'Dexter' recap, 'What's Eating Dexter Morgan?'

When a cannibal is your smallest problem, you know you've got issues.

The allusions run heavy tonight. Too much of Harrison's beloved popsicles make him sick. Too much of Dexter makes Deb ...? But the more important question is, how did Harrison make that big of a mess? Harrison must have melted at least half of the box to make Dexter think Harrison had bled out. Didn't anyone teach the kid table manners?

But Dexter's too focused on the case to worry about such trivial things. Sussman's body went from hung up on a hook to appearing as a suicide by shotgun. As before, bits of brain matter are gift wrapped to Dr. Vogel, but this time there's a box for Dexter.

With this added pressure, Dexter increases his pursuit of the "Brain Surgeon" serial killer, going after Vogel's old patients. Galuzzo is next on the list. The man lies about knowing Vogel, but I just don't see it. Why does everything have to have sinister undertones? Oh yeah, it's "Dexter."

Turns out, I was right. Galuzzo isn't the Brain Surgeon, but he is a cannibal. Dexter ends up strapping him down to his table, but there will be no last supper. The hunt feels empty though, falling into the background of the whirling chaos that is now Debra Morgan.

While it started with just drunkenly running over a parking meter, things escalate quickly. She calls Quinn and her white knight comes to the rescue, thereby sucking him into her deadly vortex. When Jamie finds out, she's furious. But the man snuck out of their bed, in the middle of the night, to see another woman. He's lucky to be alive.

After Quinn drops her off at work, Deb's boss, Elway, makes her a powdered drink for the second time, to cure her hangover he says. But just maybe his plans are a little more nefarious.

Besides, after killing Sapo, Deb never turned over the jewels. Maybe he's just angry over the missing reward. Minor characters have killed for less.

There's an interesting subtext between Vogel and Dexter as the two debate Debra's situation. While Dexter insists he can help, Vogel insists that Dexter is the problem. And that he's perfect. I sense a crush here. And just like Hannah, Vogel wants Debra out of the picture. She not-so-subtly brings up Dexter killing Debra and how he doesn't actually love her.

Weekend Watch

Weekly

Plan your weekend with our picks for the best events, restaurant and movie reviews, TV shows and more. Delivered every Thursday.

Dexter tries to compensate by convincing Deb she's a good person (her own white knight) by reminding her of all the good she's done. But the road to hell is paved with good intentions. After Dexter's efforts, Deb drunkenly stumbles into Miami Homicide to confess to LaGuerta's murder.

Quinn is there yet again to save the day, keeping her hidden until Dexter can come. In an expertly done scene, Debra speaks literally of killing LaGuerta as Quinn only understands her speaking metaphorically.

When Deb sees Dexter, she goes ballistic, forcing Dexter to use the tranquilizer usually reserved for his victim. As they leave, Vogel promises that Debra will get through this. But in one piece? I'm waiting for the other shoe to drop.

Vogel convinces Dexter that she is the only one who can help Deb, and Dexter relinquishes control. For a man who spent his life controlling others (by very clear manipulation, as no one knew he was a serial killer or how devious he truly was), this looks like a sign that Dexter is growing as a human. But can psychopaths grow?

Maybe Dexter fits into a different category that is as yet undefined. He needs his own word, just as newly discovered plants are given their unique names. Maybe interfectoris interfectorem. Very, very loosely meaning, a killer's killer. It's that, or the Venus Flytrap 2.0.

Now, if you remember last season, Debra was in love with Dexter. Once upon a time, she probably could have enjoyed imagining him handcuffing her to a bed. But I doubt she ever would have predicted him leaving her handcuffed to her couch, unconscious, with a woman she barely knows.

She'll wake up confused, hungover, and sore (handcuffs can't be comfortable to sleep in, not that I would know). If Dexter thought she was pissed before, he obviously needs to be clued in -- hell hath no fury like a woman scorned.

Originally Published: Jul 15, 2013 at 9:43 am