My Review of Dexter's 4x10: "Lost Boys"

Written by Charles H. Eglee And Tim Schlattmann
Directed by Keith Gordon

Harry: “You always did have a soft spot for kids. They reminded you of what you lost that day in the shipping container.”
Dexter: “Innocence.”

Rarely to never do I have a genuinely hard time watching this show – I’m pretty unflappable but if I never see this episode again, it won’t be a moment too soon. It’s not an awful episode but it is without doubt the most difficult episode I’ve ever had to watch when it comes to this very show.

I should’ve known that killing in threes would turn out not to be entirely true for Arthur Mitchell but even I was shocked to find out that his cycle of violence actually started with a young boy whom was associated as Arthur himself and that the child’s death was some scary means of preserving their innocence.

It makes sense given that the other victims always represent his sister, mother and father but it certainly made for serious uncomfortable television as Trinity stalked the arcades and kidnapped a young lad named Scott in order to act out the cycle all over again. Even with Dexter on the trail, I actually thought that Arthur would get away with murdering another child.

The scenes with Trinity and Scott were certainly some of the most uncomfortable ones that the series produced and Dexter himself definitely was leaving it to the last minute to rescue the child. It’s not that he wasn’t trying to help; it’s just that Trinity seemed to be one step ahead of him until the very end.

Trying to bury Scott alive in cement was certainly a demented way of keeping the kid innocent but during the scuffle with Trinity and Dexter, I’m surprised that Trinity didn’t try to kill two birds with one stone and also bury Dexter. Similarly it can be argued that Dexter should’ve given Arthur a far deadlier whack over the head with the shovel before he rescued Scott too.

Trinity’s been a fascinating villain all season long and the last few episodes have definitely increased that fascination. His actions have always been incredibly monstrous and the tyrannical hold he wields over his own family didn’t make for great viewing last week but his murdering of kids really escalated him into sheer levels of scariness. Forget learning, Dexter, this guy needs putting down and fast.

As for Trinity’s relationship with Christine, therein lie some more complications. Unlike Jonah who seems to know that his father has a deadly side (but might not know the extent), Christine is all too aware of her father’s murdering ways and desperately tried to get his attention. Had she not mentioned that Deb was on her case, I can safely assume that Trinity would’ve adhered to his original arrangement with his daughter this week.

If Sally and Rebecca fear Trinity and Jonah despises him, then Christine falls into the scarier category of wanting to impress her father. She willingly shot both Lundy and Deb in order to protect him and openly admitted that she knew about his killing sprees, despite his staunch denials to her during their scene in the parking lot.

I did actually think that she admitted to killing Lundy that Trinity was going to react by killing his own daughter. His foul mouthed about her after she left confirmed his disapproval and if Deb doesn’t get Christine put behind bars by next week, then Christine might have the misfortune of becoming her father’s latest victim.

I wasn’t all that interested in Christine at the start of the season, so now having her firmly connected to Trinity and responsible for Lundy’s death has made her a better character. I also like the fact that she was seemingly aware of Deb trying to trap her, even if Christine herself wasted too much time trying to contact her father instead of legging out of Miami. Judging by the trailer for the next episode, she might not be in custody for long either but points to Deb for the effort, eh?

Deb, unlike her brother this week was far more on fire. She went about confirming her suspicious about Christine in a sneaky way and even though Quinn was pissed with her, even he managed to help Deb out in the end. I got the impression that Quinn was devastated that Christine was the shooter but I felt worse for her than I did for him for some reason.

Speaking of bad, I also felt for Dexter in this episode as well. I think the whole experience with Trinity is teaching him a harsh lesson about his family and the fact that his secret life can have consequences for them, such as Cody’s fight this week but overall, the domestic scenes with him and Rita have actually been some of the best on the series in a long while.

Also in “Lost Boys”

Dexter’s now keeping all his equipment in a shipping container, following Cody’s accident from last week.

Rita (re Harrison’s booster shots): “I don’t know how you’re not a complete wreck.”
Dexter (to himself): “Serial killer, remember?”

I really hope the writers aren’t going to drag out Masuka’s anxiety of wanting to tell Dexter about Rita and Elliot.

Dexter: “I’m calling the police.”
Trinity: “I so much as see a police car, the boy pays the price. You like protecting children, don’t you, like my son?”

Masuka: “I’m still figuring out how to phrase it.”
Deb: “How gay are you?”

Quinn let slip to Deb that he had issues with Dexter. Also that CI Valerie returned as well, even though Deb ignored her.

Harry: “How does a guy like this make a body disappear?”
Dexter: “The gulf stream does it for me.”

Dexter: “I don’t have email.”
Jonah: “Who doesn’t have email, Kyle?”
Dexter: “On the top of my head, people who don’t exist.”

Christine exhibited a lot of resentment for Jonah, Sally and Rebecca, which seems to confirm that she’s a child from a previous relationship/marriage.

Christine: “I’m your family too. I need you more than they do.”
Trinity: “Sorry, sweetie, it’ll have to wait. Love you.”

Dexter (to Trinity): “Burying a child in cement? That’s not very Christian of you.”

Chronology: Set with December 2009, give or take.

As I said at the start of the review, “Lost Boys” was a pretty uncomfortable episode to watch. It’s fantastically written, well acted, advanced plot lines, gave genuine thrills and surprises and had plenty of satisfying moments but again, it was an uncomfortable episode to watch.

Rating: 9 out of 10.