Dexter ‘What’s Eating Dexter Morgan?’ recap

Fitting for the final season, the most intriguing part of these past three episodes is the insight into Dexter’s backstory. As the puzzle pieces take shape, Dexter continues to hunt the Melon Ball killer on Vogel’s behalf while sharing Deb breakdown duty with Quinn.

“Well at least I pulled over.”
And breakdown she does. Deb, once so strict and put together, is a hot mess. It would be funny if there wasn’t the whole ‘killing people’ motivation to her bender. Drunkenly driving with open containers, Deb smashes a parking meter, passes out, and is arrested for a DUI faster than she can say “Mothers#$t.” Her preferred contact, Quinn, comes to bail her out, but not before lying to Jamie citing ‘cop stuff’ as a reason to leave in the middle of the night. Quinn gets the DUI charges dismissed and drops Deb off at her shady job with her shady boss. There’s an interesting exchange between Deb and Quinn where he reminds her that she was the reason for his alcoholic, skirt chasing ways. In return, Quinn receives no information as to Deb’s new drinking problem.

“Ahh suicide. It makes our lives so much easier.”
The Miami Metro crew arrives at Lyle Sussman’s cabin – a murder scene being a nice break for Dexter from his ongoing sibling conflict. The gang believes they have walked into the suicide of a remorseful Brain Surgeon, known here as the Melon Ball Killer. They obviously haven’t been taking Vogel’s direction seriously and seem to have forgotten that the first brain was missing the anterior insular cortex, directly indicating that this serial killer has no empathy. MBK wants the police to back off and they are happy to oblige. Back at the station, they wrap up the case with a pretty little bow and incorrectly agree that he off-ed himself, then immediately confirm that they have no leads in the El Sapo killing, so Deb is off the hook too. These guys are on a roll today! Batista lets the Deputy-Chief know that he is pushing for Quinn to get the open sergeant position so his sister doesn’t end up in the gutter because he is a good cop.

“Cuts you up faster than a chef at Benihana.”
While the real police are wrapping up the case, the killer is alive and well and torturing Vogel with a ‘his’ and ‘hers’ set of occipital lobes. “The better to see you with, my dear,” our Melon Baller seems to say. Dexter identifies Ron Golutso as the next focus of their investigation. Years ago, Vogel revoked her leniency recommendation for him after realizing that he lied about strangling a teenage friend. This sweetheart is hawking fitness equipment at the mall when Dex hunts him down. He doesn’t seem to recognize Dexter or let on that he knows Vogel, which is enough to make him a suspect. There is not enough information to confirm that he is MBK, so you know what that means: a home visit! When Dexter arrives at Ron’s, he checks the crock pot for clues and surprise! There’s a finger stewing! The killing kitchen, complete with garlic brain, is enough to kill off Ron, but not enough to make him the Melon Ball killer. The hunt continues.

Quinn’s earlier lie about ‘cop work’ is exposed at a Batista family dinner. At this point, I’m starting to feel badly for Joey Q. He is being berated on all ends by the Batista’s and being shut out by the Morgan’s.

In a family dinner across town, Deb and Dex meet at a strategically chosen hellhole restaurant. Also dining at this hellhole is a father whom Debra saved from a restaurant shooting at a different hellhole (way to bounce back, buddy!), thus proving that she is a good guy. She looks hopeful for the first time this season.

“That was interesting.”
We soon see that Dexter’s efforts have the opposite effect. Coupled with drinking in her car again (really, again?) along with the video evidence that she used to have morals, Deb is inspired to do what she thinks a good person would do. She stumbles, she slurs, and she returns to her former workplace. Debra is ready to confess to the LaGuerta killing, but luckily it’s Quinn who finds her first and throws her in an interrogation room, unplugs the recorder, and listens as Deb recounts the night at the shipping yard. Chalking it up to drunken rambling and survivor guilt, he instructs her to write it down and sneaks out to call Dexter for backup.

It’s go time! Dexter realizes he needs mom’s Vogel’s help and speeds through the streets to arrive at the station before Deb can do too much damage. Along the way, Dexter must have filled Vogel in on Deb’s sacrifice, which Vogel uses to illustrate how Deb’s love for Dexter is unselfish, unlike Dex’s selfish motivations for loving Deb.

In the interrogation room, an irrational Deb is screaming her intent to confess and she’s about to… POW! An injection cocktail for Deb and the truth is hidden for another day. With Deb passed out, Dexter and Vogel brush passed a confused Quinn.

“Go now. Let me do what I do,” Vogel says as Dexter leaves Deb in her care. This sentiment may be comforting for Dexter as he has come to trust her, but it’s a creepy sentiment considering she focuses on psychopaths.

“It’s like you’re Michelangelo trying to play the banjo.”
An interesting subplot taking shape is Vogel’s analysis on Dexter. She has certain mental criteria that a psychopath must meet: lack of empathy, an inability to love, a survivors instinct for just oneself. Vogel seems to be trying to fit Dexter into this box she created, but he is surprising her when faced with climatic moral dilemmas. Recognizing Dexter’s remorse for what he is putting Deb through, Vogel is second guessing the path she sent Dexter down. She created Frankenstein, but perhaps she didn’t have to. Also interesting is the fact that we haven’t heard her take on the relationship between Dexter and Harrison. The beginning of this episode sets up a horrible scene: a crying child, “blood” splatters, an immobile Harrison. Luckily, he is just a victim popsicles and youthful indulgence, but the interaction between father and son with a relieved Dexter is as endearing as ever.

While Vogel continues to press her belief that unselfish love is impossible for Dexter and that he is ‘perfect as a psychopath,’ I imagine that the more she advocates for this theory, the less she believes it.

Sidenotes:

• Even Dexter was grossed out when he saw the finger stew. Nice. Also: ‘Ground Thigh.’
• In the land of delusional women, Deb and her boss verify that the cheating husband they were paid to track down is, in fact, cheating. Wifey doesn’t want to believe it, but it brings us to the reason for this side story, besides the recipe for hangover juice: “People get used to living in denial. It’s just easier for them.” Way to push her over the edge.
• We haven’t seen Harry since early on in episode 2. Vogel is obviously filling a more prominent role than just a maternal substitute.
• I-hope-it-doesn’t-come-true prediction: There is a video recorder in the investigation rumor and its going to be Joey Quinn to bring Dexter down.

A lot can be said about the Vogel/Dexter relationship, and a I haven’t quite decided if she is a good guy or the series’ ultimate villain. What do you think of their mother/son dynamic?  Also, will Deb sober up anytime soon?  Add Quinn to the mix, and do you think his character has the capacity to offer redemption or uncover the Dark Passengers the Morgan’s have looming?