Dexter: The plot thickens… or coagulates, as it were.

Posted by Dan December 5th, 2006 at 11:24am In Dexter

Dexter's getting good.

That's not to say it wasn't good before.  It was, but it was a little uneven.  The characters weren't quite as defined and the show seemed a bit formulaic episode-to-episode (Dexter stalks an evildoer, Dexter deals with work/girlfriend issues, then there's a sprinkling of ice truck killer shennanigans for continuity's sake).

One of the show's best assets is Jennifer Carpenter, a consistent scene-stealer who plays Dexter's sister Deb.  Carpenter exudes a good mix of vulnerability and brashness.  She seems to be written a little differently since the show started — less nervous and, frankly, less stupid than she was at the outset.  I'm glad they've given her some talent to back up her sass.

Things have been getting more menacing and provocative ever since Deb started dating the guy who happens to be the ice truck killer.  The teasers for the last two episodes promise that Dexter will be hot on his trail and hopefully this will quicken the pace of the ice truck killer storyline.

The show's not perfect, it still contains a few unintentionally hilarious moments per episode (then again, it does have some awesome black humor — i.e. Dexter's accidental outburst of hitting Paul in the face with a pan and dragging him out into the trunk of his car) and some of the supporting characters are a little useless, but the series has really hit its stride in the second half of the season.