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Dexter: Run

"Run. I don't run. (pause) However, I do run if there's a bull coming after me with an axe."

I am having such a good time this season -- so far, anyway. Dexter and Deb have so much history together, and so much love between them. It's fascinating to watch them wrestling with this unique dilemma and trying to find a way to salvage their relationship.

I've been waiting for the conversation to get around to Rita and I should have trusted that they would do it well. While Deb was falling asleep in the bathtub (a dangerous thing to do), her subconscious mind recreated Rita's murder in her dream. Deb correctly deduced that Rita died because of Dexter's murder habit, and Dexter and Deb were again arguing in the enclosing walls of that extremely tall cinderblock breezeway, symbolic of the restrictions of their relationship.

Deb keeps saying that she can't handle who Dexter really is, but they are actually communicating, aren't they? There's some fascinating give-and-take going on. By the middle of the episode, Deb wanted to kill Speltzer herself, and by the end, she was "glad," her word, that Dexter did it for her. And Dexter swore to Deb he would never give up his son, but he wound up sending Harrison out of town to the grandparents, didn't he?

(Jamie was sorting through Harrison's toys and discarding the old ones. It was a fun parallel that Dexter decided it was time to listen to Deb and get rid of his own toys: his slides.)

The resolution of the Speltzer plot was fun. That entire sequence in the trailer and the maze was amazing (pun intended) because we don't see Dexter on the losing side of a fight very often. Dexter never succumbed to fear, and I think he actually enjoyed outwitting an axe-wielding serial killer, armed only with his intellect, strength and agility. That final scene in the crematorium was about as enjoyable as a kill scene can be.

The Russian mafia plot continued and it's not boring me, but of course, it doesn't measure up to what's happening between Dexter and Deb. Apparently, Isaak had a close relationship with the late, lamented Viktor. Was Viktor his son? Younger brother? That poor bartender. What a terrible way to go. (That'll teach you to tend bar for the Russian mafia, huh?) Quinn was ready to accept the poor guy's "suicide" at face value, while Angel thought it smelled bad. Pretty obvious who is the better cop.

Bits and pieces:

-- Hannah McKay has decided to help Miami Metro find the bodies after all, and she made a point of spending a moment flirting with Dexter. She certainly seems so reasonable and sane, talking about her old self and how she now sees her teenage mistakes.

-- Maria got about a minute of screen time. I'm sure there will be more about Doakes, the Bay Harbor Butcher and the slide later.

-- The bar manager tried to bribe Quinn. That particular tact could succeed, although not this time. Maybe later.

-- That bathtub scene in the opener was really something. Deb looks good with her hair up. She should do it more often.

-- The mannequin scene in the maze was also cool. It was like Dexter and Speltzer were surrounded by stylized dead bodies. Since they were both serial killers, that was apt.

Quotes:

Deb: "Are you even capable of love?"
Dexter: "I love you."

Deb: "It is not in your control."
Dexter: "Everything is in my control."

Masuka: "We got a white Russian on ice."
Quinn: "Very funny."
Masuka: "I'll have you know I have a major following on Twitter."

Dexter: "Fight or flight. That's a part of everyone's lizard brain. Speltzer may have a lizard brain like me, but his shortcoming is he doesn't have much of a human brain."
Loved the "STAY" note on top of the dirt pile.

Dexter: "How do you feel?"
Deb: "Glad. What does that make me?"
Dexter: "Human."
Come on, Deb. Who wouldn't be glad that such a monster is dead?

Obviously, I am loving this. Four out of four toy lambies,

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

9 comments:

  1. I love being able to read your reviews right after watching the episode, Billie. And I liked that, though speedier, their quality hasn't suffered. It's a little different, but just as good.

    I'm really enjoying this season, and pretty much for the same reasons you do. Dex and Deb arguing is usually among the best parts of any episode, and now they're the focus.

    I'm curious to see where the Hannah McKay plotline goes, and I hope we see something substantial soon. And because I like Yvonne Strahovski, I hope she's not someone who Dexter will have to kill by season's end.

    I don't think Viktor was Isaak's son. They'd be very open about it if so. Seeing that Isaak gets very angry everytime someone badmouths Viktor or questions his importance, yet he's never specific as to why; and that Viktor kept a photo of them both hidden behind a picture frame, I think their relationship was of a secret nature, not easy to explain. I think they were lovers. Remember that last episode he declared he was not interested in the women dancing naked. And, biggest tell of all, he almost quoted Bryan Adam's soundtrack to Robin Hood, looking at their photo together. If that's not romantic, I don't know what is.

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  2. Whoah ! This IS intense !! (can't look at Breaking Bad, but here I am, go figure) What will it be at the end of this, so far, powerful season ???

    So, for a split second, well, maybe a few, I thought-hoped that Dexter would put Speltzer ALIVE into that crematorium. Shame on me, yes, but the guy deserved it. Note to self : this is a TV show.

    Billie, I have to repeat myself again and again but Miss Carpenter DESERVES a darn Emmy. Period. And, ah, wow, that review came faster ANY pizza delivery ! (ok, do you prefer freshly baked bread from the bakery instead?) (wow)

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  3. I like not having to wait for your reviews as well.

    Let's see. I love it when Dexter and Deb ask and answer the questions fans have been thinking about, it validates and gives depth to the story being told. Also love it when they go back several seasons to find questions to have Deb pepper him with.

    Love MCH as he reacts to Deb's accusations, he goes from ashamed to enraged so well. Watch him slink down when she calls him selfish and rise up when she suggests Harrison go away. It's a sight to behold.

    Still not liking Quinn or the Harrison bits. Didn't necessary like the minotaur/maze bit, it was a little cheesy. They still need to careful of the plotting devices.

    Good idea there not being a lot of flashbacks of Harry, only because as the actor ages it's harder to pretend he's younger.

    This episode wasn't as riveting as the first three, but was better than most of season 6's epis. Keep up the good work, writers. I give it 3 out of 4 minotaur mazes.

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  4. Am I the only one who´s bothered by Isaak´s accent? It´s so not Ukranian and it confuses me big time.

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  5. I don´t buy Isaak as an Ukrainian simply because of his accent. It makes him seem so out of place and it´s strange to think he is the boss of the Ukranian mafia.

    Till now I like this season. And I like that Deb asks questions step by step. That feels very natural. It´s good that Dexter´s quality is back again and delivers material for JC and MCH so that they can shine even more.

    But I´m praying they don´t ruin the season at the end like the writer´s did with season 5. The story had so much potential and they ruined it with the finale - making Jordan Chase go out so unspectacularly and Deb not pulling the curtain away.

    Great review and it´s admireable that you can keep up the quality despite the speed you´re writing it, Billie.

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  6. Have to agree with Gus. My first thought was that Isaak and Victor where a couple, somehow.
    Especially considering the tenderness with which Isaak caressed the photo.
    Victor wouldn't be his son, that would be common knowledge.

    Also have to agree with what everyone is saying about Dex and Deb. We are getting so many answers to Dexters inner secrets, it's wonderful.
    And good lord can MCH and JC act.
    Especially liked the way MCH/Dex imitated Speltzers enraged "FFFUUCK!" on the slab. Masterly.

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  7. Really great episode again and this season is interesting me a lot, especially Deb and Dexter.

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  8. I'm terribly late but catching up... Loved it! And there are two things I want to add.
    One is a question: How did Quinn managed to become a detective in a first place? He's just an embarrassment...

    Second - watching Hannah and Dexter talking I kept thinking how confident Dexter became around women he's attracted to. Because there's some signs of attraction here and it is nothing even close to the awkwardness of some of scenes with Rita back in the beginning.

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  9. "And, biggest tell of all, he almost quoted Bryan Adam's soundtrack to Robin Hood, looking at their photo together. If that's not romantic, I don't know what is."

    Gus, now I'm picturing Ray Stevenson and Enver Gjokaj slow-dancing to one of the 1990s worst soft-rock ballads. :-)


    To those who are confused by Stevenson's Ukranian accent: it's not a Ukranian accent. It is the accent of Badguylandia, a remote locale in eastern Europe, notable for its Bond villains, hairless cats, and beautiful mountain vistas.

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