Dexter Morgan is going to meet his maker. Not literally — well, perhaps literally — but definitely figuratively. The eighth and final season of Showtime’s drama will introduce Dr. Evelyn Vogel, a psychiatrist played by veteran British actress Charlotte Rampling.
Vogel seeks out Dexter’s help because a killer is stalking her. She also holds a big key to his past: Vogel helped Dex’s father Harry invent “The Code” that he used to manage his son’s psychotic impulses (that is: Dex only kills people who deserve it).
On a chilly April morning in Long Beach, the Dexter production team was shooting a scene at a snack bar on the beach. Dex (Michael C. Hall) and Vogel discussed his frustration with his estranged sister Debra (Jennifer Carpenter). In the background, extras hired to play volleyball players tossed the ball back and forth underhanded over the net, while joggers ran in wide circles around the snack bar.
“I won’t just let her go,” Dexter says.
During a break, I say to Rampling: So this is all your fault then?
She laughs. “I suppose you could say that,” she says. “She decided Dexter was not going to be considered a monster and wasn’t going to be considered mentally insane and not be put into an institution. Dexter is a bit of a guinea pig. He’s possibly one of her success stories if you think The Code is acceptable.”
Source: Full Article @ EW
Vogel seeks out Dexter’s help because a killer is stalking her. She also holds a big key to his past: Vogel helped Dex’s father Harry invent “The Code” that he used to manage his son’s psychotic impulses (that is: Dex only kills people who deserve it).
On a chilly April morning in Long Beach, the Dexter production team was shooting a scene at a snack bar on the beach. Dex (Michael C. Hall) and Vogel discussed his frustration with his estranged sister Debra (Jennifer Carpenter). In the background, extras hired to play volleyball players tossed the ball back and forth underhanded over the net, while joggers ran in wide circles around the snack bar.
“I won’t just let her go,” Dexter says.
During a break, I say to Rampling: So this is all your fault then?
She laughs. “I suppose you could say that,” she says. “She decided Dexter was not going to be considered a monster and wasn’t going to be considered mentally insane and not be put into an institution. Dexter is a bit of a guinea pig. He’s possibly one of her success stories if you think The Code is acceptable.”
Source: Full Article @ EW
I this the code is a good idea. The top of any food chain is the Alpha Predator. The Code modifies the Behavior of that Predator so it is not socially destructive but socially constructive.
ReplyDeleteKind of wish I hadn't read that, I didn't know they were just going to splurge on details in that.
ReplyDeleteI'm not so much disappointed about that as I am by the fact it blows my theory about her being the Brain Surgeon out of the water :D
ReplyDeleteIf anything it might add onto it. There were references to Red Dragon back in s6. (Hannibal is a cannibal and 'a surgeon' outside of his practice)
ReplyDeleteGranted the writers have teased us before with stuff like this...last season with the Phantom NOT being the arson specialist, but how many times can they do that to us??
When you think about it, she might have created the code (or passed it along) to protect HERSELF...because she kills too! (But we'll see).
I kind of hope she is the brain surgeon. I think it would make an interesting final season villain, because she's ultimately the reason why Dexter has the life he has --and who knows how many little code-makers she has made that have gone terribly terribly wrong?!!..However, one of her other 'students' would also make a good antagonist. Dexter kind of meets his match (Double Dexter) sort of thing. No matter how it turns out, I still get a bad feeling from her (And "Dexter is Delicious" along with Cannibal title "What's eating Dexter Morgan" makes me think there could be a "cult")
Or it's just the best way to camouflage one's true nature, so you can keep on killing. ;)
ReplyDeleteYou could be right about Vogel. Something is weird about her. She could be a killer. Another one of her "projects" or "students" would also be my second guess.
ReplyDeleteNo. June 30 is waaay too long.
ReplyDeleteBring it up tomorrow. Or today?
I'm sorry what? Where is all this brain surgeon stuff coming from?
ReplyDeleteIs this going back to Season 3 when Harry says his brain is like a serial killers? Are we on some crackpot theory that Dexter was "engineered" now?
I can't tell you, unless you want to be spoiled. (and no, it's not about Dexter being physically engineered, but clearly psychologically he was)
ReplyDeleteYou understand what an alpha predator is right? They are designed to kill. That is their purpose. The only difference between the destructive Alphas and Dexter is that he kills them before they can become too much of a drain on society.
ReplyDeleteAhh I found it now.
ReplyDeleteI didn't know they'd put that right out there. They've been so secretive about it the past few years, its kind of refreshing.
Yes.
ReplyDeleteFirst my comment was meant as a "tease" (see the wink smiley at the end of it)
Second on a serious note: I understand what you're saying, but the idea of this code actually being "constructive" remains to be seen, as Dexter has been falling apart since the death of Brother Sam, but also because we don't know what Vogel's true intentions are in using this code and teaching it to others, as behavior modification may not be constructive, but just a better disguise for what someone is trying to hide, rather than actually changing the person.
On a side note: I read an article a few weeks ago about the idea of an "alpha" wolf actually not existing in the wild. That the scientist who first coined the idea "alpha wolf" was looking at captive wolves and now scientist realize that wolves in the wild do not have this kind of order. -I don't know if this applies to other kinds of predictors, but it's interesting to think we were taught something for like half a century that is wrong.
Even though I think the code might have it's benefits, especially the way Dexter has been able to use the code for so long could be considered good, but considering all the mistakes he has made, he continues to ruin his own life, which isn't constructive at all. It's heart-breakingly sad. Dexter's problem is that he longs for a partner in crime and all of this seems to be going back to the idea of wanting to be "born free", but as the French philosopher Rousseau said, "Man is born free, but yet everywhere he is in chains." We're constantly wresting with JUSTICE and acceptance and the truth is, we don't know if Vogel's code was meant for a vision of justice the viewers can accept, or a justice where she can hide herself and manipulate others. The hunt is on!
Ya. I was surprised too, but It makes me wonder if that's what they're willing to tell us, then what aren't they telling us?
ReplyDeleteSorry, I went to edit and I accidentally hit the delete button instead, but the comment above this is me, even through it says "guest".
ReplyDeleteAdmittedly, the revelation in this article could actually further the theory. I just presumed that this stuff regarding the code was the big secret surrounding her (we knew straight away there was something more going on from the first promo). I was quite honestly surprised at the way it was revealed in this interview as it seems to be an absolutely huge revelation- did we have any idea previously that Harry had let anyone else in on the secret?
ReplyDeleteAs for the idea of a cult (and do bear in mind that I've not read the books), I would have thought that would be too big a storyline to fit into these last 12 episodes, especially given everything else that still needs to be resolved. Whether she is indeed far more than just another serial killer though, is most certainly an interesting idea...
You're probably right and they won't have time for a cult, but that episode 8 title makes me think we could be dealing with a cannibalism, which could then relate to book 5 material and that season 6 pop cultural reference to Hannibal/Red Dragon.
ReplyDeleteThe show doesn't really follow the books at all, but rather just barrows some elements from them. In Dexter is Delicious it was hard to solve the case, because there were a whole group of people eating people, following the ritual of some cult leader (kind of Jordan Chase-like, but with cannibalism).
From just reading another interview it does seem like The Brain Surgeon is out to test Vogel, so perhaps they are not the same, but I do think there could be another student of hers that went very wrong, or is just following the code, because she's a killer too. --It's a strange thing to create a code to help sociopaths, but then also be a master at catching them....
But ya, it's so weird to get some of these seemingly HUGE reveals!
Yeah, I was going to mention last night that the whole Jordan Chase thing seems to have been Dexter's (the TV show) cult thread. I actually feel they could have done more with that, perhaps even finding a way to cross season 5 and 6 together, if they'd made Chase's motivations have some kind of religious angle as opposed to the 'damaged kid'. Perhaps Chase having been a 'disciple' of sorts to Professor Gellar? It could have potentially made for a nice cliffhanger ending to season 5 and perhaps more people would have enjoyed those two years (which seem to be somewhat harshly criticised). A two year story arc culminating in Deb's discovery of Dex would have been great! Sorry, I've gone off on a tangent here :D
ReplyDeleteI do intend to read the books, but I always intended to wait until the show had completed it's story and then venture into what I understand to be quite a radically different approach with the novels. I'm glad they're different though, as I now don't have to go through that whole problem of "why is that missing?" or "why didn't they do that in the show?".
I haven't seen this other interview, but I think I'm going to do my best to avoid any more big spoilers as it's literally just 13 short weeks now until it's all over. I like spoilers as I'm always dying to know where a story is going, but when the conclusion is upon me I find it easier to have a bit of patience!!!
I never meant Alpha Wolf that has no bearing on a food chain. The Alpha Predator is not just one type of animal. Right now it is a Human since we are the most equipped to survive.
ReplyDeleteLook at it this way how many bad guys has he killed and how has that improved the lives of those they were preying upon?
ReplyDeleteAgain it's not that I don't understand what you're saying or that I don't feel for that side of the argument, but my point is that is an arguement and that is what the final season will answer. It will tell us what the writer's definition of justice is by what happens to Dexter in the end!
ReplyDeleteAgain I also addressed that I understand the difference, but you're the one that is not understanding me. I did NOT say that the alpha wolf is on top of a food chain, just that the idea of "alpha anything" may be something that is now scientifically being challenged, because in the wolves case, it is no longer true...as "alpha" just means "on top"....and anything that can kill most other things is predictor.-But it's a debate if that is what Dexter really is/wants to be and if the code is socially acceptable, because so far it hasn't truly worked, as Dexter has made some SERIOUS mistakes.
ReplyDeleteMy point is that we don't know if BEING an alpha preditor is a good or bad thing (in terms of Dexter's story), because we do not know how it will end...
I think you are hung up on the term Alpha. How about Apex Predator? It is still the same thing.
ReplyDeleteNevermind. You are missing my point.
ReplyDeleteYour point is not logical. And Yes people are supposed to be better than animals. The question is are they?? I contend they are not especially the Apex Predators. They like to kill and maim. That is why prisons were formed. The problem they are not staying there. Look inside ant prison and you see Animal behavior not Human!
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