Image credit: Randy Tepper/Showtime
Killer Dad: Michael C. Hall and Julie Benz
Any fears you had that marriage and a baby
would dull the sharp edge of Dexter — I admit
it, I was worried — have been thoroughly
allayed by season 4's wonderfully swift,
witty, and violent start. That sweet little
pumpkin-head Harrison is indeed complicating
Dexter's life. Now, like Michael C. Hall's
character, I jump more often when his cell
phone rings and it's Julie Benz's Rita asking
him to come home than when Dexter is
actually slaying someone.
The show has a superb new villain in John
Lithgow's Trinity Killer; Lithgow has played
bad before, but he's not copycatting his earlier
scoundrels. He uses eerie calm, even when
murdering, to give you chills. Also welcome:
Keith Carradine's sly FBI profiler, guaranteed
to keep Trinity, Dexter, and former
girlfriend Deb all on their toes.
''Wanna know a secret? Daddy kills people,'' was Dexter's heart-slicing line to his newborn
in the premiere. For the rest of us, that
just makes Dexter more heartwarming. A–
See all of this week's reviews
Sign up for EW.com's What to Watch Newsletter!
What to watch on TV. Hear what's on tap for the night ahead and get witty, morning after recaps of top shows (sent weekday mornings).
