Contributor: Gregg Wright
Written by Lauren Gussis
Directed by Alik Sakharov
After last episode, it was very unclear where “Dexter” was headed. It looked like Isaak was being taken out of the picture for a while, so something was needed to fill the void he’d left. This episode makes clear that Isaak isn’t going to remain behind bars very long, but there was still a lull here. That left Hannah McKay to take center stage. There was really only one direction the writers could go in to justify all the focus on her so far, and they went there.
Too much time has been spent on Hannah McKay for her to end up as just another kill-of-the-week (speaking of which, the show seems mercifully devoid of those now). But Hannah has killed, and we soon learn that she has probably killed multiple times over the years. But it’s also true that she has slowly and inexorably been taking hold of Dexter, flirting with him at every opportunity. The chemistry was undeniable.
I honestly can’t remember another time when someone who has ended up on Dexter’s table has survived the experience. But Hannah had her hooks too far into Dexter for him to actually go through with it. Dexter certainly did need some sort of outlet for everything that’s been building up inside him, and he got it. I don’t expect this to be a healthy relationship. Hannah hasn’t adequately shown that she’s reformed. I’d say she represents more of a counterpoint to Debra right now.
It’s interesting that this season has, in some ways, started to feel a bit like a retrospective on the series as a whole. It seems appropriate, somehow, that so much of Dexter’s past would start bubbling to the surface (now that Deb knows about him) and threaten to destroy him. If it’s not LaGuerta’s off-the-books investigation, it’s Deb’s continued probing into Dexter’s past, which is itself brought on by Deb’s participation in LaGuerta’s investigation.
While the Hannah McKay plot thread serves up sufficient intrigue, I’m a bit less enthused about Quinn’s subplot. I like that it’s actually becoming connected with the main plot, via the unleashing of Sirko, but the whole thing borders heavily on cliché. This, along with Angel’s retirement sub-plot, just further serve to remind us how the writers always seem to be struggling with finding enough for the supporting characters to do. That said, I still retain some sympathy for both Angel and Quinn, so it certainly could be worse.
Despite being a somewhat plodding episode, the pieces do seem to be falling into place for what could be an interesting conclusion. I still find Sirko to be a bit simplistic, at least in terms of his motivation for targeting Dexter, but I like the idea of Dexter finally killing the wrong person and having to deal with unusually extreme consequences. Sirko is going to get out, and he’s very likely going to kill a member of the main cast before he’s stopped.
Score: 7/10
