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Dexter: Return to Sender

Dexter: "Nothing lasts forever. Just ask a Ford Pinto. Eventually, most serial killers get caught. And there's really not much of a retirement plan."

I really loved the correlation between Bob the goldfish refusing to be flushed and Valerie Castillo unexpectedly returning from her watery grave. And it was fun watching Dexter desperately trying to cover his tracks while investigating one of his own murders. Dexter was nearly caught because of a child found at a crime scene. Interesting that Dexter himself was also found at a crime scene. How old was Dexter? What sort of crime scene?

Always so calm and contained, Dexter showed a lot of emotion when he thought it was all over for him: anger, fear, frustration, as well as a certain measure of acceptance. At the end of the episode, he acknowledged that his days were numbered. He started having really interesting nightmares, too, something that has never happened to Dexter before. Harry telling Dexter to come inside from a downpour of blood. Harry helping Valerie Castillo off the killing table. A silhouette of the Ice Truck Killer with the Barbie doll head on a keychain. Dexter on the table, one of his own victims, killed by Debra, who was dressed in her undercover hooker-wear. Huh.

The flashbacks were about Harry and Debra, too. Harry spent a lot of quality time alone with Dexter, and Debra resented it and tried desperately to be included. That sort of went with Debra taking the initiative at work and coming up with a copycat serial killer profile that exactly matched Dexter, and Dexter not backing her up. Debra is getting very good at her job, and that could be dangerous for Dexter. Maybe that's what the Debra-killing-Dexter part of the dream meant.

Rita's husband Paul gave Rita a hard time. But even though his world was falling apart, Dexter never once lost his temper or lashed out at Rita, the kids, or Debra. He apparently never even considered killing Oscar to protect himself. And when Dexter decided he was going to just enjoy whatever time he had left, the first thing he did was pick up Cody and start playing with him. It's comforting that Dexter is there (at least for now) to protect Rita and the kids from Paul. And wow, isn't that interesting?

Bits and pieces:

-- Why is the Ice Truck Killer so deeply obsessed with Dexter that he followed him out to sea and dove down a hundred feet to retrieve a body? That was way, way, way above and beyond. It even required scuba gear and upper body strength.

-- We didn't see nasty ex-con Paul in this episode; he was just on the phone.

-- The police drawing of Jesus was funny. But in an odd way, Dexter actually is a savior of little children, since he targets those who victimize children. By killing the Castillos, Dexter probably saved Oscar's life.

-- Loved the scene at Doakes' mom's house. Doakes' mother and sisters ignored the obviously uncomfortable Doakes and connected with Debra. Hilarious. Debra and Maria also started bonding just a bit in the bathroom. Maybe Doakes and Maria are starting to accept Debra.

-- Again, we saw the human side of Maria; she was a big hit with little Oscar. (No accounting for tastes.) Maria was obviously thinking about adopting him, too, until his uncle showed up. Maria said she grew up among strangers. Adopted?

-- Lots of Spanish, and some with no subtitles. It was fairly easy to tell what they were saying, though. I didn't feel like I was missing anything.

-- Dexter used the alias Patrick Bateman, the serial killer in American Psycho. That was probably a risky thing to do. What if whoever had the list had read the book or seen the movie?

-- Dexter wrapped up and disposed of his killing tools. He didn't have gloves on when he did it, though. Can we assume salt water will destroy any prints? He couldn't bring himself to dump his slides. That didn't surprise me.

Quotes:

Cody: "Can I have my cereal now?"
Dexter: (to himself) "We all grieve in our own way. I prefer the six-year-old approach. Yet another I've sent to a watery grave."

Doakes: "This tin can smells like ass, Morgan."

Vince: "If she was killed here, which I doubt, whoever did it was a real pro."
Dexter: (to himself) "Under normal circumstances, I'd take that as a compliment."

Vince: "What's up with you today? You're throwing off my chi."
Dexter: "You're not Chinese."
Vince: "I'm not?"

Debra: "You okay? You got a whole brow thing going on."
Dexter immediately tried to push his brow into a normal position. Too funny.

Angel: "It sounds like she got exactly what she had coming to her. Personally, I'd shake this guy's hand."
Dexter: (to himself) "Yeah, you say that now."

Doakes' sister: "First words out of my baby brother's mouth were, got milk, motherfucker?"

Dexter: "Rita will be devastated if I'm arrested. Her husband was a crackhead and her boyfriend's a serial killer? It's kind of hard not to take that personally."

Dexter: "I don't have bad dreams. When I sleep, all of me sleeps. Nothing ever goes bump in Dexter's night. I've never felt a moment of remorse, doubt, regret. What's happening to me?"

Debra: "Thank your mom for dinner the other night. Can't remember the last time I met a guy's family and they actually liked me."
Doakes: "You held your own. Most people don't get a dirty word in edgewise with my sisters around the table."
Were they flirting? I think they were.

Dexter: "I realize now my days are numbered. So I'd better make the most of them."

Three stars,

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

2 comments:

  1. Very good.I love how they continue to turn Maria into a human being and how Debra is becoming my favourite character, after Dexter of course.

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  2. You know a show is intense when you are rooting for a serial killer to get away with it! How did that happen??

    At one point, I went very dark and wondered if Dexter were going to kill Oscar. But, of course, his code wouldn't allow that to happen. Whew.

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