Watching this week's episode of Dexter, it occurred to me that all of this business with Isaak, Deb and Hannah might just be a triple-distraction for what's really happening here. Because while Dexter continues to play with fire, there's another little side-plot brewing that could have devastating consequences.
Sure, Isaak could kill Dexter. Hannah might poison him over breakfast. And Deb might turn him in. These are all issues we've been seeing Dexter deal with all season. And all the while, LaGuerta has been looking into the Bay Harbor Butcher case. It's not like we didn't know that this investigation might lead her to Dexter. That's the whole point of the arc to begin with. She's dredging up a seasons-old seemingly resolved mystery that could unload a world of trouble on Dexter if she makes the connection she's starting to make. But we're really only get one little sliver of that story each week, so with everything else that's going on, we might not really notice just how close LaGuerta is getting to Dexter's trail. Last week we saw her spot Dexter's name on some harbor log. Today, she discovered that Dexter once had a slip at the Harbor where all of the BHB bodies were found. And at the end of the episode, there she was, standing next to the Slice of Life. Dexter's body disposal vehicle.
I'm thinking that right now, her mind has settled on the idea that Dexter could be the real Bay Harbor Butcher. I'd guess that she's somewhere between considering it and believing it, though she may still only be in the considering phase. Now it's just a matter of connecting the dots. And let's face it. There are dots. If Dexter's face was in those wedding photos, his finger prints are elsewhere too (probably mostly figuratively since he usually wears gloves). No one's ever thought to look for them before, but now LaGuerta's eyes are opening. Where is this going? Is this something that's going to get snuffed out on its own? Or are we looking at the start of the real issue for this season. Beyond pretty blonde killers, step-sisters with romantic feelings and pissed off Ukranians, there's a cop who's quietly picking up Dexter's scent. And if LaGuerta thinks it's Dexter, what are the odds she's going to mention this to Deb? I'm thinking Deb's out of this loop going forward, and given how things with she and Dexter left off, she might be ok with that for a little while.
So let's look at Dexter's relationships as they were presented tonight.
Dexter and the kids
Hey, remember Cody and Astor? Rita's two kids went to live with their grandparents and got busy getting taller in the process. I'll admit, I haven't exactly missed them, but it's nice that the show acknowledges their existence once in a while. Grandpa's sick, so Dexter took them (and Harrison) back. And since he has Isaak on his tail (more on that later), he put them up at Deb's place. During the visit, we learned that Harrison likes macaroni and cheese and that Astor's into pot smoking these days. So much so that she carries a big bag of weed with her while on family outings. Dexter and Hannah
Dexter and Hannah were in an awkward place when things got going during "Argentina," which just so happens to be Hannah's dream location. Are they seeing each other? Is it just the occasional booty call between one murderer and another? Neither seemed sure at first, but there were a few key conversations in the episode that indicate they're getting serious. Dexter told Hannah about his kids, which was a big step, since he seemed to be keeping that from her. He also mentioned his problems with Isaak. Hannah suggested he approach Isaak like he does his other victims. Meaning, look into the guy and figure out what makes him tick. (Again, more on that later.) The episode left off with the two of them embracing. It seems like he's falling for her. Or maybe it goes with what Isaak said about being with someone you don't have to pretend with. With Hannah, he can be himself. The weird, thing is, he's sort of getting that with Deb too. She's accepting him. And she won't try to kill him. But right now, he seems to prefer the woman who isn't his sister.
Maybe it's her see-through shirts. Seriously, does Hannah have shirts that aren't transparent? I doubt anyone's complaining. Just a random observation.
Dexter and Isaak
There were a couple of bizarre turns of events between these two. Isaak tried to kill Dexter while he was picking up some donuts. Seems like it's been a while since we've seen Dexter do a donut run. Isaak's drive-by was a major fail, but there are some donuts that won't be eaten thanks to his bad aim.
George is apparently fed up with Isaak's vendetta against Dexter and considers him a liability at this point. A plan was in place for Isaak to be killed, but Dexter interfered with that. Plotting his own murder, he went to Viktor's place to kill Isaak and found another murderer there waiting to do the job. The awkwardness was almost funny. Then Dexter slashed the guy's throat and left him there. Isaak wasn't blind what happened. And just as Dexter lured Isaak into a bar once, Isaak turned the tables on Dexter by leading him to a bar. A really nice bar, from the looks of the place, that turned out to be a gay bar. I doubt I'm alone in having suspected that Isaak and Viktor were lovers. That was confirmed tonight when we got to see the softer side of Isaak. He just wants payback for what was taken from him. You could almost feel sorry for him. At the very least, it's easier to consider that Dexter might be the villain in this little story… if you can forget that Viktor killed a cop and Isaak's a criminal who does bad things to people like make innocent bartenders shoot themselves and take the blame for murder.
So things are still unresolved with Isaak, but at least we understand his motivations a little bit better.
Dexter and Deb
Deb wants Dexter to kill Hannah. That's a huge deal. It shows that she's finally crossed over into the place where she's not only willing to look past Dexter's Dark Passenger, but she's ready to look it in the eye (over the phone) and give it an order to kill. And of course, it has to be someone Dexter's sleeping with and falling for. Deb didn't realize that at the time, but she figured it out by the end of the episode and had a breakdown, which included confessing to Dexter that she's in love with him. Or was. Or is. She seems unclear about where she is on that, but I'm thinking present tense applies. She also seems to think it's worse that Dexter's in love with Hannah than it is that he's a serial killer, which sort of puts her mindset into harsh perspective.
Dexter didn't know how to react to Deb and she eventually threw him out. But there might have been a sort of telling moment in the car later. Feel free to disagree with me on this but: Dexter was talking to Harry and Harry said, "…after what just happened to your sister," to which Dexter responded "She's not…" and I thought for sure for a second he was going to say "She's not my sister." - meaning, she's his stepsister. As in technically she's not my sister. - But then he said she's not in love with him, which sounded like denial because he doesn't have any idea how to deal with it and isn't at all ready to even consider what it means. Because maybe somewhere in his head he thinks he might actually consider the possibility of something romantic between them if he allowed himself to, which he just can't do right now. But since he isn't ready, he denies it completely and runs off to be with Hannah later. She might be a murderer, but she's still an option and she accepts him for what he is.
Meanwhile, Deb closed out her part of the episode smoking a J with Astor. I guess it beats Dr. Seuss.
In other news, Batista got his restaurant and Quinn's roped into being on George's payroll.
