From TVguide:

Man, everything about Harry is getting smashed to pieces.

Wow! So many revelations! Harry, you secretive bastard! Dexter seems so vulnerable right now, and does Lila seem to want him to leave Rita and the kids?

That Harry business? Sleeping with Dexter's real mom? Pushing her into the situation in the cargo bay that eventually lead to her death?

Harry, wtf?

You, know, I thought Lila was going to be a pain, but as a character she's doing really well. I liked her heart to heart with Dexter, but she's so obviously trying to break up his relationship with Rita and get into his pants herself that I can't love her. That's an ethical breach of the sponser/member relationship. You can't take advantage of someone who's supposed to be so vulnerable around you. Lila, you're there to get him emotionally naked, not physically naked. And keep your clothes on.

Also, I knew it! I knew Doakes and Laguerta did it before. And I cannot wait to see how Dexter gets out of the marina surveillance footage of him using a blacklight to clean his boat.

I didn't think his acting in 2-2 could be any better, but MCH outdid himself. He is truly superb. That scene between the two of them, Dexter and Lilah, after he "almost used," where he accepts her, and she accepts him, cradles him. Touching even though so dark.

Doakes and LaGuerta. Who knew! I love their camaraderie and how well they know each other (her concern for his well being, his guessing about her sleeping her way back into office). They are a parallel to Dexter and Lilah. (Dexter/Doakes, the monster; Lilah/LaGuerta, the manipulator.)

Wow! What an episode.

Gives new strength to the question/response:
"Who's your Daddy?"
"ah, Harry Morgan."

Dexter is the youngest of Laura's two kids, and it was 'discovered' in tonight' episode that she wasn't just Harry's informant - but lover as well.

It could well be that Harry is Dexter's Bio-dad and that Deb is as much his sister as Brian was his brother.

So much good stuff this ep, and a lot of great lines.

I'm hoping that the shot of the security camera at the marina is to indicate that the security measures have been tightened and that it will be harder for Dex to take the boat out unnoticed - and not to imply that the camera "saw everything" (the light and the lumenal), since it wouldn't have a high enough resolution (in less it's on loan from "Dick Wolf's New York") to tell anything more than Dexter, or someone who looked alot like him, got on his boat, and had a light and was spraying something (which even that may not have been caught on camera).

Interesting to see what happens.

Also, love that Angel introduces himself to Lilah as Dexter's best friend - which he totally is, maybe Dex will realize that too. :)

This episode had some fantastic scenes of character interaction and development.

Dexter’s gone beyond reckless. It’s a good thing Jimenez is in witness protection and most likely won’t say how he got beaten up. I can’t say it’s all Lila’s fault that he’s becoming less mindful of what he’s doing and why. The more he finds out about his past and what Harry covered up, the more confused he’s going to become, about the “values” Harry taught him and his identity. And he does want people to value him for who he really is. For most of the episode, before Dexter confronted Jimenez, I thought he looked absolutely broken. Those subtle, amazing facial expressions MCH used portrayed just how lost Dexter is.

So, Lila’s an accidental, repentant killer--with Dexter’s approval because “he deserved it.” What she did to Marco puts a whole spin on her “we’re all good and bad” philosophy. Maybe I’m a complete sucker, but I thought that gave the character a lot of needed depth. It’s not a cavalier notion she has; Lila has seen herself at her darkest, and it frightened her. Until that scene, I thought her desire for the three men to die was in direct opposition to “we’re all good and bad.” But I don’t think so. I don’t think she believes that just because there’s a dark aspect to all us, that that doesn’t mean we shouldn’t suffer when we deserve it. I’m not remembering the whole conversation under the dome, though. Maybe she does contradict herself. I probably didn’t explain that very well. At any rate, Dexter approves of her, which is both good and bad for him.

The scenes between LaGuerta and Doakes and Lundy and Deb were excellent. I cracked up when Doakes outed LaGuerta and when Deb thought Lundy wasn’t doing his job, but then he ripped off a bunch of reasons why Coral Cove was a great potential hideout for the BHB. And she learned an important lesson that she wasn’t doing any observing at all. Her motor’s always running, and sometimes you have to slow down to see anything. (This same point came back to bite her with Gabriel; I knew that was going to be a setup.) This episode really established Lundy as a father figure and not a love interest.

Fascinating that Dexter didn’t save Biney in his dream.

I didn’t think Harry could be any shadier. Now what he did to Brian is even worse. He knew Brian, and Brian must have been comforted somewhat to see a familiar face after being locked up for so long. After this new information, the only thing I can guess about why Harry left him is that he just never liked Brian (which may be because he didn’t think the boy was “right). Harry must not have had any affection for Brian. How else could he coldly leave a child that he knows?

Yes, Dexter, you and Deb got different homework assignments, indeed.



I don't know if it was intentional or not, but Angel looked surprised when Lila said she was Dexter's friend. That amused me.

So Harry was screwing Dexter's mother and sent her into a dangerous situation just to make his case? On top of that, when it goes wrong he raises one of her kids to be a serial killer and lets the other kid get tossed into they system? Oh, and he seemed to ignore Deb most of the time which led to her having major trust issues. I am really beginning to dislike the guy even if he was well meaning. Yes, Dexter was a kid with disturbing problems but Harry could have tried addressing them instead of teaching the boy how to get away with killing

On the other hand I love Jaime Murray. She is doing a great job with a role that could easily be unlikeable.

I just knew that Doakes and LaGuarta used to be an item.

I am so glad that Deb's new boyfriend seems like a great guy but she really needs to get herself a therapist because the girl (understandably) has a lot of problems.

ETA: I must learn to type faster because many people brought up the same points while I was getting ready to post:)

I was thinking that for a split second, and then I remembered that DNA test Dex had last season when his bio dad died. So Harry can't be his dad.

Nope. Dexter had a DNA test in season 1 that proved that the guy who left Dexter his house was his biological father.

Yes, had the same thought as you, however, I just recalled in season 1, Dexter took a blood sample from his 'bio-dad's" corpse, which matched Dexter's DNA. Deb was the one to open the results, and announced it to Dexter. But still, Harry fooling around on Mrs. Morgan? Hard to believe and I am hoping it was a bunch of bull from the mouth of a chain saw massacre-er.

ETA: Sorry! I was typing too slowly!

WTF was up with Lila painting in the hotel room? Did anyone else notice that she was adding to a painting that was already hanging in the room? It was just kind of a throw away scene, but I think we're meant to see it as a sign that she's "troubled." Personally I don't like the character. It just feels like the actress is trying too hard... at everything.

Laura mentioned that Brian was at school - so it is at least plausable that Harry and Brian never met face-to-face until the events in the container. So, Brian might not recognize Harry as a friendly face - where as Dexter being to young for school was present for at least one meeting between Harry and Laura - so Harry would know and recognize Dexter and perhaps vice-versa.

Brian may have heard Harry Morgan's name, or not, and that could have been a factor in Brian's attitude toward the Morgans - he always hinted that he knew more about Harry and the Morgans and their relation to the situation than he shared with Dexter.

But I agree, that based on conversations with Laura, he knew of Brian, and would have known who he was in the container - even if they had never met.

I think that the ground work has been set for a reveal (no spoilers - just guessing based on tonight's episode) that Harry took Dexter because he was Dexter's Bio dad. That would explain not adopting Dexter - but then again as I write this, I remember the whole thing about Harry and Dexter's blood typed not matching.

Perhaps it is that he took Dexter because he thought Dexter could be his son, or, which is more likely, to atone for the situation that left Dexter without a mother and scarred for life.

Edited to add: glad to see other's caught the DNA reference while I was typing the above ramble.

Just some random thoughts:

Harry's decision to leave Brian is even worse in that Season 1 showed he was not Dex's biological father which means he just chose one of the children of the woman he was banging and got killed over the other simply because he felt like it.
Throw that mother-in-law-to-be out hard (Yes, I have a story ....)

Gawd, I hate British accents on women: Lilah is crazy/sexy, but that accent would drive me to kill her and I don't have a Dark Passenger (No, no story, I just hate a british accent on a hot woman...)

Seems to me they glossed over Doakes's latest kill. The LT mentioned it a couple of times, but it wasn't neatly wrapped up. I had to laugh that Gail just thought it was perfectly fine to move in with her daughter. Heh, perhaps that's her way of watching Dex.

Wow - I was on the edge of my seat for almost the entire episode. I'm not sure why, but everything seemed so tense to me, and then once the reveals started coming, it was one surprise after another.

I really think Harry was devoted to making sure Dexter "survived" (obsessively and twistedly so) because he felt an enormous amount of guilt over what happened to Laura Moser, and also how that violence impacted Dexter. If she really wanted out and he insisted she stay in, then in a way he was responsible for the resulting monster inside Dexter, and felt that he needed to make sure that he was able to deal with the dark urges in a way that kept him safe. It certainly explains why he took so much time with Dexter at the expense of his relationship with his own daughter. But wow - AND he was having an affair with her? Wow.

On the other hand, WOW at the fact that Doakes and LaGuera used to fool around. But it doesn't sound like anything that either of them took too seriously.

Deb is still seriously screwed up - I can't make up my mind as to whether we're supposed to start seeing Lundy as a father figure or a potential romantic interest down the line. Hopefully not a romantic interest - I'm not as interested in seeing them go there, and I'm starting to find her new boyfriend really sweet.

It's amazing to me that it's only 5 episodes into the season, and they're already drawing the net so tightly around Dexter as far as the Bay Harbour Butcher case goes. To be honest, I am very impressed with the way they are slowly building the case, while at the same time showcasing the ambiguity of the public response.

Finally, I'm not sure how to react yet to Dexter's meeting with his mother's killer. That was seriously the most out of control we've seen Dexter since the series began. Even his grief last season at killing his brother didn't match the intensity of that scene. MCH was amazing. But he didn't kill him, which was reckless. Then again, how can he kill him? That woman who provided him with the file would be a total problem, because it was such an old case - if the guy suddenly goes missing or is found murdered, Dexter is in serious trouble. Can't wait to see how it turns out.

Oh, and Rita's mother? Total beeyotch.

Maybe Harry's Brian's real father and didn't know. Maybe he did follow Brian's progress, and used the boys as test subjects to see what happened if one grew up in a "good" home while the other was raised in The System. In which case, that makes him just as culpable in any of the ITK murders and in Laura's death for putting her in that situation. I wonder if he'll take the slide of Brian's and test it against his own blood to see if they're really bio or half brothers.

Where was Dex's dad during this time? In prison?

I don't like the character of Lilah, but I like that Dexter can almost be himself and open up to her about things that he's only shared with Biney and she isn't repulsed. While he's more out of control, at least he's finally learning the truth and finding feelings he never knew he had or could have. I don't want them to get together, though.

Maybe Det. Lundy and Rita's mother will get together. Gail being around is not going to be good for anyone. Good for Rita for standing up to her.

Deb. Deb, Deb.....what kind of cop are you, anyway?? Gabriel is so damn hot.

Fantastic episode...so many good things to think about as well as so many good lines.

I would agree with anyone who said the Deb/Lundy scenes were great. I wasn't sure how much I'd like Special Agent Rockstar at first. The more I see him, the more I like him.

Lila is growing on me as well. I'm excited to see them dive deeper into her character...she seems especially disturbed.

My, my...Rita was looking extra sexy tonight. I can't put my finger on it but she looked good. Dexter is a lucky man. Lila ain't too shabby either...in the dark sense.

Tonight reminded me of "Father Knows Best." Dexter goes off on a trip and confronts someone or something from his past. Meanwhile, the main story of the season gets put on the back burner (only a little). Then you have the camera at the end to bring it back to the BHB case. I wonder how much of Dexter's cleaning was caught.

And if MCH doesn't get the nod for Outstanding Actor after this season, I don't think he ever will. He's been nothing short of spectacular this season.

I agree Rita did look really good tonight. Very pretty, she wasn't so plain like she normally is.

BTW-- what did Lila text Dexter at the end?

She wanted to know when their next little trip would be.

If Harry had been with Laura for several years, it's quite possible that he might have believed Dexter was his biological son for a while. Now there seems to be another reason to get the biological dad out of the way. If Laura and Harry were spending a lot of time together, Harry could have seen himself as already raising Dexter, and really wanted anyone else out of the picture (not just because he wanted to mold a serial killer, but because he was also that attached to the kid). The ruffling of the hair during questioning was telling.

Gabriel must reallllly like Deb if he took her back after her snooping at outward displays of distrust.

Oh, and that brownie on Rita's table when Dexter came in? I totally wanted to reach through my screen and eat it.

I think it said, "When are we going on another road trip?"

So far, there is just no good reason why Harry took Dex and not Brian. Even if he thought Dex was his, why not take the brother too? The boys had the same mother, someone that Harry loved. It is just weird.

I am glad Dex did not kill that guy. He let out some more info for Dex to research so we can make a whole season out of this. I would like to see Dexter kill someone though...guess he can't do it with Lilah along tho..

Deb is a paranoid idiot. They keep showing these women acting so stupid for detectives. I think it would be a hoot for Deb and Lundy to get together!!!!

No nookie for Dex and Rita!!! Gail will make sure of that. Get them fighting and then break them up. But quitting her job and selling her house? Dex may end up with Lilah on the side, now that he is having fun having sex.

Rita is wearing more makeup this season. It makes her look harder and older. She seemed so sweet and innocent last season. I liked that better.

No surprise with LaGuerta and Doakes. You could see they had something going on in season one besides being partners.

Other than the few scenes after Paul's death, the make-up and wardrobe people have really amped up Rita's look this season. One of the first things I noticed is that she's been far more tanned in the last few episodes, and almost always has eye make-up on, whereas last season she almost never had any eye shadow or mascara on that was visible to the camera. And she's wearing more fitted and revealing dresses. I think it's all part and parcel of her newfound confident state.

I don't remember Dex and his bio dad's blood type and rhesus but I do remember the doctor telling Harry it was rare, that they didn't have it and that Dexter needed it.

Harry "found" some and Dexter draw a thank you card to the anonymous donor (that he found at his bio dad's house decades later).

Harry is not Dexter's bio dad otherwise he wouldn't have had to track down the bio dad to get some of his blood when Dexter needed surgery.

No need for DNA analysis, blood type and rhesus suffice.

I feel that ever since Rita saw Lila, she's changed in appearance. It's like she's trying in her own way to compete with Lila. Did you see the way Dex was looking at Lila when she was taking a shower?? And she didn't even close the door!! What a tease! I feel bad for Rita, Dex never looked at her that way. Thankfully he didn't sleep with her......yet....... Please TPTB don't let it happen :(



Exactly! I can't and won't trust her. I just know she has an ulterior motive.

Rita's mom is such a manipulative bitch. She obviously doesn't trust Rita and doesn't think she can take care of herself. She's a grown woman who went through hell because of her ex-husband and now you show up to protect her?? I wanna know why she wasn't so persistent when Rita was with Paul. Why now, huh?

I second the notion that MCH deserves a buttload of awards for his work this season, he never fails to amaze me. JB is doing great this season as well.

That scene with Lila are so raw and made the subsequent facile scene with Rita seem almost profane. Everything about him became rigidly pleasant the moment he walked in the door.

I couldn't stand Rita last season because I didn't feel she fit into the story, but I'm beginning to accept her because of the counterpoint she brings out in Dexter. As a character she's all facade. What or who the real Rita is a mystery because I don't even think she knows. She "ran away" with Paul to "get away" from her mother, and she seems to concoct profiles on these people to define herself so that none of her failures are ever her fault. And she's doing that with Dexter. She's not happy on her own, he makes her life happy. So maybe they're not trying to convince me Rita has no flaws. Only her facade is clean.


She said earlier that it wasn't "art" it was "cottage porn" so in her boredom she decided to fix it to her own liking.


And thank god for that. He's too old for Debra, who's never shown an interest in older men, and I'm glad that they're allowing her to develop a deeper relationship with a man that doesn't involve sex. Let her resolve her daddy issues by relating to a man who could be her father LIKE he's a father and not fucking him. That would be too contrived.

Although, if they have to give her a contrived love interest (Seriously, Gabe writes "children's books." And THAT didn't set off any red flags for Lundy?) let him be as hot as Gabe.

Yes. And the way that Rita tried to paint herself as simpatico with Dexter by saying that she's trying to quit her own (terrifically mundane) addiction, though a nice gesture on her part, just furthered the contrast of genuine vs. fake in the two scenes: she doesn't get what drives Dexter the way Lila can/does, and wouldn't want to if she could.

Which doesn't say anything bad about her, imo. What sane person would want to discover that kind of darkness in their significant other, let alone share in it?

On another note. Rita's neon green, pink, and yellow pattern dress with the fugly neckline is nearly the single most horrific thing I've ever seen on Dexter! GAK. Leave the '70s fashions in the past, woman!

WOW! I really enjoyed the quiet intensity of this episode... so much speculation left "hanging" for the viewers to ponder Just a few "get 'em off my chest" comments/thoughts:
* Rita simply ANNOYS me, more and more. Yeeeaaaahhh, she's a good mom (always cooking breakfast, that one!), but she is a tad too June Cleaver-ish for me. Hard to believe that she would have stayed with her creepy (now dead) ex so long as to have TWO children with him... there's no indication that she ever abused any substances, and her ex (sorry, can't remember his name already!) seemed like the type who would have been partying his a** off since jr. high. Usually in these marriages, in the beginning at least, they would have BOTH been "partyers"; what ever drew them together in the first place? Rita, to me, is so well-meaning, so "good", that she is pretty one-dimensional. Hard to believe that, after assuming that Dex is a druggy, she so quickly offers her support; hadn't she been burned enough in the past?? Although I can't stand her mom, I CAN understand why she would not want another addict around Rita and kids...

* THAT BEING SAID, that mom is one nosy, snooping witch. Rita neds to grow a backbone and tell her mom to get a life and find her own place to live, same town or not. If she has a house to sell, then surely she can afford her own digs. I can't believe that Rita just "took it" and didn't stand up to her mother about deserving her own privacy, esp. when a few scenes earlier, she seemed happy to have Mom packing (so much for that!). RITA THE DOORMAT= YUCK!! Even when she asserts herself, she comes across as a frightened little girl; her little girl is so much more interesting.

* INQUIRING MINDS ( well, mine, anyway!) WANT TO KNOW: exactly WHAT are Dexter and Lila's respective "drug(s) of choice?" The writers always seem to put in (the scripts) the words "use" and "using," but... exactly what are the characters referring to? Coke? Alcohol? Meth? Vicodin? WHAT WHAT WHAT?? Perhaps I missed the details, but when Dex 1st addressed his NA group, he seemed awful vague ("I don't know what I am") ; aren't they supposed to speak about bottoming out in some detail, or to at least refer to their DOC? Any 12-stepper will tell you that they always self-segregate (to some extent, anyway) according to their "drug of choice"; if you're a recovering heroin addict, your sponsor shouldn't be a meth-head; you need to be able to relate/be able to detect telltale signs of relapse, etc. Well, I assume, I'm more or less going by James Frey's novel (and it WAS good, I don't care if he "embellished," go suck it, Oprah!)

* I didn't quite believe Lila's story about the fire, there may be truth in it, but to quote Rita's mother : "(S)he's hiding something. I can tell." IMO only, I don't think we know the "real" Lila, at all. I'm 100% hetero, but I have to admit that she is quite the sexy sponsor, and unlike a previous poster, the Brit accent is SO seductive; she's like Scarlet O'Hara (charisma-wise) to Rita's humble "Melanie." If I were Rita, AIN'T NO WAY I'd have that vixen "sponsoring" MY man, oh HELL no!! ;)

* Michael Hall is just SO good in this part; from a gay funeral director to a serial killer; who knew??!! Which reminds me, I saw some promo for a new show w/Nate from 6'Under, but haven't seen it again - bet it's no "Dexter," though.

gagirl62, Dexter's addicted to killing people. Aside from that, he doesn't have any addictions. He doesn't take narcotics. He's in the program because Rita *thinks* he's addicted to drugs, instead of the other thing.

It would be nice if they made clear what Lila was into, though.

I thought this was a great episode.

However.

I still do not like Lila much. Maybe it's the way she's being performed, but she is just so overbearing. I know Dexter is needing a connection with someone, but I wouldn't be able to take Lila. People like her are best in small doses. A hand-shake, a "how are you", and an "I've gotta go" as soon as she starts to explain.

She didn't grate on my nerves in the last scene with her, though I also don't exactly buy what she's saying about her ex.

I really loathe Rita's mom. If my mother was like that, I'd have put myself up for adoption as a tot.

OMG, I laughed SO hard at this. Funniest line I've heard in ANY show in months.

Wow, that scene with Lundy having lunch with Deb at the marina really made me think he has the hots for her. Then as the scene played out I could understand the people who think he's being a father figure. I'm just not sure now. I don't think he's too old for her. I think maturity levels and pychological factors can come into play to decide whether two people are compatible, more so than age difference. Sure, being of different generations means they have different points of reference, but that shouldn't be too big of a problem. I speak from a bit of experience here. I once had a thing with a woman more than 20 years my junior and we got along famously.

Man, just when I was ready to jump on the hate Lilah bandwagon, she really got to me as she was trying to help Dex from "using." Her accent bugs me a little, but sometimes it's sexy. And I loved how she started adding onto an existing painting in the hotel room. I think she's the artiste type that constantly has to be creating, whether it's creating a painting, "found" art, or just creating an adventure with Dexter. Interesting character.

I was SO glad Dexter didn't go through with killing that man. It just seemed....wrong to me. Wronger than usual, anyway. Usually I have no problem with the victims he chooses, but this guy just seemed like a scared old man, and Dexter wasn't doing it for the usual reasons. He was an out of control madman who needed to step back and re-evaluate the situation. Thankfully, Lilah called when she did, and he came to his senses. After all, the dude said he would have been killed if he had disobeyed orders to kill Dexter's Mom. And c'mon, Dex, don't get on the guy's case for "sawing her up into pieces"...you do the same thing with your victims!!

ETA I thought this was a superb episode. Best of the season so far.

Wow - Bra'tac was one of the guys who killed Dex's mom. Glad to see Tony Amendola is getting work after SG-1 ended.

Yeah. I think it felt more wrong than usual because, usually, the Code's ritual imposes some sanity and control on Dexter. Without that, he was just this crazed, agonized creature, lashing out. Spitting in the man's face, sweating and shaking, panting, shouting -- Much more disturbing than the clinical approach.

Okay. Couple things I wanted to say...

First, I really liked the comic book references throughout. It made sense that Dexter and the people in his storyverse would try to understand him that way, since it's one of the way the fans have.

I liked that the stylistic idealization of dysfunction that you see in comics gets, erm, complicated in the show. Sure, Dexter would like to think of himself as a righteous Dark Defender, but he isn't that entirely anymore than he's just the monstrous Bay Harbor Butcher.

His dream of himself as the hero who saves his mother felt like a hurt child's fantasy of empowerment, which really fit, imo.

Second, Dexter's afraid he'll hurt the people closest to him "the way he's hurt so many before." Lila doesn't know what that entails, but I do, and that one line creeped the fuck out of me. Also answered the niggling question I had about whether he actively thinks about getting out the power tools and doing the things he does to bad people to the people he works with, his girlfriend, his sister, etc., or if he'd sequestered/redirected those desires enough that he didn't think of non-bad people as meat.

Maybe I'm reading too much into the line, but that was rather more Butcher than Defender: good sheepdogs aren't supposed to imagine a juicy dinner of lamp chops when they look at the sheep.

Last, but not least, Lundy and Deb! Long may the mentor/student relationship thrive! I love how he takes care of himself emotionally, giving himself his lunch every day at 1 o'clock, taking things at a steady pace. I want him to be able to share more of that with her. (omg, please don't pair them up sexually, show!)

Hee!
So glad I wasn't the only one thinking that.

I'll have to come back later. The sight of MCH in leather made my brain melt.

I miss the cool and playful suspense of last season's ITK mystery, but I thought MCH did fantastic work here, and it's fascinating to watch him break free even as the noose seems to tighten.

Loved La Guerta and Doakes. And I'm really enjoying the relationship between Deb and Lundy and am cool with them whether it's friendship or love. I can't quite figure out which it is yet, but he's someone who is really good for her. (Although, as the child of a sailor, the idea that anyone would bathe their feet in the nasty water of the average marina -- aghgh)

And speaking of issues: Lilah? Hate. She's just so freaking one-note. The accent, the lips, the stealing, the entitlement and self-involved navel-gazing all wrapped around horrible art... just, AGGH. She just feels like a "character," not a person -- someone to do what the plot requires (in this case, to tempt Dexter in several ways). Right down to the Britney Spears wardrobe and fakey/movie-set workspace, and the fact that she's not remotely convincing as an NA sponsor assisting an addict in recovery. To me she's a misstep from the writing team this season, and her so blatantly going after Dexter just seems over the top to me. It could have been accomplished in a different and more believable way; I would have loved Lilah if instead she had been like Dexter, appearing normal and attractive on the outside while totally getting his dark side.

As it is, it's all like the scene in the hotel room, when she tried to 'improve' the painting with the blood-like lipstick (as if the writers are screaming, See? She's like Dex!), as the perfect case in point. And then she strips down right in front of him in that I'm-so-free-spirited kind of way -- it's just so obvious and boring, and I'm kind of disappointed in Dexter for not at least seeing how calculated she is. It appears to be a pretty safe bet that Dexter will fuck her, drawn to her 'honest' darkness, and I'm sure the sex will even be pretty hot. But my (utterly unspoiled) guess is that Lilah will either do something unbalanced that shocks or endangers Dexter (or simply his adherence to the rules/Harry's Code) or that he will realize that while her view of his darkness is exhilarating, it may very well be all she sees. Which is no more the whole Dexter than the smiley daylight Dexter.

It's not that I'm especially invested in Rita, although I like her, and adore Julie Benz. But the irony is that the Dexter Rita sees is more the real him than he may be aware of. Meanwhile, I will say that Lilah's last two scenes with Dex were the most believable and interesting she's had, so we'll see what happens.

On the trivial side, I didn't really like the new actress playing Dexter's mother this episode -- she's much harder-looking than the other actress from "Seeing Red" and "Born Free," who conveyed a kind of faded sweetness and was also a lot blonder, so the difference was really distracting. Although it's also sad to see all these vestiges of Harry's goodness fading away... again, I kind of wish they wouldn't overcomplicate the relationships -- does Harry have to be pitch-dark to be interesting? What interested me in Harry was that he seemed to be a man with an ironbound sense of right and wrong, and he managed (albeit in a skewed way) to impart that sense onto a sociopath.

And the videotape... damn. Why didn't he go out on the water to do that? And isn't too clean just as big a red flag in its own way? (My other thought was, if he was really smart, to also do some bona fide fishing, slop some beer around, etc., so the boat wasn't "too clean." And yeah, I just creeped myself out.)

Good point - but maybe Harry didn't have that perfect knowledge. He could have thought (or been told by Laura) that he WAS, indeed, Dexter's father.

But Harry was the one who got Dex's bio-dad to donate blood to Dex when he was a child. Or are you saying that up until that point that Harry may have thought he was Dex's bio-dad?

Though, as a cop, and from what we know of Harry thus far -- I'm sure he'd have arranged a blood test ASAP.

Loved this episode and MCH's intensity during both the confrontation scene with his mother's killer and the aftermath with Lila at the motel.

Also liked the parallel between Harry and Lila's boyfriend, the guy who became her dealer. I never really thought of Harry as Dex's "dealer," but I can see how he could be viewed that way (he thought Dex was a monster who wouldn't be able to change, and thus fed his addiction/dark passenger by teaching how to kill the bad people and get away with it.) All last season, I thought it was a good tactic on Harry's part to channel Dex's urges (lest he turn out like Rudy/Brian/ITK). Still, I like how this season the writers have created some ambiguity as to whether Harry hurt Dex more by not trying harder to rehabilitate him.

With that said, I'm looking forward to when Dexter is confronted by someone who makes him question whether he has the right to decide whether someone deserves to live or die. (Since he told Lila that if her boyfriend deserved to die in the fire, then she didn't do anything wrong.) I could see this person being Deb or Lundy... perhaps even Rita?

What I think is interesting about it is that more and more often it's occurring to Dexter that he's not just finding an "acceptable" way to feed his need, but that he could actually be seen as someone who's not a monster. That there are people in the normal world who think that what he does is not only acceptable, but admirable. The way that Harry trained him didn't really allow for Dexter to believe that he could do what he does and still be a truly good person, but now the positive feedback from some media and other sources (like the comic book store and even though she doesn't know the facts, Lila) is letting him believe that he's not just a monster. That there's more to him than that.

I can't wait to see how Dexter gets out of this one, because the only thing I'm certain of is that he can't get caught because the ratings are too good on the show.

Based upon everything we know about Deb from last season when she snorted at Angel when he even joked about "if he were 10 years younger..." and how she's 28 going on 16 in maturity AND is still dealing with dating a serial killer, the one man that makes absolutely no sense whatsoever for her to develop a sexual relationship would be the 57-year-old, nerdy and seemingly sexless because he's still in love with his late wife Lundy. But in Hollywood, 28 is seen as the absolutely perfect age to match up with a nearly 60 year old man.

I love Keith Carradine and thought he was still smokin hot when I saw him at the Dexter event last week. But Lundy isn't Carradine. He strikes me as a very conservative, straitlaced guy who thinks of Deb fondly, but not sexually, because in his mind, as well as in hers, she's too young for him and he's too old for her. Plus, and this shouldn't be discounted, he's in a position of authority over Deb. I doubt someone like Lundy would ever have a workplace romance. Too messy for the fastidious Lundy.

Plus, she's already tentatively trying to move on with another man. Deb didn't see this much play last season when she wasn't so emotionally damaged that it would seem even more like a Hollywood contrivance to throw her in the sack with Lundy. If anything, Dexter would hook Lundy up with Gail and see if that one sticks.





Dexter's always known what he is, even after Lundy gave him the out of "saving an innocent life" as justification. He even acknowledged as much as he was taking the justification. Dexter's never claimed to be a vigilante or a "dark defender" it's just that Harry's code created that pathology for him. But he was already killing small animals and wanting to kill his classmates before he started killing "bad people."

What Dexter's enjoying about possibly being the "Dark Defender" instead of the "Bay Harbor Butcher" is that there is a superficial acceptance of him by the good people of Miami. And like all of Dexter's other acceptance by people other than Brian and now Lila, it's based upon false assumptions, but at least it gets closer to who the real Dexter is.

Well, that's a first for me: an episode of Dexter I didn't like at all!

Partly it's the dislike of the Lilah character and how she's affecting Dexter... and the continued character assassination of Harry Morgan... hated the Dexter dream scene with the Dark Defender... and the security camera a-ha at the end... just so much that rubbed me the wrong way.

LaGuerta and Doakes are always a pleasure, and it doesn't surprise me that they were doing some kind of hokey-pokey back in the day, but that doesn't excuse the utterly hackneyed "How did you know?" "I didn't, until just now." Quit stooping, show!

I don't see peeling back the layers of Harry as being a character assassination. Harry was always secretive about how Dexter came to live with the Morgans, but as a small child he developed an attachment to the man he thought of not just as his father but as his savior.

But Harry was never a saint, even last season. There was leaving Brian in the container, not telling Dexter his bio-dad was alive, and covering up the existence of the boys in the news reports, and last but not least, training his adoptive son in being the perfect vigilante. Harry was always a scary man, but this year we're having Dexter's starry-eyed remembrances stripped away to expose just how scary he was.

I'm glad I'm not the only one who feels this way. I'm trying to be open to the character since the minute she started destroying property and stealing for her "art" I figured I was biased against her--I hate that stereotype. But she just gets worse and worse. I'm hoping that there will be some interesting twist because at the moment it seems like Dexter just has a blind spot about this kind of person--like it's part of his "differentness" that he doesn't recognize a tiresome poseur. She's just irritating to me, especially as his sponser. I don't find her believable in that role at all. Are sponsers supposed to show up at your job and stick themselves in your face and text you about when you're going to run away together again? Isn't he supposed to be calling her just when he's about to use/has used?

At this point my hope is that Lilah ends up dead and somehow blamed for the Bay Harbour Butcher's killings to wrap that story up because no, Dexter should not be looking to her as any sort of sidekick. I'd actually think Rita would have a better chance of seeing and accepting Dexter for what he truly is. Lilah's so into herself it's hard for me to imagine her really seeing anybody. (Ooh, fake blood spattered on a paper! Can I have this to make into my, like, art? Watch me suck it off my finger in a sexy vampire way!)



I don't know if I see it this way. The thing with Harry is, as screwed up as he was, serial killers are serial killers. It seems like a pretty realistic view for Harry to think that Dexter was going to kill either way and the best he could hope was that he could make he could channel it into something like justice. Dexter isn't what he is because Harry thought he was a monster, he showed all the natural warning signs of what he would become and Harry kept him out of psych wards and gave him something like a normal life. I think that's totally the opposite of somebody being a dealer and getting them hooked on drugs. Not that I'm giving Harry a pass or saying he didn't ever use Dexter's tendencies to his own advantage at all.

To get back to the Lilah storyline, that's why I keep hoping this is all going in that direction, that Dexter starting to feel like somebody no different from a drug abuser is just one big bad idea, and that far from being a sponser helping him cope Lilah's just making him worse.

Was I the only one who thought Bad Bartender might have been lying (or mistaken) about Harry's involvement with Laura? Maybe he wasn't, and it's a plot point TPTB wanted to get in and now, but IRL, the word of a lifetime sleazebucket criminal presently undergoing torture shouldn't be immediately relied upon.

Again, I'll voice my displeasure with the rehabilitation of Dex. A sociopath doesn't feel 'hollow.' He just goes through his day. That's a projection onto him by healthier psyches, believing he can get better. Having said that, MCH is kicking ass.

Re: Lilah's addiction: When Lilah recounted her story of her "boyfriend," who turned out to be her dealer, she said he had her completely strung-out on cocaine.

For much of this episode, I thought she was going to emerge as his Light Passenger - relieved to see it's more complicated than that.

Either way, I find it difficult to invest in this character or their relationship. She's barely more than a cipher, or a device for Dexter to lighten up his dark side. And I think we all know that she won't be surviving the season...she's too erratic and unstable, and poses a threat to him in some way.

The part where Lila confesses her drug past seemed like the first effort to make Lila more than a plot device. She's definitely not right in the head and should not be his sponsor. The idea that someone would walk in on Dexter bashing the dummy head and then want to taste the fake blood and type a Dexter-Pollack home... eewww... Though I loved that Dex's plastic cloak looked an awful lot like the silhouette of the Dark Defender in that scene. And how Dex was projecting his rage at his mother's killers onto the head.

To me, Lilah is another example of Dex's efforts to feel alive, by doing some very risky things to feel it. Lila symbolically is fire - her art is about welding things with a blowtorch, she killed her dealer-lover by fire (not the first fire she's set I'd guess) and she was turning the mountain in the cottage-porn into an erupting volcano. She makes a great contrast to the other women in Dexter's life - to Deb, the self-identifying Ice Princess, and Rita, who is the impenetrable mask of domestic bliss, now with a Disapproving Mother guard dog.

It may be OK to have Lila act as the sidekick of the Dark Passenger, but I have a feeling in the long run that Dex does not play well with others. :D

I'd agree. And someone else here mentioned he might end up having to kill Lila, and I think that will happen too. At first I thought, well, no, he'll come to care about her and won't kill her even if she deserves it, and then I remembered that he killed his brother who he identified with and probably loved on some level.

That's very perceptive Rosewood vis a vis the fire - although I maintain that she is a plot device for that very reason: Dexter is (symbolically) playing with fire or trying to fight fire with fire.

He is going to have to stamp it out soon enough.

Thanks, I thought it was a different woman, but couldn't remember that much about the character from last season.


That he created by the by. Harry was a cop and had to play by "cop rules" to catch his killers. Through Dex, though, he could exact revenge or justice or whatever you want to call it by molding Dex into the perfect killer of evil doers that the cops couldn't catch or didn't even know were killing innocent people. It's really almost a cop fantasy show. Is it much different from what Doakes did with the Haitian dictator in season 1? It was deemed clean; the same as killing the guy last week, but he was cleared of it (that was in essence "self-defense" but still). It's interesting that Doakes has psychotherapy available to him, but to Dex, it's only NA.

Also, we have to believe in this case that Dexter was not born a sociopath, but was created by his mother's murder.


This guy didn't have much to lose and he doesn't really know who Dexter is even though Dexter said he was the kid in the container and woman was his mother. I don't think he's lying. He doesn't know if Dex is going to kill him or what.