After the edge-of-the-seat climax of the first season of Dexter, viewers could be forgiven for thinking that the writers on the series could not possibly pull any more genius out of their communal writing hat.

Well, viewers would be very wrong. Not only does the second season flaunt a complex storyline decked with enough twists and turns (not to mention a heart-pounding end to the very first episode) to delight and torment the viewer, the various threads all come together in a resounding climax that will have you not only on the edge of your seat, but leaping up and clutching your hair in throes of anxiety and uncertainty.

Oh yes, those writers are indeed diabolical. They have come up with crisis after building crisis for Dexter, all of which come to a head, threatening to expose him and destroy those closest to him.

The second season of Dexter starts, fittingly enough, with a crisis of identity for Dexter. Fittingly, because it turns out that the entire series has this theme running as a common thread through most of the 12 episodes.

Dexter is so torn up by what happened at the end of the last series that he is not able to act like his normal self. What that translates to for a serial killer is that he’s unable to do his grisly deeds. When he lets a particularly deserving victim-to-be escape his clutches, he opens himself up to deadly peril. You’d think it’s bad enough being hunted by one dangerous criminal, but when divers discover Dexter’s erstwhile disposal spot of choice and his collection of dismembered bodies is revealed to a horrified public, the entire homicide department of the Miami Metro PD (Dexter’s own department), including FBI’s finest, Special Agent Lundy, start baying for the ‘Bay Harbor Butcher’’s blood. Talk about tension and stress. And that’s just the work front.

At home, all is not well with Rita. For a start, she suspects Dexter of a drug addiction and insists he attends a recovery programme. There he meets a strange woman, Lila, with a dark secret and an uncanny insight into Dexter’s true nature. She becomes Dexter’s sponsor and convinces him to confront his past. Being able to open up (to an extent) to Lila makes Dexter feels liberated and empowered as never before, but soon problems arise, especially when he deviates from Harry’s Code.

As for Harry, all is not as it seems with Dexter’s adored foster father. Missing police records and taped conversations reveal a side to Harry that Dexter never knew and even implicates him in a serious matter concerning Dexter’s mother. Meanwhile, Dexter’s foster sister Deb is having a crisis of her own. Being known far and wide as the Ice Truck Killer’s ex-girlfriend is no cup of tea, and having been intimate with such a monster raises severe trust issues for Deb. Even though she quickly hooks up with a new boyfriend, how can she really trust someone again so soon after what happened? And though Gabriel’s hot, there’s something about Special Agent Lundy that attracts our Deb, despite the disparity in their ages. Deb’s past may cause her to look for a father figure, but is Lundy about to stick around once the case is solved?

When the ever-suspicious Sergeant Doakes gets his hands on a piece of massively incriminating evidence, the noose tightens implacably around Dexter. What could he possibly do to escape this time? How could he fight his way out of the web that’s woven so tortuously and diabolically around him?

These second season episodes are a must-watch for those who have enjoyed Dexter’s first season. The tension and suspense just keep building and the storyline weaves ever more complex. For instance, Dexter’s penchant for death-dealing hinges not only on a particular traumatic incident in his early childhood, but also and perhaps largely on the training he received from his foster father, Harry. By casting doubts on Harry’s intentions, the writers have ingeniously undermined the Code that Dexter follows with such slavish determination. Similarly, Lila’s character brings out a facet of Dexter’s that we have not seen before—he feels liberated by her; that is, until her true colours surface and her true nature reveals itself. Has Dexter finally met his match?

The questions of who we really are and how we define ourselves and our sense of self-worth, and whether we can really change our true natures, are asked and only obliquely answered. But they’re there, and add depth to the series as a whole. There are some highly-charged sex scenes between Dexter and Lila, but if you can appreciate black humour, I doubt you will be offended by some nudity. Highly recommended.

Recommended:
Yes

Viewing Format: DVD
Video Occasion: Better than Watching TV
Suitability For Children: Not suitable for Children of any age