Dexter Watch: Season 6, Episode 6 - Just Let Go

Tonight’s episode of Dexter touched on an interesting subject. Much in the way that faith is an area that’s gone relatively unexplored by Dexter, forgiveness is another. Tonight, Dexter was faced with a choice to forgive and “just let go,” or give in to his dark passenger. His decision prompted a very interesting little twist at the end of the episode.

“I know about your darkness, but I also see your light.”
Dexter is not really a vengeance killer. Sure, on the surface, that’s what it looks like, but vengeance has always been more or less a justification for feeding his inner demon. The code, set by his father, was put in place to channel Dexter’s thirst for blood. Of course, we’ve seen him kill for his own personal reasons before, but the code always played its part. Tonight, for what might be the first time, Dexter was given reason not to kill, despite the fact that his target not only fit the code, but also made a murder victim out of a friend.

I don’t usually figure out the episode’s big secret early on, so I was pleased with myself to call Nick as the killer from the moment the dog started barking. Nick’s awkwardness during the vigil, added to the fact that we were intentionally not shown Brother Sam’s shooter’s face, had me thinking Leo Hernandez was the wrong guy. After all, if the shooter was someone we weren’t familiar with, why hide his face? Dexter’s instincts told him something wasn’t right with the Hernandez situation and after examining the bullet and making a connection with another bullet, he figured out that Nick was the shooter. He confirmed it with Brother Sam when the man woke up. Sam’s injuries were bad though and he died, but not before confirming that Nick was the shooter and urging Dexter to let it go. Brother Sam truly was a changed man. And, as Harry had suggested earlier, he did see Dexter’s darkness and his light.

Brother Sam was clearly much further down the path to redemption than Dexter is. While Sam could forgive Nick, Dexter couldn’t. It’s possible that Dexter would have been able to bring himself to let Nick go, had Nick agreed to turn himself in, but Nick’s tears turned to laughter when he realized there were no living witnesses. I guess he didn’t consider that Dexter reporting that Brother Sam’s final words included declaring Nick his killer might prompt the cops to launch an investigation, regardless of whether or not Dexter’s word held up in court. His glee over thinking he was getting away with it set Dexter’s rage off. And that’s what it was. Dexter could have knocked Nick out somehow and dragged him off to perform his usual style of ritualistic murder, but he didn’t. He lost it completely, launching himself at Nick and drowning him. That was Dexter’s dark passenger in its rawest form.

Interestingly enough, when he turned around, instead of seeing Harry, he saw his brother Brian (aka Rudy, aka The Ice Truck Killer). So what does this mean? Is Brian/Rudy the new Harry? Is Dexter’s inner voice going to be that of a fellow murderer? If that’s the case, I think we need Brother Sam to show up as the angel on Dexter’s shoulder.

“I could give a fuck who you fuck. Just don’t fuck with my investigation, you fuck.”
Leave it to Deb to find four different uses for the F-word in one statement. As expected, Quinn having sex with a person of interest came back to bite him in the behind. Professor Porter was called in to Miami Metro to talk more about her dealings with Professor Gellar after a ritualistic-looking naked picture of her with a lamb surfaced. While she was being questioned, she used the fact that she slept with Quinn as proof that she’s no longer involved with Professor Gellar. Naturally, Deb flipped out over that, and I’m thinking about 80% of that anger was genuinely geared toward how Quinn’s idiotic decision would affect the Doomsday investigation. I think about 10% of it was anger that he could be so stupid, because she knows he knows better. And the other 10% was hurt and disappointment.

Quinn later showed up at Deb’s housewarming party drunk and asked her if she ever loved him. The fact that she didn’t say yes is telling, but I don’t think it means the answer is no. Maybe I’m wrong, but I get the impression that she’s so frustrated with him that she can’t bring herself to tell him that she did or does love him right now. Given how he’s been behaving since their break-up, that would make sense.

Deb’s also dealing with loneliness. As the new lieutenant, she’s set above everyone she used to count as friends. Batista and Masuka won’t chat it up with her at the water-cooler anymore, LaGuerta’s only good for pressuring her about work, Quinn’s drunk and covered in bar-chicks all the time, and Dexter’s barely around. That leaves Deb with only the in-house psychiatrist to talk to. She’s been doing just that, too.

Doomsday Update
It appears Professor Gellar and Travis believe they’ve cracked some code in Revelations, which is leading to the end of the world.. Tonight’s episode had Travis put in charge of the “whore,” who he inevitably let go, despite spending part of the episode possibly planning to brand her with the alpha/omega sign and possibly behead her, he let her go. His mercy most likely came from learning she had a son, and paying a visit to his sister. Maybe the “whore” reminded him of her. Regardless, Gellar probably won’t be pleased with this.

Randomness
Travis is draining and jarring his own blood. He keeps the jars in the fridge where he puts the bologna and bread he was feeding his whore-prisoner. Is it weird that I find the bologna to be grosser than jars of human blood?

Masuka’s new intern, whose name I still don’t know, is apparently just interning to get an inside look into homicide investigation for a video game he’s designing. He seems to think Dexter’s some kind of forensics rock-star.

That brings me to the most amusing lines of the night:

“This is Miami fuckin’ Metro. We’re all fuckin’ rock stars.” - Masuka

“The tat... above her ass... I was in the vicinity...” - Quinn

Next week: Trinity is back! Of course, Deb doesn’t know the real Trinity is dead, but Dexter does. Could Trinity’s son be picking up where his father left off by killing his mother and sister?