Dexter Season 6 - Those Kind Of Things Review

As autumn approaches and the days shorten, foliage flutters to the ground and temperatures creep lower and lower day by day, we can rejoice as this bleak time of year marks the beginning of new episodes of all our favourite TV series stateside.

Whilst a few have had me bouncing around like a Yorkshire terrier on hearing Pedigree being opened, waiting for one particular series to air again has kept me so eager, so agitated, so anticipated that with its sixth season hitting the screens next week, has brought music to my ears. Of course, I’m talking about Dexter, every-ones favourite serial killer.
This series promises to bring a big bang as opposed to the gentle drone that was last years series. Having found solace one year after cavorting with revenge driven Lumen Pierce, Dexter has now fallen back into his old habits, the kind that earn you the chair.

Feigning a stabbing to deliver penance on two paramedics guilty of supplying injured and dying patients to an illegal organ harvesting ring with a smile on his face perfectly exemplifies how this season will supply that annual pleasure of seeing bad guys get their comeuppance, because putting them behind bars is not enough.

Having moved on a year, Dexter is balancing his night time vigilantism with being a good father to his son, Harrison, trying to get him into a good pre-school, showing the world that despite his skewed view of the justice system and good and bad, deep down, he still has that capability to love, a trait that Dexter felt eluded him for his entire life.

As is tradition with first seasons episodes, recapping what occurred during the one year time lapse helps all viewers experience it together like an out of body experience of our dearest TV memories. We also learn LaGuerta and Angel are divorced but have developed an amicable working arrangement. To boot, LaGuerta has earnt herself a promotion to the rank of Captain and looks set to select Angel to act as her replacement.

Masuka, and his excellent sense of humour, is responsible for a group of up and coming forensic students, exhibiting an unusually professional side to the guy at the office with the dirtiest jokes. Finally, Deb and Quinn have their relationship in their stride. About time.

Considering how all the characters are content with their lives at this point, it seems only fitting to bring in this seasons serial killer, or in this case, killers.

Appearing only in brief segments that without giving too much away are best described as being pre-crime, during crime and post-crime, the thus far nameless duo of Colin Hanks and Edward James Olmos are this season’s prey for Dexter, although he doesn’t know it yet. Cold, calculating, extremely intelligent with an air of devotion to some kind of religion, these guys mean business and sure know how to initiate their bewildering and grotesque spree (If it isn’t obvious that’s where they are going, how have you gotten this far watching Dexter?)

Religion would appear to be a core element to this season in Dexter’s character development. In previous seasons, core elements have been explorations of Dexter’s ability to adapt to alien environments such as having family, finding love and trying to keep them all in balance with his dark passengers bloodlust. However, season six already has Dexter questioning his lack of belief in a higher power through trying to enrol his son at a Catholic pre-school.

Initially, Dexter feels no benefit in enrolling Harrison into a religious establishment, but by the episode’s close, he feels that with a religious upbringing, Harrison may escape turning out just like his dear old dad. This warming of Dexter’s character is something that is always touched upon in each series - essentially we already know Dexter has his own belief system, Harry’s Code, but we learn here that it’s not something he wants to become a family tradition.

By now beginning to contemplate the concept of religion against his extra-curricular activities, perhaps the blood spatter analyst will become troubled and lose his path in the efforts to secure his child’s belief system to avoid Harrison growing up to be like him. I doubt it, but we’ll have to wait and see.

As usual, the fluidity between the cast members is flawless, as you would expect after five seasons together. Dialogue flows naturally and established connections between cast and audience click from the off.

Dexter’s soliloquies are as gloriously dark as they’ve always been and already in the first episode we see Dexter’s malevolent smile as his ploys come together, something the last series lacked and replaced with constant frowns and expressions of anguish and despair.

Joyfully dark, exciting television has returned to our screens in the lead up to Christmas. Unfortunately the series is only ten episodes long, the shortest to date, however it is undoubtedly set to raise pulses, pull cushions over eyes and leave fans of the series screaming at their screens.

Dexter is back. So you best watch yours.