Around the time of season 3, I honestly felt like Dexter had kind of grown soft. This may have been due to my continued exposure to it, but the tension and horror just wasn't there anymore. As season 4 began to unfold, I felt that the character of Trinity (John Lithgow) was a possible attempt at recapturing that horrific power of the first season (and to an extent, the second season). This episode fulfilled it, and took it up about 6 notches. While the Angel/LaGuerta scenes, the Masuka/Rita/Debra/Elliot/Kids scenes, and the Quinn/Hill scenes (including the huge reveal at the end) were nice for character development, the true core of the episode came from the scenes involving Dexter getting to the bottom of the Mitchell family. The way that Arthur uses his family takes Dexter's season 1 "cover" ideas, and twists them into a strange psychological world that is easily the most terrifying element of the entire series thus far. Mitchell's wife and daughter are practically puppets bent to serve his will, while his son retains an independent spirit that can only be quelled by brutal beatings and injuries inflicted by his father. Dexter himself becomes so disturbed by the events in the house that he almost kills Trinity right then and there. True standout performances from Michael C. Hall, John Lithgow, and Brando Eaton only increase the power of this episode. Easily the most frightening and psychologically powerful episode of Dexter, and the best episode since the epic season 1 finale.
15 Reviews
Thanksgiving Holiday
claudio_carvalho5 October 2011
Dexter is stalking Trinity and he witnesses his violent treatment with Jonah, Sally and Rebecca and he realizes that Arthur Mitchell's family is not what they seem to be. It is Thanksgiving and Dexter offers to spend the holiday with Trinity's family to protect Jonah against the violence of his father. Dexter gives and excuse to Rita to arrive later and he spend Thanksgiving with the dysfunctional family.
Meanwhile Debra is investigating The Trinity Killer case and guesses who might have shot her. Rita is harassed by her neighbor Elliot that kisses her and Masuka witnesses the scene. Christine invites Joey Quinn to spend the holiday with her and when the detective leaves, she welcomes an unexpected guest.
"Hungry Man" is the best episode of the Fourth Season of Dexter so far. Dexter exposes himself to Trinity to defend his family and the surprising visitor of Christine Hill is a fantastic plot point. My vote is ten.
Title (Brazil): "Homem Faminto" ("Hungry Man")
Meanwhile Debra is investigating The Trinity Killer case and guesses who might have shot her. Rita is harassed by her neighbor Elliot that kisses her and Masuka witnesses the scene. Christine invites Joey Quinn to spend the holiday with her and when the detective leaves, she welcomes an unexpected guest.
"Hungry Man" is the best episode of the Fourth Season of Dexter so far. Dexter exposes himself to Trinity to defend his family and the surprising visitor of Christine Hill is a fantastic plot point. My vote is ten.
Title (Brazil): "Homem Faminto" ("Hungry Man")
A Happy Thanksgiving
TheDragonfly4415 May 2019
Warning: Spoilers
I usually don't write reviews, especially for TV episodes but this has to be the best episode of television I've ever seen, on par with even the best episodes of Breaking Bad. So many spectacular things happen this episode. How Arthur Mitchell treats his family is revealed and it's absolutely haunting. Rita kisses Elliot and Vince sees, Deb comes to the realization that Quinn's girlfriend was the one who shot her and in a spectacular twist it turns out Christine is Arthur's daughter. There's just so much in this episode and it all comes together perfectly with parallels between Dexter and Arthur. It's quite honestly perfection
Easily one of the best episodes of any TV show I've ever seen.
edvard-lorichs11 April 2014
Warning: Spoilers
There are two episodes that I consider being better than this one, those are "Crazy Handful of Nothing" of Breaking Bad and "Home Rooms" of The Wire, but this is just damn close to both of those, before i start praising this masterpiece of an episode, this episode has one big problem that Dexter has in general for me, and that is that the side plots doesn't interest me that much or just irritates me, I just want to see Dexters and Trinitys story, and that story was just perfect in this episode, the whole thanksgiving at the Mitchell's is easily some of the most intense TV I've seen in my life. And what a climax when Dexter says "Ive should have f***In killed you already!" and attacks Trinity, also it was touching to see Cody respond that he is grateful for Dexter.
9.3/10 if you consider all the boring side plots of Batista and La Guerta but it was not really that distracting, but if you would take the away the first 15 minutes or so of this episode it is easily a 10 so that is what I'm gonna give it.
9.3/10 if you consider all the boring side plots of Batista and La Guerta but it was not really that distracting, but if you would take the away the first 15 minutes or so of this episode it is easily a 10 so that is what I'm gonna give it.
A true reflection of why Dexter is such a great show
nickshane6211 January 2013
Warning: Spoilers
This is, without a doubt, my favorite episode so far of Dexter. All the elements that make up good TV can be found here, from the dramatic twist involving our lovely reporter Christine, to the wonderful family moments seen towards the end.
For so long this season, our main murderer, Dexter, has looked to Arthur Mitchell as a sort of guidance for how to deal with his family and "hobby," believing Mitchell to be nearly perfect in that respect by being able to work and keep his family together, all while committing horrific murders to relive his childhood. It seemed like Mitchell's life was too good to be true to Dexter, and with all things that appear too good to be true, it was. It turns out that, although very happy and loving on the surface, the Mitchell family lives in constant fear of their patriarch and his abusive ways. Whether it's Rebecca, being locked in her room or Jonah, suffering sever physical abuse at the hands of his father, the Mitchell family is constantly terrorized by Arthur. The explosion at the dinner table was a wonderful job of acting by all involved and shows just how easy it is to set off an abusive "family man." The simple fact that, while saying what they were thankful for, nobody mentioned Arthur prompted a melt-down from young Jonah, who was fed up with his father's ways. Eventually, Jonah breaks the vase holding his aunt Vera's ashes, causing Arthur to go ballistic and choke Jonah, which would have likely killed him had Dexter not intervened. All this, started because nobody said they were thankful for Arthur.
Then, cut to the Morgan home. We learn that Cody, Dexter's adopted son, has fallen through the roof of Dexter's new shed, the place where he hides his weapons and blood slides. When Dexter comes back from the Mitchell house, he sees a small bruise on Cody's cheek. Cody apologizes to Dexter for damaging the shed, causing Dexter to tell Cody that, as long as he's okay, nothing else matters, not the shed, not the blood slides that could have fallen out of the A/C unit, not Dexter's weapons hidden trunk's false bottom that could have been revealed, had Cody fallen on the trunk and broken it. Then, we get to Thanksgiving dinner in the Morgan household and Rita offers to go around the table and say what everyone's thankful for, which Dexter completely opposes, and so they decide not to do it. Except for little Cody. Sitting at the kid's table, not even having been asked to say anything, the little boy stands up and basically shouts out "I'm thankful for Dexter!" The Morgan's and the Mitchell's could not be more juxtaposed families. On one hand, you have a family that reminds you of every serial killer story before, with a man who is friendly, volunteers his time to the needy, is active in his congregation, has a wonderful wife and two polite, well-mannered kids. But when you scratch the surface, just a little bit, things aren't as nice and happy as they seem. On the other hand, you have Dexter, the serial killer who is so out of touch with humanity that even he can see it, and his family, the wife who kissed another man, just a short while before he gets home, a sister who spends most of her time at the house working, a rowdy little step-son, and a rebellious teenage step-daughter. But beneath all the quirks, all the flaws, and all the blood, this is a family that loves each other, a family that is glad to have one another around and in their lives.
This is why Dexter is such good TV to watch. It's not all about the fact that he's a serial murderer killer. Yes, that character arc is wonderful to see and it's a great premise for the show, but the thing that makes this so much more than just an average show with an interesting premise is the amount of details that make it just like any other show. Family, work, stress, the concept of how to make time for the people in your life while still being yourself and doing things that you like doing. The idea that our lives don't have to look like they came out of some Martha Stewart magazine. That's the reason people love Dexter so much. A serial killer who only kills murderers? Sure, that'll attract a lot of viewers and people, but the reason that so many people not only watch this, but love it, is because of all the other stuff going on.
For so long this season, our main murderer, Dexter, has looked to Arthur Mitchell as a sort of guidance for how to deal with his family and "hobby," believing Mitchell to be nearly perfect in that respect by being able to work and keep his family together, all while committing horrific murders to relive his childhood. It seemed like Mitchell's life was too good to be true to Dexter, and with all things that appear too good to be true, it was. It turns out that, although very happy and loving on the surface, the Mitchell family lives in constant fear of their patriarch and his abusive ways. Whether it's Rebecca, being locked in her room or Jonah, suffering sever physical abuse at the hands of his father, the Mitchell family is constantly terrorized by Arthur. The explosion at the dinner table was a wonderful job of acting by all involved and shows just how easy it is to set off an abusive "family man." The simple fact that, while saying what they were thankful for, nobody mentioned Arthur prompted a melt-down from young Jonah, who was fed up with his father's ways. Eventually, Jonah breaks the vase holding his aunt Vera's ashes, causing Arthur to go ballistic and choke Jonah, which would have likely killed him had Dexter not intervened. All this, started because nobody said they were thankful for Arthur.
Then, cut to the Morgan home. We learn that Cody, Dexter's adopted son, has fallen through the roof of Dexter's new shed, the place where he hides his weapons and blood slides. When Dexter comes back from the Mitchell house, he sees a small bruise on Cody's cheek. Cody apologizes to Dexter for damaging the shed, causing Dexter to tell Cody that, as long as he's okay, nothing else matters, not the shed, not the blood slides that could have fallen out of the A/C unit, not Dexter's weapons hidden trunk's false bottom that could have been revealed, had Cody fallen on the trunk and broken it. Then, we get to Thanksgiving dinner in the Morgan household and Rita offers to go around the table and say what everyone's thankful for, which Dexter completely opposes, and so they decide not to do it. Except for little Cody. Sitting at the kid's table, not even having been asked to say anything, the little boy stands up and basically shouts out "I'm thankful for Dexter!" The Morgan's and the Mitchell's could not be more juxtaposed families. On one hand, you have a family that reminds you of every serial killer story before, with a man who is friendly, volunteers his time to the needy, is active in his congregation, has a wonderful wife and two polite, well-mannered kids. But when you scratch the surface, just a little bit, things aren't as nice and happy as they seem. On the other hand, you have Dexter, the serial killer who is so out of touch with humanity that even he can see it, and his family, the wife who kissed another man, just a short while before he gets home, a sister who spends most of her time at the house working, a rowdy little step-son, and a rebellious teenage step-daughter. But beneath all the quirks, all the flaws, and all the blood, this is a family that loves each other, a family that is glad to have one another around and in their lives.
This is why Dexter is such good TV to watch. It's not all about the fact that he's a serial murderer killer. Yes, that character arc is wonderful to see and it's a great premise for the show, but the thing that makes this so much more than just an average show with an interesting premise is the amount of details that make it just like any other show. Family, work, stress, the concept of how to make time for the people in your life while still being yourself and doing things that you like doing. The idea that our lives don't have to look like they came out of some Martha Stewart magazine. That's the reason people love Dexter so much. A serial killer who only kills murderers? Sure, that'll attract a lot of viewers and people, but the reason that so many people not only watch this, but love it, is because of all the other stuff going on.
Best Episode in Series
waltertsolley11 January 2014
What a fascinating example of how characters familiar to us can transcend a series formula and become three dimensional, able to surprise and excite us through a remarkable screenplay and fine direction. The cast is superb and part of the appeal is recognizing ourselves in the characters. This episode plays on that particularly to jolt us upright with a blade to the chest and a twist of the blade for good measure. We expect certain things from a series we are involved with; but, the mark of greatness is when we get what we expect from episodic TV along with something wonderfully cinematic, something thought provoking that enriches the characters and the audience. This episode does all that and more. It is a masters class in acting (David Zayas is brilliant and Brando Eaton has real star power) and full of surprises. The perfect Dexter episode.
Scary Good
fredsab25 November 2009
A tour de force episode for all involved, but especially for Michael Hall and John Lithgow. The scenes in the Mitchell household are frighteningly intense, turning the traditional Thanksgiving feast into psychological warfare.
Great work in this episode from the supporting cast with an unexpected and well written turn from C. S. Lee's Masuka, and another superb job from James Remar's Harry who's constant questioning dialog serves to shape Dexter's motives and actions in new and evolving ways.
Dexter is clearly the best thing on television and about the only reason to subscribe to Showtime.
Great work in this episode from the supporting cast with an unexpected and well written turn from C. S. Lee's Masuka, and another superb job from James Remar's Harry who's constant questioning dialog serves to shape Dexter's motives and actions in new and evolving ways.
Dexter is clearly the best thing on television and about the only reason to subscribe to Showtime.
Quite easily,the best episode of Season 4
rufusj8923 November 2009
To be honest,i thought that Dexter was getting a little too melodramatic,and that the writers needed to shake it up soon.If you are an avid follower,you would understand what i mean here.The angle with Maria Laguerta and Angel Batista was just not doing it for me.The chemistry was just not there. And so,this episode started off with preparations for Thanksgiving going on in full swing.Meanwhile,Dexter hopes to catch some action at the Mitchell house and gets more than what he bargained for.For the first time,the full extent of Trinity's disturbing countenance is revealed.He comes off as a deeply disturbed and psychotic individual and the entire family reflects on his nature.I have to say,the Mitchell family gave a seriously good performance.
Back in Dexter's house,things get a little too up close and personal between Rita and Elliot.But,anybody could see that coming.Debra discovers that all is not what it seems, with a certain journalist.Masuka's humor was also spot on his episode.Dexter realizes that his family is completely different from the Mitchell's and that he was and will never be like Trinity. The coup-de-grace of the episode comes in the form of a shattering revelation that is sure to leave you hooked and wanting for more.I sure am ,and hope the final 3 episodes of this season will be as thrilling as this episode was.
My score:- A well deserved- 10/10
Back in Dexter's house,things get a little too up close and personal between Rita and Elliot.But,anybody could see that coming.Debra discovers that all is not what it seems, with a certain journalist.Masuka's humor was also spot on his episode.Dexter realizes that his family is completely different from the Mitchell's and that he was and will never be like Trinity. The coup-de-grace of the episode comes in the form of a shattering revelation that is sure to leave you hooked and wanting for more.I sure am ,and hope the final 3 episodes of this season will be as thrilling as this episode was.
My score:- A well deserved- 10/10
jesus f-cking christ
chrismendozae17 August 2019
Warning: Spoilers
After the underrated season 3, i honestly thought the show had lost the air tight gripping tension that season 1 brought to the table...i could not have been more wrong.
i actually watched dis episode, and overall, finished dexter a few months back. i thought season one was amazing. season two being alright and season three being criminally underrated. however, never would i have imagined that the show would ever reach this level of quality. trinity is easily the best quality villain of the show. john lithgow's portrayal of arthur mitchell/trinity is absolutely phenomenal. aside from pointless subplots that add nothing to the overall story, season 4 was f-cking fire. but when i arrived to this episode, i was jus not prepared. the thanksgiving scene that takes place in this episode quickly devolves into a psychological battle when its revealed trinity uses his wife and two kids as, essentially, human shields to mask who and what he really is. his wife is a broken wreck trying to keep her husband happy at all times. his daughter is regularly locked up in her room which looks like belongs to an eight year old. and its revealed he abuses his own son jonah. however, in this episode, he's had enough. and when all this is revealed to dexter during thanksgiving at the mitchells, he quickly becomes extremely disturbed. and what follows becomes imo one of the most intense scenes i have ever f-cking scene of anything.
10/10 without a doubt.
i actually watched dis episode, and overall, finished dexter a few months back. i thought season one was amazing. season two being alright and season three being criminally underrated. however, never would i have imagined that the show would ever reach this level of quality. trinity is easily the best quality villain of the show. john lithgow's portrayal of arthur mitchell/trinity is absolutely phenomenal. aside from pointless subplots that add nothing to the overall story, season 4 was f-cking fire. but when i arrived to this episode, i was jus not prepared. the thanksgiving scene that takes place in this episode quickly devolves into a psychological battle when its revealed trinity uses his wife and two kids as, essentially, human shields to mask who and what he really is. his wife is a broken wreck trying to keep her husband happy at all times. his daughter is regularly locked up in her room which looks like belongs to an eight year old. and its revealed he abuses his own son jonah. however, in this episode, he's had enough. and when all this is revealed to dexter during thanksgiving at the mitchells, he quickly becomes extremely disturbed. and what follows becomes imo one of the most intense scenes i have ever f-cking scene of anything.
10/10 without a doubt.
Trinity's Family
ZegMaarJus6 April 2021
Warning: Spoilers
This episode begins with Dexter, his plan to kill Arthur failed but he has enough time. Dexter visits Arthur on Thanksgiving. Elliot kisses Rita. Dexter strangles Arthur after he strangled Jonah. It gets revealed that Arthur is Christine's father. Nice episode of Dexter Season 4, what a shock: Christine's father is The Trinity Killer!
i love dexter
aa-kim9023 November 2009
we find in the previous episodes that Dexter's character foil isn't who Dexter makes him out to be. trinity is not the family man we see but actually an abusive parent making his picture perfect family into reality. Though his kids don't seem to think so. This episode can reflect onto any parent with a picture perfect family so they can realize that everything isn't what it seems. That their daughter might be miserable from a harsh break up or that his son doesn't want to be involved in sports he was forced to in the first place.
this episode was scary fun though i think the laguerta and i forget his name homicide detective's side story is boring. and I've been noticing that every episode's ending gives a juicy cliffhanger. i like that unlike season 3. season 3 was really bad in my opinion
this episode was scary fun though i think the laguerta and i forget his name homicide detective's side story is boring. and I've been noticing that every episode's ending gives a juicy cliffhanger. i like that unlike season 3. season 3 was really bad in my opinion
Some misplaced and predictable arcs ; interesting family issues and fascinating American Beauty spin-off ; intriguing Deb's investigation, twisted events and cliffhunger
igoatabase26 November 2009
I gave up on season 4 after watching Remains to Be Seen. However I decided to give this episode a chance after reading it was special. Indeed it was but some elements were disappointing too. In the first two episodes the relationship between Batista and LaGuerta was already boring and I can't believe the writers have apparently decided to cover it during the whole season. So many precious minutes were wasted and their arc didn't bring anything interesting to the story. I'm also not convinced by the tension between Rita and Dex because I was expecting something more creative and unexpected. However it didn't ruin the episode, far from it.
The writers used Thanksgiving as an excuse to cover family issues. In the one hand we had Dexter's and in the other was Trinity's. Like in American Beauty things are not like what they seem. In the past season Dexter learned how hard it is to be a good friend. In this one it's all about being the perfect husband and father. Learning more about Trinity's family was fascinating. John Lithgow's performance was impressive and the actor playing his son did a great job too. There's also something very intriguing going on with the daughter and in fact she reminded me of Zoe from Meadowlands. But I'm not sure the writers will dare to cover controversial topics like Nabokov did in Lolita. However we got a glimpse at some possible upcoming events in this episode so I really hope we'll learn more about them. The writers should focus on these elements instead of wasting our time with Batista and LaGuerta.
Beside the family issues there were also other great elements. Deb is such a great character and watching her investigating was really entertaining even if I found her scenes too short. Let's hope things will get intense so Jennifer Carpenter can amaze us with her talent. The other arc I enjoyed was the one involving Quinn and the female reporter. Masuka saw something he wasn't supposed to so I wonder how he'll deal with it. Last but not least the relationship between Dex and Trinity is interesting because it seems he always find a way to learn from the other monsters he meets. As often his daydreams with his father were well used and helped us to better understand the man behind the mask. However I don't really like the visual effects used to render them and think a more realistic and less intrusive technique like in Six Feet Under would be more appropriate.
The episode ended on a cliffhanger and it should surprise most viewers. Overall the episode wasn't flawless but it should be good enough to satisfy the angry viewer. So stay tuned if you don't mind watching disturbed characters because I'm sure things will get even worse
The writers used Thanksgiving as an excuse to cover family issues. In the one hand we had Dexter's and in the other was Trinity's. Like in American Beauty things are not like what they seem. In the past season Dexter learned how hard it is to be a good friend. In this one it's all about being the perfect husband and father. Learning more about Trinity's family was fascinating. John Lithgow's performance was impressive and the actor playing his son did a great job too. There's also something very intriguing going on with the daughter and in fact she reminded me of Zoe from Meadowlands. But I'm not sure the writers will dare to cover controversial topics like Nabokov did in Lolita. However we got a glimpse at some possible upcoming events in this episode so I really hope we'll learn more about them. The writers should focus on these elements instead of wasting our time with Batista and LaGuerta.
Beside the family issues there were also other great elements. Deb is such a great character and watching her investigating was really entertaining even if I found her scenes too short. Let's hope things will get intense so Jennifer Carpenter can amaze us with her talent. The other arc I enjoyed was the one involving Quinn and the female reporter. Masuka saw something he wasn't supposed to so I wonder how he'll deal with it. Last but not least the relationship between Dex and Trinity is interesting because it seems he always find a way to learn from the other monsters he meets. As often his daydreams with his father were well used and helped us to better understand the man behind the mask. However I don't really like the visual effects used to render them and think a more realistic and less intrusive technique like in Six Feet Under would be more appropriate.
The episode ended on a cliffhanger and it should surprise most viewers. Overall the episode wasn't flawless but it should be good enough to satisfy the angry viewer. So stay tuned if you don't mind watching disturbed characters because I'm sure things will get even worse
For a supposedly sharp guy...
skay_baltimore5 April 2014
Warning: Spoilers
Dexter is behaving like a total moron in this episode. He's already seen more than enough of Arthur Mitchell to still have to ask: "What is he doing to these people (i.e. Mitchell's family)?" WTH?!!!
And now, after Rita flirted with her neighbor Elliot in the previous episode, she kisses him in this episode. This is totally unacceptable, especially in light of her rigid, judgmental attitude towards Dexter. Frankly, I can't wait until she dies. (It's only fitting, since she's killing the life out of this show. And it's also only fitting that the kiss was witnessed by Vince Masuka.)
Nice twist at the end, though, connecting the dots between Arthur Mitchell and Christine Hill.
And now, after Rita flirted with her neighbor Elliot in the previous episode, she kisses him in this episode. This is totally unacceptable, especially in light of her rigid, judgmental attitude towards Dexter. Frankly, I can't wait until she dies. (It's only fitting, since she's killing the life out of this show. And it's also only fitting that the kiss was witnessed by Vince Masuka.)
Nice twist at the end, though, connecting the dots between Arthur Mitchell and Christine Hill.
S4.E9 - More About Trinity [9.2/10]
panagiotis199318 September 2023
Warning: Spoilers
My Reaction / Review for Dexter Season 4 Episode 9 ''Hungry Man'' (S4. E9): Episode 8 was good and I gave it a rating of 9/10. Let's see if this one is better or worse. Harisson is so cute. I don't trust Quinn's reporter girlfriend. Also it seems like she may be trinity's next victim? ''Deb: Wow, you can make anything sound perverted. Masuka: It's a gift.'' Lol this line. Wow Trinity keeps his daughter a prisoner inside her room, disturbing. His whole family is afraid of him, they are all his prisoners. So Angel and Maria are still together and they hide it? That could be very dangerous. I knew the neighbour wanted more from Rita, now he kissed her, that sucks. Wow the fight scenes inside trinity's house were brutal, love it. Wow, trinity is the father of the reporter? That's insane. My rating is 9.2/10.
Im thankful for Dexter
dannylee-780826 January 2022
Warning: Spoilers
1. Dexter almost gets kissed by a 15 year old
2. Angel loves Laguerta
3. Elliot kisses Rita
What is the ending??! Completely out of the blue. I usually hate these unexpected plot set ups just for the sake of the plot. They better spin it out correctly or I'm going to be really disappointed. Christine is shaping up to be a bigger role for the last remaining episodes and I hope they do a good job of tying things up.
A classic thanksgiving episode with a twist of Dexter. Through spending time with Trinity and his family, Dexter learns what family means to him - ironic because Rita lowkey cheats on him. He planned to learn from Trinity but realizes he's not the role model.
What is the ending??! Completely out of the blue. I usually hate these unexpected plot set ups just for the sake of the plot. They better spin it out correctly or I'm going to be really disappointed. Christine is shaping up to be a bigger role for the last remaining episodes and I hope they do a good job of tying things up.
A classic thanksgiving episode with a twist of Dexter. Through spending time with Trinity and his family, Dexter learns what family means to him - ironic because Rita lowkey cheats on him. He planned to learn from Trinity but realizes he's not the role model.
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