Talk:Sonya/@comment-198.84.172.54-20130121070556/@comment-75.97.154.133-20130405141546

I think there was something more to the decision of not casting Sonja than what was said. I think that Showtime casted her for one season intentionally – she was just a secondary character that existed primarily to see Dexter through the transition of Rita’s death, contributing to Dexter’s character development.

Given the circumstances in which we find ourselves, in season 5, Sonja was the perfect character to help Dexter with his transition into life without Rita. Sonja is introduced to us when Dexter and Debra were interviewing people for the nanny position. Sonja seemed to be the best fit – but what exactly were the factors in choosing her for this role?

Her kind and nurturing personality was important in making Dexter feel comfortable leaving his infant son in her (a complete stranger), care for large portions of the day. Her secretive life, and general weirdness, gave the audience something to “talk about” – speculating that perhaps she isn’t exactly what she seems. The fact that Sonja had no life, left her open to be able to watch Harrison at all hours and given the plot and themes of season 5, it was important that someone be able to take Harrison away for a few days without it being an issue. Sonja was also important in introducing concepts to Dexter which were implemental in character development and the direction in which he chooses to raise his son.

If she was so perfect, then why get rid of her? She is a nag, which was established about midway through season 5 – when she makes it clear that she doesn’t trust Dexter and doubts his ability to be a good father. She took too much of a personal interest in the upbringing of Harrison, as evident with her placing religious symbols in Harrison’s crib at night. The dynamic between Sonja and Dexter was not conducive to an interesting plot. Given her personality, she would have never done anything remotely interesting – unlike Jamie, whom we have seen date, and who also has a connection with a critical character that has been established in the past. Jamie is smart, responsible, well adjusted, and reliable – and who in addition to being someone that we can trust Harrison will be safe with, has a life of her own and contributes to the enjoyment of the series. Sonja looks up to, trusts, and respects Dexter. She’s a more realistic caretaker than a middle-aged Irish Roman Catholic nurse with no social life. What’s more, she supports Batista’s character by giving him more development, being that she is his sister.

The fact is Jamie is just a better character than Sonja. She has more character development, she plays her role as nanny well and she doesn’t conflict with our Dark Protagonist in the way that Sonja has – something very important as a viewer, if you don’t like uninteresting plots that go nowhere. Unlike Sonja, with Jamie, we are given interesting side plots that don’t threated to overshadow the main plot, but are still interesting nonetheless. The only think Sonja could have been is a killer, and that plot would be riddled with holes.

Realistically though…  do you think that given the conversation she had with Dexter about him only having one more chance, the fact that she’s a nag, and the fact that we are talking about Dexter, she didn’t just quit? It would be unbelievable to see her endure as his nanny given who she is.