Dexter Resurrection: Touched by an Angel

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It was inevitable. This is Dexter's biggest flaw, his inability to have any kind of private life untouched by his vigilante activities.

And now Angel Batista has paid the price. I always liked Angel. He was three-dimensional, a good person without being a straight arrow, a decent detective who spent his life doing his best. He had an unhappy, unsuccessful personal life, like many cops who cannot balance a relationship with what they see every day, and that made me like him more. I didn't want Angel to die, but I will readily admit the show gave him his due. In a way, this entire season has been his swan song. He kept to his principles right up until his dying "Fuck you" to Dexter.

I knew Dexter wouldn't kill Angel. It would invalidate his code and his entire kill life, as well as the core premise of this show we're watching. Even more importantly, Angel was Dexter's friend and co-worker for twenty years and he was a good man who didn't deserve what happened to him. Dexter's grief was genuine.

Yes, of course I cried.

David Zayas, who played Angel Batista for nearly twenty years, spoke about the death of his character and that he felt they did Angel justice, so to speak. I think they did.

Let me backtrack a bit to Prater and Charley as they learned the truth about who Dexter really is. I must admit that I enjoyed Prater's complete fanboy adoration of the Bay Harbor Butcher because it made sense. Dexter is a step up, a killer of killers, and he deserves it after infiltrating and taking down Prater's entire group. (Except Al, and I'm willing to bet Dexter will eventually catch up with Al.)

It's interesting that Prater immediately pointed out "stolen valor," that it must bother Dexter that Doakes gets the credit for all those kills. It showed that Prater would never truly understand Dexter. Prater wanted active involvement with Dexter's kills, like he did with Gemini's. He thought Dexter would jump at the kill possibilities of all those serial killer files Prater has compiled, and hey, Prater could watch! If he can't do the kills himself, it's the next best thing.

But Prater can kill. Five shots or whatever in Angel's back. Prater didn't hesitate. And while Dexter might be imprisoned in Prater's vault right now, I have every confidence that Prater will pay for killing Angel Batista.

The person that came out of this episode looking the most interesting was Charley. It was like Prater disrespected Charley for exactly what Dexter respected her for. Delta Force, Silver Star, both she and her dying mom were heroes. In order to control Charley, Prater didn't just give her money; he found specialists that kept her mother alive for eight more years than she would have had. I'm sure Dexter would have done the same for Harry.

Prater broke his promise to Dexter, not Charley. Prater killed Angel. I think that when Charley realized what Dexter did to the "sick-fuck club" and what he didn't do to her mom, that the two of them have principles in common, and they might become allies. Will it be Charley who frees Dexter from the vault so that he can free her from Prater?

One of the most satisfying things about this season is that Harrison has gotten to know the real Dexter and he's actually proud of him – the long career in forensics and the vigilantism. In this episode, Dexter told Harrison the absolute truth about Prater's club, about Red Schmidt, Lowell and Gemini. Unlike Rita, Harrison isn't defenseless. He knows the full score and he's clever enough to keep his mouth shut or come up with a quick lie that is mostly truth.

I hated it when Angel had to give up his badge to Claudette and Oliva. Where will they fit into the finale? Claudette is hot on the trail of the Bay Harbor Butcher now, and I doubt that she'll let it go. And there is still Ryan Foster. I hope it doesn't end with Harrison being arrested.

Actually, I have no idea how this season will end. The casting of the kill club has been outstanding – especially Peter Dinklage and Uma Thurman. But I have been even more impressed with the way Michael C. Hall has been handling the changes in Dexter. Hall has always been an exceptional actor and this season in particular, with the expansion in his emotional range, he's been captivating, a pleasure to watch.

I so hope they'll stick the landing.

Bits:

— The restaurant where Prater confronted Dexter and Harrison was called "American Cut." I'm sure the pun was intended.

— Both Blessing and Dexter gave Harrison and Gigi condoms. They're doubly protected.

— Angel was strapped to the kill table where Brian died.

— Dexter actually prayed, or wished for a god he could pray to. Was that a first?

— The end music was "Mad World." Appropriate.

— The manhole cover in the title card is for the New York Ripper, and we haven't even seen him yet. Were they planning ahead for a second season about him?

Quotes:

Dexter: "I prefer it when my nemesis doesn't have a henchman. Or is it 'henchperson'?"

Harry: "That bitch lifted prints from Harrison. This is clearly a violation of your goddamn deal with Prater."
Dexter: "Harrison's never been arrested, he doesn't have a driver's license, and he spent most of his life in Argentina. Whatever print she lifted will be a dead end."
Harry: "She's fucking with your son!"
I always love how Harry expresses how Dexter is feeling. Dexter wanted to kill Charley even though she doesn't fit the code.

Angel: "Fuck! This is what Dexter does. He twists things out of context. He's a master manipulator. He lies and lies, winning people over with that goddamn gee-whiz smile of his."

Dexter: "Hope I'm not bringing a car key to a gun fight."

Prater: "That's amazing. You survived an encounter with the Dark Passenger. You survived an encounter with an honest-to-god serial killer."
Charley: "I could have been killed."
Prater: "Yeah. But you weren't. We're dealing with apex predators here, Charley. You can't be surprised when a lion bites. Just what they do."

Dexter: "I need you to know. I didn't kill Maria. Or Doakes. I may be the Bay Harbor Butcher but I promise you, I didn't kill them."
Angel: "It was your fault. And now I'm dying because of you, just like they did."
Dexter: "I'm sorry."
Angel: "Dexter Morgan. Fuck you."

I always love the last couple episodes of the season when everything comes together. Four out of four apex predators,

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

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