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Dexter: This Little Piggy

"Well, the family that kills together..."

This episode was like a Dexter season one fantasy come true.

After couples therapy with Vogel (funny), Dexter and Deb managed to resolve their issues. Trying to kill Dexter and then saving his life seemed to re-set Deb's head and thankfully, she was finally herself again. Dexter was the injured party, outright angry with Deb as well as Vogel, but that was masking the fact that he was genuinely hurt. His love for Deb didn't die in that pond, or he would never have been able to forgive her that quickly. Vogel was again good for both of them. Who knew?

What will this mean for Deb? She loves Dexter again, but does she love him again?

Watching Dexter and Deb team up to rescue Vogel was, as I said, like a season one fantasy come true. What fan of this show hasn't wanted to see Dexter and Deb working together to catch bad guys? The take-down in the bedroom with the curtain rod (that was awesome) with Dexter killing a murderer in front of Deb and Vogel, followed by a family outing on the ocean complete with body disposal, had to be Dexter's fantasy come true, too. (Deb was even joking about it. "The family that kills together...") So Dexter now has a sister who knows him for what he really is, and she still loves him. Except that it's episode five, so Dexter's happy ending this time obviously won't be how the season ends.

The fly in the ointment is Vogel. Something is way off about her.

Vogel is brilliant, no question. The way she turned the tables on Yates by becoming his cruel mother and then turning into a loving mother-therapist was masterful and undoubtedly saved her toe, if not her life. But I'm certain she has an agenda, and it has nothing to do with hunting down Yates. Was Yates even the Brain Surgeon? Yes, we saw Vogel receive the packages, and yes, Yates had the do-it-yourself skull diagrams and the confining steel box, but how could Yates have been the Brain Surgeon? He was into women's feet because of his mother tapping her high heels before she abused him. Were the bodies in his yard missing parts of their brains? No, they had broken toes, and were stabbed. I'm so confused. Help me out, you guys.

And then there was Mama Cass's "Make Your Own Kind of Music," obviously a huge honking clue. (That piece of music was used on Lost, too.) Vogel turned the music on in her office and was humming along right before Yates broke in and kidnapped her. That song was playing in episode two when Sussmann was being forced to kill his latest victim. The lyrics (make your own kind of music, sing your own special song, even if nobody else sings along) could have meaning, too. We see what's on the outside of Vogel, what she wants Dexter and Deb to see. What don't we know yet?

More in the family theme as a wealthy, powerful guy and "friend of Miami Metro" named Hamilton was clearly covering for a murder that his creepy son Zach committed. Note how Quinn told Batista about the witness, Batista told Matthews, and the witness got paid off. Obvious what's going on there. And Zach seemed fearless, walking up to Dexter and interrogating him about the case. I'm sure we're going to get more of this.

And then there was Masuka, who has become suspicious of his newly found daughter Niki's motives. Quinn pointed out that when family shows up out of the blue, sometimes they want a kidney. (That actually happened on Lost. I'm talking a lot about Lost today.) Niki seems to be interested in money. But is that all she wants? Maybe she really does want to know her father, since her mother just died. I actually do like Masuka and I can't blame him for deciding on a background check. He doesn't want to get hurt.

Masuka's situation with his daughter also made me think of Dexter's situation with Vogel. She's sort of Dexter's long lost mom and she showed up out of the blue wanting a favor. We still don't know what she really wants with Dexter. At least it won't be a kidney. I hope.

Bits and pieces:

-- I liked the way they set up Yates hiding under the bed (it was how he hid from his mother).

-- It's not really important to the plot, but how did Dexter manage to leave off Yates's blindfolded victim at the emergency room without talking to anyone or being seen?

-- The new Harrison had several exchanges with Dexter and did them all believably. Remarkable for such a young actor.

-- Angel is trying to give Quinn an opportunity to shine at work, but Miller has noticed that she's being unfairly blown off.

-- Elway was mostly there to help Deb out without asking questions. It still feels like they're holding an awesome actor in reserve for some reason. We shall see.

-- Cassie from 4B seemed nice, and she's definitely interested in Dexter.

-- In the food truck scene, Masuka and Niki were both wearing funky-looking paisley. Nice touch.

Quotes:

Dexter: "You almost left my son an orphan."
Yes, that would have been my first thought, too.

Quinn: "Just be careful. Family showing up like that out of nowhere? Sometimes it's just 'cause they want something. You know, money, a place to stay, a fucking kidney..."
Dexter: (to himself) "Or they want to kill you."

Dexter: "So everything just goes back to normal?"
Deb: "It was never normal."

Dexter: "Serial killer bested by one-hundred-pound nanny."
That was fun. It was sweet that Jamie was trying to set Dexter up with someone.

Deb: "If anyone really knew us, they would run screaming."

I wanted the last season of Dexter to be awesome. And so far, the last season of Dexter has been awesome. Would that make it four out of four curtain rods?

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

7 comments:

  1. I do not believe that Yates was the Brain Surgeon. And Dr. Vogel is still in the mix to have something to do with him. Elway maybe too.

    Glad, that Deb is back and I've been waiting for the moment where she teams up with Dex.

    uartco 241

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  2. Yet another great episode.. Still can't believe this show never made it into the top 100 shows. IMO it should have at least been in the top ten. For some reason I really want Vogel to be good but I highly doubt it. Your right Billie this season has been awesome so far just like last season..

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  3. I think Cassie is the Brain Surgeon. It's too late in the game for the writers to introduce a love interest; she has a different purpose.

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  4. I think Vogel is a "serial killer maker". I think she leads them into wanting to be serial killers and that she chooses them for their various "qualities" of future serial killers. In other words she's the ultimate serial killer.

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  5. So glad you are back! I've been missing your reviews. I can't wait for you to get caught up, this season is awesome and, while I don't know you, it was making me genuinely sad that you were missing it!

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  6. Thanks so much, Anonymous! What a lovely comment. I've been reviewing Dexter since the end of the first season (I feel like Dexter and I have a long-term relationship) and it's just been so freaking frustrating that the final season has been going on without me!

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  7. This episode disappointed me a bit because it just seems everything was resolved very quickly.

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