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Dexter: I Had a Dream

Miguel: "I accept you, Dexter. Like a brother."
Dexter: "I killed my brother. I killed yours, too."

What an extraordinary fake-out. It knocked me completely off balance, and I stayed off balance for the rest of the episode. I had, of course, thought that Miguel would be the piece de resistance for the finale, but interestingly enough, no. Fortunately for Maria.

Was the wire/garrotte thingy how King killed his first two victims? Is that what Dexter meant by saying he would use King's MO? Won't the cleverer cops (i.e., Deb and Angel) realize that King probably wouldn't go back to his earlier modus? King is still out there with his very sharp knives, and gunning (or, more accurately, knifing) for Dexter. The suspense is nearly too much for me. Maybe next season I'll wait until December and watch all twelve episodes at once.

You'd think that with a bachelor party, a fast approaching wedding, and stalking and killing Miguel, that Dexter would be busy enough. Why did he choose this particular moment to confide something so explosive and dangerous to Deb? It didn't make sense to me at first, but then I realized that it was because of the failure of his "friendship" with Miguel. Dexter asking Deb to be his best man was a pretty huge acknowledgment of how important she is to him. (And what a wonderful scene it was. Actually, every Dexter/Deb scene is special; it's one of the best things about the series.)

Deb is everything to Dexter that Miguel isn't. Wasn't. She's also a good detective, though. I bet she's about to discover that Harry's favorite CI was Brian Moser's mother, and that's a hop skip and a jump to Dexter's "secret identity" – destroyed file or no destroyed file. Maybe Dexter (consciously or subconsciously) wants Deb to know about his mother, Brian, and the cargo container. It's a big part of who he is, and the secret would be safe with her. Plus, who else could he possibly share it with? It would be way too much for Rita.

With so many loose plot threads and irons in the fire, I expect the season finale will be mondo intense and full of many things. Death, marriage, secrets revealed. It's a good thing Rita isn't nine months along.

Bits and pieces:

-- I don't get the title. "I had a dream"? Was it about Dexter dreaming he could have a friend, but realizing it will never happen? I don't think the episode had anything to do with Martin Luther King.

-- The Harry and Deb both cops having affairs with CI's had to be pointed out to me. I should have seen it sooner.

-- The plot line about Anton and the cell phone didn't turn out the way I thought it would. I was expecting Dexter to realize Miguel was controlling King because Miguel mentioned doing an ethics investigation on Deb, and only King had Anton's cell phone.

-- Loved the notebook labeled "Kill plan for Miguel Prado." (I'm easily amused.) I bet it drives Dexter nuts that he can't carefully catalog his murders for posterity. Sort of like Rita's hour-by-hour wedding to-do list.

-- Quinn had a close shave. Sorry about the pun. Come to think of it, he's the second guy close to Deb who has gotten cut by King.

-- That thing with Masuka and the hair? Bleah. Plus he's a sperm donor. Bleah again.

-- So Quinn had a rich uncle who died and left him a building. He's still not a great cop, but he's probably a pretty good guy. Are they setting us up so that we finally like him? Is he going to die horribly in the finale?

Quotes:

Masuka: "Premium alcohol, all you can eat buffet, plus high class adult entertainment."
Dexter: (to himself) "Kill me now."
Dexter sitting alone in the middle of the room at his own bachelor party. That's Dexter in a nutshell.

Dexter: "If home is where the heart is, where do you go when you don't have a heart?"

Maria: "You ever get a voice inside nagging at you?"
Dexter: "I'm aware of the phenomenon."

Dexter: "If you need something under the table, I'm your guy. (pause) That didn't come out right."

Dexter: "Camilla told me right before she died. I didn't know if I..."
Deb: "Should tell me? Yes, whenever you have an earth-shattering, ball-crushing mindfuck of a secret, you should tell your fucking sister."

And yet another excellent episode. I think it deserves four stars, if only for the twists and for the Dexter/Deb scenes,

Billie
---
Billie Doux loves good television and spends way too much time writing about it.

3 comments:

  1. I really thought Dexter would kill Miguel on his wedding night. Ah, well. Can't wait for the finale.

    Thanks for your review.

    ReplyDelete
  2. For the Miguel death scene - did you notice how the music played BACKWARDS at the end? - the Deb/Dex scenes and MCH's overall performance, I gave this episode 4 stars.

    But then for the trick at the beginning (which left me cringing for the entire first half of the episode) and for the heavy-handed writing in the Harry-Dex scene (I have to disagree about the Miguel Kill Book - it was like being hit over the head with an anvil), I took away two stars.

    So two stars only. The episode was also a bit of a let down to me when so much was promised the week before.

    ReplyDelete
  3. Another superb episode, so cannot wait for the finale.

    Dexter didn't get kidnapped by the Skinner (bet he will though) but got taken to his bachelor party. Masuka really did become a Morgan family punch bag this episode.

    Dexter planning to take out Miguel was a long time coming. Miguel clearly was thinking he was indestructible if he thought he was going to get away with murdering Maria.

    Miguel's death had some poignancy but it's a continuing circle for Dexter. I guess he really can't share that kind of a secret with a normal person.

    Dexter telling Deb about Harry and her reaction was fine by me. It felt believable for Deb to react the way she did and I liked that Dexter asked her to be his best man.

    Deb and Anton had some nice moments. The guy who plays Anton was excellent in this episode and Quinn is still a question mark. Nasty looking cut he got from the Skinner as well.

    Liked Maria being smart for a change, even like Vince wanting to date a crazy, Angel/Barbara but Rita really has not been benefitting from these episodes, has she? 9/10.

    ReplyDelete

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