‘Dexter’ season 8, episode 2 review: Charlotte Rampling is still amazing
Two episodes into “Dexter” season 8, and we have a hard time feeling like we could be any more excited for the progress that this show is making at this point. We’ve now had two episodes that are positively killer (excuse the pun), and we’ve also seen someone come in and really do something to shake up the entire dynamic of the show. That person is of course Dr. Evelyn Vogel, and it is hard to do anything right now other than give her a pretty massive round of applause. The character is certainly bringing something new and exciting to the table, and providing us with some meat to take this show back to a level that it was during the early seasons.
The biggest reason to like Dr. Vogel as a character is really that Charlotte Rampling plays her with so much creepiness, you cannot help but wonder whether or not she is the person really spearheading all of the Brain Surgeon killings herself. She is also working to uplift Dexter, and tell him that there is absolutely nothing wrong with his feelings or the way in which he is expressing them.
While you could consider Evelyn to be the Big Bad of sorts (even if she is claiming to be benevolent right now), you could also look in another surprising direction after tonight: Deb. In killing the hit-man that was after her earlier on in the episode, we’ve learned that this is hardly the same woman that we once knew. She didn’t have to kill this man, and had to rely on Dexter to bail her out … a very different dynamic from what happens more often than not. Is she becoming the new Dexter? We wouldn’t go that far, since her killings seem to be more emotionally-based, and in that way similar to Hannah’s. (Who knows? Maybe these two can buddy up later this season … okay, that’s doubtful.)
Meanwhile, it makes sense that Deb would be getting in the way of Quinn’s relationship with Jamie, mostly because it always felt like these two had a lot of unfinished business. We can’t imagine this story having a great ending for Jamie, let’s just put it that way.
All in all, “Every Silver Lining” built wonderfully upon the premiere, and cemented in our brain that this season is off to the best start since the Trinity Killer’s arrival in season 4. But can it keep it up? That will be the test from here on out, given that many surprises have already been revealed.
What do you think about this week’s “Dexter” episode? We want to hear some more of your thoughts below! If you want to also check out some more coverage of his show, including a preview for next week, be sure to head on over to the link here.
Photo: Showtime