Dexter - S8E6 - A Little Reflection
Previously on Dexter, ‘This Little Piggy’
The Brain Surgeon case might be wrapped up, but Dexter is never short on hunting down the murderers of Miami. He’s been vetting the creepy and beady-eyed Zach Hamilton for a week. No real leads except Zach seems to have the hobby of showing up at bloody crime scenes with his camera to snap gory paparazzi shots. Dexter continues to follow Zach and his red Porsche until Zach leads him right to Dr. Vogel’s home.
After Zach rides off Dexter confronts Vogel. She has taken Zach Hamilton on as a patient at the request of his father. Considering Dexter just saved her ass and feet from the last serial killer, he is a little more than pissed she could be taking on another one. It being obvious Dexter followed Zach there, she wants Dexter to know that killing Zach is a conflict of interests. She won’t discuss him as a patient anymore because suddenly she remembers a little thing called “ethics”, but tells Dexter if he finds actual proof Zach killed, to let her know first.
Background Checks and Shitty Boyfriends
Back at Elway Investigations, Deb is presenting Masuka with the background check on his daughter, who clearly hasn’t been swayed by any of the Free Credit Repot dot com commercials. A long list of delinquent credit cards plus a threat to repossess her car and Masuka is convinced money is the reason she tracked him down.
Elway meets with Deb about a new case and it’s a bit more personal. Elway wants to bust his sister’s ass chasing boyfriend for the letch that he is, and he needs Deb’s help acting as a couple. Just pretend to want to hangout with him, Deb…please! In public and everything!
Jamie’s Still Here
While Dexter is helping Harrison put together a puzzle, Jamie reminds them about her beach birthday picnic coming up. Of course the good neighbor Cassie will also be there. Jamie tells Dexter the TV remote has been missing and she gestures that maybe Harrison hid it. Dexter asks him if he knows anything about it, but Harrison says no and puzzles onward.
The Other Side of the Yellow Tape
Another day, another homicide, and this time it’s a stabbing victim. While Dexter is doing his blood splatter analysis, he spots Zach outside the yellow police tape taking snapshots. Seeing it as an in, he walks up to Zach and invites him to have a closer look, giving the kid a serious crime scene boner. Dexter lets Zach take as many up close pictures he wants, all while detailing what went down in the stabbing murder. Zach is soaking it in the details like he’s going to be tested on that shit.
Dating is Hard
Dexter meets up with Cassie for a food truck date to make up for sneaking out of dinner. She’s being friendly enough, asking all the right getting to know you questions, but every question is a dead end. Asking Dexter Morgan what he is passionate about isn’t really something he can get into…even if you sweeten him up with Peanut Butter Nutella fries. Also, holy shit, Peanut Butter Nutella fries is a thing?!
Zach’s Work
Dexter meets up with Zach at some sort of a studio that should be called “The Color Red is Fucking Everywhere” to take a look at the pictures he snapped. He offers Dexter some of the prints, and Dexter has to remind him he took his own. Beady-eyes keeps forgetting it was a homicide. “I keep thinking that dead chick spilled all that blood just for me.” Uh, yeah.
Dexter spots the photo of a young woman in a blue dress on Zach’s desk, and Zach quickly crumples it up saying it was nothing but a lense test. Zach gets a call from someone on a drinking bender and is visibly shaken.
Miami Metro
Matthews is getting aggravated that Batista has yet to announce his choice for Sergeant. Batista is still pulling for Quinn, but Matthews is on Team Miller and he wants a decision by the end of the day. Batista tries to vouch for Quinn’s street smarts but it might not be enough. Matthews refuses to be made out to be the bad guy and tells Batista to grow a set of balls already and make the choice himself.
Seems Like Old Times
Deb and Dexter are hanging out over their old routine of steaks and beer. Deb tells Dexter that after a failed attempt at trapping Elway’s sister’s boyfriend that she’s offered herself up as bait in a sting operation. Dexter’s not exactly pleased but the bigger problem is that the steaks taste like asshole. We find out Deb is still seeing Dr. Vogel to help with her PTSD, and Deb wants to know why the hell Vogel knows all about them and she knows nothing. We learn Dr. Vogel used to be married to a man named Richard. No word on what happened to Richard but with Vogel anything is possible.
Jamie comes out from putting Harrison to bed and she found the broken TV Remote in his room. Busted.
Miami Metro
Batista motions Quinn into his office and tells him he is promoting Miller to Sergeant and it goes over swimmingly. He assumes its because he has yet to solve the Norma Rivera Case. Quinn, a little pissed about Batista pressing him to take the test and actually want the job brushes it off for the sake of getting the hell out of there.
He runs into Dexter in the Hallway and asks for help in any leads that could point to Zach Hamilton. With nothing to go on, or nothing Dexter plans on sharing, Quinn says he’s going to be on that kid like white on rice until he finds something. Dexter cant have both of them tracking Zach, so he offers to come along.
The Woman in Blue
While tailing Zach, they find him taking pictures of a yoga class in a park. Quinn is rambling on about how disappointed Jamie is going to be and that she might break up with him now they he didn’t make Sergeant. He also starts asking Dexter about Deb and what could have caused her to melt the fuck down like that and confess to LaGuerta’s death. Trying to focus on anything but Quinn’s blathering, Dexter realizes that Zach is taking pictures of the woman in the blue dress from the studio. The class wraps up and Dexter makes note of her license plate number.
Deb Bait
Deb gets all dolled up for their sting operation and Elway is clearly a little blown away how well she cleans up. She straps a transmitter to her itty-bitty thigh and goes in for the trapping.
With Deb working this guy’s ego it doesn’t take long and he invites up to his suite. They make it as far as the elevator before he starts pawing at Deb and Elway comes out of nowhere and cold cocks him. Deb just wants Elway to calm his tits.
Sofia Fuentes
Dexter runs a trace on the plate number and finds out the woman is Sofia Fuentes, and that she currently works at the Yacht Club owned by the Hamilton family. Wondering if Zach takes before and after shots of his victims, he decides to break into his studio and poke around for pics of Norma Rivera. Not only does he find them, but also you can see a reflection of Zach over Rivera’s dead body.
The Code 2.0
Dexter brings proof positive to Dr. Vogel that her new patient is a killer, but Vogel knew. Zach has already confessed it to her, but she sees potential in him. Dexter wants to put the kid down, but Vogel is wondering if they could teach Zach the code together. Dexter can hardly believe his ears, but she sees this as the only way to save Zach. She’d never be able to do it without Dexter…he’s her new Harry. Not convinced, Dexter knows Zach has killed an innocent and he’s not ready for Vogel to get between him and his kill table.
Jamie’s Party and Stuff
At the beach picnic party, Cassie brought some kind of date and Jamie is telling Dexter he better make a move if he wants in. Dexter tries to approach her, but is cock blocked by her date and a couple of micro brews.
Masuka brought his daughter along and all is going well until he hands her a check for $5,000, and lets her know he was looking into her. She wants none of his money and walks off in tears.
Jamie refers to Quinn as Sergeant and oh shit, she has no idea big brother Batista didn’t give him the promotion. She’s the next to walk off and hopefully right into the ocean. Seriously. She gets duller every episode.
Liar Liar
Dexter confronts Harrison about the broken remote control that he hid, and Harrison admits it was an accident. Dexter tells him he should never lie, but Harrison counters with, “Daddy…you lie.” Gulp. Turns out Harrison saw Dexter throw away his bloody stuffed dog from S8.01 after Dexter killed Deb’s motel boyfriend Briggs. Sucks when your kids favorite stuffed animal is soaked in the blood that connects you to a murder.
The Family Hamilton
Trailing Zach in his kill costume, Dexter sees that the red Porsche is parked at the studio, but Zach is nowhere to be found. He does find a receipt for the purchase of another car Zach could be using as a cover. Deciding that tonight is the night Zach is going to kill Sofia Fuentes, Dexter calls the yacht club where she works and finds out she’s just about done with her shift.
After racing to the Club Dexter spies both Zach hiding out in his car and Quinn inside casing him. Dexter calls Jamie pretending to be worried about Quinn, and gets Jamie to invite him over. As Quinn is walking out Dexter sees Sofia leaving with Zach’s father Ed Hamilton. Sofia is just another mistress, just like Norma. They start walking their separate ways, and Zach slinks out of his car with a knife, but he isn’t following Sofia, he’s creeping after his father. Dexter sneaks up on Zach with the old needle in the neck trick before Ed Hamilton is any the wiser.
The Table
What we’ve been waiting for all.damn.episode, Dexter has Zach strapped down to the table in a kill room. He wants to know why Zach was going to kill his father and we find out it’s for the love of his mother, who is drinking herself to death over his father’s affairs. Killing Norma wasn’t enough. Dexter believes the love of the mother reasoning, but he knows there’s more to it. The photographs, the crime scenes; Dexter knows a murderer when he sees it.
Zach starts to crumble and admits he can’t help it. He felt a huge release killing Norma, like something horrible had been inside him. He tells Dexter to go ahead and kill him because he knows he’s going to do it again. The lights go off in Dexter’s head that maybe he needs this. More selfish relationship choices to serve his own Dark Passenger. He’ll never be able to have a totally honest relationship with his own son…but maybe he can mentor Zach. Dexter takes the knife, and just like with Hannah McKay, he slices open the plastic cutting him loose.
Speaking of Hannah
Just when everyone is wondering why the episode didn’t just cut to black right then and there, Debra and Dexter are having breakfast. Deb admits she thinks Elway has a thing for her, and Dexter says he’s feeling great and might even take on an Intern.
Suddenly Deb starts to fade and feel woozy. She slumps over on the couch and as Dexter tries to come to her aid he falls down next to her on the floor. Before his eyes have the chance to close, they focus in on Hannah McKay walking in!
FUUUUUCCCCCKKKK!
Before I read, at the end of last night’s episode - which shocked the hell outta me - I was thinking, “Ohhhh, I can’t wait until Meghan’s recap is up so we can talk about this!” HAHA!
I had to leave for work so I paused it at Deb and Dexter eating at the end, but I also had to load this recap so I knew what was going to happen. :-p
I’m glad Hannah’s back!
I think its nuts that in this episode Dexter releases Zach from his table just like he did Hannah. Bad idea!
Sorry I missed this! I think its very telling how the Series could end.
Just going to bullet-point my comments:
1. Elway reminds me of David Cassidy. And, not in a 4th-grade-fangirl-throwing-her-wonderwoman-underoos-up-on-the-stage kind of way. Bleh.
2. Jamie. For the love of God. Jamie. They keep giving her more and more screen time and dialogue, and it keeps getting more torturous. I can only assume she’s blowing one of the writers. That birthday scene was excruciating. I hope Zach kills her.
3. When Dexter tells Harrison he’s on his own with the puzzle, and Harrison says, “I was doing all the work anyway.” Dying. LMAO!
4. “This steak tastes like asshole. Sorry, Cow.” Bwaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaahahahaaa!
5. I wonder if that stuffed dog is going to come back to haunt Dexter.
5a. “Daddy, you lie.” Shut your little ass, and get in bed, 4-year old!!! 😉
6. I’m a little surprised that I have to point this out to Dr. Vogel when she’s the “expert”, but I think it’s too late for Zach to be “saved”. He is way past the point where Dexter was when Harry and Vogel saved him, so the two situations are only marginally similar. He’s already killed a human. He’s already seen that look and watched it happen to a human. Smelled the blood. Et cetera. I don’t know if you can channel what’s already been released.
7. HANNAH! Fuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuck!
6a. Also, if Dexter IS able to train Zach to act by the code, how the hell is Jamie going to die?
5a. HAHAHAHAHAHAHAHA