Darkly Dreaming Dexter

Holy crap, Batman, Dexter was awesome last night. After waiting a full season for my favorite serial killer to return to the small screen, blood splatter expert, Dexter Morgan did me proud. Who would have thought I'd end up rooting for a murderer??

Believe it or not, Dexter (Michael C. Hall) is a family man now - married to Rita (Julie Benz), brand-new baby (Harrison, how cute!) and 2 step-children. Can he really have it all and stay true to his dark passenger? Apparently juggling all the facets of his life is not going to be a walk in the park, and that's what makes him so lovable.

I loved, loved, loved the reworking of the show opening. For 3 seasons we have watched Dexter swap a mosquito, pull on his t-shirt and jauntily walk out the door - well, now he's missing the mosquito because of lack of sleep, pulling a t-shirt covered in baby puke, and yawning so loudly he can't hear himself think. Hehe - typical everyday dad stuff.

But the sleep deprivation isn't all fun and games. Dexter messes up big time when he brings the wrong notes to a murder trial and he falls asleep while staking out a new victim. He is definitely off his game.

Dexter's little sis, Deb Morgan (Jennifer Carpenter), at least seems happy with her new boyfriend from last season, former CI, Anton (David Ramsay), until her former lover from season, Special Agent Frank Lundy (Keith Carradine), 2 shows up. Things will probably get messy. And what's up with LaGuerta (Lauren Vélez) and Batista (David Zayas)? I mean, I love Batista, but he seems like the last guy LaGuerta would take up with, but who knows?

The special treat of this season is the introduction of the Trinity Killer. John Lithgow is the special guest star this season and he plays Arthur Mitchell, a.k.a. the Trinity Killer. Lithgow has played some great parts in his time, but he is so eerily spooky as this mild-mannered killer, I was almost afraid to turn the light off last night. Watching him set up a bathroom for a romantic bath put me at ease, until he startled the unknowing woman. Next thing you know, they are both in the bathtub naked and the Killer has is Victim in a choke hold before slitting her femoral artery. Cold chills ran down my spine.

Just knowing Dexter and Trintiy will be dancing a minuet this season is thrilling and I can't wait to see what the writers have in store for us. Buckle your seat belts, it's going to be a bumpy ride!

*Photo: Julie Benz as Rita Morgan and Michael C. Hall as Dexter. Credit: Jim Fiscus / Showtime