Born Free (Dexter) - Production

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 Pierson, 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.