'Dexter': 5 Burning Questions From This Week's Episode
Showtime
Yikes, yikes, and more yikes. This week's adrenaline-filled Dexter is likely the strongest of the season thus far. Lumen and Dexter continue their campaign of vengeance against her former abusers while the fallout of a botched police operation left Miami Metro's cops completely divided. All cylinders have begun firing and highlight several critical questions as we approach the final few episodes.
Dexter's biggest developments—and the questions that come with them:
Why does a weirdo self-help guru care about Dexter's past? Cultish cheeseball Jordan Chase knew all about Dexter Morgan's past life. He name-dropped Rita and Harrison, obsessed over the Trinity Killer's psychology, and even summoned Dexter on stage during his inspirational seminar. Why so concerned? The personal attention is hardly ideal considering Dexter has plans to kill Chase after learning he was in on Lumen's abuse.
Jordan Chase's remarks also confirm a gaping plot hole in Dexter's last year, long suspected but never acknowledged. The Trinity Killer's slaying of Rita apparently did create a big splash in the media...but if Dexter's name and face went public, then why hasn't Arthur Mitchell's family already connected him to his Kyle Butler alias? The disconnect is particularly ridiculous given the emphasis placed on Quinn showing Jonah Mitchell a photo of Dexter earlier this season. If Dexter was a media star, then the Mitchell family has seen that face a thousand times already. Oh well.
Is new killer companion Lumen for real? For the first time, Dexter may have found a true partner in his kill room. Lumen buys his murder weapons, learns about M99, receives the blood slide from Dexter post-kill, and even dumps one of the body bags into the ocean waters. Despite her tearful anxiousness, Lumen appears maniacally dedicated to their mission, even forgoing her former fiancé this episode.
Big questions though: Can Lumen remain committed? Initial doubts persist. She wants vengeance, sure, but she recognizes Dexter's serial-killer passions ("If you didn't know me, you'd still be in this [kill] room") and seemed appropriately wary when she watched him sink the knife into Cole's chest. Yet their "supremely strange" relationship is not without intimacy. Not since Lila in season 2 have we seen such passion from Dexter, opening up in dramatically explicit new ways.
"You said I've done this before, that's true," Dexter tells Lumen surrounded by plastic wrap and murder-ritual photos. "When I was a child, my mother was murdered in front of me. It shattered me. I've done this ever since. Because for the longest time, it was the only way I could feel...unbroken. And then Rita was killed, and none of this made sense any more. Until now."
Is Dexter also finally relating to Deb? One of the most compelling moments was watching Dexter listen to his sister describe the complete lack of remorse she feels for killing a criminal days earlier. He stands virtually speechless and can barely choke out, "Dad once told me some people deserve to die."
How far will Miami Metro fall apart? Brilliantly new to this episode was tension within the police department. The show had introduced strain in the first season that disappeared with each subsequent season and solved case—up until the point where it seemed the homicide department would sing kumbaya and hold hands.
No longer. Now we see Lieutenant LaGuerta throwing Deb under the bus for the botched Club Mayan operation, Officer Monzone complying with her fabrications, and Batista siding with Deb against his own wife. Maria LaGuerta returns to her roots this season as a woman fixated on rank, ambition, and media manipulation. To what degree will these new developments hurt her marriage to Batista or Deb's own status in the force? Quinn seemed more than sympathetic with Deb and angry with LaGuerta himself. A potential coup? Deb could always go to Captain Matthews but he hardly seemed thrilled with her in last week's episode. And perhaps most importantly, to whom does Vince Masuka offer his loyalty? But speaking of rogue cops...
How much danger will Liddy pose? The final seconds revealed one heart attack of a problem: Quinn's rogue cop pal Stan Liddy has snapped photos of Dex and Lumen disposing of Cole's dead body. Yet the entertaining Liddy seems increasingly unhinged. Will Quinn, literally or figuratively, buy the photos? Another big question: Will Liddy feel compelled to act on his knowledge independently and are his own (or Dexter's) days numbered?