Episode Report Card Jeff Long: A- | Grade It Now! YOU GRADE IT Palm Trees Dangerous
By Jeff Long | Season 3 | Episode 8 | Aired on 11.16.2008
In a hurry? Read the recaplet for a nutshell description! Finished? Click here to close.Miguel tells Dexter that he wants to kill someone. He wants to get his hands dirty. Miguel picks Billy Fleeder, a former athlete with a gambling problem who kills people to pay off his debts. In an effort to maybe delay or call off the idea, Dexter goes through a strenuous vetting process. In the end, they find evidence and motive for the murders. So, they go through with it. Miguel loves it. Dexter still hides the clean-up, but he and Miguel are officially partners.
Deb finds out that Anton was never officially on the books as a CI --Quinn was taking shortcuts and found it easier to pay him out of pocket. Deb is incensed because this means that they've used him as bait when he wasn't even obligated. She confronts him with the accusations that Yuki made (that his laziness killed another cop) and it's basically true. Yuki was his partner and another cop on the force had a meth problem that Quinn knew about. The other cop eventually died and could have been saved had Quinn spoken up.
Maria and Ellen go on a suspiciously date-like… date. They are becoming better friends. Angel has to cancel a date with Barbara and leaves a really stiff message. She comes into the station later, laughing about his dorky message, and gives him a big kiss.
Deb follows her tree-trimmer hunch and calls in George Washington King. He is totally helpful. He says that one of his employees, Mario, has a temper problem. They bring in Mario and he's not helpful until they mention King, then he goes ape shit. He's petrified of him. Seriously, I told you, right? Deb tells Anton that he's no longer obligated to be a CI and he disappears. She thinks that he is no longer interested in her, but she goes to his apartment and finds it unlocked and empty. And the trees were recently trimmed!
Rita is super-hormonal and pissed at Dex for most of the episode. Deb recommends that he give her an engagement ring and he takes her advice. That should save his ass for a few days. Emboldened by his experience with Billy Fleeder, we see Miguel knock on Ellen's door late at night! Easily the best episode yet of this season.
See how TV's other sociopaths stack up against Dexter. Then come back on Friday for our full detailed recap.
Want more? The full recap starts right below!Previously: Miguel wanted to make Ellen Wolf his and Dexter's next target, but Dex explained that she'd never killed anyone, thus didn't fit the Code. Ellen told Maria all of the dastardly deeds that Miguel had committed as ADA, yet didn't have any real evidence to back up her claims. Rita's not having fun being pregnant. Angel and Barbara hooked up. Anton was used as bait for The Skinner. Deb formulated a theory that a tree trimmer is The Skinner. She and Anton made cop/CI love. Yuki told Deb that Quinn's laziness was the cause of another cop's death.
Oh God, it's another scene of Dexter and Miguel acting like DUDES. There's pizza and beer and they're scrambling to eat it as fast as they can because they are DUDES. The scene is in slo-mo as Dexter VO's that he has heard that everything is connected. The butterfly effect. A pebble was dropped into the ocean, causing ripples, until eventually a fish grew arms and legs. It climbed out of the water, picked up a rock, and bashed two fish over the heads. The first serial killer was born. Justify much? That's like me saying that man walked on the moon and now I can't stop drinking Diet Coke. I guess I can see how Dexter's trying to find his connection with the world around him, but it makes you worry about the strength of his Code (i.e. Why not just kill Deb or Rita? That might be fun!) when he uses reasoning like that to explain his urges. Also, they're eating pizza that was delivered, yet Miguel is cutting the slices. Now, maybe someone can point out an exception, but as far as I know -- and I take a certain amount of pride in the fact that I've had pizza in many, many places -- when do you get a pizza delivered that's not already sliced? And, it's apparently really hot. It's not impossible, but it's unlikely. Right? I just find the artificialities in their friendship clichéd and grating. Like now -- Miguel runs to the TV and asks Dexter what channel ESPN is on his cable provider. Dex says he thinks it's a high number. (It was the running to the TV and desperate need to see THE GAME that I found annoying. Whatever, I'll stop now.)
Miguel screams at the TV screen with a mouth full of pizza, "No way that's not a foul, man!" Dexter responds that, yes, the basketball player indeed did something wrong to the other basketball player. Dexter has revealed to Miguel that he's not a sports fan. He says that he is more of a National Geographic guy. "Sharks, bears, the occasional penguin." That's the name of Dexter's next children's book. The Occasional Penguin. Miguel says that Dexter does "have other interests." Dexter cautiously agrees. So, Miguel RUNS (He's got to stop it with the running) to Dexter's computer, prompting a Dex VO -- "Boundaries." That's pretty good. You can feel his tension as Miguel sits down at his desk. Somebody doesn't like to share. Does like to shank people. No worries, because the computer is password protected. Miguel responds, "Oh yeah, trust issues." Dex wordlessly agrees and enters the password while Miguel respectfully covers his eyes.