Our Father (Dexter)
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"Our Father" is the third season
premiere A première, also spelled premiere, is the debut (first public presentation) of a play, film, dance, or musical composition. A work will often have many premières: a world première (the first time it is shown anywhere in the world), its first ...
and twenty-fifth overall episode of the American
television drama series In film and television, drama is a category or genre of narrative fiction (or semi-fiction) intended to be more serious than humorous in tone. Drama of this kind is usually qualified with additional terms that specify its particular super-gen ...
''
Dexter Dexter may refer to: Arts and entertainment * Dexter, the main character of the American animated series ''Dexter's Laboratory'' that aired from 1996 to 2003 * Dexter, a fictional character in the British Diary of a Bad Man#Main, web series ''Diar ...
'', which first aired on September 28, 2008, on
Showtime Showtime or Show Time may refer to: Film * ''Showtime'' (film), a 2002 American action/comedy film * ''Showtime'' (video), a 1995 live concert video by Blur Television Networks and channels * Showtime Networks, a division of Paramount Global w ...
in the United States. The episode was written by Clyde Phillips and directed by Keith Gordon. In the episode, which takes place several months after the second-season finale,
Dexter Morgan {{More citations needed, date=August 2016 {{Infobox character , color = red , name = Dexter Morgan , series = Dexter , image = Dexter Morgan.jpg , image_size = 200px , caption = Michael C. Hall as Dexter Morgan , first = Novels:''Darkly Dr ...
(
Michael C. Hall Michael Carlyle Hall (born February 1, 1971) is an American actor and singer best known for his roles as Dexter Morgan, the titular character in the Showtime series ''Dexter,'' and David Fisher in the HBO drama series '' Six Feet Under.'' Thes ...
) mistakenly kills an innocent man but forms a friendship with the man's brother, well-known assistant district attorney
Miguel Prado This is a list of characters from the Showtime TV series ''Dexter'', its sequel miniseries '' Dexter: New Blood,'' and the Jeff Lindsay novels, including ''Darkly Dreaming Dexter'' (on which the show was based), ''Dearly Devoted Dexter'', ''De ...
(
Jimmy Smits Jimmy L. Smits (born July 9, 1955) is an American actor. He is best known for playing attorney Victor Sifuentes on the 1980s-1990s legal drama ''L.A. Law'', NYPD Detective Bobby Simone on the 1990s-2000s police drama '' NYPD Blue'', Matt Santos ...
). Dexter's sister
Debra Debra is a feminine given name. Debra may refer to: People * Debra Adelaide (born 1958), Australian writer * Debra Allbery (born 1957), American poet * Debra R. Anderson (1949-2022), American politician * Debra Austin (born 1955), American bal ...
(
Jennifer Carpenter Jennifer Carpenter is an American actress who is known for her role as Debra Morgan in the Showtime series '' Dexter'', for which she earned a Saturn Award in 2009, and also for playing Rebecca Harris in the CBS television series '' Limitless'' ...
), meanwhile, has turned over a new leaf in her life and is determined to become a detective. To carry the remainder of the third season, ''Dexter''s writers introduced Miguel as a new character so that his relationship with Dexter could serve as a "central arc". In order to allow them to explore Dexter's psychological and emotional reactions, the writers revealed Dexter's girlfriend
Rita Bennett Rita Morgan (''née'' Brandon; previously Ackerman and Bennett) 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'', bas ...
( Julie Benz) to be pregnant. They also had Dexter kill an innocent person to develop the ongoing theme of rebellion despite initially rejecting the idea of Dexter killing "somebody who doesn't deserve it". Filming of the episode began in early June in
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,
California California is a U.S. state, state in the Western United States, located along the West Coast of the United States, Pacific Coast. With nearly 39.2million residents across a total area of approximately , it is the List of states and territori ...
at Sunset Gower Studios, though a small crew flew to
Miami Miami ( ), officially the City of Miami, known as "the 305", "The Magic City", and "Gateway to the Americas", is a East Coast of the United States, coastal metropolis and the County seat, county seat of Miami-Dade County, Florida, Miami-Dade C ...
,
Florida Florida is a state located in the Southeastern region of the United States. Florida is bordered to the west by the Gulf of Mexico, to the northwest by Alabama, to the north by Georgia, to the east by the Bahamas and Atlantic Ocean, and to ...
, where the show is set, to film short pieces of Dexter, which were integrated into "Our Father" and other episodes. The episode brought in 1.22 million viewers, an improvement from second season's
premiere A première, also spelled premiere, is the debut (first public presentation) of a play, film, dance, or musical composition. A work will often have many premières: a world première (the first time it is shown anywhere in the world), its first ...
and finale, and attracted mixed reviews from critics.


Plot

Several months after the deaths of
James Doakes 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. Biography Doakes enlisted in the U.S. Arm ...
and Lila Tournay,
Dexter Morgan {{More citations needed, date=August 2016 {{Infobox character , color = red , name = Dexter Morgan , series = Dexter , image = Dexter Morgan.jpg , image_size = 200px , caption = Michael C. Hall as Dexter Morgan , first = Novels:''Darkly Dr ...
's life has returned to normal. He looks up a drug dealer, Fred "Freebo" Bowman ( Mike Erwin), whom he believes to have killed two female college students. Pretending to want to buy
heroin Heroin, also known as diacetylmorphine and diamorphine among other names, is a potent opioid mainly used as a recreational drug for its euphoric effects. Medical grade diamorphine is used as a pure hydrochloride salt. Various white and brow ...
, Dexter visits Freebo's house, where he sees his girlfriend Teegan Campbell (Jelly Howie). He returns to the house at night and finds Freebo fighting with another man (Nick Hermz). When the man attacks Dexter, he stabs and kills him in self-defense. Dexter flees, shocked about breaking his father Harry's "
code In communications and information processing, code is a system of rules to convert information—such as a letter, word, sound, image, or gesture—into another form, sometimes shortened or secret, for communication through a communication ...
" and killing an innocent person. Dexter is called to the scene the following day and discovers that the man was Oscar Prado, the brother of prominent Assistant District Attorney
Miguel Prado This is a list of characters from the Showtime TV series ''Dexter'', its sequel miniseries '' Dexter: New Blood,'' and the Jeff Lindsay novels, including ''Darkly Dreaming Dexter'' (on which the show was based), ''Dearly Devoted Dexter'', ''De ...
. Miguel seeks an explanation and consolation from Dexter, and invites him to Oscar's
wake Wake or The Wake may refer to: Culture *Wake (ceremony), a ritual which takes place during some funeral ceremonies *Wakes week, an English holiday tradition * Parish Wake, another name of the Welsh ', the fairs held on the local parish's patron s ...
. Dexter attends, leaving his sister
Debra Debra is a feminine given name. Debra may refer to: People * Debra Adelaide (born 1958), Australian writer * Debra Allbery (born 1957), American poet * Debra R. Anderson (1949-2022), American politician * Debra Austin (born 1955), American bal ...
alone on their dead father's birthday. He begins to question Harry's code and whether his loyalty is necessary. At the Miami-Metro PD, Det. Angel Batista is promoted to a sergeant. Det. Joey Quinn (
Desmond Harrington Desmond Harrington (born October 19, 1976) is an American actor. He has appeared in '' The Hole'' (2001), ''Ghost Ship'' (2002), and '' Wrong Turn'' (2003), Desmond joined the cast of the Showtime series ''Dexter'' in its third season, as Det. ...
), recently transferred to the department, is being investigated by Internal Affairs. Sgt. Yuki Amado ( Liza Lapira) asks Debra repeatedly to keep an eye on Quinn, but Debra declines even when she discovers that "snitching" may earn her a detective's shield. Debra discovers from one of Quinn's
informants An informant (also called an informer or, as a slang term, a “snitch”) is a person who provides privileged information about a person or organization to an agency. The term is usually used within the law-enforcement world, where informant ...
, Anton Briggs (David Ramsey), that Oscar was a drug addict and in Freebo's debt. However, after Debra loudly divulges the information in Miguel's presence, Lt.
María LaGuerta Captain María Esperanza di Alma LaGuerta ( or ; es, María LaGüerta) portrayed by Lauren Vélez, is a fictional character who is the Lieutenant at the fictitious Miami-Metro Homicide Department in the Showtime television series '' Dexter.'' ...
asks Batista to remove her from the case. Batista puts her on the case of a "
Jane Doe John Doe (male) and Jane Doe (female) are multiple-use placeholder names that are used when the true name of a person is unknown or is being intentionally concealed. In the context of law enforcement in the United States, such names are often ...
" who Dexter recognizes as Teegan. Meanwhile, Dexter's girlfriend
Rita Rita may refer to: People * Rita (given name) * Rita (Indian singer) (born 1984) * Rita (Israeli singer) (born 1962) * Rita (Japanese singer) * Eliza Humphreys (1850–1938), wrote under the pseudonym Rita Places * Djarrit, also known as Rita, a ...
craves chocolate pudding and, recalling the last instance of this, realizes that she is
pregnant Pregnancy is the time during which one or more offspring develops (gestation, gestates) inside a woman, woman's uterus (womb). A multiple birth, multiple pregnancy involves more than one offspring, such as with twins. Pregnancy usually occur ...
.


Production

''Dexter''s writing staff began meeting in March 2008 to brainstorm ideas for the third season's storylines. Writer Clyde Phillips said that, when the writers decided to open season 3 with the revelation of Rita's pregnancy, "we were thinking about how it would affect Dexter psychologically and emotionally to create a life when he has spent most of his adult life taking lives." They chose to introduce Miguel as a new character with the intention for his and Dexter's relationship to be "the central arc of the season", according to Hall. Smits was the only actor who was considered for the role of Miguel. Smits was not initially interested in joining the cast, but after Phillips explained Miguel's dark side to him, Smits accepted the job offer because it was an opportunity to play a character dissimilar to any he had played before. He said, "They promised upfront that this was really going to challenge me, that it would be stuff that I haven't done before, and they've really given me a shot. They've delivered the goods." In regard to Dexter's abandonment of Harry's Code, Hall said that "That need to rebel is a real engine for what unfolds this season." Smits was hired to appear in ten of the season's twelve episodes. When asked at the beginning of the second season whether there was any possibility of Dexter killing an innocent person, show runner
Daniel Cerone Daniel Cerone is a television writer and executive producer. His credits include '' Dexter'', where he served as showrunner, along with ''The Blacklist'', ''The Mentalist'', ''Dirty Sexy Money'' and '' Charmed''. He was the co-creator of ''Constant ...
said that by not doing so, they were "protecting the character". He thought that it was "very important for the show that he does kill people who deserve it". Phillips said that "We don't want him knowingly killing somebody who doesn't deserve it out of impulse or something, but we have explored the notion of his having killed someone without properly vetting that person and perhaps making a mistake." Production was scheduled to commence in late May, but was delayed until early June. A small crew flew to
Miami Miami ( ), officially the City of Miami, known as "the 305", "The Magic City", and "Gateway to the Americas", is a East Coast of the United States, coastal metropolis and the County seat, county seat of Miami-Dade County, Florida, Miami-Dade C ...
with Hall and, according to producer Sara Colleton, filmed "a lot of pieces—not just Dexter walking in and out of his door or car, but also scenes that we know we'll need and can use", before returning to the show's permanent
set Set, The Set, SET or SETS may refer to: Science, technology, and mathematics Mathematics *Set (mathematics), a collection of elements *Category of sets, the category whose objects and morphisms are sets and total functions, respectively Electro ...
s at Sunset Gower Studios in
Los Angeles Los Angeles ( ; es, Los Ángeles, link=no , ), often referred to by its initials L.A., is the largest city in the state of California and the second most populous city in the United States after New York City, as well as one of the world' ...
.


Reception

"Our Father" brought in 1.22 million viewers, a 20 percent improvement on both the second season's premiere and finale, and Showtime's highest-rated drama
season premiere A season premiere is the first episode of a new season of a returning television show. In the United States, many season premieres are aired in the fall time or, for mid-season replacements, either in the spring or late winter. In countries such ...
since 2004 when Nielsen Media Research began compiling their ratings for premium networks. In the United Kingdom, the episode was the ninth most-watched program in its timeslot with 194,000 viewers and an audience share of 1.2 percent, a significant decline from " It's Alive!", the second-season premiere. "Our Father" received mixed reviews from critics; some thought that it was dull, though Smits' performance received widespread critical acclaim. Alan Sepinwall of ''
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'' said that he was "frustrated" by the episode despite not finding any faults with it, writing, "I can't help thinking that I've seen as much of
Dexter Morgan {{More citations needed, date=August 2016 {{Infobox character , color = red , name = Dexter Morgan , series = Dexter , image = Dexter Morgan.jpg , image_size = 200px , caption = Michael C. Hall as Dexter Morgan , first = Novels:''Darkly Dr ...
's world as I need to." Matt Fowler, writing for
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, thought that the revelation of Rita's pregnancy was "an interesting development, but not necessarily something that instantly catapults me to the edge of my seat" but that Smits as Miguel could improve "even great
how How may refer to: * How (greeting), a word used in some misrepresentations of Native American/First Nations speech * How, an interrogative word in English grammar Art and entertainment Literature * ''How'' (book), a 2007 book by Dov Seidma ...
like ''Dexter''". ''
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''s Stephen Romei felt that, with the beginning of the third season, "''Dexter'' has gone from an eight to a six" on a scale of one to ten, saying that the show "has lost its edge" with the hypocrisy of Dexter being a supposed sociopath despite holding several relationships. ''
Los Angeles Times The ''Los Angeles Times'' (abbreviated as ''LA Times'') is a daily newspaper that started publishing in Los Angeles in 1881. Based in the LA-adjacent suburb of El Segundo since 2018, it is the sixth-largest newspaper by circulation in the Un ...
'' critic
Claire Zulkey Claire Zulkey (born April 15, 1979 in Evanston, Illinois) is an American writer, a 2001 graduate of Georgetown University, and the Northwestern University Creative Writing Masters program. She lives in Chicago, Illinois. She is the author of the ...
was "not sure yet whether he third season's changes aregood". Ray Ellis of ''
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'' felt that "the series has settled into a state of complacency" and could not "escape the feeling I've seen this before". On the other hand, the ''
San Francisco Chronicle The ''San Francisco Chronicle'' is a newspaper serving primarily the San Francisco Bay Area of Northern California. It was founded in 1865 as ''The Daily Dramatic Chronicle'' by teenage brothers Charles de Young and M. H. de Young, Michael H. de ...
''s Tim Goodman wrote that "the whiff of normalcy for Dexter" gives viewers "a magnificent tease" and likened the fast-moving plot to "the urgency of brilliance".
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critic Debra McDuffee was "pleasantly surprised by Smits" and said that, thus far, "season three is a good one". ''
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''s Paula Paige, who was "thrilled" to see Smits join the cast, said, "What the ''Dexter'' season three opener lacked in explosive excitement, it certainly made up for in Jimmy Smits." Daniel Fienberg, writing for Zap2it, said that the combination of Hall and Smits was "as good as TV acting gets" and that, in comparison to the second season's opening, "the show's creative team appears to have done it again".


References


External links

* {{DEFAULTSORT:Our Father 2008 American television episodes Dexter (TV series) episodes Television episodes directed by Keith Gordon