that even though Dexter is a tormented character, the formula of each season quickly grows irritating. Rita, Lila, Miguel, Rita, Lumen, Deb, Hannah...each season, Dexter finds someone to fill a void in his soul. Each season he believes that this person accepts him for who he is, and in the end, realizes it was all a mistake, and, in most cases, that person ends up with a needle in their neck. As for villains, the most provocative character was certainly the Ice Truck Killer in season 1, who turns out to be Dexter's very own biological brother.

Now I do not write for television, and I do not assume to know the intentions and thoughts of those behind the creation and execution of these shows. But it seems to me that what we are supposed to get out of the show is that, even though Dexter is the hero and a pretty likable guy, he is a sociopath who murders people, and he will always murder people because he has to. Each season he tries to relate to other, he tries to let other people in, and in the end it winds up backfiring. So the message must be that he is hopeless, destined to be alone and different from everyone else, living a lie until he gets caught. He ALWAYS comes to the realization that it was a mistake to ignore Harry's warnings and a mistake to let the killer - the identity of whom he usually discovers about halfway through the season - live as long as he did.

By the end of season 4, Dexter's entire world was thrown upside down. The life he built around a lie was destroyed. The bad guy won. It becomes clear that Dexter is a danger to everyone around him. Because in the end, Dexter is the true bad guy. His inner monologue reminds us in nearly every episode: he is ruled by his dark passenger, he must kill, etc. The overarching message of the series then reads as 'Dexter is what he is. Despite his efforts to be more human, he can't help but be a monster, a vehicle for destruction. The end.'

Wow, I almost wish I made all that a separate post. My intention here was, and continues to be, to talk about how season 7 has completely fallen apart, and so far all I've done is talk about how I would have liked to see the show end 3 seasons ago. Maybe I can snap back to the point. Season 6 was horrendous. I stuck through it because I like Dexter and I wanted to stay a faithful fan. Since that was last year, I will try not to get into it. Season 7 started out promising. Deb walked in on Dexter finishing off last season's foe and quickly realized that he has been killing people under her nose for years. Meanwhile, Dexter manages to piss off the wrong Ukrainian mafia boss by killing his boyfriend. So we have the setup for an interesting season. Or so I thought.

Isaak is a pretty interesting guy, and I'm not just saying that because I like Ray Stevenson. Like Dexter, he is also a meticulous killer who feeds on the thrill of chasing his prey. Needless to say, he and Dexter make obvious their intentions to kill each other a few episodes in and then proceed to do anything but. What makes their tango slightly more interesting is the fact that Deb, now Dexter's ally, is in on the whole plot and tries to protect Dexter from Isaak. What makes Isaak different is that he is a man with means and talent and vows to stop at nothing to kill Dexter, even if it takes the rest of his life. And yet, starting in episode 8, all of the central characters seem to completely abandon their motivations and rational thought in order to add a false sense of suspense. I don't know if it was when Isaak decided to open fire on a coffee shop window from a car in the parking lot, or when Dexter subdued and executed some guy he found in Isaak's apartment. But since then, nothing seems to make sense. In the episode after that, Isaak suddenly decides he won't kill Dexter, as long as Dexter kills two other people he has never researched and knows nothing about. For some reason he agrees, and even kills them both in broad daylight in relatively populated areas, while we see Isaak sitting on the couch in his apartment. Isaak is then killed off by a peripheral character who says nothing and then escapes without explanation, even though Dex is only a few feet away.

Without a villain, it is clear that the writers do not know what to do with the last few episodes of the season. They threw in another serial killer that we've never heard about, just to show that Dexter is willing to change his mind about killing someone. To reinforce this point, they also threw in the father of Dexter's love interest, who is of course a bad guy. But despite not actually being a killer, the man is dispatched by Dexter because it seems to him like the safest way to ask the man to get out of his daughter's life. Quinn finds some unimportant reason to kill the guy that shot Isaak, which neatly wraps up any loose ends with the Ukrainian mafia story line (although you'd expect that now that three of this Kashka brotherhood have been killed - two by police - they would do anything but simply disappear). So where exactly was the climax of the season? With the exception of LaGuerta looking into Dexter's true identity, there is virtually no reason to look forward to the rest of the season. We already know that his 'love' for Hannah is going to result in her dying, which I am certainly not opposed to. Deb seems to be okay with Dexter being a killer. If LaGuerta happens to walk in on him killing someone, why shouldn't we assume that she'll just come around to his side by next season too.