Aside from the emotional impact, that flashback scene also made me wonder *where* Dexter's bio dad was when this horror was happening to his wife and son. I assume that the bio dad is not the murderer, despite Dexter's projection of Paul into the role of the potential killer. (Like you said, Oedipus complex much?)

Rudy's arrogance in insinuating himself into the lives of Deb and Dexter, who've been living and breathing the ITK cases for months, will ultimately be his downfall, I think. I also thought the show took a significant turn toward more grim darkness (as opposed to its trademark mix of black humour and violence) in this episode. What happened to Angel really shook me, not to mention the horrific nature of Dexter's flashback. And we only have two more episodes to go! I can't wait to see how this will be all wrapped up.