Hungry Man (Dexter)

"Hungry Man" is the ninth episode of the fourth season of the American crime drama television series Dexter. It is the 45th overall episode of the series and was written by supervising producer Wendy West, and was directed by John Dahl. It originally aired on Showtime on November 22, 2009.

"Hungry Man"
Dexter episode
Episode no.	Season 4 Episode 9
Directed by	John Dahl
Written by	Wendy West
Cinematography by	Romeo Tirone
Editing by	Matthew V. Colonna
Original release date	November 22, 2009 (2009-11-22)
Running time	51 minutes
Guest appearances
John Lithgow as Arthur Mitchell (special guest star) Courtney Ford as Christine Hill Julia Campbell as Sally Mitchell Brando Eaton as Jonah Mitchell Vanessa Marano as Rebecca Mitchell

Set in Miami, the series centers on Dexter Morgan, a forensic technician specializing in bloodstain pattern analysis for the fictional Miami Metro Police Department, who leads a secret parallel life as a vigilante serial killer, hunting down murderers who have not been adequately punished by the justice system due to corruption or legal technicalities. In the episode, Dexter dines with Arthur's family, which soon escalates into a harsh conflict.

According to Nielsen Media Research, the episode was seen by an estimated 1.76 million household viewers and gained a 0.8/2 ratings share among adults aged 18–49. The episode received critical acclaim, who praised the tension, scenes at the Mitchell household and ending.

Plot

Dexter (Michael C. Hall) sits in his car outside the Mitchell home, watching as the family prepares for Thanksgiving. He witnesses Arthur (John Lithgow) arguing with Jonah (Brando Eaton) and breaking his baseball trophies. Angered, Jonah speeds off in Arthur's car.

Dexter follows him to a secluded area where he finds Jonah bashing the car and smashing the windshield with a baseball bat. Jonah confides in Dexter that his father is abusive to the family, and that he wishes Dexter would’ve just let Arthur die. Worried about his father’s reaction to seeing his car beaten up when he returns home, Jonah suggests that Dexter join the family for Thanksgiving dinner the following day to help ease any tension, and Dexter tells Jonah he’ll be there.

Due to the DNA sweep, a number of criminals are identified and brought to the station. One of them is Lloyd Paulson, a man who killed a woman ten years prior. At the time, Angel (David Zayas) had promised her husband he would catch the killer, and he is pleased the case has finally been solved. He tells LaGuerta he’d like to pay the man a visit to give him the good news in person. Together, Angel and LaGuerta go see the man, only to find him in a vegetative state due to an accident a few years earlier. Angel laments not having solved the case before his accident, but LaGuerta encourages Angel to share the news anyway because he’ll still hear him.

Debra (Jennifer Carpenter) initially plans to stay at the station to investigate, but is guilted into going to Dexter and Rita’s (Julie Benz) for Thanksgiving dinner when Dexter e-mails her a video of the kids pouting, asking her to please come. She invites Masuka (C. S. Lee) to accompany her so she won’t be the only single person there. Also joining them for dinner are Dexter and Rita’s next-door neighbor, Elliot (Rick Peters) and his children. Elliot is pitching in, helping Rita with the cooking and food prep, while Dexter is away for a few hours for a “work assignment,” although he is actually going to the Mitchells’.

Christine (Courtney Ford) comes to the station and finally manages to talk a reluctant Quinn (Desmond Harrington) into spending Thanksgiving with her at her apartment. While waiting for Quinn, Christine tells Debra she’s sorry for everything she’s been through with the shooting and Lundy’s death, and how much it affected Quinn. She empathizes with Debra, saying she can’t imagine lying there looking into the eyes of the man you love as he dies. Debra responds, “Let’s hope you never have to.”

Dexter arrives on the Mitchells’ doorstep and upon seeing Arthur’s and Sally’s (Julia Campbell) reactions, it quickly becomes clear Jonah neglected to tell them he invited Dexter. Dexter awkwardly explains it’s his first Thanksgiving without his family and he is feeling lost, and they finally welcome him to join them.

Arthur invites Dexter outside to throw the football around. While in the garage looking for a football, Jonah returns with the car, claiming he doesn’t know what happened, that someone must’ve vandalized it overnight while it was parked outside at a friend’s house. Arthur scowls at this, then silently goes into the garage, returning a few seconds later with a tire iron. Jonah appears anxious as Arthur walks toward him, but is visibly relieved when Arthur pulls the bent front fender out and away from the tire. Arthur’s demeanor quickly changes to pleasant and forgiving as he tells Dexter and Jonah the football game is about to start and the three head back inside.

While watching the game, Dexter excuses himself and leaves the room. Arthur and Jonah cheer when a touchdown is scored and Arthur elicits a high five from Jonah, during which he grips Jonah’s hand tightly and deliberately breaks one of fingers as retribution for the damage to his car.

Casually walking through the house, Dexter notices some unsettling details about Arthur’s family life, including the fact that he locks Rebecca (Vanessa Marano) in her bedroom. Dexter finds Rebecca outside and questions her about this. She asks him to help get her out of there, and tells him seductively she will do “anything [he wants]” if he’ll help her escape. Dexter refuses, reminding her she’s only fifteen. Sally then comes outside and orders Rebecca back inside before apologizing for Rebecca’s behavior and begging Dexter not to mention anything about it to Arthur. Dexter promises not to, silently wondering what Arthur is doing to them.

After talking to Rita and learning Cody fell through the roof of Dexter’s shed while trying to retrieve a toy, Dexter becomes nervous about the potential of his tools and blood slides being discovered and decides he needs to head home. He returns to tell Arthur he’s leaving, but notices Jonah taping his fingers together. Arthur and Jonah claim he banged his hand on the coffee table, but the look on Jonah’s face says differently. Concerned about what Arthur might do to Jonah if he leaves, Dexter reluctantly decides to stay.

Angel and LaGuerta are at the beach, sharing a bottle of Cuervo Silver, discussing the random, chaotic nature of life, how anything can happen, and you never know what any given day will bring. Angel declares his love for LaGuerta and she responds in kind.

Meanwhile, Rita and Elliot take some side dishes to Elliot’s, as they need the extra oven space. Elliot flirts with Rita and he leans in and kisses her. Rita kisses him back for a brief moment before coming to her senses and pulling away from him. Elliot sheepishly apologizes, blaming his indiscretion partly on both of them being lonely. Rita interrupts him, insisting she is not lonely, she’s married to Dexter. When Elliot points out that Dexter is “never home,” a flustered Rita quickly leaves. Unknown to either of them, the entire interaction has been witnessed by Masuka, standing at the back door, having brought over a dessert to bake in Elliot’s oven but, feeling uncomfortable having seen his friend’s wife and their neighbor kissing, he rushes back next door, dumping the dessert in a trash can as he leaves. Masuka tells Debra he isn’t feeling well and needs to leave, but Debra insists he stay; he agrees.

As the Mitchells and Dexter sit down to Thanksgiving dinner, Arthur begins carving the turkey while each person shares something for which they’re thankful. After everyone has had a turn, Arthur casually points out that no one said they were thankful for him, to which Jonah responds that the reason he didn’t say he was thankful for Arthur is because he’s not. Sally and Rebecca each quickly tell Arthur they’re thankful for him. Arthur in turn tells Sally to “shut up, cunt” and refers to Rebecca as "Vera,” ordering her to go to her room. Jonah stands up, erupting in anger at Arthur for the abuse he inflicts upon the family. He then shatters Arthur’s framed Four Walls certificates, which applaud him as a “community hero,” calling them “all lies,” as a stunned Dexter and a horrified Sally and Rebecca look on. Jonah then picks up Vera's urn and Arthur pleads with him not to “hurt her,” to which Jonah replies, “Fuck you, and fuck Vera,” chunking the urn into the wall, shattering it. In a fit of rage, Arthur tackles Jonah and begins strangling him, until Dexter whips off his belt, furiously wrapping it around Arthur’s neck, pulling him off Jonah and dragging him into the kitchen as Sally and Rebecca scream in horror. Dexter grabs a large butcher knife and straddles Arthur on the kitchen floor, telling him he should’ve killed him when he had the chance, effectively revealing his true personality to a terrified Arthur. Sally and Rebecca intervene, and the three huddle together in fear.

On his way home, Dexter has a conversation with Harry (James Remar) about Arthur's abuse of his family. Harry warns Dexter this will inevitably be the fate of his own family. Dexter shouts at Harry that he is nothing like Arthur.

Arriving home, Rita rushes up to Dexter, throwing her arms around him and telling him how happy she is that he’s home. He checks his shed, and is relieved that his tools and slides were not discovered.

Back at Dexter and Rita’s, Debra and Cody are setting the table when Cody asks Debra if he can see her scar. She obliges. He asks more questions about the shooting, if it still hurts, and whether she saw “that guy” (Lundy) die. While talking with Cody, Debra has an epiphany and rushes out of the room to call Quinn. Had he told Christine any details about the shooting, or had he perhaps left the case file somewhere where she could’ve seen it? Quinn is adamant that wouldn’t have been possible, as he never took the file home. Debra tells him somehow, Christine knew she looked into Lundy’s eyes as he died next to her, which is a detail that had never been divulged.

The Morgans, Masuka, and Elliot and his children all sit down to dinner, as Dexter, looking at those around the table with him, ponders to himself how people aren’t always what they seem to be.

Later that night after Thanksgiving dinner, Christine invites Quinn to stay the night, but he declines. They linger at the front door kissing goodnight, and Christine tells Quinn she’ll be home if he changes his mind. Moments after he leaves, there’s a knock at the door. She smiles knowingly as she turns to answer the door, believing Quinn has come back after all. She opens the door with a smile, which abruptly fades when she sees a stern-faced Arthur glaring down at her, to which she responds, “Hi, dad."

Production

Development

The episode was written by supervising producer Wendy West, and was directed by John Dahl. This was West's second writing credit, and Dahl's fourth directing credit.

Reception

Viewers

In its original American broadcast, "Hungry Man" was seen by an estimated 1.76 million household viewers with a 0.8/2 in the 18–49 demographics. This means that 0.8 percent of all households with televisions watched the episode, while 2 percent of all of those watching television at the time of the broadcast watched it. This was a slight increase in viewership from the previous episode, which was watched by an estimated 1.70 million household viewers with a 0.8/2 in the 18–49 demographics.

Critical reviews

"Hungry Man" received critical acclaim. Matt Fowler of IGN gave the episode a perfect "masterpiece" 10 out of 10, and wrote, "It was fascinating to watch Arthur's family and how each of them have been horribly scarred their own way by his monstrous mania. Here, all along, we thought that he was the perfect husband when really he's been a foul creature that's been torturing his family for years - keeping them in a perpetual state of torment. It might feel like the show's flipped around a bit, or that things might have been presented in a misleading manner for us, but you have to remember that most of Dexter is presented to us through the eyes of Dexter."

Emily St. James of The A.V. Club gave the episode a "B+" grade and wrote, "when Dexter launched himself across the room to drag Arthur off of his son (with his belt!) and haul him forcibly into the kitchen to threaten him with a knife and pretty much expose himself as someone who was going to kill Arthur, it was one of the best moments of the season. Season four has felt like the tension has sapped out of it fairly frequently, but the show can still bring that tension back at a moment's notice."

Alan Sepinwall wrote, "All I have to say is that the Lithgow/Hall portions of the episode were very strong this week, but most of the other stuff - particularly the final scene - was as silly and/or boring as usual." Kristal Hawkins of Vulture wrote, "Never has an episode of Dexter inspired this much cringing and jaw-dropping. As our favorite serial killer mulls over his copy of Anna Karenina ("All happy families resemble one another, each unhappy family is unhappy in its own way"), Thanksgiving robs him of his role model."

Billy Grifter of Den of Geek wrote, "After watching this I actually needed a stiff drink and, frankly, a few tranquilisers might have also helped. I thought that with the Miguel plotline in season three they'd moved Dexter up to a new level, but the Arthur Mitchell story has now eclipsed even that." Gina DiNunno of TV Guide wrote, "Quinn leaves Christina's apartment, much to her chagrin. As she turns to walk away, she hears a knock at the door. Is it Quinn? No. Is it Deb? No. Why, it's a very angry-looking Trinity. "Hi, Dad," Christina says to him. Wow, definitely didn't see that one coming."

Danny Gallagher of TV Squad wrote, "Now that Dexter has shown Arthur his dark side, just how is he going to get at him and how will he protect himself from Arthur, a seasoned killer who may be unstable but has been doing this a lot longer than our hero? Say what you will about Dexter not being as good as time goes by, but it can still bring home a good mystery." Television Without Pity gave the episode an "A–" grade.

Wendy West submitted this episode for consideration for Outstanding Writing for a Drama Series, while John Dahl submitted it for Outstanding Directing for a Drama Series at the 62nd Primetime Emmy Awards.

External links

• "Hungry Man" at IMDb