Duscuss the wicked sponsor of Dexter's here. Love her, hate her, afraid of her?

So far I find her mostly annoying - her being weird seems a bit forced and unnatural (which may be either a writing or acting problem). However it is about time for Dexter to have someone who will be closer to him than the others, as Rita is clearly unstable and unsuitable for this role.

What do you think?

here's what I think: http://forums.televisionwithoutpity.com/in...t&p=9087642

At first, I was intrigued. But then she lost me when she uttered "So, you're suuuuuuppppahhhhh juuuuhhhhnnkayyyyy" and "feeeeel that neeeeeeeeeed". Girlfriend goes a bit overboard. Tone it down a bit, will ya, Elvira? I'm afraid (and not in a good way) that she's here for the duration. If so, my only hope is that by the finale, she ends up on Dexter's slab. "Look! Look at what you've done! You stole one too many windchimes. Now you must die."

I like Lilah, I like her accent, I like her hair, and I like the fact that she's everything Rita isn't. She challenges Dexter and makes him run from a diner like Jamie Lee Curtis from a chainsaw because she doesn't buy the bullshit he's selling, like everyone else but Doakes does.

I don't even think she's all that forced, desperate or crazy. Since she's a fictional character, things about her will seem contrived...because they are. She's not real. I guess she could be an artist and ex-junkie who wears smart pants suits and bakes cookies, but wouldn't that seem equally contrived to be NOT what is expected? But as a character, I think she fits well into the series. And that'st he primary basis I use to judge whether or not I like a character. Does she progress the story? Yes. Does she add another dimension to it? For me, yes.

Everyone in Dexter's world forces him to focus on them which in turn allows him to sit comfortably in his little lie that he's built around himself. But Lilah forces him to focus on himself, and that freaks him the hell out. So he seeks her out when he needs help and rejects her when she doesn't offer him exactly what he expects. Dexter needs both external and internal conflict. Lundy provides the external with his manhunt and Lilah provides the internal by not rejecting all the things that Dexter presents to her about himself as scary, ugly or evil.

Objection, your honor. Fictional characters don't have to strain credibility and appear cartoony. Lila is silly beyond the telling of it. I hope where they are going is that all her "feeeeel that neeeeed" bad girl act is just posturing, because I can't take someone that childish at face value.

I understand that Lilah (Lila?) is a fictional character, but that doesn't mean she can't be annoying. The 'wild, edgy, free spirit' crap has been done a million times. Maybe it's just me, but I hate those characters who are brought in to shock, challenge the main characters, and "mix things up". They come off as incredibly arrogant.

Besides that, the woman is a crappy sponser. You don't encourage someone dealing with a drug addiction to help you break the law. As a sponser, you should never become sexually involved with the person you are sponsering either (what was with her practically flashing him in her apartment and then kissing him when she said goodbye?)

Dexter seems to think she really sees him, but I'm not so sure. I said it once and I'll say it again, if she ever found out about all of the things Dexter has done, she would kick him to the curb in half a second and turn him in. She might think she's dark and has seen some bad shit, but I doubt she's ever seen someone like Dexter.


Ugh, I totally agree. I hate the way the actress delivers he lines. She looks like a damn cartoon. I don't know if the accent is real or not, but it sounds SO over the top as well.

As for the line itself: I really, really hate it when people assume they know you. Lilah assumed that Dexter percieved himself as being different from the other addicts when he isn't and she was so, so wrong. He's different, very much so.

Oh, I agree so much - when the show is holding up the character as somehow "right". Marla Singer was the butt of a joke, really, so she didn't annoy me so much as uhm, made me want to shower and embrace rationality every time she was on screen? In Lila's case, I honestly can't tell if she's meant to be somehow cool/alluring, or if she's being portrayed as girl-with-foibles, like LaG.

The best I can say for her is that she is a beautiful woman. Anything else about her flags obsession, potential stalking and serious mental illness. And yes, she is completely inappropiate in her sponsorship of Dex, and a thief who is encouraging Dexter to also be a thief.

Run Dex run!

I'm definitely not feeling Lilah at all. She comes off as very affected and dramatic, although it could be that she's just doesn't hide that she's going through the motions as well as Dexter. She's definitely fucked up and already a little needy/obsessive as she couldn't handle the fact that Dexter wanted to 'break up with her'. Apparently you don't need any qualifications to be a sponsor, other than to just be sober, I guess? As for Lilah accepting the 'man behind the mask', well its obvious she's got issues. I also think that ultimately Dexter wants that love and approval for his 'whole self' from people that he considers to be 'good', not necessarily from someone that can dehumanize human remains and admire it as if it was art. Dexter may thinks he wants that, but realistically I don't think that's what he actually needs....

It's time for Halloween again. Wonder if the show will acknowledge it, like they did last year? Lila doesn't need a costume, or a mask. But "Super Junkie" just begs to be a Halloween costume. Cape, tights, big orange "SJ" letters on the front.

Or she could dress up in a Wonder Woman costume like she did in Hustle ;)

I'm pretty meh about her. I do like what she is making Dexter think about but at the same time she is insane, Dexter better not get too sucked in, she could lead him on the long and winding road to getting caught.

I'm not one to compare celebrities, but something about the actress reminds me strongly of Keira Knightley. Not just the accent, but the mannerisms as well. When she said "Just like me" in relation to the Butcher in See-Through, that odd thing she did with her jaw and her teeth bizarrely reminded me of Knightley. The cadence of her sentences bear a striking resemblance to her as well. Maybe they're from the same area or something.

The Oedipal thing that Lilah and Dexter have going might prove to be interesting. I don't read her actions as "needy," so much as "nurturing." In contrast to Rita, who depends on Dexter to be a rock in her life, Lilah (for whatever reason) wants to be the go-to gal for Dexter. He's probably never had that in his life, but that doesn't mean that Lilah will be good for him.

I like her, but I don't trust her. As she said, everyone is good, and everyone one is evil - just because she's nice to Dexter now doesn't mean she always will be, and definitely doesn't mean she'll be kind to the people "close" to Dexter. She pulled him from the brink of killing the murderous barkeep, but her sculptures and freaky cottage porn volcanic river-of-blood lipstick revision, hint at so much wrongness. On this show, if a character is fixated with blood, cannibalism, and dismemberment, it's more than just a personality quirk. (Because on other shows, they take these things so lightly...) Dexter needs to stop getting his hopes up about her, because when she disappoints, it could put him in a tailspin.

That's an interesting take on things. I don't see their relationship as being Oedipal at all.

Anyway, as far as this recent episode goes: I don't like Lilah anymore than I did I did last week. The way she just strips her clothes off in front of Dexter still really annoys me. It's like she's constantly trying to put things in a sexual light (not that nudity is inherently sexual or anything, but the way she was running back and forth in her underwear and didn't bother shutting the bathroom door to shower was unnecessary). That is NOT the way you conduct yourself in a relationship where you're supposed to be helping someone get through an addiction.

Maybe not the way sponsors conduct themselves in real life, but if this were real life, Dexter wouldn't have a happy and normal home life, what with being a serial killer and all.

But if last season was about his real v. adopted nature, this season is about the real v. artificial influences that created that nature. Last year's metaphor was siblings, this season is the Oedipal mother. Rita represents the idealized version of Laura Moser that Dexter clings to desperately. She's soft and nurturing and undemanding. She's also fairly sexless, even when she's throwing her naked body at Dexter because he was completely unmoved.

Lilah, on the other hand, is Laura as she was. Compulsive, troubled and complicated. A loving mother who put her sons in harm's way on a daily basis. Rita may be the mother he always wanted, but Lilah's the mother who'll always love Dexter for who and what he really is. It's also why he can barely control himself when he's with her. Not just his ogling her in the shower (he could have just as easily closed the door or walked away) but in the way he blurts things out without thinking.

Also, to follow the metaphor further, Rita feared exposing herself to Dexter for months, and even when she first initiated any sexual contact with him she still retained the wall around herself and acted on him. Lilah, on the other hand, has no fears of being "exposed" and offers that freedom to Dexter. The writers just chose to literally expose her to establish the metaphor.

I hate Lilah. Hate hate hate. Stupid character and annoying actress. I can't believe she's going to be here for the rest of the season, she's ruining my favourite show! Is there any way the writers can ditch this character? (hint: elevator shaft).

I hear you. She's kinda ruining the season for me.

Ditto. She's an awful, poorly-written character in the hands of a skanky, untalented actress. Where'd they find that woman anyway? A donkey show? She can barely take off her clothes believably.

I don't see the Kiera Knightly as much as I see Kelly LeBrock - ala Weird Science, even the mouth expressions are the same.

I completely agree that she is awful and I want to fast forward through her scenes.

I'm so glad that at least one other person has noticed this. I'm the type who, when bothered by something in another person, has to figure out what it is. Keira Knightley has eluded me. There's something about the way she moves her jaw when she speaks that drives me up the damn wall and I almost refuse to watch her because of it. It's almost like she's got her tongue behind her teeth when she emphasizes certain words and she's always jutting her chin out. Some people have said it might be the result of an underbite, but who knows. It's crazy annoying though. The actress who plays Lilah has almost the exact same thing going on. I don't understand it. When she first graced our screens I just moaned in dismay that I'd have to watch someone with the Knightley Effect on my favorite show.

That being said, as Knightley isn't really the topic, I suppose....I can't stand who Lilah is as a person either. For one, aren't sponsors not supposed to be of the same sex as who they sponsor? I thought because it would eliminate any messy physical attachments (unless the sponsor/sponsee were gay, of course). Secondly, I find her to be so completely inappropriate. To me it's obvious that she would like to break up Dex's relationship what with her parading around in her skivvies and showering with the door wide open. Plus, I wanted to tell her to put her nipples away the whole time in the hotel room. I mean, seriously. We get it. Lilah's (supposedly) sexy. Well, I don't care. She needs to stop.

Most everyone has already touched upon her weird "I'm so strange/different/unique/unaffected/wild/sexy/etc." vibe. Girl just grates. Dexter's really rubbing off on me because yesterday I told my fiance that I hope Dex kills her at the end of the season. Does that make me a bad person? Maybe?

If so then I'm a worse person because I hope he kills her next week.

And Dexter has the option NOT to let her break anything up that he doesn't want broken. Ultimately, regardless of how Lila acts, the decision to stray is his, and he seems to be making it all on his own because he was more than free to close the door his damn self or just not watch.

Does she respect his relationship? No, but it's not her relationship to respect. It's his so the onus is on him not to cheat. The man is 37, a college graduate and has free will. It's all his decision how he behaves. Can't blame the woman if the man messes up.

I understand what you're saying. Even if she puts it out there, it's also his job to resist the tempation. I just don't respect her behavior, I don't respect her putting that temptation out there. Just as I won't respect Dexter's behavior if he does end up in the sack with Lilah while he's still with Rita, which may or may not happen.

It just seems she's getting a disproportionate amount of blame for his behavior, like he's powerless to just say "Lila, close the damn door," or close it himself. To paraphrase Annie Savoy, he's a man and men are not lured. He makes his own decisions.

Plus, since Dexter tried to establish that he has such a low sex drive, you'd think he'd be more, rather than less, immune to Lila's charms or at least would be able to suss out her game. So if he's playing along, it's completely willingly. Blame him for his behavior and blame her for hers. And blame Rita for being so self-involved, because I can't stand her.

Well, seeing as she's the one prancing around naked and showering with the door open, I think I'll stick with blaming Lilah's skankiness on Lilah. If they do end up in the sack, I'll agree that they're equally to blame, although my screen may end up exploding with how much I'll hate her. It's just that we know how Dexter's socially retarded (to say the least) in this department, for example when La Guerta was flirting with him at the beginning of S1 he hadn't the faintest idea how to react to her bizarre "mating ritual" as he put it. Which kind of makes this situation like watching someone seduce Lenny from Of Mice and Men, only about a thousand times more abhorrent.

All I know is that if he cheats on Rita with whats-her-face I don't think I'll like him anymore. Serial killer? I love you Dexter, you're a kickass ninja made of awesome!!! But stupid horny cheater? His character would be tainted beyond redemption, to me at least. Which is probably why I hate Lilah so much, aside from her looks, personality, accent and clothes- I think we can all see where this trainwreck of a storyline is heading, and it's not pretty. Yes, that was a dig on Lilah's looks. Because hate this intense makes one petty and irrational.


ETA some other thoughts

I can't hate Lila for Dexter cheating with her. I am rather meh about her and her supposed edginess but I do kinda dig that she is another conduit for Dex experiencing this unravelling of his personality. We see a violence in him that we find distasteful now because he lacks the control he did before. It was hard to feel repulsed by Dexter before because everything was clean and cool, including to his relationship, now he is getting messy and so are his relationships.

Sure Lila makes wierd mouth movements and makes lame comments about "found" art but she is essential in rounding out Dexter's dirtiness.

After Lila's asinine treatment of her sponsee's girlfriend (lying to her face, mocking her behind her back, being unapologetic about the effects of her nasty little message), I officially hate her now. But I think that she's the perfect lame ass crazy poseur girlfriend for Dexter's inner troubled teenager who's "out in the world for the first time," learning to make his own decisions, trying to find out who he really is, and discovering the unbridled fun of sex and lust for the first time.

I think that the Dexter = teenager comparison that the writers set up in his conversation with Lila about how most people reject their parent's will and forge their own much younger than Dex, and later his comments in voice over when he pulls the fire alarm, where he says that "apparently the new Dexter's stuck in high school. Maybe I am a late bloomer," could be extended to Lila and his relationship with her.

The more I think about their "connection," the more I am convinced that they're seeing what they want to see in each other. Dexter feels accepted, but Lila doesn't know more truth about Dexter than Rita, really. She just knows a darker shade of lie. She probably thinks he's this hot, angsty puzzle that she can solve whilst having merry sex with him, but... geez. She really scared me with how oblivious and turned on she was by Dexter's violence: she really doesn't know what that could lead to.

What they have just feels very narcissistic and shallow the more I look at it. And shallow and narcissistic reads as "troubled teens in love" to me in light of the themes the writers are working with.

I've heard it said that a drug addiction halts a person's emotional growth. If that's the case, then Lila's emotional immaturity sort of matches up with Dexter's. She's the slightly older girlfriend of his inner fifteen year old. The immaturity comes from different sources in both of them, but the result is a fucked up, inane teenage romance occurring between people in grown up bodies.

I find that kind of irritating to watch, but I think it really fits with the themes the writers are using, so I respect its merit.

ITA with this. His relationship with Rita is very superficial. While I like Rita, she doesn't challenge him and doesn't make him face his reality, not the fake reality that Harry made for him, but the reality that his mother was brutally murdered and was never able to deal with that fully even though it happened when he was a toddler.

It's not even violence, but messiness in his life. Deb is taking up his space, he has crazy Doakes on his tail; his life isn't ordered anymore and his relationships with Rita & Lilah reflect that.

He's finding passion for the first time and unfortunately it's with freaky Lilah.

I think Lila and Dex are freaking hot together. Sure she's probably more trouble than good for him....but damn, I still think she brings out a side of Dex that I start to love more and more. I was kinda meh on S.1. Dex. No emotions,really? I'm glad he deals with it now. And yeah...Lila is hot, I like the actress a lot. Don't hate me.

Color me shocked at all the Jaime Murray hate! I'm late to the game on Dexter and have yet to see much of her, but I adored her on the BBC/AMC series "Hustle." She played a loveable, sexy con on a team of loveable, sexy cons who stole from the rich and kept it for themselves. I think she's gorgeous, and she might be playing up the accent but it's definitely real. She's actually a real draw for me on season 2.

Lila is hot. I'll give her that. And the accent doesn't hurt either.

I'm guessing that the writers are setting up for a Lila-is-dark-and-sexy-but-also-a-clingy-whackjob storyline. Which is unfortunate, because it would make for far more compelling viewing if they made her just a friend. I mean, Dexter sure could use one.

On the other hand, I found the Oedipal overtones to be very interesting...that is, until they actually had sex.

Glad someone else noticed the Keira Knightley similarity. My husband and I spotted it, too.

I'm also glad I'm not the only one who gets annoyed by that way she moves her nose/upper lip when she talks. Like she's trying really hard to make herself look pouty. I don't remember her doing that in Hustle, but I haven't watched in a while, so maybe she does it all the time.

I know my twin brother thinks she's hot, so he doesn't hate on her character as much as my husband I do. *sigh* Men. If they find someone attractive, they'll put up with a lot of annoying shit.

Thank god my husband doesn't have a crush on her. I'd probably hate her even more. :P

Lila is a useful character (if not always well-written). I like that she brings out an uncharacteristic lack of control in Dexter and that, through her, he is diverting his impluses to kill towards more wholesome activities. Let's face it: breaking into a house is less harmful than driving sharp objects into people's sternums.

Clearly Dexter will have to get rid of her in order to continue evolving. I just hope he will have grown enough to remove her from his life without resorting to murder.

I actually disliked Lila so much, she was ruining my enjoyment of the show, even though I love (or love to hate in Doakes case) all the other characters. She definitely came off as overly affected and needy, but now that we finally see her as the truly manipulative head case she is, I'm back on board. I'm glad that even though Dexter is unraveling this season, he still analytical enough to realize that when Lila wants something, she gets it, through whatever means necessary. I'm so glad he noticed the light bulb. Even before that, when Lila was blabbing everything on the phone, I actually kind of expected her to be parked outside of Dex's apartment, so that she knew Rita was there and could hear what she was saying.

Agreed, and I hate the way she plays it. It's just too much. Maybe I'm fortunate never to have known anyone like Lila, but evreything about her bugs (except her amazing hair). I hate this character. I hate her voice, her affectations, her manipulations, the way she dresses. The way she moves her lips even annoys me, in other words, don't speak, Lila. I cannot wait until her story line ends, and she is killed off in some gruesome fashion.


I'm with ya mishellyjelly.

I hate Lila, her black thong, and her fake accent. I know that the actress that plays her is actually British, but she totally sounds like someone practicing in acting class. Somebody's gotta be a bad actress if even their natural accent sounds fake.

Hee, that made me laugh! I hate Lila so much that when people bitch about characters on other shows, my response is, 'Well, at least 'x' character is better than Lila on Dexter! I was talking to someone else and honestly, the only way I'll ever remotely even be willing to tolerate Lila is if she puts Dexter's happiness and well-being above her own twisted fixation with him. I kind of doubt that will ever happen though.

I'm not worrying about Lila since I've watched the last episode. She is SO going to die.

I suppose she gets too much desperate about losing Dexter and tries to hurt Rita or kids. And I think that this is where her life ends and the atmosphere sighs in releif after being disturbed with her awful accent for ages.

Still I can't say that she was/is useless. Meeting her is quite a big experience for Dexter. Also, when Lila took Dex away, it gave Rita a chance to work out issues with her mother. So, as a plot device, Lila seems pretty useful to me.


I could say that too. Unfortunately I know Lana Lang, the Pink Princess of Smallville.

Prospero, do you mean you've seen the finale, or that you've watched the previous ep "That Night, A Forest Grew" and are basing your conclusion on that?

I'm joining the 'hate Lila' chorus for all the reasons above...her behind-the-back snarkiness, her presumption in trying to wedge her way to the front and center position in Dexter's life and trying to shoo Rita and family out, the overarticulated accent ('Puuhhhrrrrrrr-fecT. Stunning.' GAH!), the thong (by the way, I dig the handle, ohmygodbecky), the pathological lying, the exhibitionistic fashion sense, her psychotic need for all of Dexter's attention all the time, yuck yuck yuck. I know I have to let the plot take its course, but I hate that her act is working on Dexter.

And I thought I'd like the way she'd shake things up in Dexter's life. I guess that went off the rails pretty much when she started talking.

luvdave, I meant the previous episode, when I said "the last".

The way the story was shown, the way Lila acted when Dexter spoke about kids and Rita, and even the way Dexter noticed that Lila got her light fixed - all that points me to the idea that she is going to die. At the end Dexter will have to choose sides and choose which part of himself will be on top (or stay the only one). That, IMO, will be a choice between Rita and Lila. And the previous episode again confirmed that Lila won't just say "bye-baaaaaie" and go home when he makes his choice (again, the previous episode makes me assume that he will choose Rita).

Her voice is a dead ringer for Kelly Le Brock. She was the "experiment" in weird Science Movie.

Much the same way he had to choose between his sister and brother last year, eh... not sure I like the thought of that close a parallel.

But I must agree with our esteemed recapper... although Lila is *smoking* hot, it can no longer overcome just how much I can't stand her. Takes a lot to overcome that much hotness...

well Dexter is starting to catch up with her so it's fine...

While I hate Lila; I don't know that it means I hate that she is part of the story. As previously pointed out, Jaime Murray was ENTIRELY different as Stacie Monroe in Hustle and I liked her character a great deal. I'm somewhat of the mind that I'm not supposed to like her, that normal folk aren't supposed to like her.

Dexter's been hiding behind a veil of normalcy, but pretending doesn't make it so. He's as screwed up as she, but less grating. We find him more likable, at least as long as he doesn't turn into her. I certainly hope his conclusion about the light's being fixed is the epiphany he needs to drop the reckless and idiotic Lila influences and return to the controled, in charge Dexter we've all come to know and be confused over.

Can this thread title please be changed to "Lilah: Pale Gross Titty English Vampire"?

I'm glad Dexter finally saw through her, but who knows what she'll get up to now that she's got nothing to lose?

Seconded!

Yeah, Lila's 'Or what?' made me just a tad bit concerned that Lila's not just going to leave Rita alone because Dexter threatened her with his dark side. She wants to see the 'monster' inside him, because she considers it exciting. Of course, if she's ever saran wrapped to a table, I think she'll be wishing that Dexter puts his monster back in the cage...

Put me in the minority.

I like what Jaime Murray is doing with Lila. Lila is supposed to be a screwed-up, uber-scank. Jaime is supposed to make us hate Lila. IMO, she is doing her job wonderfully. Jaime needs to keep on getting us to hate Lila.

And, yes, I liked her from Hustle. W.r.t. Lila, I think Jaime's Hustle alter-ego said it best (paraphrased), "Didn't like her before; don't like her much now; can't wait to take her money". Or in the Dexterverse, "can't wait to put her on a slab wrapped in saran wrap".

Femvamp agrees. I was never sure about Lila. Was I supposed to like her and think that maybe she was better for Dexter because she accepted his darkness while Rita shrank away from it. Then she went all physco bitch and well..... I think she's done well. Although she does have to die.....but then this is DEXTER.....EVERYONE has to die.

Can we change this thread name to "Titty Vampire"?

I wonder what I would have felt about Lila if she didn't play dirty tricks to help get Dexter into her bed? What if her biggest problem had been her struggle with her addiction? I think the writers cheated a little by combining her ability to tell Dexter "I don't care what you did" and "I can see behind your mask" - all the things he wants to hear - with a psychosis that compels her to burn things down when she doesn't get enough attention. They don't have to go hand-in-hand. I could've taken that trip to the morgue with Dexter or been able to handle him going caveman on the guy who killed his mother without also needing to plant relationship-busting phone messages on his machine or doing a shower striptease in front of him to influence him away from his relationship.

But I guess they wanted to make it easy for us to want Dexter to get away from her, because if she hadn't been so scheming and evilly manipulative, she really would've been the better match for him - at least on paper.

What is Dexter supposed to take from this? That he can't find anyone who can truly 'see behind the mask' without paying dearly for it?

Maybe. Maybe it's reinforcement that at the end of the day, most normal people aren't okay with someone that willingly kills others and chops them into chunk sized pieces, even if those other people were killers themselves. Its one thing in the abstract, but its another when you're in a close relationship with that person.