One big happy family? Masuka may have the “big” part right but “happy” seems like a stretch. Things continued to unravel tonight as Dexter attempted to resolve the Lumen situation and other things took a really disgusting turn for Deb’s Santa Muerte case.
De-Lumenated. Almost.
Dexter nearly got Lumen to return to Minnesota and put Miami and the whole rape incident behind her.
Considering he kills people as a hobby, it amazes me to see how kind Dexter can be. Or maybe kindness is a stretch. Sure, he offered to be a shoulder for Lumen as he was the only person who knew what happened to her, but I think the better term to describe Dexter might be patient. For someone like him, who’s unstable by nature and whose life is already in pieces, it would probably be very easy for him to snap and just kill Lumen. Fear that she might turn him in and his added worry that Harrison would be without both parents might be enough to throw him into self-preservation mode, decide that Lumen is beyond saving and throw the switch on her. I think we’d all hate for it to come to that but it’s worth pointing out that it hasn’t as it shows that even when things are scattered and the rhythm of his life is completely out of whack, Dexter’s still somewhat in control of who he is. He decides who he kills and the code still matters.
After talking with her about her returning to Miami, he returned to Boyd’s house to try to find some clue as to who the other killers are. His only lead was a letter from Boyd’s old prison cellmate, Robert. He tracked the man down to some bridge where convicted pedophiles crash. He found the guy and brought him to the kill room he had set up for Boyd only to back out of the kill when Harry reminded him that the man said he was on parole. Sure enough, Robert was wearing an ankle bracelet, which meant he couldn’t have been part of Lumen’s rape.
Dexter knew that Lumen’s investigation was leading her in the same direction, which is why he was able to stop her just as she was aiming to shoot Robert. He managed to convince her that he’s not one of the guys that hurt her and somehow got her to the airport. Of course, he didn’t account for the metal detector going off.
Lumen was subjected to a pat-down at the security area of the airport. I’ll admit, having stood for one of those myself while at the airport, they’re awkward but for someone like her, who’s recently been through the ordeal she has and can’t even have the closest thing she could call a friend touch her, a pat-down might trigger the worst kinds of memories. So, it’s no real surprise that she decided to stay in Miami, if only so she could figure out how to cleanse herself of the whole traumatic situation and maybe someday be able to return to her parents.
Short of accompanying her to Minnesota, Dexter did everything he could to get her out of Miami and while he was inwardly squirming about the whole situation, he gets points for handling Lumen with delicate (but fortunately for her, not gloved) fingers. Dexter also gets points for listening to Harry before going through with killing Robert. That guy may be shady enough to be worthy of the code but that would require further research on Dexter’s part. Seeing him take a step back, breath and make a choice was reassuring.
“Is there darkness in Harrison or is it my own fear reflected back?”
Tonight’s episode began and ended by addressing Dexter’s continued concerns over Harrison’s mental state. While the counselor said the likelihood of the baby being affected by witnessing his mother’s murder was slim, Dexter was still on the lookout for signs that the little guy might be headed toward the dark side. Harrison being the prime suspect for a face-scratching incident, which took place under the big parachute during a Mommy-and-Me session fueled Dexter’s fears.
In the end, he decided to chalk the incident up to babies being babies and when he overheard some women gossiping about Harrison and what happened to Rita, he declared that there was nothing wrong with his son.
He’s probably right. I can’t imagine Harrison being capable of making a conscious choice to hurt someone at such a young age. Still, I loved that Dexter didn’t let his own insecurities get the best of him in the end. He might continue to worry about Harrison but that doesn’t mean he needs to stand by and listen to gossipy women talk about his family (within earshot, anyway).
“Tell Masuka and Dexter that they need to bring a bug kit… and some fucking crackers.”
Deb and Officer Manzon continued on the Santa Muerte investigation. Questioning the kid who had his neck sliced open resulted in them tracking down some leads involving what they thought was a tattoo (that turned out to be a night club hand stamp) and a house with two rotting corpses that were being devoured by flies and maggots. Talk of a bug kit made me think of Bones.
Deb realized the “tattoo” was a night club stamp, which means she finally has a lead, though I suspect it’ll take more than just staking the place out to find the killers. And this sequence of events brought Dexter back to work, which was nice even it wasn’t the typical blood-spattered crime scene.
“I will call you in the morning, Joseph.”
Dexter now knows about Quinn and Deb. This, after he walked in on them hanging out on the couch. There’s no love lost between Dexter and Quinn as Dexter barely masked his unhappiness at seeing Quinn in his living room. To make things somewhat worse, Quinn made a remark about the gloves Dexter had hanging out of his pocket, which were tucked there after he returned Robert back to his bridge-mattress. Sloppy, Dexter!
Amusingly enough, Quinn actually attempted to kiss Deb good night, only to have her pull away from him. Less amusingly, it seems Quinn has enlisted the help of a crooked, recently-busted cop to help him investigate Dexter. The cop in question was one taken down with the help of LaGuerta, who consented to participate in a sting with Internal Affairs in exchange for things being smoothed over with Batista’s situation. This explains Jim’s remark about her reputation, but it’s sad to think LaGuerta had to use that slice of her reputation even if it was for a sting (as opposed to an affair).
And for a random theory out of this, based on the way the bad-cop acted in the bar, I’m going to go out on a limb here and say that maybe he will be the one to take the bullet for Quinn in this whole mess (once the whole situation comes to a head). He seems to be set up that way as he’s recently been ousted by the police and he acted like kind of a jerk at the bar (and sort of creepy too). Maybe I’m over-reading things but I don’t see things ending well for the guy if he tries to get dirt on Dexter.
Masuka-love
Masuka’s been getting some of the funniest moments this season. If this keeps up, this could become a regular section to my weekly recap…
“The dragon lady represents the dualities of my inner warrior.” – said by Masuka to describe the giant tattoo on his back. I also noted that the dragon-lady’s tail hooked around his waist to his front.
“Tramp stamp. I think I’m in love.” – Masuka, watching a thong-ed woman get a tattoo.
“She’s into needles. Why don’t you show her your dick?” – Deb, never missing a beat.
Michael Angelo
Speaking of Masuka, what was up with his tattoo artist and Deb? Was it me or was the woman sort of flirting with Deb? Or maybe she really just wants to draw on her. Either way, I think we’ll be seeing more of her.
Finally, next week’s episode looks amazing.
