Dexter TV Show - Take It! - Dexter Recaps, Dexter Reviews, Dexter Episodes | TWoP

Recapped by Jeff Long · Aired 2010-11-14

Previously: Laguerta's showboating caused the deaths of innocent people at Club Mayan. Liddy is extorting money from Quinn to find out who Lumen is. Jordan Chase's assistant, Cole (one of Lumen's captors), tried to hide all of the dead girl bodies, but had a wreck instead and spilled them all over the road. Dexter found a picture in his house of Boyd, Cole and Dan the dentist when they were all teens. They have no idea what it means.

We open with black and white footage of animals killing other animals. Nature is disgusting. The voiceover is from Jordan Chase. I believe this is the first time Dexter's voice isn't the first thing we've heard at the open. So, Jordan explains that nature has it right. They follow their instincts, but now we have skyscrapers instead of trees and we apparently don't electrocute blonde girls in our basements on a frequent basis as is our primal urge. But, Jordan says we'll be delivered. It's time to eff our stupid jobs and our stupid spouses and follow our instincts. The crowd of mostly men cheers deliriously around Dexter, who is watching uncomfortably. He says he can't remember being around so many people who made him seem normal. While that realization seems a little too world-aware for Dexter, um, true dat. These people are scary. This show has made me wary of Hawaiian shirts as it is, but this seminar is dotted with chubby hysterical dudes wearing them and now I'm terrified. Jordan has apparently branded the powers of risk, desire and instinct, for the crowd shouts "Take It!" and fist pumps after he says each of them.

This seminar is especially helpful in allowing Dexter to segue when he sees Cole Harmon. He VOs that instincts are all that he's ever had and now it's time for him to tap into his own primal urge. Cole is so dead, y'all.

Meanwhile, LaGuerta is swarmed by reporters when she arrives at the station and she's not her usual press monger self. They ask her if she believes that Miami Metro Homicide are responsible for the shootings. No comment. Does she agree with the Mayor that the operation put many innocent people at risk? No comment. Has she personally retained counsel? What the?! The reporter says that the victims' families are filing a civil suit. Ouch, LG. Things just got real. She pushes through the reporters.

Inside, she asks Batista if they've gotten a report from ballistics. They have and it's good news. The bullets from the innocent victims were from the guns of the Fuentes brothers, not the police. LaGuerta seems relieved, but she says that this isn't over. She's upset after hearing about the Mayor's criticisms of the department. Quinn says it's a good example of how shit rolls downhill. Batista says that he should have kept his mouth shut until he knew all of the facts. LaGuerta, who really seems on the verge of tears, says that the Mayor is right. The operation was responsible for the deaths of innocent people. Deb, who is suspiciously calm, says that the bullets were not from their guns, but LaGuerta says that shots would never have been fired if they hadn't been set up there. Batista says the upside is that one of the Fuentes brothers is dead. OK, she's actually crying, I think. She says that none of them should have any illusions -- there will be consequences for the botched operation. Jesus, that woman takes NO responsibility for herself, does she? While, frankly, I've missed her ruthlessness a little, it kind of pisses me off when mixed with this overly emotional bullshit. I'd like to think she was a little more self-aware than this. But, maybe she's just a survivor and her ruthlessness is just an instinct. Uh oh, we're talking about stinky ins again. She stomps into her office and Deb looks way over it.

By Jeff Long

Back to Dexter at the seminar and not a moment too soon. Sometimes, the scenes in the station are a drag, this being one of those times. Jordan Chase says that everybody's gonna die and Dexter VOs "some sooner than others." Then, Jordan says, "some sooner than others." Dexter has this look on his face, like, "that's my line." It's nice that the writers are having a little fun with the voiceover. They don't always have to be a dirge! Jordan says that most people are already dead, but he's gonna teach them to Take It! But, first, there's a break.

Dex VOs that Jordan promises change and accepts credit cards. Lumen calls and asks if he can talk. She hasn't found out how Cole, Owen and Dan the dentist knew each other when they were young. She found out that Cole was a marine and was dishonorably discharged for beating up a superior officer so badly that it put him in the hospital. He'd probably gotten bounced even if the guy hadn't gone to the hospital, but Lumen's point is that he's dangerous. She tells Dex that the marks that were on her back were from Cole and that he should be careful. He asks her if she's sleeping and she says that she falls into a deep sleep every night... from 1 to 1:15. Whoa! Didn't see that coming. Yes I did. So, here's something interesting. As she's saying that, Dexter cranes his neck because something apparently catches his eye. The camera rests for a couple of seconds on a woman who looks a lot like Sonya. That can't be an accident.

Dex gets off the phone because Cole is approaching him. He shakes Dexter's hand and reminds him of their meeting at Miami Metro. He says that Jordan would like to see him, so they go back into the hotel where the seminar is being held and to a suite. Their walk down a hall is creepy with stolen glances. When they enter, Jordan is on a Bluetooth telling someone that they should call him back when they stop being a piece of furniture. Off of his call, he turns to Dex and apologizes. It was a new client on the line. He tells Dex that he knows why he's there -- he's trying to cope with the murder of his wife. Dexter is clearly stunned that he knows this about him, but Jordan says he recognized Dexter from news items about Rita's death. He asks if there has been any progress finding the Trinity killer and Dex says there hasn't. Jordan says further that Trinity's rage was fascinating to him, on a deep level. He says he's not implying sympathy for Trinity, but I don't really believe that. Jordan says that he's developed a theory on how the primal mind deals with tragedy. Quesadillas and repeat viewings of Erin Brockovich? You can't copyright common knowledge.

By Jeff Long

He taps his WATCH, which you just know plays the sound of pretty girls' lives running out, and says that he has to prepare for the part of the seminar. He'd like to have a further discussion with Dexter, which he agrees to do. Then, he asks if there has been any progress finding Boyd Fowler. Dex says that he doesn't know the details and Jordan should probably speak to one of the detectives. He agrees and sends Dexter on his way, but not before giving him a stuffed goody bag. He tells Dex that there's something in the bag for Harrison and it clearly disturbs Dex that he knows his son's name. As Cole is showing Dexter out, he exchanges a knowing glance with Jordan. Looks like they're trying to Take It! from Dex.

At the station, LaGuerta calls Deb into her office. She tells Deb that there's a public outcry for blood, in regards to the Club Mayan stakeout. The Captain wants someone's head and Deb cracks that Santa Muerte is catching on. LaGuerta, looking troubled for what I'm sure are personal reasons and not because she's doing the wrong thing, says that she's putting Manzon on disciplinary leave. She says that she needs to put a face on the mistakes and Deb asks her what's wrong with her own face. Faced! Deb reminds her that she was only near Fuentes because LaGuerta sent her, though Deb told her not to do it, but LaGuerta says that's Deb's impression. Nope, that's what happened, responds Deb. Then, she says that she was the detective in charge, so if LaGuerta wants a fall guy, pick her. She responds that she knows Deb's INSTINCT is to take the blame for her team, and Deb stops her to remind her that LaGuerta was on her team too. AND, Deb has had her back. AND, it's all the same thing anyway, these teams. LaGuerta reasons that Manzon is early enough in her career that she will take the smallest hit, but Deb says that if something like this had happened to her at that stage in her career, she would never have made detective. They were all there together, so why can't they just weather the storm together? She tells LaGuerta to think about it, then leaves. Of course, I'm sure you are aware that there were like 16 "fucks" dropped during that scene.

Lumen is having problems when she gets a phone call. She answers asking if Dexter's printer ever works, but it's not Dexter. It's Owen, the fiance she left at the altar. Owen is adorable and he and Lumen would make babies that could take over the world. He asks how she is and says he bets she's tan. He's in Miami and says he got a sunburn just driving in the car. He says that he has respected her wishes since the day of the wedding and hasn't contacted her. It's like his life stopped that day. He begs her to see him and she struggles. Dexter's car drives up outside. Owen tells her where he's staying and asks her to meet him at a nearby cafe the day. Poor Owen.

By Jeff Long

She hangs up before Dexter is inside and doesn't mention her call. Dex brings her food and she grabs two plates, but he says he's not staying. Oh right, Harrison. He tells Lumen that he'll need her to go shopping the day for plastic and things for the kill room for Cole. He says that he's going to kill Cole the day. They have no choice, apparently, because Jordan called him after their meeting in his suite and said their gig was in Sarasota. He tells her to meet him at noon with the supplies, but she says one o'clock is better. Girl is going to meet her old beau! Dexter agrees to the new time and notices that she seems weird. She says that a few months ago she was shopping for a wedding dress and now she's shopping for plastic sheeting.

Dex gets home and Deb is there. She sees the goody bag and says that, though she won't judge, she has to draw the line at Jordan Chase onesies. I say it depends on whether it is a onesie for an infant or an adult. I will not say which one I think it should be. Dex says it can't hurt to check out the seminar. Deb says that she has 6 mandatory sessions with a shrink after killing Fuentes, but she would do it all over again if given the chance. It bothers her that she's not feeling anything over his death. Nothing at all. She thought taking a life would be a burden. She says Dex has no idea what she's talking about, but.... Dex tells her that Harry said some people deserve to die. She asks him if he believes that and he said that some people don't deserve to live. She counters that some people do deserve to live, like Rita and Lundy. She says that maybe the world is better off without Carlos Fuentes. Yeah, don't talk to Dexter about this stuff, Deb.

At the hotel, Dex watches sad sacks giving testimonials at the Take It! seminar. He sees Cole and knows that he'll be there for the rest of the session, giving him an hour to work. He sneaks upstairs. He booked the room adjacent to Cole's and, seriously, I don't mean to be that guy, but he would have at least A LOT of trouble being able to get a specific room in a hotel, one that is apparently just a regular room and not a suite, especially during a time when there's an event at said hotel and occupancy is probably high. I know this as a person who blocked hotel rooms for several years. Also, as someone who has never successfully completed even one side of a rubix cube. And, that shit's related. It was HARD. Anyway, Dex uses the connecting door to break into Cole's room.

By Jeff Long

Meanwhile, Lumen meets with adorable Cole. He tells her that she looks beautiful, but she deflects the compliment. He says, really sweetly, that she must love all of the art deco buildings and she strains a smile and says that she can't get enough of them. He tells her that his sister had a baby and named it Mavis, for her husband's family. It was going to be that or Madison, where Lumen reminds Cole they used to have Sunday beer runs. He tells her that her parents miss her and she says that he can tell them she's fine. He says that he's thinking of not going back as well. She was right. They were going to be trapped in a city and jobs that they didn't like. He's planned a trip around the world for them. He bought tickets. She's resistant. He tells her that he'll be there the night waiting for her. Seriously, I love Owen. He says that he loves Lumen no matter who she is. He reminds her that they spent five years together. He says he is going on the trip in any event, but would prefer to go on it with her.

Deb and Quinn are at Quinn's place watching LaGuerta on the news, where they get to find out that Deb is going to be the fall guy for the busted sting. Fuuuuuck. LaGuerta says that she is on immediate suspension. Deb takes a moment then decides to break the TV, but Quinn stops her. She says she thought LaGuerta was her friend. She's devastated.

Lumen is leaving her meeting with Owen when she gets into a fender bender with Liddy. He totally tricked her into hitting him so he could try to get info out of her. Damn, RoboCop is really good at being a menacing old dude. She tries to give him cash, but insists that she give him her insurance information. He sees all of the plastic in the car.

At the hotel, Dex sees Cole getting his flirt on with a blonde lady. He VOs that working for Jordan must have its benefits. Frankly, Cole's a pretty hot piece and could probs do just fine on his own. Dex gets a call from Lumen. She's in the hotel. In his room, she tells Dex that she had a car accident. She blames it on Owen and tells Dex that he wants to take her away. "As if I could leave all this." Dexter says that she actually could. She asks if he wants her to go and he says, you know, if she wants to go. She says that this part of her life is the only thing that makes sense anymore.

By Jeff Long

Dexter tells Lumen that she has to stay the night at the hotel, because the seminar is out and Cole could be anywhere. But, the killing is still going to happen. He tells her that they are going to prepare the room together and he puts out the "Do Not Disturb" sign. They work on the room, which Dexter VOs is much easier to do with a partner.

Deb bursts into LaGuerta's office and asks why she wasn't told about her suspension in person. LaGuerta, cool as a cucumber says she was planning to tell her and she has no idea how the press got the information. Deb wonders if perhaps it's because she fucking leaked it. She says that she'll be a desk jockey for a few weeks, then her union rep will get her reinstated. By this time year, this whole thing will have blown over. Wow, she's really good right now. She's making me furious. Deb reminds her that it's LaGuerta's word against hers... and everyone else who was at the club. LaGuerta's got somebody in her pocket though and says that not "everyone" agrees with her interpretation of events. Uh oh. She reckons it's Batista who is lying. She says she'll go to the Captain and LaGuerta says that Deb should watch it. She wouldn't want her reinstatement to be "delayed." Deb backs off, but then says that she was happy for LaGuerta when she got married to Batista because she thought it would make her a nicer person. She never expected her to eat him alive. Ouch. Deb leaves her office.

Dex and Lumen have finished the room. He puts up pictures of all of the dead girls and explains that Cole has to see what he's done. She asks him what he gets out of this and he says it's the satisfaction in knowing that the man who hurt her can't hurt anyone else. Yeah right. She says that this isn't about her. He's done this before. They hear Cole enter his room. He gets his syringe ready and Lumen seems upset at the notion that they would kill him when he was unconscious. She wants some waking revenge. He reassures her. Then, they hear a woman screaming from the room. Dexter leaps to action. He sneaks into the room to find Cole getting on what I imagine will be his last groove with a woman. Nice work, naked lady. She really goes there with the screaming.

By Jeff Long

Dexter returns to find Lumen crouched and covering her ears. She's freaked by the screams. Dexter puts his hands over hers to help her block out the noise. Something is happening here. Lumen finally falls asleep and wakes up the morning. Dex says that they are still going to kill Cole. Is Dexter like the freelance blood splatter guy or something? He seems to spend a lot more time away from the office than Masuka does. Lumen is amazed that she got to sleep.

Deb is sleeping and Quinn tries to get her up. She's distraught though and doesn't want to move. He says that the best way to get back at LaGuerta is to do what she says and kick ass when she gets back. Someone rings his doorbell. It's RoboCop. He barges in and sees Deb. He says that they have in common that both of them have been fucked over by LaGuerta. She dryly suggests that maybe they should have matching t-shirts made. Deb leaves and Liddy tells Quinn that Lumen ("stupid fucking name") arrived in Miami one week before Rita's murder. AND, he wants more money. He threatens to tell Deb. He says that things go wrong every day and drops Quinn's coffee pot near his bare feet. Quinn curses and RoboCop says that he and Deb sound more and more alike every day. This must be love.

Jordan is giving a speech about tragedy. Dexter decides to sneak out to kill Cole but Jordan puts the spotlight on him and calls him to the stage. Meanwhile, Lumen sneaks out of her room and takes the elevator down. Back to Jordan, who tells the story of Rita's murder. He asks Dexter to relive the moment. In the lobby, Lumen sees Dexter talking on a closed circuit TV. I guess she's never heard this story. Jordan says that Dexter was shattered and the primal self searches for what will make it whole again. In the lobby, of course Cole sees Lumen and starts to go after her. Someone stops him and she runs away. As she's trying to make her way upstairs, she calls Dexter.

Lumen gets into her room and locks the door. There's a knock and she looks out the peephole. It's the maid, who leaves after a moment. Lumen is breathing really heavy right now. She crouches to the floor and looks at her phone, presumably to see if Dexter has gotten her message or not. Then, Cole breaks through the adjoining door. This is the part where my roommate heard me scream like a banshee. I'm not sure if he heard me wet my pants a little bit. Just a little bit. Seriously, that was well done. Some Wait Until Dark shit happening right there, my friends.

By Jeff Long

Lumen runs and grabs a knife but Cole overpowers her and begins to choke her. Luckily, here's Dex who knocks him out. No pun intended. When he wakes up, he's naked and in plastic with a gag in his mouth. Would it surprise you if I told you that's not the first time I've said that today? Dex takes out the gag, but says he'll cut his eyes out if he screams. They ask who the watch guy was. He says some stuff that I just can't understand. Lumen can't either. The interview is over and Dex forces him to look at the girls he murdered (or helped murder?). He says that death was the only kindness that he showed them. Then, he does his thing and stabs the guy, while Lumen watches from across the body. It's interesting that none of Dexter's victims are ever just like, "Well, there's clearly no way out of this. Guess this is the end. I'm just gonna go with it."

Dexter admits to Lumen that he has, in fact, done this several times before. He tells her that his mother was murdered in front of him when he was a child and it shattered him. Answer to what the primal mind does to unshatter itself. Since Rita was killed, nothing he does makes sense, until now. He hands her his slide of Cole's blood. He VOs that Miguel and Harry couldn't live with his truth. Can Lumen? Will she make him whole?

At the station, Manzon brings a box into Homicide. Apparently, LaGuerta told her she should do that, which helps Deb deduce that she is the one who corroborated LaGuerta's story about the stakeout. What a fucking pisser! Deb has tried to teach and help that lady. Nice payback. She tells Deb, and Deb reminds her that she's Detective Morgan, that she admires her and came there hoping to learn from her, but Deb says she would never learn what she did from her. She wishes her luck, because she's going to need it. Please tell me there's gonna be some screw-turning. I love that shit. I love when Deb's mad. Seriously. Emmy. This year. Has to happen. Call your mama.

Deb goes to her car and Batista goes to her. He says that he is going to do whatever it takes to set the record straight. She says she thought he was going to back LaGuerta's story and he admits that he didn't know what he was going to do, but now he has decided to stand behind Deb. He tells her that she's like flesh and blood to him, like a kid sister except he actually likes her. This, of course, really gets to her.

Dexter is packing into his car when Jordan sees him. He's surprised to see Dex leave before the seminar is over, but he explains that he's about to lose his nanny. Dex asks why the buzz with Jordan and his staff and he says there has just been a security issue. Dex VOs that Cole's head is in his luggage. Now, is Dex a carpenter too? Somebody's gotta fix that door. Seems like this could all lead back to Dexter and Lumen really easily. Jordan tells Dexter to act on what he has learned that weekend and makes the I'm sure fatal mistake of saying, "Tick tick tick. That's the sound of your life running out." Dex VOs that his primal instincts were right and this Jordan character has to die. He throws the luggage with the head in the trunk and he's off.

By Jeff Long

Lumen is staring at the blood slide that Dexter gave her. Meanwhile, Owen is sitting alone with a dozen roses. I feel really bad for him.Finally, he tears up her ticket and walks away with his. Later, Lumen and Dexter dump bags of bodies in the water from his boat. He tells her that Jordan said the "Tick" thing. He gives her a bag to drop in the water. She does and it appears to make her feel better.

RoboCop is good. He's taking pictures of them on the boat with a high-powered lens. Crap.

Jeff Long is a writer/performer in Brooklyn. He can be reached at jeff.long7@gmail.com

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