Dexter - S8E2 - Every Silver Lining
Previously, on Dexter: “A Beautiful Day”
When we last left Dexter Morgan, he had Dr. Evelyn Vogel tight in his grip. Instead of her telling him to take his meat hooks offa her, she pulled his “code” right out from under him like a rug.
Queue up an old timey recording of a uniformed Harry Morgan being interviewed by Vogel about his darling little boy and his murdering tendencies. We find out that two weeks prior, Harry confessed that Dexter, age 10, had been begging him to see an actual crime scene. Harry refused, but thought maybe a little “Take Your Psychopath Child to Work Day” might shock Dexter out of his…condition. So after a Coral Gables homicide, Harry sneaks Dexter in for a viewing. No shock and awe. No dice. “He just stood there.” Harry says, “Like he was admiring a painting.” All growns up Dexter is watching this footage play back and he indeed does remember that day. It was like a painting; and he wanted to be the artist.
Oh, and Kiddo Dexter stole a piece of crime scene evidence…a piece of blood covered glass. Coincidentally, “Blood Covered Glass” was the original title of this series. Or maybe not.
DR FRANKENSTEIN
Just as she tried to convince Harry Morgan years ago, Vogel tells Dexter that she always knew he displayed the traits of a true psychopath. Regardless, she’s helped to develop a reasonable framework for his survival; one where he killed bigger animals, animals that deserved it. That’s what spiritual neuroscientist psychopath whisperer mother figures do. It’s a bit beyond just cutting off your crusts for you,Dexter. Still, he doesn’t seem impressed.
BRAAAINS!
Caring for him, and believing in some part the path she created with Harry for Dexter saved his life, she hates to be the kinda neuroscientist that saves a serial killer then has to ask the serial killer a favor, but she has to be that kind of neuroscientist. *Jackie Brown Reference FTW*
It seems someone has left Dr. Vogel a package on her doorstep wrapped in butcher paper. A little something called the anterior insular cortex that was missing from the body dump in last week’s episode of “Blood Covered Glass”. Vogel is concerned the murderer might be a former patient, and that this is a message. “A Brain on the doorstep. Hardly a love letter. ” She wants Dexter to find the killer and kill him Harry/Vogel style; not to be sung to Gangnam Style. Unfortunately Dexter doesn’t take requests. This is not Vogel’s 1st round at the psycopath rodeo, and she’s afraid the killer could expose her for some, um, “unorthodox practices”. Here is where we can start calling her Evil-yn. Evil-yn Vogel. She offers Dexter another CD of Harry’s Greatest Hits to think about it.
AND THE HITS JUST KEEP ON COMING
We immediately cut to a man (who clearly shops at L.L. Bean) stretched out, bound and gagged with duct tape. Another man tells him, “You don’t deserve this, but I don’t have any choice; I have to.” Then he suffocates him with a plastic bag. Hard price to pay for that shirt.
Dexter is watching the second installment of the Harry interview in which Harry tells Vogel that Dexter had killed someone the night before. A drug dealer that had murdered some college aged clients. Harry explains that Dex made the drug dealer look at photos of his victims. Vogel chalks this off to Dexter’s inner sense of justice and that he’s down for the program/code. Get this man a cape!
SHE WORKS HARD FOR THE MONEY
Deb has finally checked in at Elway Investigations after weeks shacking up with the now dead Briggs. Her boss, Jacob Elway gives her the full Zimmerman with a ‘Bitch, you were supposed to stay in the car’ speech, but Deb wins knowing she has a key to get them the jewelry back at a 20% recovery. Too soon? Probably.
THE BRAIN SURGEON
L.L. Bean body dump number two is discovered minus the same fancy brainy part mentioned earlier. They determine a not very erotic asphyxiation and Dexter finds a plastic bag. Vogel is at the crime scene and she got another delivery…same section of the brain. She wonders if she could’ve prevented the murders. She never felt guilty about Dexter’s killing, FYI; only pride. He was making the world a better place.
Keys in hand, Deb and Elway enter Briggs’ apartment to snoop. Elway tries to pry into Deb’s life and her leaving Miami Metro, even calling out LaGuerta for being a serious pain in the ass, but Deb holds her ground. Debra finds an unopened bill for a storage company and heads there alone, sans Elway. El Sappo is stalking in the distance in his car. He’s El Sappo, man of car stalking mystery!
While Dexter is running prints off the plastic bag with Vogel, he inquires as to why he doesn’t remember her from his childhood of strangling puppies and drawing murders. Apparently Harry forbid them meeting. He wanted Dexter to not feel “sick”. A print is matched and we find the arrest sheet of whoever suffocated the L.L. Bean guy. Lyle Sussman. Unfortunately, Masuka also found a partial print on the duct tape over the victim’s mouth, so time is of the get shit done now. Dexter does some snooping at Sussman’s discovering a picture of a getaway cabin, but a car pulls up and Angel Batista hops out. Dexter makes a getaway.
DEB JEWELRY STORAGE
Deb unlocks Briggs’ storage and finds a big bag o’jewels. El Sappo sneaks up from behind and snatches the jewels and Debs handgun. Deb, forgetting she weighs less than the bag of jewelry, tries to defend herself, but is tossed around like a wiffle ball into piles of stolen goods until El Sappo is able to keep her down with a few solid body stomps. Just. Ouch. El Sappo pulls a gun but doesn’t kill her.
A NIGHTMARE IN FUR
Batista and Quinn are off to interview Sussman’s mother at her home. We have some bullshit dialog bounce around about why Quinn has yet to take the Sergant’s exam and how Batista wants him to step up and be a man if he is going to bang his sister Jamie. Keep it classy, Quinn. And also, could you shower? Apparently Lyle Sussman is quite the hunter and he and his mother are weaving together a creepy pelt of furry animal death. And you just lost your appetite.
El Sappo has been found shot in his car. Dexter is on the scene and steals a blood covered shard of glass he’s certain came from the shooter. Deb’s handgun, that El Sappo had stashed in the glove is bagged and tagged as evidence. Knowing Deb has been involved with these guys, Dexter takes off to check in on Deb.
Deb, surrounded by beer bottles just wants Dexter to leave and is more concerned with her hangover that the fact El Sappo is dead. Noticing the massive bruising on her side, Dexter demands to know what happened to her. And here we have our first reminder of how Deb discovered she was in love with Dexter last season. It’s not awkward at all.
CABIN IN THE WOODS
A step ahead of Miami Metro, Dexter throws on his kill shirt and heads out to Sussman’s cabin. He finds nothing but an array of tools and a dead Lyle Sussman hanging outside like a lawn ornament. It appears someone was two steps ahead of Miami Metro.
Dexter heads straight to Vogel to try and figure out where he went wrong. Vogel reassures Dexter he isn’t a mistake but Dexter isn’t pleased. Tired of being diagnosed, Dexter lashes back. She describes Dexter as an Alpha Wolf. She also insists that many politicians and CEOs contain psychopathic traits. She didn’t directly point out Ann Coulter or Fox News but we hear what she’s screaming. Either way, the killer is still out there. Once again, Vogel pushes to talk about Debra and Dexter refuses.
DATE NIGHT
Jamie gets irritated that Quinn is constantly on Deb Patrol. Quinn will be damned if he’s going to better himself for anyone. Jamie speaks Spanish to Angel and I’m genuinely annoyed I even have to mention this part of the recap.
BLOOD RUNNER
Just as Dexter discovers the blood he recovered from the El Sappo crime scene was Debs, and that Deb shot El Sappo, Deb comes strolling in to Miami Metro and everyone treats it like a goddamn reunion. She’s there to meet with Quinn about the Briggs and El Sappo deaths. Which goes fine until Debra starts having acid like flash backs.
Dexter pulls Deb aside in an alley telling her he knows she killed El Sappo and that they have her handgun in the evidence room. As fuzzy as her hung over, drug-addled brain is, she still thinks Dexter has major balls when she asks him to switch out the evidence for her. To Dexter, the old Deb is dead. Dexter covers the evidence for Deb, and switches out the gun.
A DARK INVADER?
Vogel abruptly calls Dexter because she believes her home has been invaded. Dexter meets her outside to investigate. No one is inside, Vogel saw no one leave, but there is a brand new spanking DVD on Vogel’s desk. The DVD shows that Sussman was coerced to suffocate the latest dumped body with a gun to his head.
Second guessing himself, Dexter believes he should have listened to Vogel all along. In a place of great vulnerability, Vogel pulls him into her arms and tells him, “You’re perfect.”
I have to stop watching to get ready for work. I’m pausing it during Dexter and Deb’s chat in the alley, where she is wearing the world’s ugliest sweater.
She needs to get some Annie Being Human Uk outfits in her life if she is going to float around this season like a ghost.
That whole thing with Jamie and Quinn is irritating me. The only thing I’m liking about that whole storyline is that Aimee Garcia is hot.
They have zero chemistry and it feels like the writers were looking for something for these to do for this final season. I have to watch the end of the episode later today.
I feel like Desmond Harrington might get caught in some cross fire simply because he’s going to be taking the Sergeants exam, he’s being called out for not forgetting Deb…he’s going to wind up with a toe tag.
HAHAHAHA I swear, you predict everyone is going to die. You do not have high hopes for the end of this series!
I just don’t give a shit about either of them. I mean, Quinn has his place but why is it even a story line? So we know Harrison has a babysitter? I wish they had never lost Sonya the Irish Nanny. She just got lost between seasons.
And probably because she’s not as hot as Aimee Garcia.
Ohh yes u can’t deny the fact that she is HOT..
But i have read somewhere that she’s going to play a crucial role in the final season (obviously apart from fucking Quinn).
But not sure about Quinn.. why the hell is he taking so much of screen space!