Well, well, well. We got some very interesting reveals during tonight’s episode of Dexter, one of which confirmed a significant theory, and another which opens up a bunch of questions about a certain character. This week’s episode also turned out to be a blood bath... or shower. Gross. More on that and other spoilers from tonight’s episode after the jump!
He was dead the whole time!
I know I’m not alone in having given a lot of thought to the theory that Gellar was all in Travis’ head. Well, maybe not all in his head. We knew there was a real Gellar out there somewhere, but the one Travis was seeing never seemed to interact with anyone other than Travis. Once the theory was out there, and I won’t try to take credit for it, it was hard not to notice the little things. Take tonight’s episode. When Travis spotted Gellar from the car, Dexter had his eyes closed and never actually saw Gellar go into the building. Moments like that were happening all season. It only became obvious once the theory existed. Having it in mind killed the surprise, but at least we know for sure. We also know that the real Gellar is in a freezer in the basement of the church. It’s probably safe to assume Travis put him there, though he doesn’t seem to be aware that Gellar is dead and that he’s been operating alone. Crazy (literally).
Moving past the big reveal at the end of tonight’s episode, a big part of the focus was on Dexter trying to give Travis a second chance. Before learning that Travis is, for all intents and purposes, Gellar, it seemed like Dexter viewed Travis as a man who needed a Harry. Except, instead of being the Harry that didn’t believe Travis had any chance of living a normal life, he was taking a new route in trying to wipe Travis’ slate clean. The conversation Dexter had in the car with Travis about clean slates, which also included Travis explaining that enacting the Book of Revelations with all of their acts would bring about the “new world,” may clue us in to what’s really going on in Dexter’s mind.
Last week, Dexter did confession with a senile priest. The priest absolved him of his sins, essentially wiping Dexter’s slate clean. Tonight Dexter seemed very focus on giving Travis a new start, but maybe what he’s looking for is his own chance for a new beginning. So far, his body count since receiving confession is zero. At some point, a choice to kill may need to be made and it’ll be interesting to see if he hesitates. Perhaps Travis will be his clean slate in the way killing Gellar and ending the murders was supposed to be Travis’...
Bowls of Wrath... and blood
We can probably assume that when Dexter was trapped in an elevator, Travis killed Professor Casey, a published atheist college educator. It’s likely he strung him up and then returned later to lay him out and set up the blood-bowl booby-trap that later left Deb, Dexter, Masuka and others drenched in blood. He then returned to his own hotel room, redecorated the bathroom with bloody words and a severed hand, then blacked out. That’s DDK’s contribution to tonight’s episode. The fact that Travis has no idea he did it only makes it all the more bizarre.
Deb’s Therapy
Tonight, Deb learned that Dexter is a chair and he’ll never be a table. I think that means she needs to accept that he isn’t going to open up to her. If that’s the case, good, because she probably couldn’t handle whatever might spill out if Dexter were to open up to her. Then again, I may not be giving Deb enough credit there.
In digging a little bit deeper, Deb’s therapist got her to talk about a whole mess of issues, all of which, when you add them together, do a fine job of showing just how strong Deb is, when you really think about it. Her parents are dead. She was engaged to a man who turned out to be a serial killer, and in love with a man who was shot and bled out in front of her eyes. It’s easy to see why she’s so easily on edge. It also makes the inevitable reveal to her that Dexter is a serial killer seem almost cruel. Given everything she’s been through, could she really deal with that too? He’s the one constant in her life.
LaGuerta
Deb is re-opening the investigation on Jessica Morris, the girl who overdosed. All worked up after therapy, Deb stood up to LaGuerta and essentially challenged her to fire her or stand back and let her re-open the investigation. LaGuerta wasn’t able to argue back without looking suspicious. As it turns out, she’s covering for Matthews, who was apparently the man who was soliciting Ms. Morris' services, and the one who broke her bone trying to revive her after she OD'ed. It’s not like he murdered her, but considering she’s a prostitute, it’s definitely bad press and probably career-ruining. If Matthews goes down, does LaGuerta go down with him, or does she rise up once again? Given how Matthews was blackmailed by LaGuerta at the start of this season, you would've thought he'd put his corrupt behavior on hold for a little while. Guess not.
Louis
Louis has the hand! He has the hand! We know Masuka had Louis trying to get the Ice Truck Killer mannequin-hand back from the seller and he claimed he couldn’t do it. Either he was the original buyer, or he managed to get the hand back and just lied to Masuka. Either way, that’s some shady business. What does it mean? Why does he have it?
This adds a whole new layer of creepy to the guy, who, until tonight, was coming off as a little off but mostly harmless. Of course, tonight also happened to be the night when he took Masuka’s advice and made a (new) move on Jaime, despite Batista’s orders to back off.
Quinn
Speaking of Batista, he and Quinn came to blows over and argument over whose life was worse. This came after Quinn had to track down the home of the waffle-house waitress he hooked up with because he left his gun and his phone in her car. These two guys needs to get it together, stat. I’m not sure what was worse, Quinn’s drunken hook-up or him and Batista rolling around in the grass together like two kids.
Random quotes
“When it comes to matters of the heart, always follow your dick,” Masuka’s words of wisdom on the subject of love.
“I hate to root against my own team but I want a shot at Gellar first,” says Dexter. This statement sounds like a recycled line from just about every season of the series in some form or another. He’s always trying to get to the bad guy first.
Final question... What’s the deal with the guy at Harrison’s school? Just another dad? Or a predatory weirdo destined for Dexter’s table? Seems like Dexter’s kill-count is a bit low this season...
