Lumen Pierce

Lumen Pierce
Dexter character
Julia Stiles as Lumen Pierce in the fifth season of Dexter, initially airing in 2010.
First appearance	"Practically Perfect"
Last appearance	"The Big One"
Portrayed by	Julia Stiles
In-universe information
Gender	Female
Occupation	Serial Killer

Lumen Ann Pierce is a recurring fictional character portrayed by Julia Stiles in the fifth season of the Showtime television series Dexter. Lumen is introduced in the third episode of the fifth season as a rape victim of Boyd Fowler. The character remains for the rest of the season, and leaves following the season five finale titled "The Big One". In the first half of the season, Lumen is a very damaged character. Throughout her series run, she grows and progresses more and eventually gets her life back. Lumen left following the events of Jordan Chase's murder. She claims her "Dark Passenger" has left her, and that she needs to leave Miami.

Lumen is first introduced in the third episode of the fifth season titled "Practically Perfect". She is presented as a very traumatized girl. In her first episode, it is revealed that Lumen was beaten and raped by Boyd Fowler and other men. She witnesses Dexter Morgan kill Boyd, thus becoming a key player in Dexter's life. It is later revealed that Lumen is a sociopath like Dexter and wants revenge on the men who tortured and raped her. Lumen tells Dexter that "there were others" with Fowler who did this to her. Lumen asks Dexter to help her seek revenge, but he initially refuses. After Lumen continues on her own and targets the wrong suspect, Dexter teaches her the importance of knowing a person is guilty. Lumen falsely leads Dexter to believe she leaves Miami. She later reveals to Dexter that killing one of her attackers brought her a sense of peace, and she tearfully recognizes that it will not last, and she will have to find the others to find that peace again.

Lumen exited the show following the events of "The Big One". Her exit was not well received by television critics, with Matt Fowler of IGN saying, "Having her leave was, unfortunately, inevitable and it meant that we had to sit through her explain the reason for her wanting to leave to Dexter, which to us was a little plodding because we knew that it was all a way of getting her off the show when it felt so much more right, story-wise, for her character to want to stay. Hell, if you watched Julia Stiles' post-show interview, it felt like perhaps she didn't like the way Lumen left the show. She even referenced Lumen being out there, in the world now, with a lot of new knowledge. "

Development

Lumen was created by executive producer Clyde Phillips for the fifth season of Dexter. Lumen is regularly portrayed by actress Julia Stiles. She originally signed on to appear in ten episodes of the series. In casting the role, producers were looking for someone with a vulnerable side. It was confirmed shortly before production that Stiles was in the final stages of appearance negotiations for a major role in the fifth season of Dexter. Showtime confirmed on June 7, 2010 that Stiles would appear on the show. They originally gave this character description: "She'll play a "mysterious young woman who forms a unique relationship" with the titular character, played by Golden Globe and SAG-winning actor Michael C. Hall."

The fifth season finale titled "The Big One" marked the conclusion of the season-long subplot of Lumen seeking revenge against Jordan Chase and his accomplices, and marked the last in a string of regular guest appearances by Julia Stiles and Jonny Lee Miller. Stiles said at the start of her time on the series, she believed Lumen would likely be killed by the end of the season because most characters who have learned the truth about Dexter's double life have ended up dead. The actress said she never predicted that Lumen would break up with Dexter, and she found that scene difficult to act due to the level of intimacy the two characters had built up throughout the season. She prepared herself for the scene by focusing on the fact that Lumen was healed and that the reality of the murders she committed with Dexter had sunk in. Stiles said she found Lumen's repudiation of Dexter particularly sad because she knew more about his darker side than anyone else, which meant her breakup was a rejection of him as a person.

Arc

Lumen was first seen in the series after witnessing Dexter kill Boyd Fowler, a serial killer, who had been keeping her captive. Due to Lumen not fitting Dexter's code, he is morally obligated to keep her alive and keeps her locked up in a secluded area. At first, Lumen is terrified of Dexter, believing that he will kill her for being a witness to his crime. Despite Dexter's constant reassurance that he will not kill her, Lumen refuses to trust him. After an escape attempt, she is recaptured by Dexter, but, instead of imprisoning her, he shows Lumen the bodies of Boyd Fowler's previous victims, and assures her that had he not killed Boyd, she would also have been murdered. Lumen then confides in Dexter and tells him that Boyd was not the only one to hurt her. It is ultimately revealed that she had been held captive for around a month, during which she was repeatedly raped and tortured by 5 men.

Her scarring experience left her with an embedded desire for vengeance, and she attempts to enlist Dexter's help to hunt down the remaining perpetrators. He is unwilling to do so and urges her to leave Miami and return home. Dexter, going to Lumen's motel room, found her to have been tracking the torturers down, and finds that she went to kill a sex offender, whom Dexter knew to have a tracking anklet, after stalking him. Unable to bring herself to leave Miami, she shot at someone she suspected to be an accomplice in her rape. She calls Dexter, who reluctantly helps track down the wounded man, and cautions her about killing the wrong person. Protesting innocence at first, the victim calls his co-conspirators on Lumen's cell phone, confirming her suspicion and prompting Dexter to kill him. They later meet at Dexter's house, where Lumen reveals that his death brought her a sense of peace, and the only way to find that peace again is to kill all of her other tormentors. Dexter recognizes this as being her own "Dark Passenger", and finally agrees to help her.

Lumen turns up at the crime scene where Boyd's stocked and preserved bodies are revealed from a traffic crash, where she is spotted by Quinn, who asks Liddy to look into her and Dexter. She identifies Cole Harmon, Jordan Chase's head of security, as one of her rapists, and saves Dexter from a surprise attack by Cole when Dexter was attempting to gather information from Cole's house. Setting up base at the hotel where Jordan Chase is giving his seminar, she assists Dexter setting up and prepares for the kill. Cole spots her in the lobby and chases her, Dexter, barely managing to save her from Cole, rescues her. Unable to extract any information, she watches while Dexter kills him. While they dump the body, Liddy photos them going out on Dexter's boat.

After the police uncover DVD's of the men torturing and raping their victims at Cole's house, Dexter switches Lumen's DVD with a scratched and empty one. He then brings it to Lumen, who is afraid and ashamed at the prospect that the police and Dexter (perhaps especially Dexter) watched it, Dexter assures her that no one has seen it. Lumen then acknowledges that she knows what a risk he is taking by being with her, before tearfully telling him that he has been her only way through this. She then forces herself to watch her own DVD, as Dexter listens from another room, clearly disturbed by what he hears. Lumen proves instrumental in getting information from Emily Birch, the first victim of Chase's team and only other known survivor. This leads them to Alex Tilden, the first target where Lumen participated effectively as an equal, searching his house alongside Dexter. Tilden is also Lumen's kill, as Dexter allows her to make the killing blow at her request. Afterward, they return to Dexter's apartment where Lumen becomes Dexter's lover for the first time. As they lay in each other's arms after, Dexter reflects that she is the first person to truly see him, and not think he was a monster.

She and Dexter begin to plan how they will capture Chase when they realize that they are being watched. Once Dexter determines that they are being watched by the police, he attempts to convince Lumen to leave Miami for her own safety. However, Lumen refuses to abandon him, and Dexter ultimately admits that he wants her to stay. After receiving a distressed call from Emily, who says Chase contacted and threatened her, Lumen goes to her house to reassure her, after unsuccessfully attempting to contact Dexter. This was a trap meant for her and Dexter, however, and Jordan Chase kidnaps Lumen after murdering Emily. Dexter arrives later and is able to tell that she fought, albeit unsuccessfully, and swears that he will not lose her too. After Dexter shows up to rescue Lumen, she finally kills Chase. After she and Dexter dispose of Chase's body, she admits to Dexter that she did not think they would be able to pull it off, describing it as a miracle. The next day, she regretfully tells Dexter that she has to leave Miami. She reveals that her dark passenger has left her, and she no longer feels the need to kill. She tells Dexter that she does not want to leave, but has to, because his dark passenger has not left him. Dexter ultimately understands, and tells her that she should not be sorry that her darkness has left her, and promises her that he will carry her darkness as well as his. He is genuinely devastated by her departure, but swears he will be thankful for what she gave him. Namely that it is possible that someone can see him for who he truly is and not think of him as a monster; and that nothing is set in stone, that both he and Harrison may one day be normal (though he indicates he doubts he ever will be). Though he never says it, it is heavily implied that saving her allowed him to forgive himself for failing Rita, and he also says that she gave him his life back.

Lumen is originally from Minnesota. She is estranged from her family after leaving her fiancé Owen (David Paetkau) at the altar. She reveals her Dark Passenger to Dexter, thus beginning a bond of trust that never ultimately worked for Dexter in the past, be it with Harry, Lila, or Miguel. That bond is further illustrated by the high level of ease and mutual affection when planning their kills. When Dexter takes Lumen to a flea market, he almost gets her jewelry, but changes his thinking at the last minute, buying her a knife instead.

Reception

Critical Reaction

The character of Lumen has been very well received by critics. Many critics have responded well to Stiles’ portrayal of the character. Her exit in The Big One was not well received by television critics. Matt Fowler of IGN said, "Having her leave was, unfortunately, inevitable and it meant that we had to sit through her explain the reason for her wanting to leave to Dexter, which to us was a little plodding because we knew that it was all a way of getting her off the show when it felt so much more right, story-wise, for her character to want to stay. No, Dexter and Lumen's romance wasn't the true seller here, but it did fit within their vigilante partnership. And it seems like something that she wouldn't want to give up. I did appreciate Dexter's anger when he came to the sad realization that he was forever "broken" - and had hoped Lumen would be too. Forever broken, with an inner eternal dark flame. Like his. Hell, if you watched Julia Stiles' post-show interview, it felt like perhaps she didn't like the way Lumen left the show. She even referenced Lumen being out there, in the world now, with a lot of new knowledge. So it's not like she couldn't come back if the writer's wanted her to. (Pretty please!)", reviewer Matt Fowler concluded with "Now look, an 8 is still a damn good score, and an 8-point episode of Dexter is still better than a 20 point episode of most other shows, but I still felt like this episode could have handled the end of Lumen's story a bit better. And possibly given us a bit more to chew on as far as Deb knowing that Dexter was a part of something (more the barrel girls and less the Liddy murder, of course). I'm fine with a book-end, but I also need progress. And maybe a little more change to the show status-quo."

External Links

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