(S04E07) "We all have secrets, Debs. Some of them shouldn't be found out." - Dexter to DebraWhile preparing this post, I had to double check the time stamp on this week's episode because "7" just seemed too early. It literally felt like we were more episodes into the season. I even looked out my window to make sure the Earth had not been sent into some kind of time paradox where time runs backwards, the sun comes out at night, and golf is America's most watched sport.
Then when I looked over my notes for the recent episode, I realized why. "Slack tide" indeed.
This week's episode did have some very great moments that showed glimmers of the show's glory days, but the rest got bogged down in the same sidetracks that have dragged the rest of the season down with it. The plots may be in different pieces, but they are all in the same garbage bag as they float through the Gulf Stream.
The scenes with the Trinity Killer, now unmasked as Arthur
And Dexter finally makes a kill, his first one since he sliced up the ultra evil cop bitch in the "Dexter Takes a Holiday" episode almost a month ago. Dexter's To-Do list is more disorganized than mine.
The rest just form this crooked mesh of twisted plot lines that have no bearing on anything yet and are in danger of not becoming interesting once they do. That sense of suspension of disbelief was all but shattered when Dexter officially made an enemy of Quinn by out-and-out threatening to rat him out if his girlfriend reporter did a big feature piece on his sister. It just felt like very weak glue to hold together pieces that don't seem to fit in the first place.
And now we've discovered that Quinn has replaced Doakes as Dexter's new butt thorn, simply because Dexter made an idle threat. Quinn has no reason to suspect Dexter of anything other than being a rat or an IA snitch, so it's like watching Doakes track Dexter but without the thrills, tension or interest.
Still, things can only get better from here. I hope.
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Reader Comments (Page 1 of 1)
11-10-2009 @ 3:02AM
jimbo said...
I'm actually enjoying this season. Its probably going to culminate with trinity trying to kill deb in a bathtub (the sister), rita falling from a rooftop (the mother), and bludgeoning dexter with a hammer (the father).
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11-10-2009 @ 3:29AM
Frantic Monkey said...
Good theory, but from the preview for next week it looks like Dexter may get Trinity on his table wrapped in cling wrap. May end up a tease though.
11-10-2009 @ 10:58AM
Megan said...
I actually disagree with the idea that there isn't tension or thrill with Dexter being tracked by Quinn. Dexter verbalized that he has blackmail against Quinn. Quinn, who has been a problem from the beginning, is manipulative, controlling and mysterious. He's shown his random temper and short fuse on touchy subjects and I think this new relationship is intriguing and VERY exciting. Plus Dexter hasn't been on top of his game all season, now with Deb digging deeper into trinity Dexter can't kill him. With trinity off the market as a kill, and Quinn watching his every other move, Dexter will get anxious about killing. I have a feeling he will make a VERY bad judgment in episodes to come.
But I agree that this episode left me clutching the tv screen and screaming at the episode as if they can hear me.
ps. Can anyone tell me why almost every character was agitated and ornery this week?
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11-10-2009 @ 12:06PM
MJL said...
Danny,
How come your episode reviews aren't posted until two days after the episode airs?
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11-10-2009 @ 4:09PM
bladev1 said...
I see what you are saying about Quinn and Doakes, but I think the dynamic is different. Doakes was actively trailing Dexter and was trying to prove he was bad. Quinn is just trying to intimidate him; the scene at the club where Quinn shows up and Dexter was there was just coincidence. Quinn was following the photographer, not Dexter. But I do see this coming to ahead and Quinn investigating Dexter. There is a parallel there with this and last season though, it looks like once again Dexter will put his secret of being a serial killer in the hands of someone else; at least this time it is another serial killer
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11-10-2009 @ 4:27PM
Jacob said...
Quinn was absolutely following Dexter. When the clubgoer asks if he is Quinn, he replies in the affirmative, then quickly realizes Dexter isn't at the bar anymore. He clearly says something like "This lab geek just f***** ditched me?"
11-10-2009 @ 5:30PM
Becky said...
Just asking the obvious, but who is that coffin for, that Trinity was making? He never buries his victims, so is he going to bury his sister's ashes or something? Making it for Dexter wouldn't make sense, unless he knows more about Dexter/Kyle than he lets on.
Again, Dexter's not listening to Harry, and it's going to blow up in his face.
Why the random plot line of showcasing the fighting neighbors? Maybe Rita will have an affair with that neighbor, and then she and Dexter will break up and he'll be alone again.
I cringe when I see Dexter and Quinn together. I feel like Quinn will end up the same as Doakes, somehow.
Deb and Rita are boring.
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11-10-2009 @ 9:31PM
cret said...
What if "Trinity" knows who Dexter is and is setting him up? Dexter now has the hammer (murder weapon) and handled the axe (potential murder weapon) and has handled the micro-cassette recorder. You would have to think that such a man would look into some random guy that is trying to hang around, ask questions and touch his mother's urn. At least to the extent of finding out that "Kyle" doesn't exist.
11-10-2009 @ 9:51PM
Becky said...
I suspect Trinity knows that Kyle isn't all who he says he is. But Dexter has such animal instincts about other people; it would be hard to believe that he wouldn't know that someone was following him, so to speak. But this raises an interesting point.
11-11-2009 @ 5:01PM
Leroy said...
Trinity has made several cryptic comments that make it sound like he is ready to pass his legacy on to someone else. I think he's making the coffin for himself.
11-11-2009 @ 7:37AM
antikorper said...
Arthur seems on Edge. You heard it first here: I dont think he kills in threes. I think his cycle is not yet complete. He kills in fours. Number four is always neatly packaged in a coffin which he burries. Trinity should be called quadrinity or whatever.
i am looking forward to the standoff between dexter and arthur next week. cant wait!
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11-11-2009 @ 6:06PM
Becky said...
That is an awesome theory about Trinity killing in fours. Totally makes sense.
I also think the coffin could be for himself...
Can't wait for next week.
11-12-2009 @ 3:55AM
paranoid android said...
Not quite, I posted the same idea in the TWOP forums two days ago;)
The coffin-building seemed far too ritualtistic to be a new thing IMO.