Dexter 5x12

This is the Big One in more than one way! Dexter desperately needs to save Lumen from the clutches of Jordan Chase. But his family surprises him by returning to Miami because they want to celebrate Harrison’s first birthday together. Astor and Cody also ask if they can stay with Dexter for the summer. He excuses himself saying he has pressing work at the office. The Miami Homicide gets called to a murder scene, that of Liddy. While Dexter has to investigate his own crime scene, Quinn becomes flustered and is caught with blood on his shoe. After killing Emily, Chase for his part is taking Lumen to the summer camp where it all began years ago. At a traffic light, a street vendor hears the noise of Lumen kicking in his trunk and informs the police. Meanwhile, Deb was looking into Chase’s real estate properties – even on his old name Eugene Greer. Dexter gets to the summer camp first, but in his anxiousness to safe Lumen gets into an accident toppling his car. Chase captures him, but Dex is soon able to nail him to the cabin floor with one of his knives.

Dex and Lumen prepare their kill room – and even on his deathbed Chase is unrelentingly evil. It’s a relief when Lumen finally strikes the blow. She’s at once excited and overwhelmed now that it is all over. Before they can remove Chase’s body, Deb has followed the few clues she has and arrives on the scene. She knows her vigilante is behind a matted plastic sheet, and notices a second person. Her theory was right. Vindicated in her instinct, she speaks to them through the sheet, while Dex and Lumen hold their breath petrified. Not knowing who they are, she congratulates them for ridding the world of the men who physically and sexually abused the Barrel Girls, then lets them go, before calling Miami Metro PD. As expected, though, now that her mission is completed, Lumen feels she can no longer stay with Dexter. She appreciates what he has been doing, but she can’t be his serial killing partner. So, alas, Lumen leaves him. The finale ends with Harrison’s first birthday party – Dexter blowing out the single candle while looking ominously at us. His Dark Passenger is still with him.

You may know I’m a stickler for details, with an obsession for chronology. So, pardon me for being a spoilsport. When Dexter married Rita (season 3 finale) it was December 1st, 2008, and she was supposedly about three months pregnant. Harrison must have been born according to human logic late in May or early in June (making him a Gemini – for you astrology fiends). Yet in the beginning of this season Harrison is said to be ten months old – even though the first couple of episodes take place in the few days after Rita was brutally murdered by the “Trinity Killer” on December 5th, 2009 (season 4 finale). Incidentally, it’s interesting that in neither finale we see any Christmas decorations! To make matters worse, eleven days after Rita’s death Masuka quips “It’s twenty-ten, who smokes?” In this finale it’s Harrison’s Big One, and we’re back in the (early) summer, 2010. It seems the writers can’t keep their timeframe straight!

There are a few other points of criticism. Can it really be that Deb didn’t notice Dexter’s car wreck near the camp – and that he was able to get it towed before the full police team arrived on the scene? It was a little convenient, too, that Dex let Quinn off the hook about Liddy’s blood on his shoe – especially since Quinn has been pursuing him for half a year for Rita’s death. The Machete Murders was a big case that somehow fizzled out. What happened to the other Fuentes brother who didn’t get shot? And what happened to Cira Manzon, the officer who teamed up with Debra in the case? She got promoted when Deb was suspended, and disappeared without a trace when Deb returned. Then there was the marital friction between Angel and LaGuerta, about which we heard next to nothing in the past few episode until they returned to it at Harrison’s party. I also expected a little more from the Irish nanny. If you have such a stellar actress as Maria Kennedy Doyle, why not take advantage? These are minor complaints, of course, that detract little from the fact that Dexter is one of the best shows on TV. Thanks to all who recommended the Cricket to watch it!

Dexter 5x11

The end of the season is approaching ever so near! This season has been unbelievably good. Five seasons ago the Cricket was reluctant to even watch a show about a serial killer. Gradually we’ve gotten to sympathize with him. And now we get to see Dexter through Lumen’s eyes. She doesn’t see him as a monster at all. He’s her partner, helping her take down the men who raped and tortured her. Boyd Fowler has disappeared off the face of the earth, so did Cole Harman, and now Alex Tildon, too. “What’s the connection,” Deb asks Jordan Chase, with Quinn in tow. “What did they have in common?” She continues. “You. They had you in common.” Chase remains indignantly unmoved. At the office, Deb explains her “vigilante theory” that one of the barrel girls escaped and has been taking down the perverted perpetrators who abused and violated all these girls. Masuka confirms that the living room in the empty house next to Tildon’s was so spotless it must have been recently swiped clean. Meanwhile, Deb and Quinn learn Chase’s real name, Eugene Greer. Batista found evidence that ties Chase to Tildon. Now every one of the perps can be traced back to Chase, and they have proof that he has been lying. They’re closing in but all remains circumstantial.

For their part Dex and Lumen plot to take down Chase, like a loving couple plans seats for their wedding. They’re deciding on whether to use her or Deb as bait to lure Chase. Then suddenly the baby monitor picks up a signal from Liddy’s camera. Dex suspects it’s Chase watching them, but there are too many vans, RVs and trucks around. He could be anywhere. Liddy’s been permanently discharged from police service. So he cannot make a move against Dexter, but threatens Quinn he best come running when he calls. Dex finds the camera and to his shock discovers it is property of Miami Metro Police. He learns that the bugging devices were checked out on Quinn’s name, with a case number dating to 1982, and without a permit to bug his house.

There’s an amazingly beautiful scene between Deb and Dex, where she confesses about Quinn’s theory that Dex is somehow connected to Rita’s death. She broke up with him because she cannot trust him. Then she starts ruminating about her “vigilante theory,” how the barrel girl must have someone close to her help her killing these perps. She finds it loving, even if it’s messed up. Only we and Dex are in on the fact that Deb is looking right at that man. And for his part Dex is realizing he must be in love with Lumen. They really are adorable together, holding hands, and teaming up as serial killers. I don’t want Lumen to ever leave Dex. But what will happen once Lumen is done meeting out her vigilante justice, once she has killed all her abusers? And will they get to Chase before he gets to them?

In fact, Chase books a tour through Europe to give his motivational speeches, an indication he’s hoping to get away from under police scrutiny. So they need a court order to demand him in as a material witness. It gets denied when Deb puts it in herself, but LaGuerta requests another with a judge who owed her a favor – and thus she teaches Deb a little lesson about office politics. Checking on the one remaining van that hasn’t moved in a week in front of Dex’ condo, he gets tased and kidnapped by Liddy. Right then Chase lures Dex and Lumen by having Emily Birch, the only girl he let live, call Lumen to beg for help. With Dex out of reach, Lumen goes on her own, terrified when she finds Chase there. Dex is able to overpower Liddy and kills him, with Quinn standing right outside the blinded van – and Liddy’s blood dripping on his boot. Chase is enraged that Lumen didn’t bring Dexter, and vents his anger on Emily, who he kills in two blows with a poker. When Dex finally arrives, Emily’s house is empty. Evidence of a fight everywhere. Oh, boy, the finale is going to be big, I mean, BIG!

Dexter 5x10

Dexter now knows that Jordan Chase is on to them. So, to get him out of harm’s way, he asks Sonya to take baby Harrisons to his grandparents in Orlando and spend time with his brother and sister. And to protect Lumen, he takes her out of the house to his condo. Unfortunately, that shitty Liddy is still tailing them, despite Quinn’s violent demand to stay away. At Miami Metro Deb’s discovery of partial DNA’s has forced LaGuerta to reopen the barrel girls case. Jordan Chase isn’t among the suspects, but he is wanted for questioning – and so is Cole, who is of course already buried at sea. Naturally, Chase pretends he is insulted by the insinuations hurled at his direction and refuses further co-operation without his lawyer present. Meanwhile, Dex and Lumen pay a visit to Emily Birch, whose blood Chase keeps in a vial around his neck, but she shuts the door on them. When they get a search warrant for Cole’s house not only do they find blood (remains of his skirmish with Dex and Lumen), they also find thirteen numbered discs worth of torture-rape footage. The last one must be Lumen. Now Dexter has to stage a clumsy accident to switch her disc when Masuka isn’t paying attention. Lumen’s taken aback how much Dex is willing to risk his life and career for her.

Later Deb tells Dex that watching those (other) discs made her think maybe it was for the best these women died, because she believes no one could ever have a life again after going through that torture. She has been through some horrible experiences herself, from which she’s come back. Deb, wicked smart as she is, has already been able to connect the case with the plastic-wrap murder, figuring (correctly) that someone has been taking out the perpetrators – and she reckons there’s some kind of vigilante out there who knows what these morbid perverts have been up to, someone she feels is like her. She just doesn’t know how right she is. Then Lumen visits Emily again and confronts her with the footage of her own abuse and asks if it has also happened to her. She admits that twenty years ago at summer camp the same group raped and tortured her, but Jordan Chase was still called Eugene Greer. Emily also remembers the name of the fifth member of the group, Alex Tildon. Lumen tells Dex she wants to be the one killing Tildon. When Deb and Quinn go down the list of Cole’s acquaintances found on his computer, they also talk to Tildon, who confirms that he knows him, but denies knowing any of the other names associated with the case. Liddy forges Quinn’s signature to get recording devices – and with it he sits outside of Dex’ condo listening in on their conversations and watching their every move from inside his van. The most disturbing scenes this episode is when Chase talks to Emily, who explains she told Lumen everything – and he sits there like a king on his throne, telling her no one can replace her, that they have a bond, that she is special to him, and that she made him who he is now.

As Dex is preparing his killing tools, Lumen lights up, “look at those,” as if she’s looking at a case of jewelry at Tiffany’s. That’s when Liddy finally catches on from inside his van. Tildon calls Chase asking if he should leave town for a while, but Chase tells him to stick to his usual routines to the letter so as not to cause any suspicion – knowing full well that Dex and Lumen will be waiting for him at his house. Then he calls Deb, pretending that Tildon had called his secretary asking about Cole in a panic. So, right when Dex and Lumen are in the kill room, Deb and Quinn are driving up to Tildon’s house. The tension is unbearable! Will they be able to get away at close call? Deb and Quinn search Tildon’s house and find nothing. The kill room is at the empty house next door! Lumen strikes the blade at Tildon’s heart and gasps for air. It’s therapeutic. Outside, Deb notices a partial footprint, it’s small, Quinn figures it’s female, and Deb concludes (again correctly) that the vigilante must be the group’s last victim meting out her own brand of justice. But by that time Dex and Lumen have returned to his condo, where they commence to make love. Did Liddy follow them to Tildon’s house? We won’t know until next time. What an unbelievable show!

Dexter 5x09

Dexter and Lumen disposed Suit Guy Cole together out at sea. Unbeknownst to them, they were followed by shitty Liddy, who has been keeping tabs on them even though Quinn was getting wary about spying on Dexter while he’s dating Debra. Eager to share the latest about Dex, Liddy keeps bugging Quinn, but Quinn is getting too involved with Deb. She also finds out that Quinn suspected Dexter of assuming the name “Kyle Butler” to associate with the Trinity Killer and may know something about Rita’s brutal murder. Deb is livid and hurt, no matter her burgeoning feelings for Quinn, no one touches her brother. Meanwhile, Dexter is in for a shock when suddenly Astor breaks into their old house – the one where Lumen is staying. Astor ran away from Orlando with her friend Olivia, they stole money and got drunk. Lumen was petrified fearing that someone was coming after them. Astor is upset that Dexter found a new girlfriend so soon after Rita’s death. Dexter assures her Lumen is just a tenant, but it’s clear they know each other better than that.

Then the girls go missing, Dex recruits the entire police force, it seems, fearing that somehow Jordan Chase is honing in on him for the murder of Cole. They find the girls arrested for shoplifting, Olivia’s stepfather came rushing on the scene acting a tad too overbearing. It’s clear something isn’t right. Back at Dex’ house, Deb is surprised to find her brother has a new, hot blonde girlfriend, or tenant, whichever; and Lumen is surprised to find Dex has a sister. Dex isn’t very successful trying to talk to Astor about her behavior, but Lumen discovers Olivia is covered in bruises from her stepfather. Dex gives the guy a few punches of his own and forces him to disappear, break up with Olivia’s mother and never come near them again. Astor is happy to find that Dex backed her up, and he is proud that she stood up for her friend. When he drops them off in Orlando, they share a beautiful moment talking about Rita. Dexter isn’t a monster after all. He isn’t just acting on primal instincts to kill and protect his nest. He is developing actual emotions and a talent for empathizing with others. It’s fair to say this is a pivotal moment.

At Miami Metro Homicide, Deb is still on suspension, but is stuck in the file room until her hearing. Batista backed up her story – against LaGuerta’s version of events. In the archive Deb happens upon the recently closed files of the barrel girls case. She can’t help going through the details one more time, and notices that the DNA report indicates there were at least three male perpetrators involved. They had been so focused on Boyd Fowler, that they closed the case before the DNA report came in. She shares the information with Masuka and Batista, find a partial match with Cole’s DNA, but no one wants to step up to LaGuerta and get the case re-opened. She overhears their conversation, but is reluctant to agree. She just cleared the air of the shooting at Club Maya and she doesn’t want another storm in the media about the incapability of their department. Deb, naturally, argues that this isn’t about the department, but about the deaths of a dozen girls and several perpetrators still on the loose. In the end, LaGuerta caves in.

For his part, Dexter is also trying to find a way to take on Jordan Chase. He scheduled private sessions with him, hoping to get some foot in the door and check out his security. He learns that Chase is keeping a little vial of blood as a necklace. He nips a pinch of the blood with a syringe, when Chase is taking a shower, but carelessly leaves the locker door ajar, and when Chase puts the necklace back on, he notices a little drop of blood on his finger. He knows Dexter is after him. When Dexter has the blood tested for DNA, it turns out the vial is not some kind of trophy of one of their victims: the woman is still alive. Later Chase calls Dexter’s home phone and gets Lumen on the phone. He leaves a message for Dexter, “Tick, tick, tick, that’s the sound of your life running out.” You can cut the tension with a knife. Lumen is nearly hyperventilating. Before he hangs up, Chase says, “Goodbye, Lumen.” This was yet another wonderful episode, full of excitement, human drama and emotional depth.

Dexter 5x08

This episode defied all my expectations – and after four and a half amazing seasons of unexpected twists and turns, that says a lot. At Miami Homicide the fallout from the stakeout at the club is seriously putting everyone on edge. Debra blames LaGuerta and Batista doesn’t know if he should back up his wife or include in his report that Deb was overruled. LaGuerta calls Deb into her office and suggests putting Officer Monzon on suspension, but Deb won’t let her make Cira be the fall guy. She argues and curses, all for the sake of the team. She’s not prone to keeping her mouth, but this is spellbinding. What a woman! Debra’s my girl. She’s an ace. Then, what does scheming careerist LaGuerta do? She throws Deb on paid leave – and to add insult to injury, Deb has to learn about it on TV! (Seems to the Cricket LaGuerta is becoming less likeable. What is this story arc leading up to? Will she be promoted Captain or will she be held responsible for the mess and fired? Will Batista divorce her?) In the end Batista sides with Debra and will write up his report in her support. Always the good guy, this Angel. Dex and Deb have a moment reflecting on life and death, how she doesn’t feel any regret or guilt for killing Carlos Fuentes, and how their father once told Dexter some people deserve to die. They’ve both recently lost loved ones, Rita and Lundy, who deserved to live. Maybe the world is better off without Carlos Fuentes, Deb reasons. Dex just nods in approval, with a look of stunned recognition and validation on his face.

Meanwhile, Dexter decides to attend Jordan Chase’s motivational seminar at some Miami hotel. Excellent point when Dex’ voice-over admits he feels “normal” among Chase’s acolytes. Chase’s head of security, Cole, invites Dex to speak to Chase in private. Chase knows an awful lot about Dexter, about the Trinity Killer case, about Rita and Harrison. What a creepy sleazebag that Jordan Chase! (And what a marvelous performance by Johnny Lee Miller.) Dexter plans on taking out Cole at the hotel and asks Lumen to help him prepare the kill room. On her way to the hotel, this piece of shitty Liddy slams his car into Lumen’s on purpose, and pulls an act to get her info. He’s been keeping tabs on Deb and Lumen for Quinn – even though Quinn is getting increasingly wary about Liddy’s abrasiveness, not to mention his greediness or this threat to tell on Quinn to Deb. Lumen’s fiancé arrives on the scene, too, but she’s none too pleased seeing him.

Back at the hotel, Dex is pleasantly surprised seeing how much easier it all is with Lumen there, ready and willing to kill the torturing rapist Suit Guy Cole. She starts to understand that Dexter is a serial killer, he confides in her, and she accepts him for it. He never had a partner in crime like this before. She’s not like power-hungry Miguel Prado or psychopathic Lila Tournay West. They hear screaming coming from Cole’s room, but it turns out to be merely the sounds of aggressive sex. Still, the noise throws Lumen back to her traumatic experience. Dex comforts her quietly and allows her to sleep, putting off the planned kill. They have one more day to catch Cole before Chase leaves Miami. During the day’s seminar session, Dex gets called on stage to recount the loss of Rita, while Chase encourages him to act on his primal instinct. For his part Cole spots Lumen in the hotel, chases her to the room and attacks her. Dexter comes to the rescue and together they perform his ritual. While Lumen (unseen) pulls up the SUV in front of the hotel and Dex walks out with Cole’s dismembered body in his luggage, Chase approaches him – apologizing for the confrontational session on stage. “Tick, tick, tick,” the sleazebag tells Dexter, “that’s the sound of your life running out,” just like he said to Lumen when he was abusing her. Act on your primal instinct is his motivational motto. “Take It!” “Oh, I will,” Dex replies.

Dexter 5x07

It’s been over a month since Dexter killed Boyd Fowler. Lumen is still trapped in the trauma of her monstrous experience. He’s been allowing her to be part of the plan catching the remaining men who used and abused her. She tells him there were two more, whom she identifies as Watch Guy and Suit & Tie: the first would put his watch against his ear and say “tick, tick, tick, that’s the sound of your life running out”; the other would fold his suit very carefully and lay it on a chair, he’d always take her blindfold off, thinking she’d be dead soon. Next we see Suit Guy (Chris Vance), neatly folding his jacket, while paying some Mexicans to drag the barrels from the lake onto a pick-up truck. Then, with his truck loaded up with barrels filled with dead women in formaldehyde, he drives off toward the highway – and BAM! Another car crashes into the truck sideways. Excellent! The whole Miami Homicide team gets called in. The press is already on site. Meanwhile that shitty Stan Liddy has been trailing Dexter and learned there’s a pretty blonde girl staying at his old house – even took down the “For Sale” sign. Quinn spots Dexter talking to Lumen near the crime scene and puts two and two together.

Suit Guy turns out to be the head of security of none than Jordan Chase (John Lee Miller), a well-known motivational speaker, famous for his “Take It” instructional CDs. Boyd Fowler used to listen to all his CDs. So does Masuka. The truck was registered on Chase’s name. With Suit Guy in tow, Chase arrives at the police station. He is wearing a fancy watch. He must be Watch Guy. He gives his alibi, which checks out, while security guy Cole makes up a story that someone must have stolen their truck – although the key was still in ignition. Masuka’s forensics tell that all the evidence points to Cole, but if Dexter wants to help Lumen kill the men who held her hostage, raped and tortured her, they must derail the police investigation. So he suggests they give the police Boyd Fowler, since he was the man who killed the young women. They raid Boyd’s house and find the torture room (neatly cleaned by Dex and Lumen before). Boyd immediately becomes their primary focus of investigation.

As for the Santa Muerte machete murder case, the whole team is brought in to sting Club Maya, where Deb has learned the Fuentes brothers often hang out in the VIP lounge. Their bait Jasmine has arranged for the brothers to come. From the start LaGuerta disagrees with Deb how to set up the stake out. The Captain is up her case to get it right this time. Nevertheless, things run afoul pretty bad. When Cira Monzon approaches the guys, one of them notices her gun while feeling up her leg. The other shoots Jasmine. Then Cira gets a gun up her face and Deb has to choose whether to let him go yet again or shoot him on the spot. Her bullet hits him right in the forehead. Bull’s Eye! An innocent bystander got killed, too, though, and three were wounded. The Captain is furious. LaGuerta refuses to take responsibility for the mess, even though it was on her orders (overruling Debra) that Cira approached the Fuentes brothers. Needless to say, this was another exciting episode.

Dexter 5x06

Midway through the season and the plotlines are starting to converge in unforeseeable ways. Miami Homicide is following Deb’s lead on the Santa Muerte machete murders. They’ve organized a stake out at the club frequented by the Fuentes brothers. This despite the Captain’s warning he isn’t pleased with their lack of progress. Batista is teasing Deb how many girls approach Quinn at the bar. She’s doing her best to hide her jealousy. For his part, Dex is trying to bring back some normalcy into his life – and prepares his next kill: another perverted serial killer (of which there seems ample supply in his neck of the woods). When he is leaving his condo, his Irish superwoman nanny tells Harrison to say “bye-bye, daddy,” and the little kid says “dye-dye.” “He said ‘die, die!’” Dex responds shocked. “Don’t be silly,” she retorts, “He said ‘bye-bye.’ Harrison’s first words!” Just when he is about to start his ritual kill, Lumen calls repeatedly. She never left Miami – and now she’s shot one of the men who raped her (or so she claims). She doesn’t know what to do. He hurries to Lumen at some bayside warehouse, with a victim of his own in his car. When he arrives, she’s anxious and confused. She cannot really tell this is the man who raped her, she just knows, even though she was blindfolded the whole time she was abused, but she feels she’s right, he smells the same. But now the man is gone!

They have to follow the trail of his blood, revealing how much Dex knows about blood and what kind of gadgets he carries with him in his bag. The man is losing so much blood he can’t be far. They soon enough find him and he denies ever seeing Lumen before. Then Dex gets a message on his cell of a reported homicide – at the very same warehouse. Someone must have heard the gun shots. Dexter and Lumen keep arguing. He doesn’t trust her instinct. Then they overhear him talking on Lumen’s cell phone: “She shot me! That last fucking bitch is alive!” Lumen was right all along, and now the others are warned. With one guy wrapped in plastic foil coming to in his car and another body at the warehouse, Dexter has to take care of both situations at once, while Deb and Masuka are already following the trail of blood. And if that isn’t enough, Dex needs to argue with Lumen to make sure she leaves – and then the first guy breaks out of Dex’ SUV. Only in the nick of time is he able to catch the guy, run back to the dead body, dump the other body on the scene with Lumen’s gun, and pretend he found them before his sister did. Amazing! “Two words,” Masuka intones, “auto-erotic mummification.” “What a night!” Deb exclaims. This was sure one heck of an exciting episode. What a terrific plot development! I’m a little more reticent about Deb’s continuing dalliance with Quinn, or the marital troubles between Batista and LaGuerta, not to mention Quinn’s persistence to investigate Dexter with the help of his suspended colleague Stan Liddy.

Dexter 5x05

“We all have something to hide,” Dexter intones. That’s one of the show’s premises from which it draws its attraction. In some way we all are a little bit like Dexter, hiding in plain sight “some dark place we don’t want the world to see.” That is something he shares with Lumen – and they both are victims of terrible circumstances that have happened to them. She tells him there were others, not just Boyd and she wants Dex to help her kill them. Having no clue as to who these accomplices might have been he pays a visit to Boyd’s house. He finds someone else has ransacked it already, leaving blood as he cut himself smashing the window – and finger prints. When he checks the prints in the database, they match with none other than Lumen herself. She beat Dexter to it. Next he breaks into her motel room and finds she’s been keeping tabs on Boyd’s former cell mate due for parole, one Robert Brunner, who did time for rape and torture. Dex worries she might try and kill him on her own. He finds the guy under the Julia Tuttle Causeway (a sex offender colony), tranquilizes him and prepares to kill him. Then he realizes Brunner is wearing an ankle bracelet monitoring his whereabouts. He could not have been involved in abusing Lumen.

Meanwhile, Deb and Sierra are trying their might to get any leads on the Santa Muerte machete murders. They learn that one of the Fuentes brothers has an eye tattoo on his hand. There’s a great scene with Deb and Mazuka in a tattoo parlor. You just got to see it. When Sierra checks ATM footage, she realizes the victims were all freaking out while withdrawing maximum amounts from their accounts. It gives them another clue, which brings them to a home where they discover two maggot-infested decomposing bodies. It’s too gross to watch. Imagine the stench! I’m not too keen on Deb and Quinn becoming friends with benefits. Her penchant for the wrong types is getting painfully obvious. Moreover, Quinn has recruited a suspended colleague, Stan Liddy (Peter Weller) to keep tabs on Dexter. Then there’s the growing suspicion between LaGuerta and Batista. She is working hard to get the Internal Affairs charges dropped, but he worries she is having internal affairs of a different kind. For her part, Lumen goes looking for Brunner under Tuttle Bridge intending to kill him on the spot. Dex stops her in the nick of time. He then convinces her to return home to Minnesota and even got her a plane ticket. Yet when she is searched at airport security she panics and hails a cab back to Miami.

Dexter 5x04

So much is already happening this season on Dexter! Det. Quinn is hot on Dex’ trail, suspecting him of using the alias “Kyle Butler” to get closer to the Mitchells, obviously not knowing at all why. Even when the FBI refuses to grant him access to the family, Quinn is resilient and persistent enough to find their safe house. It does mean he’s missing on the job a lot. At an unguarded moment, Quinn approaches Jonah and shows him a photo of Dex. Before Jonah can say anything, Quinn gets arrested. Lt. LaGuerta is furious and sends him on unpaid suspension. Sgt. Batista might lose his job and serve time for assaulting a fellow police officer. Maria encourages him to make amends with Sgt. Lopez. She tells him she isn’t asking. Lopez accepts Batista’s apologies, but it is not enough for Internal Affairs to halt the investigation. Deb, Vince Masuka and Cira Monzon pulled an all-nighter at the crime scene, but they really need Dexter’s help. He leads them to a clue, which gives them a partial finger print on a cigar butt. That leads them to the Fuentes brothers. When they raid their crowded apartment, one of the brothers slices a hostage’s throat with his machete and takes a run for it.

Most importantly, though, after he performed his latest ritual kill, Dexter is left with a feral woman (Julia Stiles). He won’t and can’t kill her. She’s innocent. But she saw what he did to road-kill pickup artist Boyd Fowler. The moment she comes to, he injects another needle to sedate her again. While trying to find out more about her, his nanny Sonya quits. He was gone the whole night, never called, she can’t trust him. Dex has to take Harrison to the office while checking the girl’s finger prints. Her name is Lumen Pierce; she’s from Minnesota. But when she comes to later, she says her name is Rachel. Although he can’t kill her, he can’t just let her go either. After all the abuse she’s been through, she rather dies than being locked up without knowing what Dexter is going to do to her. He still needs to find out more about her – and get his nanny back. He learns that Lumen has an unpaid motel bill and convinces the owner to give him her luggage. Having convinced Sonya to give him one more chance, he returns to Lumen, who’s slit her wrist. Well, it’s a ploy to escape, but Dex is able to catch her after a quick chase. Hoping to win her trust, he takes her to the lake where Boyd used to dump his victims. He explains that his own wife Rita was brutally murdered and he doesn’t want to see any more innocent people die. Lumen tells Dexter that Boyd wasn’t the only one, that there were others, that it’s not over.

Dexter 5x03

Dexter is dealing with an immense sense of grief and guilt over the loss of Rita. But there is more important business at hand. Dex and Deb are drilling candidates for a nanny position to look after Prince Harry (baby Harrison). Obviously they are going for the Irish woman, Sonya, with a nursing degree (Maria Doyle Kennedy). Dex’ crisis counselor tells him that Harrison will be fine – he’s too young to have processed what happened to Rita – and advices Dex to release his energy by doing something for himself. So he chats up Boyd Fowler, the sick serial killer he happened to stumble upon, introducing himself as “Daryl Tucker.” Before you know it Boyd offers him to ride along on his “dead animal pickup” job. He already prepares his kill-room. But, yikes, when Dexter wants to take Boyd out with his usual injection, Boyd accidentally shoots him with his tranquilizer gun before falling to the ground. They both come to in an ambulance and pretend it was an accident – only to get out of the hospital as fast as they can. Now they are after one another! Dex is ahead of the game and has already prepared a make-shift kill room in Boyd’s basement. But after he performs his ritual, he discovers a feral looking woman (Julia Stiles) trapped in the basement, who saw it all!

There is much tension at Miami Homicide. Det. Quinn received composite sketches of “Kyle Butler” which the Mitchells provided the FBI. None of the drawings looks the same, but Quinn’s smart enough to piece elements together. In one of his tries puzzling facial features together from different drawings, Vince Mazuka quips it looks like Justin Bieber. Quinn calls the FBI requesting a meeting with the Mitchells. He tells them he has a hunch, but it may cost him his job if he’s wrong. For his part, Quinn is also still unsure how to handle Deb after their “little indiscretion” on the kitchen floor in Dexter’s old home. Even though she is crashing on his couch to give Dex some space, Deb brushes him off with her usual impatience. Sgt. Batista is under investigation for assaulting a fellow officer who bad-mouthed his wife Lt. LaGuerta. Meanwhile Miami Homicide is looking into the Santa Muerte machete murder. Quinn just opts for the easy solution: husband killed wife, then shot himself. Deb believes there is more to it, especially because of all the religious attributes. Her Spanish is so poor, she pronounces it “Santa Mierda.” Reluctantly she teams up with Cira, the local Hispanic police officer who lived all her life in the Venezuelan neighborhood where the woman’s decapitated head was found. She brings in a clue from a man selling Santa Muerta objects. But when they check back up on him, they find him lying dead on the ground, his head decapitated, with the eyes and tongue cut out and the mouth cut open, just like the woman’s head.

Clearly, the audience was thrown off purposefully several times already – and it’s only the third episode of the season! Angel Batista’s bar fight became much more significant after the assaulted officer suffers internal bleeding and files for an internal investigation. Cira is clearly going to be an important asset solving the machete murders. (Incidentally, the actress April Hernández went to Hunter College.) Here we were thinking the Boyd Fowler plot was going to last several episodes – and now he’s dead already. As a pay off, Dex is faced with Boyd’s last would-be victim – and since it’s Julia Stiles, that’s sure to become an interesting story arc. And what to make of the “practically perfect” nanny Sonya? Is she too good to be true? Then we have Quinn, is he going to become the next Sgt. Doakes trying to out Dexter? The heat is definitely on!

Dexter 5x02

Dexter takes a plunge in the pool, much like Don Draper in Mad Men’s “Summer Man” (4x08), trying to wash away his sense of guilt over Rita’s death. Plus, he’s worried that the FBI is suspecting him of murdering his wife. They drill him about his alibi, his night trips in his boat. They keep quizzing him. After a burst of anger, they calm him down. They know he didn’t kill his wife, he was at “The Trinity Killer’s” house as part of the police team. What they are hoping for is a clue why Arthur “Trinity” Mitchell would want to kill Rita. “Because he’s a serial killer,” he quips. After the interview, the FBI agents tell Lt. LaGuerta that the only other lead they have is the name “Kyle Butler.” That is, the name Dex went by when dealing with the Mitchell’s, but they don’t know that. Not yet, at least.

Dex is also worried about the kids, or rather about how he will deal with his dark urges when he becomes a single dad. Cody seems to handle the situation fine. For him living in the condo with Deb and Dex is like camping. But Astor is still bitter. The next day, Dex finds them in the old house, skipping school, looking at the bathtub where it all happened. Astor feels Dexter betrayed her trust. She was led to believe he would make things better, but they only got worse. She tells him she wants to live with her grandparents. Cody would rather stay with Deb and Dex, but Dex can’t split them up – knowing how much he has always relied on Deb (and vice versa). They are moving to Orlando.

Miami Homicide is called on the scene of a horrifying crime scene: a woman’s decapitated head with eyes and tongue cut out, and her mouth cut open. A local Hispanic police officer tells Deb that all the candles and attributes are associated with the Santa Muerte cult (like in Breaking Bad). Det. Quinn’s hunch is that the murder is drug related. The Latina officer suspects the murder weapon was a machete – not an indication of gang warfare. Not much later, there’s another victim. This time an apparent suicide. It’s the husband of the decapitated women, who took his own life with a shotgun through the head. Did he kill himself after murdering her? Or did he take his own life because he couldn’t save her in time?

When moving things from the old family house to his condo, he can’t help noticing some drops of blood in the rented van. After an U.V. inspecting he puts together the pieces of a brutal murder inside the van. Despite the situation with the kids, he can’t help himself and checks out the name of the previous person who rented the van. His name is Boyd Fowler, who works at the Department of Sanitation in dead animal pickup. Dexter reasons that the better killer he is, the better father he will be – focused. So, he follows Fowler around and learns he dumps barrels in a remote lake – with dead women inside. He’s hot on the trail of another sick psychopathic serial killer, one who kills young women, dumps them in barrels of formaldehyde, and collects locks of their hair.

This was another deeply gratifying, emotional episode. The scenes with Dex and the kids were very touching. In a way, it was inevitable that Astor and Cody had to get out of the picture (gracefully). It would be difficult offering a compelling story arc. Plus, the family life would only become a burden for the Dex’ Dark Passenger. On second thought, I found it a little contrived how Dexter got on the trail of that Fowler freak. Is this new serial killer going to be this season’s main story, or is the machete murder going to drive the main plot? Is Quinn going to uncover Dexter as “Kyle Butler”? (The Mitchell’s provided composite sketches that he may piece together.) Incredible how this show leaves the audience guessing!

Dexter 5x01

The new season of Dexter started way back in late September. We are reminded that initially, Dexter had been drawn to Rita because he felt that she, like him, was damaged emotionally – while she honestly believed that he was an good and decent man. Well, Dex remembers that even on their first date, he slipped out to satisfy his urge to kill someone – someone who, no doubt, deserved to die according to the twisted Code of Harry, the man he thought was his foster father, but was actually his biological dad. Having Rita and her kids was a great camouflage for his Dark Secret. But things got more complicated – as they tend to do in life – as they became family, got married and had a baby. Now Rita is dead, the last victim of “The Trinity Killer.” Over the course of the previous seasons, our Darkly Dreaming Dexter also had to deal with “The Ice Truck Killer” (his brother), “The Bay Harbor Butcher” (Dexter himself) and “The Skinner,” in his profession as blood-splatter analyst at the Miami Metro Police Department of Homicide. Who is going to be his main antagonist this season? How is he going to cope with Rita’s kids? And, more importantly, how is Dex going to cope with the loss of his emotional and moral support, the only human connection to reality besides Debra?

At Miami Homicide, Lt. LaGuerta warns her department that the FBI is in charge of the investigation of Rita’s death, but everyone wants to be in on the case, because it’s Rita and because it’s Dexter, and because they have so many unanswered questions. In fact, Det. Quinn soon suspects Dexter. “When a wife is murdered, 90% of the time it’s the husband,” he offers. What is his alibi? That he killed “The Trinity Killer”? That he was the only witness at the secret ceremony of LaGuerta and Batista’s wedding? Personally, Dexter is incapable of displaying his emotions and unable to deal with the funeral arrangements. Debra’s undying support for her brother is simply heart wrenching. Astor, Rita’s daughter, responds as teenagers do, bitterly angry – blaming Dexter for not protecting her mother, which is exactly what Dex feels himself. So, he acts on impulse, torching his storage space, taking off on his boat with a fresh set of clothes, the tool of his trade and a memento of his past, of who he really is – the blood slide collection of his victims. When he happens upon some hick in a bathroom, he brutally beats him to death, in full daylight, covering himself in blood. Venting his rage, his loss and sense of guilt all sink in, and he breaks down crying.

This episode certainly added another layer or two of emotional depth to the main characters. The human dimension of everyone’s loss and grief is depicted excellently. I am less sure about Deb’s hook up with Quinn on Dexter’s bathroom floor. (Is it me, or does Desmond Harrington really look frightfully thin?) What this episode didn’t give is much of a hint of what’s to come this season. The Cricket has heard that Julia Stiles will play the new woman in Dex’ life ... interesting! That Maria Doyle Kennedy (Katherine of Aragon of The Tudors) will guest star as an Irish nanny. That there will be a few new police offers at Miami Metro. That Chris Vance (Burn Notice) will join the cast, as will Jonny Lee Miller (Trainspotting). This all sounds exciting – and I can’t wait to see what’s coming. (Of course, when you’re reading this, I’ll be already mid-season.) Do check back in for more!

Dexter 4x12

Dexter has been trying to rid the world of the monster that is known as the “Trinity Killer,” but family and work and many other distractions sidetracked him time and again. Now, the killer is on to him. Arthur Mitchell knows his real name and occupation. This is the season finale and the heat is on! Arthur tells Dexter to leave him alone and advices him to give up his vigilantism. “You’re not very good at it. Goodbye, Dexter Morgan.” Dexter follows him, but is stopped by Quinn who accuses him of chasing girls instead of working on his rapport of Christine’s suicide. Dex brushes him off, hot in pursuit of the “Trinity Killer.” He chases him to a parking garage, meanwhile side-swiping a car’s side-view mirror as he’s talking to Rita on the phone about honeymoon plans. In the garage, Dex subdues Arthur and finds an envelope stacked with all the money he owns. Dex concludes Arthur is planning his getaway. He is disrupted by a scene outside the garage. The man whose car he damaged has called in the police. He argues with the officers and gets arrested for fleeing the scene of an accident. In prison, Dex wonders whether it’s because of his “Dark Passenger” or his family life that he messed up. Rita then picks him up, as he’s released due to overcrowding.

Ordered to take a day off, Deb has another meeting with one of her father’s informers. The woman takes her on a trip. They arrive at a house that Deb recognizes as the place where the “Ice Truck Killer” took her. The woman tells her this is where one of Harry’s old girlfriends, Laura Moser, lived with her two boys. Researching Laura Moser, Deb learns her sons names where Brian and Dexter. Capt. Matthews, one of her father’s colleagues, confirms that Harry adopted Dexter after Laura died, but encourages her to keep the information to herself.

Meanwhile, Miami Metro realizes Stan Beaudry cannot be the “Trinity Killer,” because there is enough evidence to place him elsewhere in many cases. Batista has also discovered that in each killing cycle there was a missing boy prior to the three killings. The “Trinity Killer” must have planted the evidence to frame someone else. Deb talks to Scott, the boy kidnapped by the “Trinity Killer,” hoping to find any new clues. He draws a picture of the Four Walls logo. That leads them to the building site where they find the body of another victim. Running through the names of volunteers working for Four Walls leads them to the killer. Once they arrive at the Mitchells’ house, Dex is already there – acting as if he is searching the garage for evidence. Deb notices something is off, but is too concerned about her own discovery. She tells him she knows Laura Moser was his mother, and that the “Ice Truck Killer” was his brother, but stops short of wondering if Harry could be his father. She is thankful that Dex has been the one constant, the one constantly good thing in her life. Dex expresses his gratitude.

Dexter has more pressing concerns. Arthur has fled Miami in his repaired and newly painted convertible. When his engine overheats, Dex jumps up from behind the car. (I have no idea how he was able to trace him.) Next, we’re back at the bomb shelter where Arthur held Scotty. Dex has prepared the scene for his ritual. He confronts Arthur about the monster he is, while Arthur pleads that he gave everything to his family. Dex tells him Christine killed herself. Arthur chides that he’s no better than him. Dexter bludgeons Arthur with a framing hammer and later dumps his body at sea. He wonders if Rita is looking up at the full moon from the Florida Keys, where she is waiting for him to celebrate their honeymoon. He feels connected and hopes his family can help him be rid of his “Dark Passenger.” Once home, he responds to a lovely message Rita left him. He hears her cell phone ringing in another room. Then baby Harrison starts crying in the bathroom. Turning on the light, he sees his son in a pool of blood. Rita lies lifeless in the bathtub. What a nightmare! Dex thought he could keep his family safe, but the sins of the father shall be visited upon the children.

This has been another excellent season. The main story arc as well as the various subplots were riveting – apart, perhaps, of the dalliance between LaGuerta and Batista. I watched all twelve episodes in the span of about a week as I couldn’t wait to see what would happen next. The performances, not only of Michael Hall (Dexter) and Jennifer Carpenter (Debra), but of all involved, were stellar. The addition of John Lithgow (Arthur) and Courtney Ford (Christine) this season was also tremendously engaging. Season five has already started a month ago. So, stay tuned for more Dexter next week.

Dexter 4x11

Christine Hill has been taken into custody as a witness on the “Trinity Killer” investigation – as her DNA is related to his. She pretends not to know who her father is. As she refuses to co-operate, Deb and Batista search Christine’s house and find postcards her father sent her, all signed “Love, Daddy.” (Still no name.) Some match known locations of the “Trinity Killer” case. Confronted with the evidence, Christine demands a lawyer. Quinn is forced to accept the truth, enraged how she used him all this time. Deb consoles him by reminding him she had been engaged to the “Ice Truck Killer.” After a night in a cell, Christine is let go, hoping she will lead them to the “Trinity Killer.” She calls her father again, who tells her never to talk to him again and that he wishes she had never been born.

Dexter, meanwhile, worries that his colleagues will catch Arthur before he can. So, he decides to set them off on a false lead. Arthur calls “Kyle,” after hearing the news about Scott’s safe return. Dex made sure no one can link Arthur to the boy’s disappearance. So what does he want, Arthur wonders? To deflect him, “Kyle” demands $50,000 to remain silent. Arthur grabs a phone books to look up “Kyle Butler.” Then, Dexter is called in for an emergence at a crime scene. A Kyle Butler has been murdered. Now he knows Arthur is hunting for him. He breaks into Arthur’s house to collect a razor, comb and toothbrush so as to frame his decoy. The victim in question is a truck driver, accused of murder. Miami Metro is soon enough alerted to the man’s disappearance and finds the evidence Dexter planed in his truck and at his house.

Deb is told Christine wants to talk to her in private. Quinn drives her to Christine’s apartment. Dejected by her father’s rejection, she confesses she shot Deb and killed Lundy to protect her father, and asks for Deb’s forgiveness. She tells her “fuck no.” Christine grabs a gun and before Deb can stop her kills herself. Distressed by yet another traumatic experience, Deb calls her brother, who is looking for Arthur at the amusement arcade. Dex rushes to the police station, unaware that Arthur is following him. Arthur gains entrance by stealing a visitor’s pass, sneaks into the briefing room filled with evidence of the “Trinity Killer” investigation. He is surprised to see their lead suspect is a truck driver named “Stanley Beaudry.” Then he spots Dex in his lab, who comes out to confront him. “Hello, Dexter Morgan,” Arthur says, reading his badge.

During the episode, Dexter contemplates his different personas. “We all have our public life,” he muses, “our private life ... and your secret life, the one that defines you.” He is having a difficult time juggling his various roles as husband and father, blood splatter analyst, serial killer and now as “Kyle Butler.” But this is why the audience can relate. This is why we can sympathize with someone who is really just a monstrous serial killer. We all have skeletons we prefer to keep in the closet. Still, it troubles me I am rooting for him, hoping he will catch Arthur, rationalizing his urge to kill. It is testimony to how well this show is written and performed that they are able to pull that off. On to the season finale we go!

Dexter 4x10

Dexter has followed Arthur to an amusement arcade. Arthur follows a young woman with two kids. Is the cycle starting anew? Dex briefly loses sight of Arthur, who kidnaps a boy. What is going on? Dex rushes to the parking lot, but is too late. Arthur calls “Kyle” that he doesn’t appreciate being followed – and promises he will “preserve the boy’s innocence.” He takes the boy to a basement, addressing him as “Arthur,” while playing with a toy train. The boy, Scott, asks for food, but Arthur won’t give him any unless he puts on the pajamas he laid out for him. The kid refuses, wanting to return to his parents. Later, Arthur talks about his sister, and Scott says he is sorry. He can call him “Arthur,” he puts on the pajamas, and they can play trains some more. Arthur mixes a sedative into an ice cream cup, promising he will take him home after he’s finished. At his lab, Dex researches lost boy cases and discovers that the “Trinity Killer” always started his cycle with a boy about ten years old. Lundy misread the pattern, for missing children are never reported as homicide. In his morbid ritual, Arthur begins with a boy, to “preserve his innocence,” indeed. Through a hint from Jonah, Dex is searching empty houses in hopes of finding Arthur before it is too late. Eventually he finds the location, but Arthur has already left with the boy. At the Four Walls building site, Arthur is about to hide Scott’s body in cement. After a quick scuffle, Dex knocks him out, saves the boy from the cement, still alive, but Arthur has fled.

Deb is such an excellent cop. She noticed something was off with Christine. She was the first reporter to arrive on the scene of Lundy’s death, in full make-up, at 5:20am, barely fifteen minutes after the shooting was dispatched on the police scanner, and she asked Deb how horrible it was to look the man she loved in the eyes as he breathed his last breath – something only her colleagues knew (and Quinn never spoke about it to her). Under the pretence of the “hero interview,” she plans to interrogate Christine, while Batista looks on from the monitor. Christine dodges Debra’s questions uneasily. She’s clearly lying. They have to be careful, now that they have raised her suspicion, as she hasn’t been accused of anything just yet. Once out of the police station, she calls her father, who denies her request to see him. Deb pleads with Quinn to get Christine’s toothbrush for DNA testing. He is livid that they are even considering that she may have shot Deb and killed Lundy. Why would she? Still, he relents and Masuka tests the DNA to discover she is related to the “Trinity Killer.” Christine confronts her father in a parking lot that she saw him murder a woman in a bathtub when she was a child, that she has pieced together the patterns of his killing cycle through the postcards he sent her, and that she killed Lundy to protect him. Expecting him to visit her again, she answers the door. Deb, Quinn and Batista take her into custody.

Dexter 4x09

Dexter is watching from his car as Arthur breaks his son’s trophies. Jonah rushes out and drives off in his car. Curious, Dex follows him only to see Jonah bash the convertible with his baseball bat. He wishes “Kyle” had just let his father die – everyone is terrified of him. At the office, Deb tells Dex she believes it wasn’t the “Trinity Killer” who shot her and killed Lundy. The news confuses him. Now he has less reason to murder Arthur. Thanksgiving is next day. Dex invites Deb, who is reluctant to leave Lundy’s files, but she relents – later inviting Masuka along, too. Quinn is still playing cat-and-mouse with Christine. While complaining about her to Deb, she walks into the office with some pecan pie. She offers Deb her sympathies for watching Lundy die before her. Deb later notices that all the “Trinity Killer” deaths occurred around school vacations.

Flirty Elliot is helping Rita prepare Turkey dinner, while Dexter uses the excuse of work to visit Arthur. There, the family is rife with tension, despite the happy holiday. The daughter, Rebecca, is confined to her room behind lock and key – and once released tries to seduce “Kyle” into taking her away. Jonah arrives late on the scene. Arthur is livid when he sees the car – and once inside breaks one of Jonah’s fingers in an unguarded moment. Before the meal, Arthur invites his family to recite what they are thankful for and notices that no one mentions they are thankful for him. Jonah gets up and argues he is not thankful at all. He smashes Vera’s urn. Arthur starts to choke him. Dexter grabs him from behind and nearly kills Arthur in front of his family, a kitchen knife ready behind his back. He restrains himself and rushes out.

Meanwhile at the Morgans, Masuka is horrified to see Elliot kiss Rita. Without telling why, Masuka wants to leave, but Deb promises booze. Then Dex arrives home and receives an unusually enthusiastic welcome from a guilt-ridden Rita. (My patience is running out with her, always chiding Dex, while she’s no picture of perfection herself. I should sympathize with her that she would be devastated if she found out about Dexter’s “Dark Passenger,” but I cannot.) Cody asks Deb if she saw Lundy die, which reminds her of Christine’s remark. How could she have known if she wasn’t there? Angrily she calls Quinn, but he says he learned his lesson and never spoke about the case with Christine. Quinn leaves Christine. There’s a knock on her door. Expecting Joey came back, she opens the door, seeing Arthur Mitchell. “Hi, dad,” she says startled. Wow, what a revelation! Now I must see the next episode!

Dexter 4x08

Dexter made a mistake: he killed an innocent man, and let a guilty man live. Will he learn from his mistake? At Miami Metro, Debra briefs her colleagues about the bludgeoning cases. Taking a lead from her brother, she found that all the victims point to a smudge of ash. There’s a stray photo in her presentation of a bathtub murder. LaGuerta encourages her to explain Lundy’s theory about the “Trinity Killer” – and takes Deb off the case when it transpires that the killer may have shot Lundy because he was getting too close. Angel and Maria cannot constrain their feelings for each other, and make love one night in the briefing room. Cute Christine continues to beg Quinn for some leads, as she’s afraid to lose her job. She confronts Deb, too, who deflects her questions by offering the “hero interview” she has been begging for. A while later Deb notices from her bullet wound that the trajectory was straight. Masuka confirms that the “Trinity Killer” could not have shot her from that angle. Someone shorter must have fired the gun. With the conflict of interest removed, LaGuerta reinstates Debra to lead the investigation. But despite the random DNA swabs taken throughout the city, they are no nearer identifying the serial killer.

Dex visits Arthur and his family, and notices more cracks in the perfectly happy family. When he hears Arthur is going on an out-of-town trip, he worries the “Trinity Killer” is about to start his next ritualistic cycle. He comes up with some bogus excuse to join Arthur in Tampa, a meteorology conference, and gets permission from LaGuerta. The next day “Kyle” urges Arthur to take him along, claiming he is disturbed about something, and Arthur reluctantly agrees. On the road, Arthur presses “Kyle” to confess, and he tells him he killed someone. He thought he was an animal. Arthur assumes it was a hunting accident, and consoles him that his sense of guilt proves he has a conscious. At home, neighborly Elliot is openly flirting with Rita in Dex’ absence. She is clearly uneasy – but I cannot help finding her annoying.

The day after, instead of going to the Four Wall build, Arthur takes “Kyle” to his childhood home. Stomping past the baffled owners, he shows him the bathroom where it all began. As a ten-year old, he was innocently looking on while his sister Vera took a shower. Startled, she slipped, shattering the glass door and slicing her femoral artery. She was dead before the ambulance arrived. Arthur’s parents blamed him; his mother committed suicide; his alcoholic father was beaten to death. Arthur is excited he could finally tell anyone, so many years later. At night, Dexter prepares to kill Arthur, but finds he’s already left for the Four Wall site at 4:45am. He is about to jump to his death. Is this the lesson about remorse, he was supposed to learn from him? Is that the solution to his monstrous urges? But he cannot let Arthur die this way, and saves his life. Arthur pleads to consider the incident an accident and never talk about it again. “To err is human,” he tells him. “Wait, does that make me human?” Dexter wonders to himself, “huh.”

Dexter 4x07

We are just over halfway season four, and the seventh episode is appropriately titled “Slack Tide” – the stillness between ebb and flood. While sailing with Deb, Rita and the kids, Dexter gets called to a crime scene: a female arm found inside an alligator. Through fingerprints, they are able to identify the woman as an illegal immigrant who was working as a cocktail waitress and model. Since her photographer, Jonathan Farrow, was previously accused of rape and known for his violently disturbing images, he is immediately suspected. During interrogation he is defiant and even offers to roughen Deb up a bit. Dex moves him to the top of his list. Miami Metro cannot get a search warrant, due to lack of probable cause, but Batista has already found the names of three other models who have gone missing. Dex searches Farrow’s studio for clues and finds indications of blood and a finger nail that fits the severed arm. Enough evidence for Dexter.

Meanwhile, cute Christine continues begging for an interview with Deb, but Dex brushes her off. Debra is more interested in returning to the “Trinity Killer” and honor his memory. She only pitches the bludgeoning cases, afraid the rest will sound too crazy, and LaGuerta gives her permission to resume the investigation. Although no longer much of a priority for her, Deb is still interested talking to former informants of her father to find out about his affairs. She hears that he actually picked up snitches based on how good they were in bed. She tells Dex about it and he advises her to let it go. He takes his mother’s file and puts it through the paper shredder. At the last minute he takes out her photo: he can’t bring himself to let her be cut up again. Quinn has been having beef with Dex ever since Dex saw him steal money from a crime scene. He’s been getting on his case, wondering where Dex is all the time, even tailing him. I hope they’re not going to take this the route of Sgt. Doakes.

Dex joins Arthur for a trip to the woods. “Two serial killers go for a ride,” Dex quips to himself, but this isn’t a start of a good joke. It would be the perfect opportunity to kill the “Trinity Killer,” but Dex still feels that he can learn more from Arthur about living a “normal” life. Instead he finds that Arthur has dramatic mood swings, gets agitated easily, but is unable to kill a deer that leaped in front of his car. Dex also learns from Arthur that parents should prepare their children for their future, pushing them out in the open, and encouraging their hobbies, which will also offer the parents time off. Cody is happy to join the young sailors club, but Astor doesn’t like any of Dex’ suggestions. It does score him brownie points with Rita for his involvement. But, now he has to take Cody and his friends out on a camping trip. At night, Dex sneaks out and catches Farrow for his vigilant ritual.

The “Trinity Killer” seems to be punishing himself. First he provoked a fight in a dark alley behind a bar. Now he’s planing the wood he and Dexter fell on their trip. But what is he making? He said he was going to use the wood for his next Four Walls build, but why bring that to his own garage? Arthur is actually making a coffin, but for whom? The morning after murdering Farrow, Dex arrives at work to find that Batista and Quinn have arrested Farrow’s assistant for the murder of at least the latest model. Their case is airtight (which I find a little contrived, just a weekend has passed...). But what was bound to happen one day eventually did: Dexter killed an innocent man who did not even attack him! Slack Tide is over. Dex has been putting off killing Arthur, instead spending his time murdering Farrow.

Dexter 4x06

Arthur Mitchell is a husband, father of two, school teacher, church deacon and charity worker – an exemplary citizen of his community, living the perfect life – by day, and a serial killer by night. Dexter is inching closer and closer, but is too intrigued by Arthur’s seemingly happy family that he cannot take his life just yet. He wants to learn from him – plus the “Trinity Killer” finished his latest cycle. So, the urgency is gone – as long as Miami Metro won’t catch the killer first. Eventually, Dexter introduces himself to Arthur as “Kyle Butler.” Arthur invites him to his charity building project, Four Walls. At his own home, Rita demands that they see a therapist to talk about his compulsive lying. The therapist in a way berates Rita for expecting that Dexter would change, if she thought he lied, cheated, and used drugs before. Rita remains distant and Dex doesn’t know what to do. Taking a lead from Arthur, he buys Rita and the kids present. Rita just schedules another session. There, Dex talks about his mother’s murder and confesses that he is afraid Rita will leave him, too, if he opens up emotionally. I am still disturbed that I empathize with Dexter, and continue to find Rita unsympathetic.

At the latest crime scene, Dexter discovers a smudge on the wall. The killer deliberately had his victim point at it. Later, Masuka discovers two strains of DNA – from the ash as well as the saliva – and they are related! Dex researches Arthur’s family history, and learns that his sister Vera died in a bathtub accident, his mother Marsha jumped to her death, and his father Henry was beaten to death in an alley: Arthur is recreating his family deaths with his ritualistic cycles! Dex finds an excuse to visit Arthur’s home and notices Four Walls trophy plaques all in locations where the “Trinity Killer” struck. Arthur also keeps an urn with Vera’s ashes. He is hiding in plain sight. Arthur is angry to see “Kyle” near Vera’s urn, but calms down and confides that his family saved him. He had to jump in with both feet. As a present he gives “Kyle” a framing hammer, the murder weapon of his last victim! It is engrossing how Dex is looking up to Arthur. Clearly cracks are appearing in Arthur’s perfect family.

Meanwhile, Miami Metro has arrested Johnny Rose’s girlfriend, Nicky. She shot him after reading about his syphilis. During the interrogation she admits they were responsible for the “Vacation Murders,” but denies they shot Lundy or Debra. Deb wants an answer and confronts Nicky in her cell, but she still denies she shot Lundy and her. Then Deb discovers that some of Lundy’s evidence was taken from his hotel room. She suspects that Nicky is telling the truth – and that the “Trinity Killer” must have shot them because they were getting too close. Angel and Maria are still struggling with their relationship – and the possible career consequences. Maria would hate to see Angel leave homicide, so she requests a transfer to press liaison. Now it’s Angel who doesn’t want her to sacrifice her career for him. So they sign affidavits that their relation has ended. They’re told that there will be severe consequences if they continue this charade. Although Quinn has managed to keep Christine from talking about his work, she does ask him to arrange an interview with Deb. She wants to run a hero piece on her. All her charm fails to convince Quinn as he refuses. Other highly entertaining episode – I cannot wait for the next one!

Dexter 4x05

Dexter rushes to the scene where the paramedics are just about to rush Deb to the hospital. Frank Lundy’s lifeless body is still lying on the ground. Dex is frantic – if his sister dies, he’ll be lost. They’re suspecting it was another case of the “Vacation Murders,” but Dex is sure it’s not. Why kill Lundy and leave Deb alive? Christine arrives, offering support to a reluctant Quinn, but Batista jumps on the occasion urging her to print a story on the “Vacation Murders” suspects, and that the man, Johnny Rose has an untreatable case of syphilis. Before going to the hospital, Dex snatches some of Lundy’s evidence on the “Trinity Killer.” Once Deb comes to, Dex immediately asks her police-type questions. Then Anton rushes in and she tells him it’s over. She slept with Lundy. After she’s released (remarkably fast for someone who just got shot), she stays with Dex and Rita. She cannot be on her own now that she broke up with Anton. Admittedly, I am rooting for Dexter to get his hands on this sick psychopath who kills innocent people in cold blood to satisfy his morbid urges – easily ignoring Dex is just as terrible, despite his vigilant Code.

Meanwhile, Rita received a call from Dex’ landlord, despite the fact he told her he gave up the lease. She caught him lying – again. He tries talking his way out of it, but she puts it off, because of Deb. Dex worries that he will lose control over his Dark Passenger if he can no longer compartmentalize his different personas. Later, Dex finds Rita in his apartment. She was afraid he was using drugs or having an affair (again), and is perturbed how easy it is for him to lie. We should sympathize with her – if only she knew who the real Dexter is behind the mask – but I can only wish she stops bothering him. I start rationalizing his behavior, understanding that he cannot help being the monster that he is, and admiring his efforts to reign in the worst. Then there is Batista, who is upset to learn that LaGuerta officiated their relationship as office policy requires. Top brass, moreover, decides it’s better to transfer Batista to avoid complications if ever the two need to stand witness in a case. I still find their cat-and-mouse game a little tiresome. I am glad, though, that Quinn returned to his cutie Christine – and laid down some rules about their pillow talk.

For his part, the “Trinity Killer” has purchased a new framing hammer and then stakes out the building by pretending to be an interested renter. Dexter has been going through Lundy’s recordings and still has no clue how to recognize the serial killer. Then he realizes Lundy’s last tape must have been on him when he got shot and must have been taken into police evidence. He handily snatches it from custody. Now he has Lundy’s description of the chance encounter he had, giving Dex enough to recognize the man who shot his sister. When Dexter comes to the site, the “Trinity Killer” is already hammering his ritualistic way. Dex is too late, but is able to follow him to his house. Surprisingly, the “Trinity Killer” has a wife and family to greet him happily. “He is ... like me,” Dexter mutters. How marvelous this show is! We’re not even halfway through the season. The “Trinity Killer” has completed his cycle. He can return to the safety of his “normal” life, confident there is no evidence to implicate him. Or is there?