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Dexter: Helter Skelter

Dexter: "I don't bond."

What twisty turny goodness. I am loving this.

Isaak's and Hannah's stories have pretty much unwound in parallel. Isaak took Hannah hostage to force Dexter to help him. (When I realized initially what Isaak was going to ask Dexter, I laughed out loud.) Isaak got shot, Hannah got stabbed. To be honest, I would rather have lost Hannah than Isaak.

It was incredibly sweet (in a homicidal kind of way) that Dexter brought the dying Isaak to Viktor's watery grave so that they could be together again, and that Isaak used his final moments trying to teach Dexter about love. By this point, I swear I actually wanted them to add Isaak to the cast. Hey, Dexter and Isaak could have killed bad guys in tandem; they took out those two hit men like a well-oiled machine. Fabulous job, Ray Stevenson. One of the most interesting and enjoyable murderers they've ever had on this show, and that's saying a lot.

Will Dexter avenge Isaak and kill George? I bet he will.

I do like Hannah, and I knew she was going to get the better of Isaak's buddy Yerg. But obviously, I don't think she's the one for Dexter. I just don't think she's capable of loving Dexter as, say, Rita. Or Lumen. Or Deb. And I can totally see Hannah turning on him at some point. How does Dexter really feel about Hannah? He took her out on his boat and didn't notice that she was freaked out by the speed and the waves. When she was kidnapped, he went out and got dinner. When he was on the phone with her, he had the presence of mind to snap a photo so he could analyze the location. Are those the actions of a man in love?

Dexter and Deb had the follow-up conversation to Deb's uncomfortable revelation in the previous episode, and I liked how Dexter handled it – up to a point. He did the right thing, telling her that he was okay with her feelings, that it didn't change how he felt about her, that the two of them had an enduring relationship and had always been there for each other.

And then he blew it with a terrible simile. Deb loving Dexter is like Dexter loving M&Ms; they're bad for you? Come on, Dexter. Really? I like Hannah, but let's face it – you're never going to have to test any food Deb gives you for poison. If the situation had been reversed, you can bet Hannah would have let Deb die.

Bits and pieces:

-- We have a new killer: someone who is incinerating his victims, possibly while wearing protective gear. Horrible. Would it be too obvious if the killer was the obnoxious tech that was giving Dexter a hard time? Yes, too obvious.

-- Isaak asked Dexter how many people he's killed. Dexter just said, a lot. Come on, Dexter. How many? Maybe he stopped counting years ago.

-- Only Dexter would kill an armed hit man on a firing range, in broad daylight, with a knife.

-- Hannah told Dexter that she's afraid of water because her father tossed her into it when she was six, thinking it would force her to swim. Daddy sounds like a sweetie. Yes, I know who is going to be playing Hannah's daddy.

-- I usually get what the title of the episode means, and of course I got the Beatles/Manson reference, but I wasn't quite sure what they were going for with "Helter Skelter." I'm probably going to smack myself on the head, but can someone help me out?

-- Angel's restaurant has mold. I hope this doesn't mean financial Armageddon for Angel.

-- George tried and succeeded to get to Quinn by having sex with Nadia. Again, I don't care where this particular plot line is going.

-- Astor, Cody and Harrison are back in Orlando with the grandparents. Which is where they should always be during murder season.

Quotes:

Isaak: "What I need is the element of surprise and that, Dexter, is you."

Deb: "Holy filet of fuck. Who are you?"

Matthews: "The great creature arose from the depths. Tokyo's that way, Maria."
Wow, does he hate her. Guess I can't blame him.

Deb: "She is a killer. You will never be safe with her."
Dexter: "You're safe with me."
That was lovely. He has a point. But Hannah is not Dexter.

Three and a half out of four M&M's,

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

8 comments:

  1. What a great end of season. All the main plot points got a nice resolution and... what?! There are 3 episodes left?!?!?!!?


    I don't like the casting for Hannah's dad. I don't want to see him die :(

    I was talking to one of my students last week, and she said that it was obvious that Hannah would try to best Isaak by seducing him, only to be refused, and probably killed, and *that* would be the cause of a dexterful of fury. I was convinced, but I'm glad she was wrong. This way was much better. I'm with you, Isaak's been one of the best Dexter villains so far. I'd say it was almost Trinity level.

    Yay for the review right after the ep!!

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  2. Wow, wow, wow AND wow. Quite a season ! And I'm a bit pissed that Isaak is now dead : yes, indeed, Ray Stevenson's performance was top notch.

    Well, if you know miss him, you can always re-watch Rome : plenty of blood there too !

    I thought Hanna was dead, but nope. Yes indeed, only 3 ep,s to go.

    Quoting you : "Yes, too obvious." I suspect flamethrower is working in tandem. We'll see.

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  3. Not mind blowing, but still an interesting epi which will hopefully will lead to a real thought provoking and enticing finale. (I like that the season finale title is "Surprise Motherfucka!"

    I don't think Hannah's in quite the same emotional place as Dexter. He needs someone to be with for the long term, she may only want someone to kill with until they're caught, like Randall.

    When she reveals things about herself I'm not sure if she's telling the truth or not. Guess we'll have to wait and see.

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  4. Helter Skelter: American Pie reference?

    "Helter skelter in a summer swelter" is widely believed to refer to the Manson murders; followed by:
    "The birds flew off with a fallout shelter
    Eight miles high and falling fast..."

    Dunno. First thing that popped into my head, anyway.

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  5. Such a shame in which manner Isak just...fizzled out of the story. Also not really believable that he would "forgive" Dexter.
    And that firetech guy MUST be the new killer. It's too obvious not to be obvious, isn't it?

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  6. Additional note:
    Matthews was Harry Morgan’s best friend and watched over Dexter and Deb. Not sure if he’s going to like Maria implicating Dexter as the BHB.

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  7. Liked this episode a lot and I was sad to see Isaak go.
    Now, I have no idea how the rest of the season is gonna go.

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  8. Great review Billie !
    It was definitely sad seeing Isaak die.
    BTW, a small correction - Isaak's buddy is named Jurg not Yerg. :)

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