selenak

In which there is a road trip with passenger(s).

In an episode which generally I really liked, there was this moment that inadvertendly recalled one of my big frustrations with this season. To wit: Dexter telling Arthur's son about how his, Dexter's, selfish stupid behaviour re: Trinity got Rita killed. Well, yes, exactly. And what lesson did we draw from that, Dexter? Apparantly not the one that putting your own gratification before stopping a killer leads to awful things and sabotaging investigations is bad; hence Travis still walking around when he could have been locked up several episodes ago had not Dexter lied to Deb without any need to.

(Maybe I would not mind this as much if Travis were a more compelling character, but I hope I'm not as easy as that. I do like his sister, though. And btw, my theory is still ongoing, given the victim was careful to note she only heard two voices but never saw them. Also, given the Dexter and Brian scenes this episode and the parallels the show draws between Dexter and Travis my guess is Travis either killed or was somehow responsible for the death of Original Olmos and that this started the existence of Head!Olmos. )

Anyway. Using Brian/Rudy as a visualisation of Dexter's temptation to discard his conscience was well done, and I liked the small touches as Brian asking whether Deb had been worth it, or that exaspareted "Debra, Debra, Debra". Deb is of course the person Dexter loves best (well, her and Harrison, these days), but it's not surprising that he has some unadmitted resentments and putting them in his dead brother's mouth instead of ever voicing them himself is very Dexter-ish.

Bringing back Arthur's family (well, two dead and one living member) wrapped up a loose end from two seasons ago but also both hit home emotionally; Jonah had been the first to make Dexter realise that something was seriously wrong with Arthur's family life back in s4, and of course these days he identifies him with Harrison (as opposed to the teenager back in season 1, the first killer Dexter felt sorry for, whom he identified with himself), so there was a connection and resonance in this case that had been sorely missing from the show's cases of the week for a while, Sam's first episode aside. The way it is structured Jonah also provides a counterpoint to Nick, and an answer to Brian's question why it matters to Dexter whether or not another killer is guilty. (Bear in mind by now Dexter has killed several people who weren't guilty of murder, either by accident or sloppiness, but it's still the exception to the rule.) More importantly, it shows Sam did have an effect because the crucial difference Dexter sees here is that Jonah feels guilty and repents. (Which is a Sam factor, not a Harry factor. This is not something covered by the code as given by real Harry or by the modifications from imaginary Harry.) The season 1 teenager was spared the first time around because his original killings were made in self defense and after abuse. Jonah and his sister certainly were both abused as well, but Dexter knew that before he ever left for Nebraska; it's not just Jonah's motivation - rage at his mother's complicity and continuation of the abuse, grief and guilt over his sister - but the fact Jonah feels guilty instead of feeling gratified that makes a difference.

Given the way the show used (or not) Maria LaGuerta this season, I was more than relieved about the elevator scene between her and Deb because we finally got a break from the reducing of Maria to her very early s1 role as antagonistic scheming boss.

Quinn's apology made me fear the show would waste no time reuniting him with Deb, which is so what I don't want, but to my relief, it only lead to a gentle and more graceful goodbye. Let's hope it lasts. Speaking of lasting, I also hope Deb's exasparation over Dexter taking not one but five days off with undeclared destination will not vanish but lead to something.

In conclusion: now that we're back in Miami, fascinating Sam is still dead and dull Travis is still at liberty. This was not a good storytelling choice, show. Could you at the very least let Dexter stick to a lesson learned for longer than an episode and remember sabotaging investigations is stupid and selfish now?