At one point during this week’s oddly titled episode, “Turning Bimenese†(because Dexter goes to Bimeni to kill this guy on a cruise who, oh, never mind), Dexter notes that his fellow cops are finally starting to connect the dots. And finally, thankfully, gloriously, this show is starting to connect this season’s dots as well.
Dot One: Dexter’s rising anxiety about being a parent. This episode offered the most deft use yet of this occasionally clumsy metaphor — instead of hokey dream sequences in which Dexter worries about Junior slitting Cody and Astor’s throats, we get some somber ruminations on taking life and creating it. Also, Dexter goes AWOL during Rita’s miscarriage scare because he’s busy killing … oh, the irony … a serial wife killer. But what potential father hasn’t worried about giving up his awesome pad? Or bridled at a loss of independence? Except, in this case, it’s the independence to run off on a moment’s notice, chop some guy up, and toss his body parts out a porthole.
Dot Two: “The Skinnerâ€! Yes, our serial killer has a nickname. Cool! And he’s claimed another victim. Except not! Looks like this murder was just another run-of-the-mill Miami case of killing someone and cutting out her incriminating tattoo. (Note to murderers: This isn’t going to work, unless every one of your victim’s relatives and friends is an amnesiac.) Either way, this switcheroo sucks for the newly contrite but still bullet-headed Ramon, who was looking to nose his way back into the Freebo investigation. Sorry, Ramon!
Dot Three: Seriously, what’s up with Quinn? Deb is getting increasingly agitated with–slash–suspicious of her underminer of a partner. Previously, he was just suspiciously dashing. Now he’s cutting suspects loose! And call us crazy, but given that scene where some unknown person was malevolently eying poor Wendell through binoculars, we think Quinn now has to go on the short list of potential “Skinners.†Think about it! A past full of terrible secrets? A penchant for loosing damaging witnesses? We’re not saying he’s the Skinner. We’re just saying: Get on the short list, buddy.
Dot Four: Miguel and Dexter are now BFFs for real. This is exactly where we hoped this story line would go. Miguel all but acknowledges Dexter’s taste for off-the-books snuffing of bad guys and gives him a hearty thumbs-up. The teaser for next week’s episode suggests that Miguel might yet double-cross Dex, rather than essentially hire him on as a one-man legislative-loophole cleanup crew. In the meantime, though, we’re putting Miguel on the Skinner Short List. And Ramon too. And maybe that C.I. Deb has a crush on. And, what the hell, Masuka. Hey, it’s a short list, but it doesn’t have to be too short.