Dexter Season 5 episode 1 – entitled My Bad – starts off right where the last one ended. Dexter (Michael C. Hall) is in a state of shock and puts his foot right in his mouth when asked what happened by his sis (Jennifer Carpenter). Everyone observant notices Dexter emotional detachment from the situation. What is hilarious is that Dexter should know better and realize that people are watching him.
His 911 call was so cold, analytical, and scientifically precise after finding his wife dead that it is an immediate red flag to the seasoned detectives that hear it, especially Detective Joey Quinn (Desmond Harrington).
The viewer will be happy that there are flashbacks that star Rita Morgan (Julie Benz) and surprised that they revolve around their first date.
When Dexter avoids telling Rita’s grandparents and his children over the phone that Rita is dead, the viewer knows that he is protecting them but he is also protecting himself. He doesn’t want to have that conversation, is not equipped to have it. This is showcased when he actually does tell them. The whole time the viewer is watching the scene unfold, they are bound to think: “Take off that Mickey hat, take off that Mickey hat.” He never does. It was a sad, great scene, capped off by: “I’m sorry for your loss” to Aster (Christina Robinson), Cody (Preston Bailey), and Rita’s grandparents and it was his wife who died. Dexter says it with such flat affect, feeling nothing. Aster picks up on it immediately.
Eventually seeing Dexter emotionally react to Rita’s death, his father right there with him when it happens, was unexpected. I knew there was human feeling still left in Dexter but I had no idea how much. He even admits it to himself in the last line of dialog in the episode.