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Born Free (Dexter)
Encyclopedia
"Born Free" is the twelfth episode of season one
and first season finale of the American television drama series Dexter
, which aired on December 17, 2006 on Showtime in the United States. The episode also aired on May 4, 2008 on CTV
in Canada; on May 14, 2008 on FX
in the UK; on September 28, 2008 on Channel Ten in Australia; and on March 21, 2011 on STAR World
in India. The episode was written by Daniel Cerone
and executive producer Melissa Rosenberg
, and was directed by Michael Cuesta
. Based on the novel Darkly Dreaming Dexter
by Jeff Lindsay
, the season featured many differences to the original source, mainly in the lead-up to and revelation of the identity of the "Ice Truck Killer". The episode was very well received by critics, and Michael C. Hall
was nominated for a Golden Globe
for his role as Dexter Morgan
.
The episode focuses on the final confrontation between Dexter and the "Ice Truck Killer". After kidnapping Debra Morgan
(Jennifer Carpenter
), Rudy Cooper (Christian Camargo
) is in the final stages of his plan to reunite with his long-lost brother. James Doakes
(Erik King
) and María LaGuerta
(Lauren Vélez
) investigate the case, and Doakes begins to suspect that Dexter is involved. Meanwhile, Paul Bennett (Mark Pellegrino
) tries to convince Rita Bennett
(Julie Benz
) that Dexter is not who she thinks he is.
who chops up the bodies of his victims and drains their blood, Dexter
hurries to find his sister Debra
. Since the murderer had always sent secret messages to Dexter, he searches his house for clues that he could have left, and finds a picture of the shipping container where his mother was killed. When Dexter is about to leave, Doakes
and LaGuerta
arrive, telling him that they think Rudy Cooper was the one who stabbed Batista
. Doakes insists that Dexter knows something, and he reveals that the blood on Angel's collar matched Rudy's. The pair leave, and Dexter goes to find the shipping container. At the station, LaGuerta orders a search for Rudy. Matthews walks in and introduces Esmee Pascal, the new lieutenant replacing LaGuerta.
At the shipping yard, Dexter breaks into the container in the picture, only to find it full of bananas. Doakes appears and asks him what he is doing, and after a fist fight, a foreman arrives and orders them to leave. Doakes tells Dexter that he knows that he is up to something, and says that he will be watching him. Meanwhile, Rita
is contacted by an imprisoned Paul, who contends that Dexter knocked him out and set him up. Rita becomes annoyed as Paul persists that Dexter is dangerous and should not be around their children. Rita is visited by Paul's Narcotics Anonymous
sponsor, who attempts to convince Rita that Paul is telling the truth. In a final plea, Paul calls Rita and tells her to search their house for a shoe which he believes came off when Dexter knocked him out. Rita hangs up, but discovers the shoe while taking out the trash at the end of the episode.
After finding a clue at Rudy's house, Dexter arrives at the house of his mother, Laura Moser. Flashbacks reveal that Rudy, whose real name is Brian Moser, is in fact Dexter's biological brother. He also witnessed the murder of their mother, but did not repress the memory; instead, he grew up in a mental institution being treated for antisocial personality disorder
. Dexter meets Brian in their childhood home, where he is keeping Debra. He intends to kill Debra with Dexter as a sort of "family reunion", but Dexter stops him. As Doakes and the rest of the homicide unit close in on the house, Brian escapes through a trap door and Dexter is left with Debra, appearing to have saved her.
Doakes tries to question Dexter about his involvement, but is stopped by an indignant Debra, who says that Dexter is a hero. Dexter accompanies her to the hospital and then returns home, apparently with Debra. In the middle of the night, Brian breaks into Dexter's apartment and attempts to stab Debra, only to find a prosthetic body in her place; Dexter then chokes him unconscious with a garrote
. In the refrigeration unit in Brian's apartment, Dexter ties him to the killing table with plastic wrap. After an emotionally charged conversation, Dexter slices his brother's throat and leaves him upside down to drain, staging it as a suicide. Dexter and Debra arrive at a crime scene, and he imagines what it would be like if everyone knew the truth about him.
, C. S. Lee, Mark Pellegrino
, Christian Camargo
, Judith Scott and Scott Atkinson. Rudy's apartment was set in Miami, Florida, however filming took place in Long Beach, California. The apartment was a brown, triangular apartment condo, so the producers altered its appearance; a false brick wall was placed in front of the garage entrance and a door was created. The producers also concealed a narrow door of the garage entrance with a potted plant, and added false window panes to the windows, concealing the existing vertical blinds. The shipping yard shown in the episode was set in the Port of Miami
, yet filming took place in a port dock at the Port of Los Angeles
. The scene was filmed in San Pedro, California, in a waterfront lot of Harbor Boulevard
.
The first season of Dexter is based on the novel Darkly Dreaming Dexter
by Jeff Lindsay
. However, there are numerous differences, ranging from extra subplots to rearrangements and modifications of elements from the source material. The biggest change is the lead-up to and revelation of the identity of the "Ice Truck Killer", called the "Tamiami Butcher" in the novel. In the novel, Dexter is led to believe that he might be the one committing the murders, due to a series of strange dreams that connect him to the murder. The final clue is a blurry photo, taken from surveillance footage, of a man who resembles Dexter at a crime scene. After the "Tamiami Killer" kidnaps Deborah, Dexter finds and confronts him. It is subsequently revealed that the killer is actually Dexter's nearly identical long-lost brother, Brian, who, like Dexter, witnessed their mother's brutal murder. Dexter is followed by Detective LaGuerta, who is slain by Brian. Debra finds out her brother is a killer and Dexter helps Brian to escape. In the television series, Brian is introduced under the fake name Rudy, a prosthetist
who becomes Debra's boyfriend. Dexter hesitantly kills Brian instead of letting him escape, Debra does not discover her brother's secret, and LaGuerta is not present at all in the confrontation. In the novel, Dexter and his brother are nearly identical, whereas the actors playing the two characters are distinct from each other in their looks.
started separating the channel's ratings from Showtime Plex, the package of Showtime channels offered by most cable and satellite systems. The finale drew an audience of 1.1 million American viewers, a significant increase over the series premiere, which attracted slightly more than 600,000 viewers. The first season attracted on average 1.96 million American viewers, including live and DVR viewing off the premium channel's main feed. "Born Free" brought in 589,000 viewers on its first free-to-air
broadcast in Australia. Hall submitted the episode for consideration for a Primetime Emmy Award for Outstanding Lead Actor - Drama Series
, but was not ultimately nominated.
Eric Goldman of IGN
said that "Born Free" was "an intense episode that brought the Ice Truck Killer story to a satisfying conclusion". He felt that the "biggest shock of all" was the reveal of Rudy as Dexter's brother, and described their confrontation as "riveting". Goldman gave the episode an "incredible" rating of 9.5 out of 10. Paula Paige of TV Guide
was "impressed" by Michael Hall's "incredible acting ability", praising his ability to transform from a "stoic killer to overwrought brother in a matter of moments". She said that the series went "from being a good show to a fantastic show in the course of one season", and hoped that "the sophomore season will be just as terrific". Jonathan Toomey of TV Squad felt that it would be a "shame" if Hall did not win a Golden Globe, saying that he "certainly deserves it". He understood why Rudy wanted to make Debra the brothers' first victim together; Rudy was jealous of the life that Dexter received and killing Debra was the symbol of that life dying. Although Toomey said that the episode was "really well written", he was troubled that no one made the connection between Dexter and Rudy when all they had to do was read Rudy's file, but Toomey speculated that it could be discovered the next season.
Dexter (season 1)
The first season of Dexter is an adaptation of Jeff Lindsay's first novel in the Dexter series, Darkly Dreaming Dexter. Subsequent seasons have featured original storylines. This season aired from October 1, 2006 to December 17, 2006, and follows Dexter's investigation of "The Ice Truck Killer"...
and first season finale of the American television drama series Dexter
Dexter (TV series)
Dexter is an American television drama series, which debuted on Showtime on October 1, 2006. The sixth season premiered on October 2, 2011. The series centers on Dexter Morgan , a bloodstain pattern analyst for the Miami Metro Police Department who moonlights as a serial killer...
, which aired on December 17, 2006 on Showtime in the United States. The episode also aired on May 4, 2008 on CTV
CTV television network
CTV Television Network is a Canadian English language television network and is owned by Bell Media. It is Canada's largest privately-owned network, and has consistently placed as Canada's top-rated network in total viewers and in key demographics since 2002, after several years trailing the rival...
in Canada; on May 14, 2008 on FX
FX (UK)
FX is a television channel in the United Kingdom and the Republic of Ireland, owned by Fox, launched in 12 January 2004. It was originally branded as FX289 in reference to its Sky EPG number. It was rebranded to FX in May 2005 as the channel moved in the Sky EPG.FX targets a demographic between 25...
in the UK; on September 28, 2008 on Channel Ten in Australia; and on March 21, 2011 on STAR World
STAR World
STAR World is an Asian English language cable and satellite television network owned by Star TV and Fox International Channels, fully owned subsidiaries of News Corporation. The channel is the successor of STAR Plus, a subsidiary of News Corporation...
in India. The episode was written by Daniel Cerone
Daniel Cerone
Daniel Howard Cerone is a television writer and producer. He wrote and produced episodes for the series Dexter, Charmed and The Mentalist. He created and produced the short-lived Dean Cain drama Clubhouse.-Biography:...
and executive producer Melissa Rosenberg
Melissa Rosenberg
Melissa Anne Rosenberg is an American screenwriter. She has worked in both film and television and has been nominated for two Emmy Awards, and two Writers Guild of America Awards. She won a Peabody Award...
, and was directed by Michael Cuesta
Michael Cuesta
Michael Cuesta is an American film and television director. Cuesta co-wrote and directed the 2001 independent film, L.I.E.. He has directed and produced television series including Six Feet Under, Dexter and Blue Bloods.-Biography:He received a BFA in photography from the School of Visual Arts in...
. Based on the novel Darkly Dreaming Dexter
Darkly Dreaming Dexter
Darkly Dreaming Dexter is a 2004 novel by Jeff Lindsay, the first in his series about serial killer Dexter Morgan. It has formed the basis of the Showtime television series Dexter and won the 2005 Dilys Award and the 2007 'Book to TV' award....
by Jeff Lindsay
Jeff Lindsay (writer)
Jeff Lindsay is the pen name of American playwright and crime novelist Jeffry P. Freundlich , best known for his novels about sociopathic vigilante Dexter Morgan. Many of his earlier published works include his wife Hilary Hemingway as a co-author. His wife is the niece of Ernest Hemingway and an...
, the season featured many differences to the original source, mainly in the lead-up to and revelation of the identity of the "Ice Truck Killer". The episode was very well received by critics, and Michael C. Hall
Michael C. Hall
Michael Carlyle Hall is an American actor whose television roles include David Fisher on the HBO drama series Six Feet Under and Dexter Morgan on the Showtime series Dexter. In 2009, Hall won a Golden Globe award and a Screen Actors Guild Award for his role in Dexter.-Early life:Hall was born in...
was nominated for a Golden Globe
65th Golden Globe Awards
The 65th Golden Globe Awards, honoring the best in film and television of 2007, were scheduled to be presented by the Hollywood Foreign Press Association on January 13, 2008...
for his role as Dexter Morgan
Dexter Morgan
Dexter Morgan is a fictional character in a series of novels by Jeff Lindsay, including Darkly Dreaming Dexter , Dearly Devoted Dexter , Dexter in the Dark , Dexter by Design , Dexter is Delicious and Double Dexter...
.
The episode focuses on the final confrontation between Dexter and the "Ice Truck Killer". After kidnapping Debra Morgan
Debra Morgan
Debra Morgan is a fictional character created by Jeff Lindsay for his Dexter book series. She also appears in the television series, based on Lindsay's books, portrayed by Jennifer Carpenter. In Lindsay's novels, she first appeared in Darkly Dreaming Dexter, and has featured in every novel...
(Jennifer Carpenter
Jennifer Carpenter
Jennifer Leann Carpenter is an American actress, known for her portrayal of Emily Rose in The Exorcism of Emily Rose, Debra Morgan on Dexter, and the lead role in the 2008 horror movie Quarantine.-Early life:...
), Rudy Cooper (Christian Camargo
Christian Camargo
Christian Camargo is an American actor, perhaps best known for his role of Brian Moser in the Showtime drama Dexter.-Early life:...
) is in the final stages of his plan to reunite with his long-lost brother. James Doakes
James Doakes
James Doakes is a fictional character in the Showtime television series Dexter and the novels by Jeff Lindsay upon which it is based. In the television series he is portrayed by Erik King. Doakes is a police detective with the rank of Sergeant serving as lead case investigator to Miami Police...
(Erik King
Erik King
Erik King is an American actor, perhaps best known for his portrayal of Sgt. Doakes on Showtime's television series Dexter.-Early life:King attended Morehouse College, where he won a varsity letter in track and field and graduated summa cum laude. For his honors thesis, he adapted the 1985 film...
) and María LaGuerta
Maria LaGuerta
Captain María Esperanza del Alma LaGuerta , known in the books as Migdia LaGuerta, is a fictional character in the Showtime television series Dexter and the novels by Jeff Lindsay upon which it is based. She is portrayed by Lauren Vélez in the television series...
(Lauren Vélez
Lauren Vélez
Lauren Vélez is an American actress of Puerto Rican descent and the twin sister of actress Loraine Vélez. Her most notable roles are as María LaGuerta on Dexter, Detective Nina Moreno on Fox's New York Undercover, and Dr...
) investigate the case, and Doakes begins to suspect that Dexter is involved. Meanwhile, Paul Bennett (Mark Pellegrino
Mark Pellegrino
Mark Ross Pellegrino is an American actor of film and television. He is best known for his work on Lost as Jacob and for playing Lucifer on Supernatural.-Career:...
) tries to convince Rita Bennett
Rita Bennett
Rita Bennett is a fictional character created by Jeff Lindsay for his book series about a vigilante serial killer named Dexter Morgan. She also appeared in the television series Dexter, based on Lindsay's books. She was the girlfriend and later, wife of Dexter in both media...
(Julie Benz
Julie Benz
Julie M. Benz is an American actress, best known for her roles as Darla on Buffy the Vampire Slayer and Angel and as Rita Bennett on Dexter, for which she won the 2006 Satellite Award for Best Actress in a Supporting Role in a Series, Mini-Series or Motion Picture Made for Television...
) that Dexter is not who she thinks he is.
Plot
After uncovering the identity of the "Ice Truck Killer", a serial killerSerial killer
A serial killer, as typically defined, is an individual who has murdered three or more people over a period of more than a month, with down time between the murders, and whose motivation for killing is usually based on psychological gratification...
who chops up the bodies of his victims and drains their blood, Dexter
Dexter Morgan
Dexter Morgan is a fictional character in a series of novels by Jeff Lindsay, including Darkly Dreaming Dexter , Dearly Devoted Dexter , Dexter in the Dark , Dexter by Design , Dexter is Delicious and Double Dexter...
hurries to find his sister Debra
Debra Morgan
Debra Morgan is a fictional character created by Jeff Lindsay for his Dexter book series. She also appears in the television series, based on Lindsay's books, portrayed by Jennifer Carpenter. In Lindsay's novels, she first appeared in Darkly Dreaming Dexter, and has featured in every novel...
. Since the murderer had always sent secret messages to Dexter, he searches his house for clues that he could have left, and finds a picture of the shipping container where his mother was killed. When Dexter is about to leave, Doakes
James Doakes
James Doakes is a fictional character in the Showtime television series Dexter and the novels by Jeff Lindsay upon which it is based. In the television series he is portrayed by Erik King. Doakes is a police detective with the rank of Sergeant serving as lead case investigator to Miami Police...
and LaGuerta
Maria LaGuerta
Captain María Esperanza del Alma LaGuerta , known in the books as Migdia LaGuerta, is a fictional character in the Showtime television series Dexter and the novels by Jeff Lindsay upon which it is based. She is portrayed by Lauren Vélez in the television series...
arrive, telling him that they think Rudy Cooper was the one who stabbed Batista
Angel Batista
Detective Sergeant Ángel Juan Marcos Batista is a fictional character in the Showtime television series Dexter and the novels by Jeff Lindsay upon which it is based.-Character biography:...
. Doakes insists that Dexter knows something, and he reveals that the blood on Angel's collar matched Rudy's. The pair leave, and Dexter goes to find the shipping container. At the station, LaGuerta orders a search for Rudy. Matthews walks in and introduces Esmee Pascal, the new lieutenant replacing LaGuerta.
At the shipping yard, Dexter breaks into the container in the picture, only to find it full of bananas. Doakes appears and asks him what he is doing, and after a fist fight, a foreman arrives and orders them to leave. Doakes tells Dexter that he knows that he is up to something, and says that he will be watching him. Meanwhile, Rita
Rita Bennett
Rita Bennett is a fictional character created by Jeff Lindsay for his book series about a vigilante serial killer named Dexter Morgan. She also appeared in the television series Dexter, based on Lindsay's books. She was the girlfriend and later, wife of Dexter in both media...
is contacted by an imprisoned Paul, who contends that Dexter knocked him out and set him up. Rita becomes annoyed as Paul persists that Dexter is dangerous and should not be around their children. Rita is visited by Paul's Narcotics Anonymous
Narcotics Anonymous
Narcotics Anonymous is a twelve-step program modeled after Alcoholics Anonymous describing itself as a "fellowship or society of men and women for whom drugs had become a major problem," and it is the second-largest 12-step organization...
sponsor, who attempts to convince Rita that Paul is telling the truth. In a final plea, Paul calls Rita and tells her to search their house for a shoe which he believes came off when Dexter knocked him out. Rita hangs up, but discovers the shoe while taking out the trash at the end of the episode.
After finding a clue at Rudy's house, Dexter arrives at the house of his mother, Laura Moser. Flashbacks reveal that Rudy, whose real name is Brian Moser, is in fact Dexter's biological brother. He also witnessed the murder of their mother, but did not repress the memory; instead, he grew up in a mental institution being treated for antisocial personality disorder
Antisocial personality disorder
Antisocial personality disorder is described by the American Psychiatric Association's Diagnostic and Statistical Manual, fourth edition , as an Axis II personality disorder characterized by "...a pervasive pattern of disregard for, and violation of, the rights of others that begins in childhood...
. Dexter meets Brian in their childhood home, where he is keeping Debra. He intends to kill Debra with Dexter as a sort of "family reunion", but Dexter stops him. As Doakes and the rest of the homicide unit close in on the house, Brian escapes through a trap door and Dexter is left with Debra, appearing to have saved her.
Doakes tries to question Dexter about his involvement, but is stopped by an indignant Debra, who says that Dexter is a hero. Dexter accompanies her to the hospital and then returns home, apparently with Debra. In the middle of the night, Brian breaks into Dexter's apartment and attempts to stab Debra, only to find a prosthetic body in her place; Dexter then chokes him unconscious with a garrote
Garrote
A garrote or garrote vil is a handheld weapon, most often referring to a ligature of chain, rope, scarf, wire or fishing line used to strangle someone....
. In the refrigeration unit in Brian's apartment, Dexter ties him to the killing table with plastic wrap. After an emotionally charged conversation, Dexter slices his brother's throat and leaves him upside down to drain, staging it as a suicide. Dexter and Debra arrive at a crime scene, and he imagines what it would be like if everyone knew the truth about him.
Production
"Born Free" was written by Daniel Cerone and executive producer Melissa Rosenberg, and was directed by Michael Cuesta. Cerone and Rosenberg have written two previous episodes each, while this episode marked Cuesta's fifth time returning as director. Guest stars in this episode include Geoff PiersonGeoff Pierson
Geoff Pierson is an American actor known for his role on The WB series Unhappily Ever After as Jack Malloy, the father of a dysfunctional family whose best friend is a stuffed animal rabbit named Mr. Floppy...
, C. S. Lee, Mark Pellegrino
Mark Pellegrino
Mark Ross Pellegrino is an American actor of film and television. He is best known for his work on Lost as Jacob and for playing Lucifer on Supernatural.-Career:...
, Christian Camargo
Christian Camargo
Christian Camargo is an American actor, perhaps best known for his role of Brian Moser in the Showtime drama Dexter.-Early life:...
, Judith Scott and Scott Atkinson. Rudy's apartment was set in Miami, Florida, however filming took place in Long Beach, California. The apartment was a brown, triangular apartment condo, so the producers altered its appearance; a false brick wall was placed in front of the garage entrance and a door was created. The producers also concealed a narrow door of the garage entrance with a potted plant, and added false window panes to the windows, concealing the existing vertical blinds. The shipping yard shown in the episode was set in the Port of Miami
Port of Miami
The Dante B. Fascell Port of Miami is a seaport located in Biscayne Bay in Miami, Florida, United States. It is connected to Downtown Miami by Port Boulevard, a bridge over the Intracoastal Waterway. The port is located on Dodge Island, which is the combination of three historic islands that have...
, yet filming took place in a port dock at the Port of Los Angeles
Port of Los Angeles
The Port of Los Angeles, also called Los Angeles Harbor and WORLDPORT L.A, is a port complex that occupies of land and water along of waterfront. The port is located on San Pedro Bay in the San Pedro neighborhood of Los Angeles, approximately south of downtown...
. The scene was filmed in San Pedro, California, in a waterfront lot of Harbor Boulevard
Harbor Boulevard
Harbor Boulevard is a major thoroughfare in central Orange County.-Route description:It runs from Costa Mesa through Santa Ana, Garden Grove, Anaheim and La Habra before it turns into Fullerton Road in the unincorporated community of Rowland Heights just over the Los Angeles County line...
.
The first season of Dexter is based on the novel Darkly Dreaming Dexter
Darkly Dreaming Dexter
Darkly Dreaming Dexter is a 2004 novel by Jeff Lindsay, the first in his series about serial killer Dexter Morgan. It has formed the basis of the Showtime television series Dexter and won the 2005 Dilys Award and the 2007 'Book to TV' award....
by Jeff Lindsay
Jeff Lindsay (writer)
Jeff Lindsay is the pen name of American playwright and crime novelist Jeffry P. Freundlich , best known for his novels about sociopathic vigilante Dexter Morgan. Many of his earlier published works include his wife Hilary Hemingway as a co-author. His wife is the niece of Ernest Hemingway and an...
. However, there are numerous differences, ranging from extra subplots to rearrangements and modifications of elements from the source material. The biggest change is the lead-up to and revelation of the identity of the "Ice Truck Killer", called the "Tamiami Butcher" in the novel. In the novel, Dexter is led to believe that he might be the one committing the murders, due to a series of strange dreams that connect him to the murder. The final clue is a blurry photo, taken from surveillance footage, of a man who resembles Dexter at a crime scene. After the "Tamiami Killer" kidnaps Deborah, Dexter finds and confronts him. It is subsequently revealed that the killer is actually Dexter's nearly identical long-lost brother, Brian, who, like Dexter, witnessed their mother's brutal murder. Dexter is followed by Detective LaGuerta, who is slain by Brian. Debra finds out her brother is a killer and Dexter helps Brian to escape. In the television series, Brian is introduced under the fake name Rudy, a prosthetist
Prosthetist
A prosthetist, as defined by , is a person who measures, designs, fabricates, fits, or services a prosthesis as prescribed by a licensed physician, and who assists in the formulation of the prosthesis prescription for the replacement of external parts of the human body lost due to amputation or...
who becomes Debra's boyfriend. Dexter hesitantly kills Brian instead of letting him escape, Debra does not discover her brother's secret, and LaGuerta is not present at all in the confrontation. In the novel, Dexter and his brother are nearly identical, whereas the actors playing the two characters are distinct from each other in their looks.
Reception
"Born Free" was the most-watched original series telecast on Showtime since 2004, when the Nielsen ratingsNielsen Ratings
Nielsen ratings are the audience measurement systems developed by Nielsen Media Research, in an effort to determine the audience size and composition of television programming in the United States...
started separating the channel's ratings from Showtime Plex, the package of Showtime channels offered by most cable and satellite systems. The finale drew an audience of 1.1 million American viewers, a significant increase over the series premiere, which attracted slightly more than 600,000 viewers. The first season attracted on average 1.96 million American viewers, including live and DVR viewing off the premium channel's main feed. "Born Free" brought in 589,000 viewers on its first free-to-air
Free-to-air
Free-to-air describes television and radio services broadcast in clear form, allowing any person with the appropriate receiving equipment to receive the signal and view or listen to the content without requiring a subscription or one-off fee...
broadcast in Australia. Hall submitted the episode for consideration for a Primetime Emmy Award for Outstanding Lead Actor - Drama Series
Primetime Emmy Award for Outstanding Lead Actor - Drama Series
This is a list of the Primetime Emmy Award for Outstanding Lead Actor in a Drama Series winners.-1950s:*1956: Robert Young as Jim Anderson - Father Knows Best*1957: Robert Young as Jim Anderson - Father Knows Best...
, but was not ultimately nominated.
Eric Goldman of IGN
IGN
IGN is an entertainment website that focuses on video games, films, music and other media. IGN's main website comprises several specialty sites or "channels", each occupying a subdomain and covering a specific area of entertainment...
said that "Born Free" was "an intense episode that brought the Ice Truck Killer story to a satisfying conclusion". He felt that the "biggest shock of all" was the reveal of Rudy as Dexter's brother, and described their confrontation as "riveting". Goldman gave the episode an "incredible" rating of 9.5 out of 10. Paula Paige of TV Guide
TV Guide
TV Guide is a weekly American magazine with listings of TV shows.In addition to TV listings, the publication features television-related news, celebrity interviews, gossip and film reviews and crossword puzzles...
was "impressed" by Michael Hall's "incredible acting ability", praising his ability to transform from a "stoic killer to overwrought brother in a matter of moments". She said that the series went "from being a good show to a fantastic show in the course of one season", and hoped that "the sophomore season will be just as terrific". Jonathan Toomey of TV Squad felt that it would be a "shame" if Hall did not win a Golden Globe, saying that he "certainly deserves it". He understood why Rudy wanted to make Debra the brothers' first victim together; Rudy was jealous of the life that Dexter received and killing Debra was the symbol of that life dying. Although Toomey said that the episode was "really well written", he was troubled that no one made the connection between Dexter and Rudy when all they had to do was read Rudy's file, but Toomey speculated that it could be discovered the next season.