Dexter - S8E8 - Are We There Yet?
Previously, on Dexter: “Dress Code”
This week’s episode opens up at last week’s crime scene with a bludgeoned Cassie still on the floor, surrounded by the team from Miami Metro. Even though his neighbor has just been murdered, likely at the hands of his serial killing Mini Me, Dexter is still thinking with the wrong head. Blood spatters be damned, he has visions of Hannah swimming through his lovesick brain.
Deb shows up on the scene like an eager beaver, much to the delight of Quinn and Batista. Dexter is able to gather some blood from underneath Cassie’s nails that could link back to Zach Hamilton. Deb could give a shit about the body in front of her; she wants to know where Hannah’s body is and why it isn’t miles away.
The next day Dexter meets Hannah at the Marina. Hannah saunters up to him with the same wind blown blonde hair and close talking that sends a direct signal to Dexter’s pants. If this were a cartoon his eyes would pop clear out of his head and his heart would be pumping through his shirt. Maintain, Dexter. He needs to help get Hannah out of the country and knows a guy who can fake her passport.
Miami Metro
Dexter runs a trace on the blood he discovered under Cassie’s nails, and it’s a match for young Zach. No one can know that of course, so Dexter tells Masuka the blood was Cassie’s after all.
Quinn has crime pics out of Norma Rivera and Cassie pointing out the similarities because Quinn just can’t let that little shit Zach go, despite being told to back the fuck off.
Dexter meets up with Dr. Vogel and we learn Zach isn’t returning either one of their phone calls. The good doctor seems far more affected by the fact that Zach cannot control himself a la The Code under Dexter’s tutelage, than she is that yet another innocent woman has been murdered by one of her patients. Whether she thinks she saw potential in Zach or not, Dexter makes it clear he is out of options. A quick search pulls up that Zach is renting a room in the Keys. Back to the kill table, Rookie.
The Hunt for Hannah
With Deb completely unsatisfied with how Dexter is handling Hannah McKay, Dexter decides to fill her in on the real reason Hannah dragged her abusive husband to Miami. Dexter tries to explain that as soon as Hannah gets a new passport she’ll be out of their lives for good, but Debra would easier buy Florida swampland than that bullshit.
Back at the Marina, Dexter takes Hannah’s picture to send off for the new passport. I guess he didn’t read that article floating around facebook that now that picture could be traced back to him. Concerned for Hannah’s safety, he invites her to come with him for the night to the Keys, where Zach is hiding out.
Deb takes matters into her own hands and plunks down Hannah’s alias information as Maggie Castner right into Elway’s lap with the promises of a huge reward. They race off to the Marina, but the Caster yacht is nowhere to be found.
Road Trip
Deb pulls up the fancy tracking device she placed on Dexter’s car and sees that he is heading for the Keys. She calls him to check in and he brushes her off, prompting Deb to hop in her car after him. At this point its clear her and Quinn are made for each other, because one or both of them is really going to fuck this up for Dexter.
Hannah decided to come along for the ride after all. They pull into the motel where Zach is renting a room and Dexter has her wait in the car. Dexter breaks in and discovers the room covered in plastic and a full set of sharp and stabby tools ready to go. No Zach to be found, but Harry shows up impressed with Zach’s efforts.
Quinn
Master of not taking direct orders, Quinn has set up a quick meeting with Oliver, the man Cassie was dating. He shows him a picture of Zach Hamilton, and even though Oliver finds it familiar, he can’t place it. Even though Oliver had a clear view of Zach talking to Dexter outside his apartment when he and Cassie stepped out for a midnight swim. Something to keep in mind? Gulp.
Zach’s Alibi
When Zach casually returns to the kill room he’s looking more shocked about Cassie’s murder than on the run. Using his camera as an alibi, Zach shows Dexter days worth of pictures he has been taking of someone named Sean Decker. Decker killed a woman during rough sex and showed the video to Zach, and now Zach wants to take him out. It turns out Zach was following The Code without even knowing it, he’s just sloppy at it.
Exhibit A: Zach’s attempts at subduing his victim aren’t as clean as Dexter’s syringe to the neck, and Zach has bludgeoned Sean Decker and hid the body in the trunk of his car. Dexter lectures his lack of plan and Hannah has a look on her face like, “Amateur”, but Dexter agrees to help dump the body while Hannah clears the second rate kill room.
Somewhere in all this Zach turned from an evil and brooding murderer, to a happy go lucky choad boy who just keeps screwing up. ‘Zoinks, Dex! I should’ve worn gloves too! You’re my hero.’ Zach warns Dexter to be careful opening his door handle because he cut himself on it recently and bled his own blood. Hmmm.
Citizen’s Arrest
Deb surprises Hannah back in the motel room and when Deb explains she’s there to haul Hannah’s ass back into Miami Metro they have a half assed argument barely worth mentioning, other than Hannah seems to be winning it. As soon as Dexter and Zach return Deb simply gives up her Hannah hunt out of frustration. Really? After all that?
Family Dinner
Dexter goes to drop off Zach at Dr. Vogel’s and she’s thrilled to have them all, including Hannah McKay over for a nice post kill dinner. Hannah asks how Vogel came into her career and Vogel resigns not to bore them with those details. She’d rather point out the blush-worthy affections of Hannah and Dexter, pointing out that they make both a good couple, and a bad one.
Vogel calls out Dexter for being too quiet, but he’s consumed with Cassie’s murder. He shares the crime scene photos and right away Zach recognizes that it looks just like Norma Rivera. Dexter reveals that Zach’s blood was found under her fingernails, and that he is wondering if the faulty door handle was a setup. As they are leaving, Vogel agrees to drive Zach home.
Goodbye Elway?
In her office at Elway Investigations, without the fugitive Hannah handcuffed to her desk, Elway encourages Deb that they’ll find her eventually. Deb is having a change of heart about whether she’s cut out to work in the P.I. business. Let’s take a tally! One case her brother stabbed the man to death, she caught a cheating husband then the wife played dumb, she ran a background check on Masuka’s topless waitress daughter, and then she completely gave up when Hannah McKay was 5 feet from her. She might be right. Back to Miami Metro?
Hannah Gets Room Service
Dexter drops Hannah off at her hotel for the night and they are running through her plan to escape the next day. With new passport in hand and the sexual tension at about an eleven Hannah finally goes in for the kiss. The clothes quickly come off for passionate make up sex, and we get a nice view of Dexter’s ass before it gets handed to him for making all.the.wrong.choices.
The Brain Surgeon is Back
In the blink of an eye, Dexter is back at his apartment for a gruesome discovery.
Sitting in the chair is Zach Hamilton, dead, with the back of his skull sawed off, and a piece of the brain matter scooped out. Not sure if it’s worth mentioning that the song set up to be playing on the iPod is “Make Your Own Kind of Music” by Mama Cass. A song that’s about to fade into the lyrics:
You’re gonna be knowing
The loneliest kind of lonely.
It may be rough goin’,
just to do your thing is
the hardest thing to do.
Dexter immediately calls Vogel, and she is already holding a jar containing Zach’s brain matter while on the phone. Elway places what could be a fateful phone call in to search for Hannah McKay, which should be one phone call too late because Hannah is on a plane off to anywhere but Miami…right? Wrong. Dexter meets her at her dock, and convinces her to stay. Deb’s going to love the idea.
