Dexter and Lumen, under a tree, k-i-l-l-i-n-g

Season 4 of Dexter left us with a disturbing vision: Baby Harrison sitting in a pool of his mother's blood. His mother, Rita, murdered by the Trinity Killer (outstandingly played by last season's guest star John Lithgow), is lying dead nearby in a blood-filled bathtub. It's eerily like the scene where we see Dexter as a toddler, also sitting in a pool of blood, with the sawed off body parts of his mother beside him. With that big twist of a season-ender, Dexter fans rabidly awaited Season 5.

There were so many questions begging for answers. Was Rita really dead? How would that affect Dexter's family situation? How would that change Dexter as a person, if he had just recently discoverd a small part of him that could love? How would it affect Harrison, if Dexter, his father, had been "born in blood" and had turned out to be a serial killer? What kind of father would Dexter have to be?

And finally, we have Season 5, which premiered on September 26, 2010 in Dexter's home cable channel, Showtime. Yes, we don't have that channel here, but take heart! It is set to premiere on Fox Crime Asia on December 15, 2010. Like the channel's Facebook page, to stay updated.

I've been playing catch up with the new episodes of Dexter online, and I've found the effort, excruciatingly slow streaming speeds notwithstanding, to be truly worth my while. Warning: the rest of this piece will include some spoilers. Don't read on, if you're the sort who wants each and every turn to be a surprise.

First, yes, Rita is really dead. Second, Harrison starts to display some mildly violent tendencies. Uh-oh is right.

This season has a special guest star in Julia Stiles, who plays kidnap-and-rape victim Lumen. She witnesses Dexter murdering her would-be murderer, and Dexter sees her, seizes her, and still saves her from dying. Would he still kill her for having seen him, even if she was clearly innocent? How he handles this strange dilemma, one which Harry's Code hadn't really prepared him for, fills each episode with hand-wringing tension. And don't get me even started on how he deals with his grief over the loss of his new family.

Interestingly enough, Dexter finds himself in unfamiliar emotional territory—others would probably call it compassion—and he tries to get rid of her by sending her home, but Lumen changes her mind at the last minute and proceeds to seek vengeance for the crime that was committed upon her. Of course, she's not a guest star for no reason, and soon enough, she and Dexter are working together to deliver justice, serial killing style.

There are two things about Lumen that is like Rita. She is also the pretty girl next door type. Like Dexter's murdered wife, she also seems normal on the outside, but slightly off kilter on the inside. There are two things about Lumen that is so not Rita. She is turning into a killer. Like Harry, she knows Dexter for what he is, and, unlike Harry, she, at least for now, also seems to see him for what he is not: your typical evil-hearted serial murderer.

Whether real romance is in the offing for Dexter and Lumen is the question left hanging, a couple of episodes away from what promises to be another explosive season ender. I'm torn. It's refreshing for our favorite serial killer to have a sidekick. On the other hand, he has been showing signs of carelessness—definitely not the Dexter we know. What's going to become of Dexter and his partnership with Lumen?

Only one episode to go. And then another wait, for, bless Showtime, Season 6.

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