I’ve been delaying reviewing Dexter this week because I wasn’t sure how I felt about the episode. Originally, I had negative feelings centered around the return of Deb’s confession of love for Dexter. Y’all know how I felt about that whole mess last season. But a few days put things back in perspective, and there was a lot to like about the episode.
The thing is, I never, ever expected the writers to just completely drop that brother-sister love story thread. It wasn’t going to happen. You don’t introduce something like that and never deal with it again, even if the reaction from viewers is negative. Even though I was happy it hadn’t resurfaced yet this season, I never really expected it to stay that way.
So, given the inevitability of this storyline’s return, I think it was handled in the least angering way possible. They gave us seven episodes with no mention of it, which was best for both Deb and the viewers. For viewers, it gave us a chance to become engrossed in this season without being reminded of how stupid that storyline was. For Deb as a character, she needed to be completely caught up in her disgust about Dexter’s secret pastime. It would have been even more ridiculous for her to still harbor feelings for him after that revelation.
And once her feelings were brought up, they didn’t exist anymore. Deb doesn’t love Dexter anymore, and while I’m angry that this whole thing has ruined their brother/sister relationship, at least we don’t have to deal with her still having those feelings. So all things considered, I think the damage from that storyline was as minimal as possible. (So far, anyway.)
The Hannah storyline was a good way to deal with that unresolved storyline, because the only thing worse than Dexter refusing to kill for Deb was refusing because he’s sleeping with the woman she hates so much.
And bringing Astor and Cody back into the picture, albeit temporarily, was a good way to add another wrinkle of complication into Dexter’s twisted relationship with Hannah.
But what made this episode good were the other things. Dexter’s interactions with Isaak were stellar, and I am finally on board with that storyline. And LaGuerta is really closing in on him now, which is adding immensely to the suspense.
Things are falling apart around Dexter, and it’s all his fault. Deb’s a wreck, Astor is a much darker person than she likely would be if she still had a mother, and LaGuerta is on his tail. Dexter thinks he has everything under control but he doesn’t. I’m looking forward to seeing where the final four episodes take us.
What did you guys think of this episode?
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