Things You Do for the People You Love

LumDimSum Family X-Mas in Tahoe

Living across the world, I try to make the most of my limited two weeks in California with my family and friends back home. Soaking up every precious moment, I try to bond as much as I can, knowing how long it will be before I return again and deep down afraid of the possibility that I will be slowly forgotten due to my prolonged absence.

To make up for lost time, I went skiing with my Dad, snowboarding with my cousin Shelby, had a reunion with my beloved college roommates (who are all freaking me

out since they’ve started to get married with one of them set to tie the knot in September 2010), and with

my brother Brian, the best way to his heart is not through his stomach like his sister, but through a shared love for television.  So

Skiing @ NorthStar, Lake Tahoe

in the short time I’ve been here, I watched the entire season 4 of Dexter in 5 days.

That’s true commitment.

I’m a little behind with my TV Series, so for anyone who has not seen the season finale of Dexter: Stop reading here.

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Now for my fellow Dexter fanatics:

OMG!!!! WTF?!?!?  I am so devastated they killed my favorite character, I LOVE Rita!!  In the darkest part of Dexter’s character, Rita is his light, his soft spot, a symbol of love and care, and she is the mother of his child! Already Rita has suffered so much as a victim. Surviving as a mother of two with an abusive and violent ex-husband, Rita still retains such a sweetness and innocence.  What her character stands for is such a key part of the show.  She represents everything that is good and I believed she was Dexter’s hope, his little chance of being a ‘normal’ person by giving him a normal life.

After watching the season finale, my brother Brian, my cousin Shelby and I have each been dealing with the sudden shock of Rita’s death in different stages of grief.

Brian has not moved past the first stage of grief: DENIAL. He refuses to believe it was real, that Rita is really gone. Whenever it comes up, Brian puts his hands over his ears and says it must have just been a dream.

Shelby is in the second stage of grief: ANGER. “Why did they kill Rita?!?” She’s angry they killed Rita instead of Deb or Maria LaGuerta (I also can not stand her character).

None of us really felt the third stage of grief: BARGAINING. But Brian did say once, “Do you think if we keep watching Dexter, they’ll bring Rita back?” But now he wants to boycott the show just to show the producers that killing off Rita was a mistake.

I admittedly find myself in the fourth stage of grief: DEPRESSION. What will Dexter do now without Rita?  What will he tell Aster and Cody? What will happen to baby Harrison? Rita was nothing but sweet and loving to her children and to Dexter, she did not deserve to suffer such a violent and disturbing death by Trinity on account of Dexter. She is the epitome of a victim, she was not at fault, she had no idea what was going on, she did not deserve such a horrible death.  It’s just not fair.

Until season 5 comes out, it will be hard for any of us to reach the final stage of grief: ACCEPTANCE. Only until the producers either bring Rita back or have her death serve a greater purpose will I come to accept Rita’s tragic fate.

Predictions for Season 5 of Dexter:

Perhaps Rita’s death will unleash the restrained monster within Dexter or perhaps this will expose another side of Dexter as he steps up as the father of Rita’s three children. In the final moments of season 4, Dexter lifts Harrison off the bloody bathroom floor just as Harry saved Dexter as a child.  Perhaps in season 5, Dexter will follow in Harry’s footsteps and begin teaching his children Harry’s code to killing villains. It is rumored that season 5 will jump forward in time so maybe we will find that Harrison is growing up with the same urges to kill that Dexter has struggled with.

No matter what happens in Season 5, I know Brian and I will be there to talk each other through it and together, we will cling to our hope that Dexter will prevail…even if Rita will no longer be by his side.