John Lithgow has been an actor for decades now and a very good one at that! I always enjoyed his roles in whatever I happened to be watching until one fateful week. That week started with Dexter Season 4 episode 1 and ended up with a very different outlook of John Lithgow.
Beware! Dexter Season 4 Major Spoilers!
Lithgow plays loveable family man, Arthur Mitchell, on season 4 of Dexter. Sounds nice, right? The only problem is that this loveable family man is actually a serial killer. And what a killer he is! He’s so good the police (everyone but Dexter) don’t have a clue as to who is behind the killings. They don’t even have a clue that the murders are done by the same guy. So as the season unfolds, you see that this seemingly mentally stable, healthy Arthur Mitchell is bat shit loco; and, not only is he a murderer, but he’s also abusive to his family. Just in case you didn’t despise the character enough, they had to throw in the child/wife abuser.
Don’t get me wrong, John Lithgow does a magnificent job portraying this character. So much so that it ruined my ability to watch him in other roles! Now every time I see an episode of 3rd Rock from the Sun, I find myself despising Dick (Lithgow) and getting annoyed anytime he does anything. One contributing factor to this is the fact that Arthur Mitchell killed Rita (Julie Benz). I loved Rita. I was glad to see her story arc with Dexter (Michael C. Hall) playing out and then Mitchell came along and ruined everything! I actually figured out what was going to happen a few episodes before it did and put off watching it. If I didn’t watch it, it never happened. But inevitably, I did watch it, and it did happen, and I was upset. Rita, NOOOOOO!
And so, Arthur Mitchell ruined my ability to watch Lithgow in other roles. Don’t get me wrong, season 4 was one of my favorite seasons of Dexter, but why did that jerk have to kill Rita?!?
This is the Action Flick Chick, and you’ve just been kicked in the ass!
Related Post:
* Interview with Actress Julie Benz
Related posts:
Pingback: Rocket Llama HQ - » Arthur Mitchell Ruined John Lithgow!
I completely disagree. Long before season 4, Lithgow played convincing villains in ‘Raising Cain’ and ‘Ricochet’ and ‘Cliffhanger’ just to name a few. But also family men in ‘Harry & the Hendersons’ or jerks like ‘Footloose.’ Lithgow is beyond versatile, that’s what makes him so good.
I agree with Kristopher. If anything the Arthur Mitchell role proved that Lithgow is an amazing actor because for quite a while I just saw him as the bumbling Dick from 3rd Rock, but after Dexter I’m reminded of how talented and diverse an actor he is.
Also, the death of Rita, surely that’s a question and issue with the writers of the show, not a character or the actor. Oh, and Season 4, was awesome, I think I prefer it to Season 5 which was still good.
My point of this article was that John Lithgow was so awesome as Arthur Mitchell that now I can only see him as Arthur Mitchell. Dexter season 4 is one of my favorites because of what a good villain he is.
Isn’t is odd how the most unexpected actors play very interesting villains … Apparently Albert Brooks is playing a bad guy in the new movie Drive, like Lithgow it seems a counterintuitive choice but they turn out to play great villains.