Mia LaPierre seemed like the perfect woman for Dexter. Especially the bowling date, which was just too adorable.
I went from "Oh, how cute, she wants to kill with him" to "OMG, she's a horror movie villain." I should have realized from the start that Mia was attracted to Red's kill credentials, not Dexter's. The way Dexter framed her was inspired, planting the watch and the oxygenated bleach in her apartment. The trophies in the ballet box did the rest.
But the thing is, I am counting three mistakes that could blow up on Dexter by now. Telling Mia he grew up in Miami was a big one, although he stopped before telling her he was the Bay Harbor Butcher. Two, the blood that Dexter left on the ceiling tile in Red's apartment. And of course, the big one, that Harrison's boss Stefan saw Ryan give the watch to Harrison.
Detective Claudette wasn't thrilled with the Lady Vengeance solve because it conflicted with her gut. She was certain Harrison killed Ryan, and of course, she was right. During their interview, Harrison covered exceptionally well, asking for Shauna's number to apologize, a wonky but believable request. The moment Harrison found out he was still a suspect, he left without saying another word. No protests, no explanations, no trying to cover, just gone. Very smart, like his father.
In fact, Mia was the B-plot. This was Harrison's episode.
It started with Harrison's reaction to Dexter showing up alive and well, carried through explaining how haunted and traumatized he was for shooting Dexter and killing Ryan, and ended with that scene near the end in Dexter's apartment when Dexter told Harrison the truth about everything, especially Trinity and Rita. Michael C. Hall is an exceptional actor, and he and Jack Alcott made Dexter opening up to Harrison one of the best, most moving scenes they've ever done on this show. I especially loved when Dexter told Harrison that Harrison was his only reason to live, and "Harry" appeared and said to Dexter, "You did good." It was perfect.
Harrison didn't ask Dexter for help with the police, but Dexter tried to save him anyway, taking the watch and saying, "Let me carry it for you." (Some obvious and heavy duty symbolism about the burden of murder there.) Dexter has realized that Harrison has no need to kill and is not a carbon copy of himself. I am now wondering if this "season" will end with Dexter confessing to Ryan's murder to save Harrison?
Leon Prater and Charley took a back seat this time, but there were some interesting developments. The interview with Lesley Stahl showed that Prater is apparently the king of faking it, making a big deal of being born an impoverished orphan and supporting his foster family, actively doing charity work and giving to the police. I doubt somehow that Prater loves cops as much as he loves serial killers.
It's interesting that Prater treats Charley so dismissively. He hired her to make problems go away and has no interest in the details. Now we know that she does it for her mom. As we all know, health care isn't cheap, especially brain cancer. Charley is still a cipher. Her mother thinks Charley teaches third grade; Charley told Mia that she went to Harvard. Is any of that true? Charley is in this story for a reason. We don't know what it is yet.
In prison, Mia told Charley that she knows the rules, but it sounded like Prater wanted Mia dead, anyway. That won't be easy under the circumstances.
Bits:
— In an obvious parallel to Charley, Blessing's mom Prudence fell on the front stoop, and revealed that she has cancer and wants to die at home with her family.
— The flashback to the frat boy who attacked Deb was from Dexter: Original Sin. Clips from Original Sin have been happening a lot this season.
— Dexter is high on Amazon Prime. Brand new box of slides, the promise of good things to come, and it's now in Joy's hiding spot for her weed. Keeping trophies is dangerous, Dexter. He should know that, especially now.
— Was Prater eating blood oranges?
— The interview was for a show called Face to Face with Leslie Stahl, not a real show. Although Lesley Stahl's name was misspelled on the television screen. Oops.
Quotes:
Harrison: "You're like a goddam horror movie villain, like Michael Myers or the fucking guy with the hockey mask. You think they're dead, and then..."
Dexter: (to himself) "There certainly are some similarities."
Mia: "Swan Lake is the ballet that you go to when you want to take a nap with two thousand other people also taking naps. What else you got?"
Mia: "I figured since you were from here, that you would at least have family in New York."
Dexter: (to himself) "Just a son who hates me and a dead dad who lives in my subconscious."
Harry: "Lady Vengeance and the Bay Harbor Butcher. Kind of has a nice ring to it. Two vigilantes taking out the evildoers of the world together. Seems like the perfect match."
Dexter: "You're fucking with me, aren't you?"
Harry: "Dex, when did teaming up with another killer ever work for you? Miguel Prado? Lumen?"
Dexter: "They weren't killers. Not real ones. Mia would be different."
Harry: "But she thinks you're Red."
Yes, exactly. Deep down, Dexter knew.
Harry: "You're disappointed. I get it. But Mia was never the answer. Harrison is."
Dexter: "I was so surprised when your mom loved me. When you were born, I was scared to death. I... I didn't know how to have a family... and still be me."
Dexter: "She died because of my selfishness. Because of my mistake. And it broke me."
Harrison: "The truth. Finally."
Finally. It took fifteen episodes for Dexter to open up to his son, and it was truly special. Four out of four seven-ten splits,
Billie
---
Billie Doux loves good television and spends way too much time writing about it.
No comments:
Post a Comment
We love comments! Just note that we always moderate because of spam and trolls. It's never too late to comment on an old show, but please don’t spoil future episodes for newbies.