(S03E09) Things are coming together and they will have a lot to cram into the last three episodes of Dexter, that's for sure. Some huge things happened in this episode, but mostly, it leaves me with a lot of questions. Really, really good questions.
I'll leave the spoilery ones until after the break and start with Barbara...
What's up with Batista's chick talking dirty to Masuka?
I don't know why Vince would lie about something like that, and it seems to me there's more to it than Barbara trying to fit in. Didn't quite find that perfect girl, did you Batista?
What's the Skinner's motivation?
We know King is the Skinner, and now we know he is torturing his victims to try to find out where Freebo is. It seems he wants his money back. Really? Is that it? I honestly thought there'd be more to it, with a puppet master behind the scenes, pulling King's strings. I can't let that theory go; we've got three more episodes to find out more. It can't just be that Freebo owes this dude money.
Why is Quinn so invested in finding Anton?
He's put on the super-cop act before, and I might just even believe a little bit of it. But he got pretty intense when he rammed the car through the building to find Anton. Are we just supposed to think that Quinn has feelings? Is he genuinely sorry that he got Anton into this mess by not having him be an official CI? Why am I so suspicious?
How did Miguel know who Dexter was, so that he could use him so early on in the game?
Seriously, if Miguel was using Dexter way back when he gave him Freebo's short, he must know something about Dexter's past. But how? And what does he think he knows? Does he suspect that he is the Bay Harbor Butcher?
Why does Miguel need Dexter in the first place?
What is Miguel planning on doing? Killing to his heart's content and then blaming Dexter for the murders? If he wants to kill people, why would he seek out a teacher? Very, very odd. And creepy.
Moments:
- Poor Maria; she keeps losing people she feels close to.
- Dexter giving advice to Deb on how to catch a serial killer -- pretty sharply written.
- Quinn admits he used Anton.
- Dexter teaches Miguel a lesson that no one is untouchable when he unearths Ellen's body.
- Miguel using the same manipulative lies on Rita and Dexter: "I think you're going to save my life."
- Deb tricks Mario into revealing what he knows about King's secret hideout.
Best quotes of the episode:
- "Anton's a big guy, a lot of skin. (look from Deb) That's meant to be comforting." -- Dexter
- "I didn't create a monster, I was used by one. He used me." -- Dexter, when he discovered it was not not Freebo's blood on Miguel's shirt
- "Today, I feel something real." -- Dexter, regarding his anger toward Miguel for using him
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Let's talk about spoilers ...
Reader Comments (Page 1 of 2)
11-24-2008 @ 11:08AM
Andrew said...
Miguel and Dexter are both humongous psychopaths, and it makes for great tv.
King being the skinner does feel somewhat anticlimactic. I think the character of Quinn is just there to give Deb more character development.
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11-24-2008 @ 11:11AM
Key Rick said...
Admittedly, I puposely am postponing reading any of the Dexter novels so that I may enjoy this series. I don't know whether it's following the novels closely; however, when Dexter first met Miguel this season, something registered he isn't the man he tries hard to appear. I think Dexter's self-defense killing of Miguel's brother Oscar set more in motion than anyone could have predicted; e.g. Oscar and Ramone and Miguel probably all have/had shadowy secret lives, so Dexter's act lit a fuse there's no extinquishing with the Code. Perhaps Oscar was sent by King to recover money from Freebo, and not to simply make a drug buy? Miguel's seemingly newfound reluctance to deal with King in last night's episode made me wonder whether the two know each other.
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11-24-2008 @ 1:38PM
Matjaz said...
Only season 1 followed the book's events. You can the books as they don't reveal anything from the series, just expect to be disappointed. The sequels suck.
11-24-2008 @ 11:14AM
Alberto said...
I think Miguel is the mastermind behind King, Miguel also thinks highly of "respect".
I think in the scene where Miguel talks to King with cameras off, he is not trying to get him to confess but making sure he understands the plan moving ahead.
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11-24-2008 @ 11:43AM
0megapart!cle said...
Oh my god. You might just have it. That would certainly add a twist to the episode. All the people that say Dexter is ultimately predictable, I don't think so. Miguel is one sick psychopath if all of this development using Dexter, probably knowing he never had a real relationship (other than Rita and maybe Deb), manipulating him into letting his guard down.
Miguel doesn't know what he's unleashed, tricking Dexter like this. I think retribution will be swift.
11-24-2008 @ 12:10PM
cdawg said...
I don't think the Dexter books had a plot line like this one (I read two or three of em, but don't remember this at all)
Miguel pulling the strings with King is a VERY good insight. I thought it was a bit anticlimactic too, and wondered why there were three eps left. Alot more to cover.
Anyone else think Miguel was sleeping with Ellen Wolf too? She seemed "happy" to see him at midnight...
I don't think Miguel ever killed before, because he did certainly need guidance, but he knows all about Dex. How I have no idea... but he knows. And he is going to try to frame him for everything. I actually hope Dex doesn't kill Miguel - I REALLY like his character - a REAL match for Dex.
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11-24-2008 @ 12:12PM
cdawg said...
oh and can we discuss that amazing daydream sequence at the end!? That is Michael C. Hall at his absolute finest... throwing the chair. HOT
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11-24-2008 @ 1:09PM
collin said...
Quote of the evening:
"Hey, hey, get a room. Actually, no don't."
-- Masuka to Batista and girlfriend as they kiss
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11-24-2008 @ 1:26PM
bruce said...
Here's what I don't get... we actually SAW Freebo's blood get on Prado's shirt way back when he showed up at the scene of the dead Freebo. The bloody shirt he gave Dexter sure looked like teh same shirt he was wearing that day. Sure, could always be another shirt just like that one, but why? If Dexter knew blood had gotten on Prado's shirt, he would have told Prado to take off the shirt and leave it with him to be destroyed. It implicates both of them, it's evidence. Dexter would not have allowed it to remain with Prado if he knew about it. So we can be pretty confident that Dexter was unaware of Freebo's blood being on Prado's shirt in the first place. So why give Dexter an exact copy of that shirt with fake blood on it? Or why show us, the audience, that Freebo's blood had gotten on Prado's shirt in the first place?
The other thing that bugs me is that Prado conceded he was wrong in wanting to get rid of Ellen Wolf, that she was just doing her job - like Dexter said. So why kill her? Seems disingenous to the plot. I know Prado is a liar and can be extremely insincere, but if he really wanted Wolf dead he would have continued to argue with Dexter over it, trying to make his case. He's a lawyer, after all - that's what lawyers do, they argue and advocate their positions.
Finally, it would seem to me that the friendship between Miguel Prado and Dexter would have INSTANTLY ended in a fury the second Prado realized that Dexter dug up Wolf's body so as to allow her corpse to be found and identified. That's an act of pure betrayal on Dexter's part. It was an act of betrayal on Prado's part, too, of course. But Dexter should have realized that screwing with Prado's kill so as to allow the body to be found by the authorities would be the immediate end of their friendship, and moreover, that they'd be enemies from that pont forward. Not only did Dexter not recognize this, but Prado didn't take it as an act of sabotage and betrayal and was still willing (at least on the surface) to be Dexter's friend, and even thanked Dexter for teaching him a lesson. What the hell? That's gotta be the most unrealistic plot turn of all time.
On another note, I'm going to be very annoyed if the skinner is going around skinning people alive and killing them solely because Freebo owes him some money. That's just... retarded. There has to be a better reason for the skinner's actions. No, I'm not saying there's ever a legitimate reason to fillet people's skin off of their bodies while they're still alive, and then let them bleed out and die in agonizing pain. But there has to be a reason better than trying to find the location of someone who owes money. Come on, that's just lame.
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11-25-2008 @ 11:40PM
alexmonty said...
Bruce, your comments about the shirt were exactly my thoughts but I'm not really sure how Dexter is taking the revelation about the blood's origin, He was obviously unaware of the blood trace from the beginning, so, he has no reason to believe Miguel has a real shirt, (we as spectators know for sure there is one). He could only believe that it was a trick to give Miguel points in the trusting area.
But my mayor question is: how is this shirt a problem for Dexter?, it wouldn't prove anything against him, not the same story for Miguel, the shirt belongs to him and the blood is from Freebo, is it possible that some Dexter's DNA have been transferred to it?, I believe there is no connections whatsoever or am I missing something?.
11-26-2008 @ 10:52PM
Phish said...
miguel could have washed the shirt, added cows blood, then handed it to dexter. remember several hours passed since the murder event and dexter's meeting.
also, miguel was very convincing at the meeting, hey, he fooled all of us didnt he? no one saw that coming. great acting.
also i think dexter was secretly welcoming the fact that he has an ally, a confidante, and that affected his judgement.
this season will be about dexter learning the cold hard truth that when ur a murdering psycho, you can never trust anyone, never have any friends, never lead a normal life, and will always be alone!
that could be even more devastating for dexter. hopelessness.
11-24-2008 @ 3:04PM
cdawg said...
Bruce I think you're missing how psychopathic Miguel really is - he IS the type of person who planned all of this from the very beginning and knew that one day maybe he'd have to bring down Dex, but first needed to gain his trust. Planting a fake shirt accomplished both those goals. As for killing Ellen - it was never a question for him. He just humoured Dex by saying he understood why she couldn't be killed. Obviously it was his intent all along. She might have even been his main target overall - maybe they were having an affair, and she threatened to tell, so he knew ages ago that he'd have to get rid of her. He knew he'd need a mentor, someone to teach him how to kill first.
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11-24-2008 @ 6:21PM
bruce said...
cdawg, I don't buy that. If that's the case, Miguel Prado would have been killing people before he met Dexter. And maybe that's the case - maybe he was lying about how great and liberating his "first time" (with dexter) was. But I will believe it when I see it - I don't buy that theory as to what's going on here.
11-24-2008 @ 7:07PM
Brad said...
It just gets better and better. Never a dull moment with Dexter.
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11-24-2008 @ 10:00PM
pumpkinhead said...
I think it's pretty simple. It takes one to know one. When Miguel caught Dexter at Freebo's house that night, he knew he had found someone who acted out what he himself had inside of him. Miguel latched onto Dexter and little by little that side came out, and he "used" Dexter to teach him the ropes.
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11-24-2008 @ 10:55PM
Usama said...
I don't have Showtime so I have to use other means to watch this show. But anyway I just want to call to attention (because I'm so proud of myself) that I saw that one coming (the thing about Prado's shirt): http://www.tvsquad.com/2008/10/12/dexter-the-lion-sleeps-tonight/comments/14850616/
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11-27-2008 @ 11:33AM
lenny said...
I dont have showtime either . How can I watch it.I am totally confused , I watched season 1 on channel 2 and waited for it to come back, I heard it was on showtime but I thought that was repeats.Did I miss a season???
11-28-2008 @ 10:21AM
Usama said...
Lenny,
It sounds like you're in the Chicago area? Because our '2' is CBS, and CBS was airing season 1 during the writer's strike. It also sounds like you're a little confused about the origin of the show.. so I'll try to help you with that too.
First of all, the show is actually a Showtime (premium cable or satellite channel) show. Dexter was airing it's second season on Showtime when the writer's strike happened, CBS was running out of new episodes of all their usual programs so they decided to air season 1 of Dexter. CBS and Showtime are owned by the same corporation, so this was a win-win situation.. CBS would get "new" programming and it would get exposure for their sister channel, Showtime and its show Dexter.
Well the writer's strike ended and CBS stopped airing Dexter. I watched an episode or two on CBS and it was kind of a let down. CBS had to cut out a lot of stuff because of profanity/nudity and more importantly because the show actually runs a full 52-55min which is a lot more than the 40-45min network televisions run (reason being, Showtime doesn't have to air commercials in between).
Now if you enjoyed Dexter, or what little you saw, I recommend going over to Netflix or Blockbuster and renting the first season. If you really like it, purchase seasons 1 and 2 on DVD.
As for how I watch season 3, well there are ways to go about doing but I don't want to put TVSquad in a hard position so if you're all caught up with seasons 1 and 2 and want to watch season 3 then e-mail me for info on how to do that at usama_ah *at* yahoo "dot" com. I'm sure you can see what my actual e-mail is, I had to do that to avoid getting spammed.
11-24-2008 @ 11:03PM
Usama said...
ALSO I love the ending .. "today I feel something real" .. this can be what the next season is about, Dexter learns to open up to someone and then he feels; maybe he'll love the feeling of feeling (like Data and his emotion chip) and he'll want more?
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11-25-2008 @ 1:27PM
john said...
Miguel knows Dexter killed Oscar.
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