The British Invasion (Dexter)

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"The British Invasion"
Dexter episode
Episode no.Season 2
Episode 12
Directed by Steve Shill
Story byDaniel Cerone
Melissa Rosenberg
Teleplay by Daniel Cerone
Production code212 [1]
Original air dateDecember 16, 2007 (2007-12-16)
Guest appearances
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"The British Invasion" is the twelfth episode and finale of the second season, and twenty-fourth overall episode, of the American television drama series Dexter , which first aired on 16 December 2007 on Showtime in the United States. [1] The episode was written by Daniel Cerone (based on a story by Cerone and Melissa Rosenberg) and was directed by Steve Shill. In the episode, Lila Tournay (Jaime Murray) finds Sgt. James Doakes (Erik King) imprisoned in an Everglades cabin and learns from him that her object of affection, Dexter Morgan (Michael C. Hall), is the serial killer known as the "Bay Harbor Butcher". She decides to help Dexter and kills Doakes by setting the cabin on fire. Meanwhile, Dexter's sister Debra (Jennifer Carpenter) questions whether her career is more important than her relationship with FBI Special Agent Frank Lundy (Keith Carradine).

Contents

"The British Invasion" was filmed in early November 2007. Doakes's death, according to Dexter's writers, was premeditated from the show's pilot episode because the character was "too good to not kill". [2] The episode was seen by 1.4 million viewers, according to Nielsen ratings, and received mixed reviews from critics. It was nominated for an Emmy Award for Outstanding Cinematography for a One-Hour Series and a Golden Reel Award for Best Sound Editing – Sound Effects and Foley for Short Form Television. The episode was included in TV Guide's 100 Greatest TV Episodes at no. 49. [3]

Plot

Using Dexter's GPS system, Lila arrives at his cabin in the Everglades. She breaks in to find an imprisoned Doakes, who tells her that Dexter is the Bay Harbor Butcher. However, Lila sympathizes with Dexter for having to hide such an enormous secret, and refuses to free Doakes. Convinced that Dexter is her soulmate, Lila tries to help him by blowing up the cabin with Doakes inside, killing him. Lundy's task force determines Doakes's location, and Dexter has to race his colleagues to reach the cabin first. When he arrives, he discovers that it has been destroyed and initially believes it to be a miracle. The next morning, the police find Doakes' body, while Dexter embraces his freedom. He visits Rita's house, where they reconcile after having sex.

With all of the evidence pointing to Doakes as the Bay Harbor Butcher, the case is closed. LaGuerta, grieving the loss of her former partner, is in denial over Doakes' incrimination and tries to collect donations for his memorial service. Debra remains determined not to let the end of the Bay Harbor Butcher case break up her relationship with Lundy, but their plans for a vacation are crushed when Lundy is called to Oregon to work on another murder case. Masuka tells Dexter the gas in the cabin was turned on while the stove was lit. When Dexter sees his own GPS while cataloging evidence, he realizes that Lila must have found the cabin. He meets with her at the aquarium and tells her that he, like her, has no emotion and lives a life devoid of feeling. They form plans to leave Miami together, though Dexter secretly intends to kill her.

The next day, Dexter visits Lila's apartment, only to find Debra there trying to persuade Lila to leave town. When Dexter is forced to lie about running away in front of Debra, a bitter Lila then leaves with what she recognizes as Dexter's bag of murder equipment. Lila goes to Rita's house and drugs the babysitter so that she can abduct Astor and Cody. When Dexter realizes they are missing and goes to confront Lila, she lights another fire and locks the three of them inside her apartment. Rita calls Debra for her help, prompting her to skip her flight with Lundy to help with finding the children. Dexter manages to free Astor and Cody through a small window and eventually rams down a thin wall to escape. Sometime later, Dexter tracks Lila to Paris and kills her in her hotel room. Back in Miami, he attends Doakes's memorial service with LaGuerta. Debra and Angel are awarded for their work on the Bay Harbor Butcher case.

Production

Dexter staff writers Daniel Cerone and Melissa Rosenberg were initially planning to write the script of the finale together. They were in the process of developing the story, however, when Rosenberg was hired to write the film adaptation of the novel Twilight . She described Cerone as "incredibly understanding" when she asked him to write the teleplay himself, though they had both worked on the episode's story. [4]

The writers planned from the pilot episode to eventually kill Doakes off the show. [5] Executive producer Clyde Phillips said that Doakes "always had a shelf life because of the collision course [with Dexter]", while executive producer Sara Colleton believed it would be unrealistic to keep Doakes on for a third season without having him discover that Dexter is a murderer. [5] Rosenberg said that risks had to be taken on the show, and Doakes was "too good to not kill". [2] The character was killed to prevent recycling of used ideas, so that the writers would "stay aggressive and on top of it rather than repeat ourselves", according to Phillips. [5] Erik King, who plays Doakes, mentioned the difficulty in killing Doakes off the show because Dexter could not murder an innocent man, and so Lila was Doakes' killer. [6]

Filming of "The British Invasion" concluded production on the second season, and ended in early November 2007. [7] Filming locations for the episode included Miami, Florida as well as Palos Verdes Estates (including Rolling Hills United Methodist Church), Long Beach (including the Aquarium of the Pacific), Marina del Rey, Rolling Hills Estates, and Los Angeles, California. [8] A "skeleton crew" flew to France to film scenes of Lila walking the streets of Paris. [5]

Reception

"The British Invasion" drew 1.4 million viewers on its first broadcast, a 14 percent improvement from the first season finale, "Born Free". [9] It was Dexter's most-watched episode until the airing of the third-season finale, "Do You Take Dexter Morgan?". [9] [10]

"The British Invasion" received positive to mixed reviews from critics. Eric Goldman of IGN felt that the episode was thrilling and intriguing, though ultimately "not quite terrific" and rated it 7.8/10. He found Doakes's death dramatically unsatisfying since Dexter was absent, and was disappointed with Debra's portrayal as "relentlessly needy". [1] The A.V. Club 's Scott Tobias gave the episode a B+ grade, saying that the episode was "for the most part exciting and satisfying". He felt cheated, however, that Dexter was not forced to decide whether to kill Doakes, and was disappointed that Lila's character primarily served as a plot device. [11] Writing for TV Guide , Paula Paige believed that the finale "did not disappoint". She was particularly impressed by Debra's choice to leave Lundy and LaGuerta's grief over Doakes's death. [12] TV Squad's Keith McDuffee thought that "The British Invasion" was unsurprising and predictable but enjoyable nonetheless. [13] Zap2it reviewer Daniel Fienberg felt that the episode was disappointing in comparison to the first-season finale, "Born Free". He was displeased with the unheroic circumstances of Doakes's death, the lack of direction in LaGuerta's character arc and the abrupt end to Debra and Lundy's relationship. [14] DVD Verdict's Adam Arseneau called the finale "preposterous" but still "one of the most entertaining cable show finales in recent memory". [15]

Cinematographer Romeo Tirone's work on the episode was nominated for a Primetime Emmy Award for Outstanding Cinematography for a One Hour Series, [16] and Dexter's team of sound editors were nominated for a Golden Reel Award for "The British Invasion" in the category of Best Sound Editing – Sound Effects and Foley for Short Form Television. [17] The episode was unsuccessfully submitted to the Primetime Emmy Awards judging panel for consideration for Outstanding Directing (Steve Shill) and Outstanding Supporting Actor (C. S. Lee). [18]

Related Research Articles

Debra Charlotte Morgan is a fictional character created by Jeff Lindsay for his Dexter book series. She also appears in the television series, based on Lindsay's books, portrayed by Jennifer Carpenter. In Lindsay's novels, she first appeared in Darkly Dreaming Dexter and was featured in every novel in the series. Debra is the sister of the series' antihero protagonist Dexter Morgan.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Dexter Morgan</span> Fictional character from the Dexter book and TV series

Dexter Morgan is a fictional character introduced as the antihero protagonist of the Dexter book series written by Jeff Lindsay, as well as the television series of the same name. In the television series, Dexter is portrayed by Michael C. Hall.

"Born Free" is the twelfth episode of season one and first-season finale of the American television drama series Dexter, which aired on December 17, 2006 on Showtime in the United States. The episode also aired on May 4, 2008 on CTV in Canada; on May 14, 2008 on FX in the UK; on September 28, 2008 on Channel Ten in Australia; and on March 21, 2011 on STAR World in India. The episode was written by Daniel Cerone and executive producer Melissa Rosenberg, and was directed by Michael Cuesta. Based on the novel Darkly Dreaming Dexter by Jeff Lindsay, the season featured many differences to the original source, mainly in the lead-up to and revelation of the identity of the "Ice Truck Killer". The episode received critical acclaim.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">James Doakes</span> Fictional character in the Dexter television series

James Doakes is a fictional character in the Dexter television series and the novels by Jeff Lindsay. In the TV series, he is portrayed by Erik King. He is a detective sergeant and police officer.

"The Dark Defender" is the fifth episode of the second season and seventeenth overall episode of the American television drama series Dexter, which first aired on 28 October 2007 on Showtime in the United States. The episode was written by Timothy Schlattmann and was directed by Keith Gordon.

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<span class="mw-page-title-main">Rita Bennett</span> Fictional character created by Jeff Lindsay

Rita Morgan is a fictional character created by Jeff Lindsay for his book series about a vigilante serial killer named Dexter Morgan. She also appeared in the television series Dexter, based on Lindsay's books. She was the girlfriend and later wife of Dexter in both media. Portrayed by Julie Benz, Rita was a series regular in the first four seasons. The character made her last television appearance in 2010; she was a special guest star in Dexter's season five opener entitled "My Bad". The character appeared in seven of the eight Dexter novels.

<i>Dexter</i> (season 1) Drama series

The first season of Dexter is an adaptation of Jeff Lindsay's first novel in a series of the same name, Darkly Dreaming Dexter. Subsequent seasons have featured original storylines. This season aired from October 1, 2006 to December 17, 2006, and follows Dexter's investigation of "the Ice Truck Killer". Introduced in the first episode, "Dexter", this serial killer targets prostitutes and leaves their bodies severed and bloodless. At the same time, Dexter's adoptive sister, Debra Morgan, a vice squad officer, aspires to work in the homicide department, and Dexter's girlfriend, Rita Bennett, wants their relationship to be more intimate. Christian Camargo appears as Rudy Cooper and is a recurring character until the end of the season.

<i>Dexter</i> (season 2) Drama series

The second season of Dexter premiered on September 30, 2007, and ended on December 16, 2007. Starting with this season, the show no longer adapts the Dexter novels. The season premiere "It's Alive!" attracted 1.01 million viewers in the United States, making Dexter the first Showtime series to attract more than a million viewers with a season premiere. The season finale, "The British Invasion", attracted 1.4 million viewers, making it the program's most-watched episode until the airing of the season three finale, "Do You Take Dexter Morgan?". Including digital video recorder (DVR) usage, season two was watched by an average of 2.4 million viewers on a weekly basis through 11 full weeks, outperforming season one by 21%.

"Let's Give the Boy a Hand" is the fourth episode of the first season of the American television drama series Dexter. It premiered on October 22, 2006, on Showtime in the United States. The episode was written by Drew Z. Greenberg and directed by Robert Lieberman. The Ice Truck Killer starts leaving body parts of his latest victim at locations related to Dexter's childhood, making him confront his dark personal history. Meanwhile, Rita confronts a neighbor with a noisy dog that is keeping her children up at night. Lieutenant LaGuerta seeks to comfort the mother of the latest Ice Truck Killer victim and the pressure on Sergeant Doakes escalates when Guerrero's associates begin following him.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">María LaGuerta</span> Fictional human

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<span class="mw-page-title-main">Angel Batista</span> Fictional character

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References

  1. 1 2 3 Goldman, Eric (17 December 2007). "Dexter: "The British Invasion" Review". IGN. Retrieved 12 March 2014.
  2. 1 2 White, Cindy (April 17, 2008). "What's In Store For Dexter?". IGN. Retrieved December 13, 2009.
  3. ↑ "Rev/Views: TV Guide's Top 100 Episodes". Rev-views.blogspot.com. Retrieved 2012-08-15.
  4. ↑ Charaipotra, Sona (October 14, 2008). "Exclusive Interview: 'Twilight' Screenwriter Melissa Rosenberg". Premiere . Archived from the original on May 31, 2009. Retrieved December 13, 2009.
  5. 1 2 3 4 O'Neil, Tom (December 17, 2007). "Tuned In Journal: 'Dexter,' Doakes and endings". Pittsburgh Post-Gazette . Retrieved December 13, 2009.
  6. ↑ Kubicek, John (December 17, 2007). "Exclusive Interview: 'Dexter' Star Erik King, Part 2". BuddyTV . Retrieved December 13, 2009.
  7. ↑ Raffel, Lawrence P. (May 15, 2008). "EXCLUSIVE! Rita Talks 'Dexter' and Season 3!". FEARnet . Retrieved December 13, 2009.
  8. ↑ "Dexter (TV Series) The British Invasion (2007) Filming Locations". IMDb. Retrieved 12 March 2014.
  9. 1 2 Nordyke, Kimberly; Gough, Paul J. (December 19, 2007). ""Dexter" kills in second-season finale". Reuters. Retrieved December 13, 2009.
  10. ↑ Martin, Denise (December 16, 2008). "'Dexter' finale makes off with killer ratings". Los Angeles Times . Retrieved December 13, 2009.
  11. ↑ Tobias, Scott (December 16, 2007). "The British Invasion". The A.V. Club . Retrieved December 13, 2009.
  12. ↑ Paige, Paula (December 17, 2007). "The British Invasion". TV Guide . Retrieved December 13, 2009.
  13. ↑ McDuffee, Keith (December 16, 2007). "Dexter: The British Invasion (season finale)". TV Squad . Retrieved December 13, 2009.
  14. ↑ Fienberg, Daniel (December 16, 2007). "Finalewatch '07: 'Dexter'". Zap2it . Retrieved December 13, 2009.
  15. ↑ Arseneau, Adam (May 18, 2009). "Dexter: The Second Season (Blu-Ray)". DVD Verdict. Archived from the original on June 5, 2009. Retrieved December 13, 2009.
  16. ↑ "Complete 2008 Nominations List". Academy of Television Arts & Sciences. July 17, 2008. Archived from the original on July 18, 2008. Retrieved December 13, 2009.
  17. ↑ "2008 Golden Reel Award Nominees: Television". Motion Picture Sound Editors. Archived from the original on June 7, 2013. Retrieved December 13, 2009.
  18. ↑ O'Neil, Tom (May 5, 2008). "Emmy episodes: 'Californication,' 'Dexter,' 'Weeds,' 'The Tudors'". Los Angeles Times . Retrieved December 13, 2009.

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