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Dexter: Slack Tide

Dexter: "This is a little too 'Into the Woods' for me."

Oops.

In his zeal to find someone to kill other than Trinity, Dexter has made an unforgivable mistake. That's what you get for not listening to Harry. Especially since Trinity seems to be losing control again, possibly about to fall off his cycle, so to speak. Who's the coffin for, Arthur? Is there a fourth part of the ritual Lundy never saw? Was it the chainsaw that set Trinity off? Maybe it was the deer.

Jonathan Farrow's photos were so awful that he almost deserved to get killed. (Although I think him hitting so nastily on Deb was what pushed Dexter over the edge.) Note how Dexter killed Farrow the same way he killed that poor deer. Both innocent. Although I'm sort of hoping they'll find out that Farrow was in league with his assistant. Maybe the deer was evil, too.

Trinity is the right age to be Dexter's father, he gives him great advice, and they've got so much in common. No wonder Dexter doesn't want to kill him. He still wants to make a connection; he doesn't want to kill another prospective Harry. Did Brian, Lilah and Miguel teach him nothing? Guess not.

In fact, Dexter was practically euphoric, thinking he had this husband and father thing under control, but unfortunately, he still has work to do. Loved the inappropriate scary story he told in the woods, and how he didn't understand the point of "The Hook," pun intended. I also really liked Dexter and Trinity alone in the woods together with chainsaws. It was funny in such a sick way.

(Dexter works full time, puts up shelves, stays up with the baby, sailing trip, camping in the woods, and he still finds time to run off and kill someone in the middle of the night. Where does Dexter get all that energy? I get tired just watching him.)

Quinn is getting too close for comfort, and his relationship with Dexter has escalated to verbal exchanges of threats accompanied by off-hours shadowing. (Yes, it's Doakes all over again.) Quinn is too self-confident to back off, and he's a detective who senses that there's something there to detect. I sort of want to shake Quinn and say, don't screw with Dexter. You'll be really, really sorry.

Bits and pieces:

-- "Slack tide" is when the tide is still, not going in or out. Water is often used in this series as a metaphor for Dexter's hidden self.

-- Why oh why did Deb give up investigating Harry's C.I.'s right before she hit Laura Moser? What a long tease for such an anticlimactic moment. They can't have introduced this plot element and kept it around so long just to drop it. Could they?

-- Deb got Dexter's apartment, which I expected. (Why create a new set when there's already one standing?) Dexter was finding it hard to let go of his refuge. Don't have any people over, Deb.

-- "Sergeant." "Lieutenant." While trying not to draw attention to themselves, Maria and Angel drew attention to themselves. And they're not going to be able to resist temptation forever.

-- I liked how Dexter saved his mother's mug shot from the shredder. That was sweet.

Quotes:

Rita: "Go easy on him. He's only one person."
Dexter: (to himself) "That you know of."

Dexter: "Dear Abby, I'm a serial killer. I need advice on how to keep my kids from taking over my life."

Dexter: (looking at Farrow's gruesome photos) "Even I'm disturbed by this."

Dexter: "I'll need to find the right activity for Astor. What did I like to do when I was twelve? (pause) Okay, then. Moving on."

Dexter: "Okay, two serial killers go for a ride. Why do I get the feeling this joke ends with only one of them coming back?"

Three out of four stars,

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

6 comments:

  1. Looking at the face of Trinity when he wasn't able to start the chainsaw and how easy it was for Dexter and also how Dexter was able to cut the tree all by himself, I thought Trinity realized, that he's getting old and might not get the chance to do his ritual killings again.

    For a brief moment I even thought he'd tell Dexter everything so Dexter would carry on doing it for him (seeing how he has already given Dexter his murder weapon).

    In the last episode we saw that there is not much left of his sister, I think this episode shows there is not much (time) left of Trinity.

    That, or they go the "easy" way and let Trinity be suspicious of Dexter so he'd try to kill him. But I doubt it. This show very rarely goes the easy way.

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  2. Hy, Billie

    Regarding your comment about the coffin, if Arthur has a fourth stage of the cycle in which he buries the last corpse (or even alive, urgh!), Frank wouldn't be able to tell, because the bodies would never be found. Would that mean he won't be called Trinity anymore?
    And that looked like a small coffin to me. Maybe for a child. I wonder of THAT is what's going to make Dex draw a line.

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  3. Love your reviews.

    We didn't get an anti-climax on Deb's investigating Harry. Dexter saved that picture of his Mom and put it in his desk -- want to bet that's going to come into play?

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  4. Hey billie,

    I think you are wrong about both the chainsaw and the deer, the could not have set off trinity. When they went into the woods Dexter asked why he didn't just buy the wood. Trinity said it wasn't good enough (for a coffin??).

    I agree with Croak, his idea fits the father metaphor very well.

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  5. Whoops, can't even spell my own nickname right >.< sorry.

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  6. Anyone know who made those Jonathan Farrow photos. Kind of liked them. Cheers

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