"Dexter" Season 5, Episode 1: "My Bad" Recap

Season 4 of Dexter ended with the completely unexpected twist of the murderous "hero" of the show coming home to discover that his wife, Rita, was killed by Arthur Mitchell. Mitchell was the "Trinity Killer" who Dexter had just dispatched (not knowing yet of his wife's fate) but it had not been a normal kill for Dexter. There had been many opportunities for Dexter to kill Arthur earlier. He had passed them up homing to learn something from this monster, because Trinity was a serial killer who maintained what appeared to be a happy family and home life. Now the truly damage of that choice was felt as Dexter's innocent wife, and probably his best connection to what little humanity he has, was dead in a bathtub and their baby son left crying in a pool of blood.

The episode "My Bad" picks up immediately following Dexter's (Michael C. Hall) tragic discovery. Ambulances and police arrive at his house while Dexter is found kneeling on his front lawn, holding his infant and muttering "it was me." Dexter's co-workers from Miami Metro's homicide department are quick to arrive on the scene, starting with Dexter's sister Debra (Jennifer Carpenter.) The scene inside the house is gruesome and seems to shake the entire department to their core, with one exception. Debra's partner Quinn (Desmond Harrington) is the only member of the force who continues to think like a cop, and any cop knows that when a wife is found dead the first person that should be looked at is the husband. However Quinn is denied any chance to follow his police instinct as Lt. Laguerta (Lauren Velez) immediately hands the case over to the FBI and their Trinity Killer Task Force.

While Dexter is not an immediate suspect most of his friends and family aren't sure what to make of his reaction, or rather lack there of, to Rita's death. Most seem prepared to chalk it up to shock, but all seem to agree that it's not the reaction one would expect. Dexter himself even points out, in voice over, that the neighbor who'd kissed Rita last season was shedding tears while his own eyes are dry. Dexter clearly feels some level of guilt at what has happened, knowing that it is his fault for not killing Arthur sooner. However it does not present in the normal way that grief would in most people, leaving him rather adrift. Even the visions of his adopted father and mentor Harry, which normally serve as the closest thing he has to a conscience, seem to have abandoned him. Flashbacks to Dexter's very first date with Rita also show the depth of Dexter's guilt as he remembers the lies he told her right from the very beginning.

When Rita's children, Astor and Cody, return from Disneyland with their grandparents Dexter is forced to break the news to them. Dexter fumbles through it clumsily, even going so far as to resort to the "I'm sorry for your loss" line that the funeral home director had used on him. While most of the family dissolves into grief Astor turns to anger at Dexter. She blames him for not being there to protect her mother and wishes that it had been him who had died. Dexter takes the notion that they would all be better off without him to heart and begins planning to disappear for good.

Meanwhile Debra goes to Dexter's house to clean up the crime scene, and Quinn comes along to help. Following the clean up Debra breaks down and quickly finds herself in the arms of Quinn and things get very physical very fast from there. Debra seems to immediately regret it, and practically flees the house. This gives Quinn an excuse to talk to the neighbor who had been crying at the sight of Rita being carried out dead on a stretcher. The neighbor confides in Quinn about the kiss and also says that Dexter punched him over it. Quinn tries to relay this to Laguerta, who responds only with anger, not wanting to deal with this case at all.

Finally Dexter packs his boat with only the essentials, burns his storage container that had served as his killing office, and heads out. In doing so he misses his "interview" with the FBI and friends and family are left standing at Rita's funeral wondering if he will show up. When Dexter stops to fuel up his boat he encounters an aggressive and rather heartless man at the seemingly abandoned fueling station. Dexter follows him into the bathroom and in a fit of rage beats him to death with an anchor. Harry appears to Dexter once again saying that this was "the most human thing" that Dexter has done since Rita dies. Dexter becomes overwhelmed and breaks down in tears and sobs in the bathroom. Following his break down he returns to Miami and the funeral, delivering a surprisingly heartfelt eulogy for Rita as the episode ends.

Season 4 ending with Rita's death meant that was where Season 5 had to begin. Considering the show's hands were tied on this it came out pretty well. Dexter himself is wonderful, as always, and there is some groundwork laid for what will doubtless become season long arcs. There are however also several points of concern. The first two involve Quinn. Firstly Quinn's sudden physical relationship with Debra, while somewhat justified by the emotions of the moment, feels like it was done "just because." Adding to the weirdness of that, since the season starts literally the same night that the last season ended, that means Quinn's girlfriend shot herself in the head only a day or two ago. There's also Quinn's pursuit of Dexter of a suspect. It feels very much like a retread of Doakes (a cop who always suspected Dexter in Season's 1 & 2.) It's a little better constructed that Doakes' obsession had been, that had just been over a "weird vibe" but Quinn is using actually police work to lead him to Dexter. But it still feels like it's ground that's been covered before. There's also the continued relationship, now marriage, between Sgt. Batista (David Zayas) and Lt. Laguerta. The whole thing felt weird and unnecessary when it was introduced last season and it's not much better now. This relationship also gets a strangely large amount of screen time.

Despite a few worrying points this is a strong opening for Dexter. The show in many ways has been freed up to go in new directions now that Dexter no longer has to work so hard to maintain his marriage. It will be interesting to see what the show does with that freedom and what directions the main character will take now that the person who tied him down the most is gone from his life.