Dexter gains an adversary in week 2, but, as with week 1’s “My Bad,” this episode moves at a measured pace. Granted, “Hello, Bandit” is more peppy than the premiere, but it nonetheless reminds me of last season’s “Blinded by the Light” in that it plays like a steppingstone meant to transition deeper into season 5.
Sheldon gets in touch with his agoraphobic side in week 2 when he realizes, in the opening sequence, he “only” has around 60 years to live. According to his complex calculations (which are sketched on a magic eraser board), that means he’ll die before science conceives a unified field theory and creates functioning cold fusion.
Invoking 2006’s The Departed as part of The Town’s promotional campaign was, at best, a dicey proposition for this Ben Affleck directed pic. The Departed won four academy awards, including best picture, best adapted screenplay and best-director. Why put that kind of pressure on your movie?
The episode picks up where last season’s finale left off. Dexter (Michael C. Hall) has just discovered Rita’s (Julie Benz) body in a bathtub of bloody water—Trinity’s grisly parting gift, discovered as Dexter returns from dispatching season 4’s adversary.
From its opening sequence, “The Robotic Manipulation” gets season 4 rolling on a high note, hopefully setting the tone for the coming season and justifying the huge pay raises the principal cast received in September. As “Robotic” opens, Howard (Simon Helberg) has “borrowed” the arm and hand of a robot from his lab used for “extravehicular repairs on the international space station.”
