This episode started off as a total snoozer, and huge chunks of it still scream "placeholder," but all the Mitchells at Home stuff is really compelling and makes up for a lot. Things start off with everybody making plans for Thanksgiving -- Rita's planning a big First Family Holiday, with special bonus guests Debra, neighbor Elliot and his kids. Deb drags Masuka along so she won't be drowning in happy families. Meanwhile, Christine gets naggier and naggier about having a couple-y Thanksgiving with Quinn.
But Dexter spends the bulk of his holiday with the Mitchells. That's because the day before, he's staking out Arthur when he notices him domineering Jonah. He tracks the kid down and gets an earful of the abuse Arthur's been heaping on his kids. So Dex gets himself invited over so he can basically keep Arthur civilized, and while he's there, he finally sees the Mitchells' idyllic home life for the barely-concealed hostage crisis it is. He keeps the daughter locked in her room, he barely takes his eyes off the football game while breaking Jonah's finger, and he really hates it when nobody says they're thankful for him during grace. Jonah finally flips on Dad at dinner and, in a rage, smashes the Urn o' Vera's Ashes. Arthur tries to strangle him, at which point Dexter's protective instincts (which had already been trending strong tonight) boil over. Dex drags Arthur into the kitchen and nearly kills him, to the Stockholm Syndrome'd horror of his wife and daughter (Jonah seems okay with the idea). Dexter retreats home, but clearly this has become as emotional a kill as Dexter's ever had.
Back at home, Elliot's being just so helpful with Rita as they try to pull off dinner. And in a move that will shock no one, he kisses her in the kitchen (slightly more shocking: Masuka sees them). She pushes him away, but without a whole lotta gusto. And Cody falls through the skylight in Dexter's shed. Nothing gets found, but it sure gives Harry a lot of "I told you so" fodder.
Finally, Christine, as I said, is suuuuper annoying. And it's also looking like she's the one who shot Debra. Reason to Suspect #1: She mentions to Deb how hard it must've been to watch the man she loved die in front of her... only nobody knew Deb was facing Lundy. (Deb catches wise to this by episode's end.) Reason to Suspect #2: Christine gets a knock at her door at episode's end. It's Arthur Mitchell. And she greets him as "Dad." (!) (!!!) - Joe R.
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Well, hello, and happy Thanksgiving to you all. I'm filling in for Joe R. for this week only, while he's hopefully off doing something fun. Now, on with the show. First off, am I the only one who thinks it's weird that this show has a Thanksgiving episode? And it's not the only one. I mean, you expect it from sitcoms, of course, but it's weird for shows such as this one and Heroes to go all turkey day on us, like they both have this year. They seem too cult or horror or mythology-heavy to have holiday-themed episodes. That would be like Battlestar Galactica or Supernatural having them. (Okay, okay, there was the Christmas episode, but that barely counts because it was so much better than usual holiday episodes.) So, I guess I should start recapping at some point in this recap, so it might as well be now.
Opening credits. Which my husband gets so grossed out by that I'm rarely allowed to watch them (yet he can watch the gruesome stuff that happens during this show; I don't know), so watching them this time was nice. Previously: John Lithgow creeped us all out. And he's tall, which Deb and Masuka figured out means he wasn't the shooter. Christine was a reporter and slept with Quinn. Angel and LaGuerta promised to end their relationship, but didn't, and I tried hard not to fall asleep. Arthur made a coffin. Dexter didn't let Arthur kill himself, because he wanted to kill him himself. This show goes way overboard with what to include in the previouslies. We only need small tidbits -- a la Mad Men -- not the entire plot of the season. I can't imagine anyone would tune into the ninth episode of a season of Dexter without watching the others. Then again, maybe that's just me.
Murderous music plays as Dexter fondles a zip-up case of knives. He chooses one and says, "This'll do the job. Cut you into exactly the right-sized pieces." It's all very serious until we zoom out and see he's talking to a turkey. Then he gets all jokey gangster, taps the turkey with the knife and says, "You got one more day." Miami early morning skyline. Dexter's stalking the Mitchells. (Digression: Some forum posters have been wondering why Sally and Rebecca are listed in various places -- such as IMDb as having the last name Simmons, rather than Arthur and Jonah's last name, Mitchell. The best I can figure is those are holdovers from when Arthur's character was named Walter Simmons, and that their last name is actually Mitchell.) He watches them hang up a "Happy Thanksgiving" sign in the window, then talks to Harry about how much Thanksgiving sucks because you're expected to be with family (yes, but there is also turkey and pie). Then he watches Arthur yell at Jonah (and he seems to be able to hear it, or maybe that's just us? I hope it's just us, because he shouldn't be able to) and break several of his sports trophies. Dexter tells Harry that once the turkey's gone, so is Arthur. So he's going to let him enjoy his Thanksgiving at least.
Jonah storms out of the house and gets into the hot rod his dad gave him. He peels away with a "Fuck you, Dad." As Dexter follows, Harry tells him it's family business. But Dexter says it's his business too. He finds Jonah hitting baseballs and Dexter Voice-Over says that's a healthy way to blow off steam. But then Jonah starts bashing the car with the baseball bat. Dexter stops him, and Jonah asks "Mr. Butler" what he's doing here. Dexter explains he saw him arguing with his father, but Jonah says he never argues. Dexter says it still looked bad, and Jonah says Dexter has no idea what Arthur's like, how he treats Sally and Rebecca, or him. He says he hits him, and Dexter says, "That's not right." Which could meant that it's not right to hit your child, of course. But the way he says it, it also sort of means that's not the pattern Dexter's been looking for here, since he thinks Arthur's his mentor or something. Jonah says he's running out of clichés to tell the coaches for where he got bruises. He says living in that house isn't a life when Arthur's there; it's a tour of duty. Jonah says his dad would kill him if he knew he was telling him this, but Dex promises not to tell. Then Jonah says Dexter should have just let him die. As he starts to leave, and says he's never going back with the car like this, Dexter offers to go with him and be there when he tells him. Jonah asks why, and I have to wonder the same thing. I mean, why not let the kid run away, especially if the plan is to kill Arthur? Wouldn't one witness fewer be a good thing? But they agree that Dexter will show up for Thanksgiving the day at 1, and Jonah will stay with a friend until then. DVO says he guesses he's having two turkey dinners this year. Oh, Dexter, stop bragging.
His VO continues as he arrives at work, with officers milling about as usual. He stands in front of a stick-on window picture of a cornucopia, as he makes a bad pun about the cornucopia of criminals the DNA sweep brought in, though it obviously didn't bring in Trinity. He thinks the criminals will keep Miami off the Trinity case through the holiday, but that Deb won't be as easy. Which she proves by telling him she's sorry about Thanksgiving dinner, but she's spending it here with her new friends. And by that she means pictures of Trinity's victims' dead bodies. It's pleasant. She explains that the bathtub women are always young and single -- a first girlfriend, maybe? Dexter sighs, worriedly, but she's not there yet, Dex. I know you can stay ahead of her. The jumper is always a mother of two, so maybe his mom? Or his wife, but Deb doesn't think this guy's married (wrong again). And the bludgeonee (love that word) is always a father. Dexter stops her and reminds her she used to love Thanksgiving when they were little; she used to wear politically incorrect Indian headdresses and pick pearl onions out of the green beans. Deb reminds him those were mom's green beans, and then she died and it was just the three of them, with football, TV dinners (hence the episode title?) and aluminum trays. "Talk about your lonely." Except that is not lonely compared to spending the day with dead body photos. Dexter says she won't get the chance to be lonely at his house. She snaps that she's lead detective on the biggest case of her career, so she can't leave. He's confused, so she fills him in on being made lead when they discovered Trinity didn't shoot her or kill Lundy (all news to Dex, so she exposits a bunch of stuff for those pretend people who didn't watch the episode). Dexter wonders how he didn't see that, but she says they were too close and that's what happens when you make it personal. He asks who shot her, then, and she says she'll ask Trinity when she brings him in. Dex pleads with her to come to Thanksgiving, but she's not budging.
Angel interrupts to tell the room how the DNA sweep has been like Christmas, with hits on a rape case, some burglary cases and even two homicides. He hands a homicide case to some background guy, and keeps one for himself. When Deb asks him about leads, he just told her to focus on catching Trinity. Angel goes into LaGuerta's office and they discuss how the ACLU wants to shut down their sweeps, so they need to do what they can while they can and keep pushing harder. She's not much for family holidays, since hers is in Cuba and his daughter's with her mom, plus he has a chance to close an old case of his, so ... they both plan to work Thanksgiving. Together. They give each other bedroom eyes, but nobody cares.
When Dexter arrives home, Rita and the kids are stringing their own Thanksgiving decorations as he VOs, "Are happy families all alike?" Well, maybe, but I have never been to a Thanksgiving with decorations, and especially that are hung the day before. They greet Dexter, and Rita thanks him for bringing pies. In the kitchen, Dexter continues his game with the turkey, as he holds a knife to it and says, "Come on, bird, confess: How big are ya?" Rita interrupts, "Twenty-two pounds," clearly not getting the joke. And when did she become unbearable, anyway? Dexter lies that tomorrow he has to do a blood spatter thing for the Monroe County police, whose blood guy's in the Bahamas. She looks annoyed, but he says it will just take a few hours and pay triple overtime. Okay, so where does he come up with the money for this when he's lying to her that he'll get it? He's probably hoarding all sorts of money in another apartment somewhere, or in his dad's old house or something. Rita says, "Poor you. Poor us. At least Elliott will be here." Dexter sarcastically says, "Good old Elliott." Rita asks if Deb's coming and when he says she's on the fence, she tells him to tell her that this is their first family Thanksgiving, and they're establishing traditions that will shape their kids, and she's an important part of that. Or, I don't know, Rita: Tell her yourself. But instead Dexter makes a cute video of the three kids looking sad that she's not coming, and they send it to her at work.
At work, she watches it, and says "Fuck me" ... because you know those little pleaders got to her. She sees Masuka working and comments on how late he's there, but he hadn't noticed. He says he has no plans for Thanksgiving because he can eat turkey any day of the year. Then she invites him to Dexter's since she'll need a wingman. He immediately says, "Yes!" But she tells him she can't promise it will be fun.
Gratuitous post-shower shot of a naked Christine. Quinn gives her a towel and they cuddle as she asks what time he wants to meet tomorrow. He tells her he has to work and her face falls. She asks when he gets off, and says, "You do want to spend the holiday together, don't you?" He responds that spending the holiday together makes things all serious. Which is a "no," for anyone who's confused. She says it's just a casual Thanksgiving with his girlfriend, but he thinks "girlfriend" sounds really serious. She doesn't want to spend it alone, though, plus she makes amazing pecan pie. He says he'll come by for dessert and giggles as she gets all close to his face and says, "So you just want to eat my pie, is that it?" Dirty! They laugh and kiss.
Thanksgiving morning. Arthur opens the "Journal Dispatch" newspaper and finds a front-page story by Christine (with her photo, which is very newspapery, don't you think?) about the Oceangate bludgeoner remaining at large. And the story goes all the way across the top with a two-line headline, which would make you think the world ended. Or, at the very least, that they'd caught a murderer. But, nope, just your basic, "Murderer still not caught." That is news, people! Anyway, Arthur looks panicked as he reads, though he replies a sweet "Happy Thanksgiving" to a neighbor kid who rides his bike by and greets him. You know, just so we all know how nice and normal he appears while reading articles about his murders.
Back at Dexter's, he VOs that he'll be at Arthur's by 1 and back home by 4 -- "a serial killer's Thanksgiving recipe for success." I don't like when he calls himself a serial killer in his DVO. I'm not sure why, but it seems weird to me. I know he is, but he shouldn't call himself that. It's sort of how fat people shouldn't call themselves fat and ugly people shouldn't say they're ugly. Just pretend it's not that way, even to yourself, Dexter. Denial is all we have. Anyway, he walks in on Elliott making stupid jokes about the turkey. Cody and Astor think he's hilarious, as does Rita. Elliott innocently throws a "Hey Dex" Dexter's way, which Dexter reciprocates with a completely unjealous, "Howdy, Pilgrim." This gives Cody an opportunity to talk about what the pilgrims ate on the first Thanksgiving and that gives Astor an opportunity to be a typical emo kid, all upset that the pilgrims slaughtered the Indians and then went to church. Dexter looks shocked. He is a serial killer, but a teenager speaking plainly about history shocks him. I'll never figure the guy out. But then again, if I could, we might have a problem. Rita tells Dexter it's a phase, but he wonders if him going to work is going to misshape the kids. He doesn't want to do any damage, but Rita says that's what parents do, but hopefully they do enough good stuff to balance out. Elliott watches, and Rita doesn't seem that sad Dexter's leaving.
Back at the office, Quinn shows up and tells Deb he's avoiding Christine, who can be "a little intense." Deb laughs, "Tell me about it," since she keeps calling to set up that interview with her. Quinn reminds her she said she would, but Deb says she's a little busy here with Trinity. She then tells him about the timing of the Trinity kills: Fifteen in December, 40 in July and August, 20 or so in the spring. She asks what the pattern is, and Quinn guesses truck driver, migrant worker or salesman. Um, how does that have anything to do with that timing, moron? Christine shows up with a pie, and Deb mutters about her persistence. Christine says she brought enough pie for both of them, but Deb says she's heading out. Christine guesses he can take the day off if Deb can, and Deb says, "Sure he can!" He goes to check with the boss, leaving Deb and Christine alone.
Christine asks how Deb's feeling, and Deb asks if they can put off the interview until after the holiday. Christine says she's not here as a reporter, but as Quinn's girlfriend. She says that he really cares about Deb and that she was all he could talk about after she got shot; it really messed him up. And yet Christine's acting all sweet and not jealous? Hmmm. I wonder why that is. Deb says that makes "two of us." Christine gets serious, and tells Deb she really wanted to tell her how sorry she is. "I can't even imagine looking into the eyes of the person you love, watching as he takes his last breath." Deb looks sort of moved, and says she hopes Christine never has to. Uh-oh, is that foreshadowing? Nah, Christine can't possibly love Quinn.
Some old guy's being hauled away when LaGuerta sees him and automatically knows that Angel somehow got Lloyd Paulsen to confess. Angel says he's been waiting ten years to close this one, since he promised the victim's husband he'd find the man who killed his wife and he finally did. LaGuerta says he should go tell the husband, and he's going to. He invites her, and she's like, "Seriously? To a -of-kin notification?" Come on, Maria, it's not like he asked you to go with him to tell the guy his wife died. This is good news -- or, at least as good as it can be in this situation. He says it is official business. I love how they're justifying spending all this time together as long as it's "work." Or, you know, hooking up at work. She nods flirtatiously.
Dexter shows up unexpectedly at the Mitchells', and Sally looks surprised, as she greets "Kyle." Arthur's surprised, too, but at least he seems like it's somewhat of a pleasant surprised. Sally's wearing a sour face as DVO says he guesses Jonah didn't mention inviting him. Well, that's because he was not going home until you were there to keep him safe, nimrod. Was that not clear? Dexter says he just wanted to drop by and say hi; it's his first Thanksgiving without his family and he didn't know what to do with himself. Arthur invites him in, all "Full tables, full hearts, full bellies." Is that even a thing?
Deb shows up at Dexter's with a bunch of files and thanks the kids for the video. From the kitchen, Rita says "Hi, Deb," then Elliott, "Hi, Deb." Deb says, "Hi." Then asks Astor in a whisper who that guy is. She explains, and Deb asks Rita where Dexter is. When she tells her he's at a crime thing but will be back for dinner, Deb mutters he's more like dad every day. Immediately, Cody starts bugging Deb to do a puzzle with them, but she says she has work to do. Astor cutely tells him to leave Deb alone. But Deb can't resists Cody's sad face, so she gets up to do the puzzle with them. In the kitchen, Rita and Elliott discuss the food and how much time it all will take when it dawns on her that she doesn't have room in her oven for all of it. Why would that just now occur to her? I mean, why couldn't the show have just written it such that they already planned to use Elliott's oven. But whatever. They decide to cook some stuff in his oven -- actually, two ovens. She tells him he's a lifesaver. Then they take a bunch of trays and head door. Rita asks Deb to watch the kids, and doesn't even listen when Deb's like, "Actually, I was going to try to get some..." Vince is at the door when Rita and Elliott open it, so introductions are made. Then Deb explains they're using his oven, and Masuka says he guesses he'll be using it, too, for his specialty, chocolate lava cakes. Yes, this is all boring, but it will come in to play later. Deb can't believe he has a specialty, and Masuka describes it as "a river of chocolate love that melts in your mouth." She marvels at his ability to make anything sound perverted. It's a gift.
Close-up of Arthur's knife as he's chopping carrots. DVO notes his decent mood and hopes he can slip out early. Dexter asks if he should set the table since it's almost 1, but Arthur says they have to watch the game first. Why can't they just pass out in front of a game after they eat, like the rest of America? Arthur, disgusted, says, "It's tradition, Kyle." Then he says it's also tradition for the kids to be there, but Jonah's apparently forgotten. Sally sweetly says she's sure he's on his way, since he knows how important holidays are to Arthur. Arthur makes a jerk face, and DVO says it's not such a good mood after all. Sally asks if Arthur thinks Rebecca can come out now, and he says he guesses he'll go get her. Dexter asks if she's grounded or something and Sally sweetly says, "Oh, no, no, nothing like that," with a big, plastered-on smile.
At a retirement facility, Angel and LaGuerta find the victim's husband in a vegetative state and are told he got hit by a bus a few years ago. Angel sort of beats himself up about it, but LaGuerta asks the nurse to leave and then tells Angel to tell him. She says he'll hear him. Angel starts to tell him, but thinks it's pointless, so Maria steps in. Until Angel picks it back up and tells him the news that they found the guy who killed his wife. He says he wishes they'd found him sooner, or actually he wishes he hadn't killed her at all, but they can't change anything. But they got the guy. Most boring scene of the episode? You think? Well, just wait. There's more Angel-LaGuerta snoozefest ahead.
Mitchells. Rebecca greets Dexter as "Mr. Butler," and asks how he is. Arthur asks if "Kyle" is up for a pre-game football toss, and Dexter supposes. Rebecca says she's going to help her mom in the kitchen and Arthur says at least he has one perfect child. Dexter and Arthur are in the garage, digging around, since Jonah usually supplies the football. Dexter hilariously asks, "How 'bout a baseball?" Apparently he doesn't get the mind of this psycho football fan. Arthur explains the baseball's for spring, but the football is for Thanksgiving. "Traditions matter." Dexter agrees they shape people, and Arthur says they give children a sense of history, and teaches them who they are and what's expected of them: common sense, generosity, obedience. He says a father sets the boundaries, and a child honors them. Dexter leans down and pulls a tarp off Arthur's coffin, as Arthur tries to stop him. Arthur says he made it while he was still confused, and Dexter tells him it's beautiful. Which Arthur says is why he didn't throw it away, but he'll probably donate it to the needy since he won't be needing it. DVO: "No, you'll be buried at sea." Arthur says he has a new lease on life thanks to "Kyle." They find a football that has a hole in it, and Arthur wonders what's the point of giving Jonah the better things in life if he can't take care of them.
Arthur opens the garage door, and Dexter asks Harry, quietly, what kind of father keeps a coffin in his garage. Harry: "What kind of father keeps blood slides in his shed?" Touché. Dexter follows Arthur out with the football when Jonah pulls up with the messed-up car. Arthur looks pissed, and Jonah gets out stammering that he doesn't know what happened; it was like that when he came out this morning after it was parked in Luke's driveway all night. He says he's so sorry, and Dexter says, "That's why God invented car insurance, right?" Arthur stalks off and gets a crowbar, which he uses to bend the front fender back into place. He acts like everything's normal, and says now it's drivable until they can get it fixed. Then he says the game's about to start, "Shall we?" and heads inside. I never realized how amazing John Lithgow is at teetering between madness and nice, normal guy before this season of Dexter. How did I ever miss it? I will never see him the same way again.
Dexter's. Rita's holding Harrison, while Rita scolds the other kids for playing wiffle ball in the house. Deb says she doesn't know how Rita does it, with all the kids home at the same time. Rita says it's nothing compared to summers off. Deb: "Plus spring break and Christmas break." Rita says that's when you're really climbing the walls, and Deb says, "June, July, August. ... December." She starts, "Fuuu," and finishes "uuudge. Trinity's in the school system." Good thing they had that conversation for her to realize he isn't a trucker. She calls Quinn and tells him that Trinity's kill schedule matches the school year, so he could be a cafeteria worker, bus driver, janitor, etc. She thinks they should get to the station, but Quinn says a) he hasn't eaten and b) they won't be able to get a warrant to access school records on Thanksgiving without pissing off a judge. She starts to say the F-word again, but is still holding Harrison, so it's another "fudge." It is hilarious to hear Deb say "fudge," because she's such a potty-mouth. They get off the phone, and Christine innocently asks if it's a break in the case. Quinn: "We'll see." She asks if it wasn't a good Thanksgiving, and he says it was pretty nice. She asks if having a girlfriend isn't so bad after all, and Quinn shakes his head and says, "You with the labels. Why does it matter?" She says she just cares about him and would like to have it returned. He kisses her to make her feel better, but she has a better idea and goes down on him. He laughs and says, "Oh, you are so my girlfriend."
Jonah's watching the football game with a serial killer on each side of him, one freaking out about the game and the other staring at the football freak. Dexter thinks Jonah seems safe for the moment, so he admits he's not a big fan and goes to help Sally. Arthur says that's very nice of him, and Dexter leaves, looking back once more to see that everything's okay. He heads to Rebecca's very pink, girly room and DVOs that it's kind of young for a teenager. Then he discovers a padlock on the window and wonders if that's to keep someone out or in. He notices a lock on the outside of the bedroom door, and for those of us who can't keep up, he says aloud (although in a whisper), "Oh my god, he locks his daughter in here." For some reason, this doesn't make him worry about Jonah sitting there with his dad. Instead, he goes out to the yard to offer Rebecca help choosing flowers for a centerpiece. Rebecca says dad always likes roses, and Dexter wonders if the locks on the door are for him, too. She says Arthur says they're there to protect her, and Dexter asks if they do. She just looks at him.
Inside, the football game's still going, and Arthur's still totally into it. Then there's a touchdown, which he's happy about. So, how else to express it other than to break your son's pinky. And, seriously, it's the most unsettling thing I've ever watched on this show (I say that now, but surely I've felt that way before), and I actually couldn't look at it because it's in slo-mo so the anticipation is terrible and then the sound makes it even worse. Although when I did look at the TV, it didn't seem to show anything gruesome, so it's mostly just anticipation and sound. And then Jonah's face as he covers his mouth and tries not to scream. Arthur: "That's for my windshield. Things of beauty need to be honored." He gets up and polishes Vera's urn as Jonah glowers.
Outside, Rebecca tells Dexter that she ran away once and he caught her, which was bad. Dexter tells her it's not always going to be like this, and she says Jonah told her that Dexter's helping him. She says he can help her, too, by getting her out of here. He says she's too young to be on her own, and this is where it gets skeevy (it's especially weird to see Luke's daughter coming on to a grown man). She says she doesn't have to be alone, since she could be with him. She says Jonah says he's nice, and she can be nice to him. She'll do anything he wants. She leans in to kiss him and he jumps back and says she's 15, and he doesn't want anything. She says she doesn't believe him, since she knows what guys like. He says no again, and Sally shows up and sends Rebecca inside. She apologizes for Rebecca's behavior, and asks "Kyle" to please not say anything to Arthur. She says, "Whatever you did with Rebecca..." Dexter says he didn't, but she says, "Whatever you're going to do. I don't care. I'm begging you. Please don't tell Arthur." She says all of this with a sweet smile, which messes with Dexter's mind or something, because he doesn't just come out and say he's not going to do anything with Rebecca (and, seriously, he better not; this show would not go there, would it?), but just stammers, "I wouldn't. I wouldn't. I, I won't." She says "please," and he promises. She thanks him and literally trots inside.
Dexter leans against the house and wonders what the hell Arthur's doing to these people. Then his phone rings, and it's Rita, who wonders how far away he is (an hour or so), and then tells him Cody fell through his skylight. He hit a wiffle ball onto the shed and climbed up and fell through the skylight. She says Elliott was going to push in the air conditioner, and Dexter jumps in, "No! Don't!" She looks puzzled, but says he didn't; he took off the door. Dexter, "So my shed has no door?" Rita says Cody was scared and crying, so she told Elliott to get him out however he could. Dexter says of course, and he'll thank Elliott when he's home. Then he's talking to Harry, telling him no one can get into the trunk's false bottom, and Harry says he didn't think anyone could get into the shed, either. That moment when Dexter was more concerned about his shed than about Cody was the moment where he was Arthur, and I think he realized that when Rita snapped at him, and it scares him. But it's there. Maybe he couldn't be the same type of violent physical abuser, but he obviously has it in him to put the murdering first. The reason Arthur is perplexing is that he doesn't work out his aggression and violence sufficiently in his killings and still needs to take it out on the family at home. You'd think a killer wouldn't need that outlet and would be less suspicious and weird at home if he possibly could. Although... what do I know about serial killing other than what I learn from this show? Dexter tells Harry he has to get home, and runs inside.
He finds Arthur and Jonah, looking peaceful, and says he just got a call and he thinks he has to... But then he sees Jonah taping up his fingers and asks what happens. Jonah says he whacked it on the coffee table, and Arthur says, "My son, the klutz, this team hasn't been the same since they traded Johnson." He actually said it like that, as if it's one thought. Jonah gives Dexter a look, and DVO wonders what else Arthur will do to Jonah if he leaves. So he sits back down and eats a chip.
Let the boredom commence, because Angel and LaGuerta are sitting near the beach discussing their Thanksgiving dinner: turkey wraps, ICEEs and Cuervo. Seriously, that doesn't sound bad. Although it's the only thing about this scene that doesn't. Angel's struggling with the fleeting nature of life and love after finding the victim's husband in a vegetative state, so he tells Maria he loves her. She takes his sunglasses off and wonders if he's worried he'll get hit by a bus. He says yes, but he means it. He starts shouting and says, "I love Maria Esparanza Di Alma LaGuer..." But she covers his mouth and tells him she's not going to say it. He asks if she doesn't love him, and she cries that she's afraid if she says it something bad will happen, like he'll get hit by a bus (foreshadowing? Is Angel going to get hit by a bus?). She kisses him and tells him to watch out for buses because, "I love Angel Juan Marcos Batista." They kiss. And I wonder why this matters, or what it might have to do with anything at any time this season, other than that they will possibly get fired over it.
Elliott's kitchen. Rita burns herself, and Elliott swoops in to help her get her hand under the faucet, and to get her frozen peas. Because that's stuff she couldn't do on her own, but it lets him make yet another dumb joke -- "Come on, Rita, give peas a chance." Then he makes fun of her for saying "Rats!" when she burnt herself. He says he likes taking care of her and leans in for a kiss. She actually completely kisses back for a moment, but then jumps away, and he apologizes, and says they have a connection that's more than both of them being lonely. She says she's not lonely; she has Dexter. Elliott: "The guy who's never home?" She storms out, and then the camera pans outside, where Masuka showed up to bake his lava cakes and saw the whole thing. He sneaks away and throws his cakes in the trash. Then he goes back and tells Deb he's not feeling hot and needs to take off. She says he can't; he's her wingman. She says she'll be the one single person here if he leaves (what about girlfriendless Elliott?). He says he needs booze, and she's on board with that. Masuka sits down with Astor and Harrison. Astor asks him if he's the one her mom told her not to talk to. He just says, "Awkward."
The Mitchells and "Kyle" finally are seated for Thanksgiving dinner. They all hold hands as Arthur prays. Dexter looks at the linked hands. Arthur starts to cut the turkey and tells "Kyle" they have a family tradition of saying what they're thankful for. He says he's thankful for this family, and then asks Sally. She's thankful for this lovely home, and for her son. Arthur asks if that's all, and she says her beautiful daughter, too. She's so blessed. Rebecca's thankful Mrs. Wilder gave them an extra two days to finish their report. And she's also thankful for this nice home. DVO wonders if this is how you survive here. Jonah says he's thankful for this house, too, and for God. Arthur says he's thankful for his car, and glares. Wait, he already went! Dexter says he's thankful for yams. Which is hilarious anyway, but especially so since that other show that also had a surprising Thanksgiving episode, Heroes, also had a creepy guy making everyone do this and someone piping in last to say "yams." Weird coincidence? Or do the shows share writers? Arthur says that no one said they're thankful for him. "Did you, Jonah?" Jonah says he didn't say that, because he's not. I LOVE HIM. Sally smiles and says she's so thankful for Arthur. He says, "Shut up, cunt," but keeps his focus on Jonah. Dexter: "Woah, Arthur." Arthur thinks it's time for him to go, but Dexter says he thinks he should say. Jonah jumps up and screams for him to stay and watch the show. Rebecca tells Arthur she's thankful for him, but he replies, "Go to your room, Vera." Jonah yells that she's not Vera and she's not a prisoner, and she's not eight. He says this whole life is a lie and he picks up one of his trophies and throws it at a mirror. He says he knows who Arthur really is. "You're a killer." Dexter and Arthur both look shocked he knows, but Jonah goes on: "Sucking the fucking life out of all of us." I hate when shows do that. Too easy.
Jonah's freaking out, and knocks down all of the plaques. Rebecca runs in, and Arthur throws her. Jonah picks up the urn, and says, "Fuck you, and fuck Vera." He throws it against the wall, shattering it. Arthur goes nuts and starts to strangle Jonah, but Dexter goes just as nuts, rips his belt off and, with a menacing, "Get the FUCK off him!" lunges forward and puts the belt around Arthur's neck. He drags him to the kitchen as Rebecca shrieks, "No! Dad! Dad!" As if he doesn't deserve it, but obviously it's understandable because she can't help loving him. Very sick and sad. Dexter closes the kitchen door, pulls a knife behind him and tells Arthur, "I should have fucking killed you when I had the chance." But the women run in, shrieking when they see Dexter's knife. Arthur plays the innocent and when Dexter lets them go, he cuddles the girls in the corner as they cry. Jonah looks on, but doesn't seem to care what Dexter did, other than possibly to root for it. Dexter looks helpless and worried that he let it get to this point, and runs out.
Then he's in the car, freaking out, to Harry, screaming and hitting the dash, letting out the rage he couldn't in the house. "I'm thankful to be out of that fucking house!" Harry says Dexter showed Trinity the monster inside him, and he'll see him coming now. Dexter can't believe how Arthur's destroyed everyone in that family, but Harry says that's what happens to people who live with a monster. Dexter yells that he's nothing like him. But you can tell he's worried that he is. Harry asks what 18 more years with Dexter is going to do to his family. Dexter says Arthur's terrorized his family into maintaining his cover so they're nothing but human shields. Harry says he only started dating Rita for cover, but Dex says she and the kids are much more than that now. He repeats, "My family is nothing like that," as much to convince himself as anyone. Especially since Harry doesn't actually exist.
Dexter arrives home, where everyone greets him. Elliott's a little sheepish about it, to his credit. Rita hugs him and tells him how happy she is that he's home. Then she looks at Elliott and then crazily back at Dexter. Masuka watches it all from the kitchen. Cody grabs Dexter's hand and apologizes about his Blood Shack. Dexter tells him that as long as he's okay, that's all that matters. But then he gets up to go check on the shed, under the cover of making sure it's safe in there. Deb asks, "Miss us?" as he heads out, and Dexter, totally honest, "You have no idea." He finds everything's safe out there, meaning no one found the slides or trunk. Harry wonders if anything is really safe here. Dexter says he'll find an alternative. Harry says Trinity was supposed to be the alternative. Dexter drops whatever piece of the shed he's holding.
Inside, Cody asks to see Deb's scar, and she shows him. He asks if it still hurts, and she says sometimes. She touches her heart and says, "Here." Cody asks if she saw that guy die, and she says, "I did. I looked right in his eyes." Cody asks if they were open, and she says yeah, she watched him take his last breath. Then she stops and wonders, "How did she know that?" Cody's like, "Who and what," but Deb just says, "Nobody but me," and goes to call Quinn. She asks him how much he told Christine about the Lundy shooting. He says nothing. Christine's in the kitchen behind him, but at least acting like she's not hearing this. She asks if Christine maybe saw the file when he left it lying around and knows how he was positioned when he did so could have figured it out... She's grasping for Christine not to have been involved in the shooting. But Quinn doesn't bring those home anymore; he learned his lesson. Deb's face falls.
DVO says not all happy families are alike, as Rita calls that dinner's ready and we get a close-up of the turkey. DVO continues that they are happy, aren't they? He wonders if the kids are normal. How you can tell a loving wife from a frightened one? Judging by Sally, it's mostly the crazed smile as she's telling you to go ahead and do naughty things with her teenage daughter, just PLEASE don't tell her husband! Dex then says, "A friendly neighbor, co-worker, sister, son. Are any of them what they seem, or are they bombs waiting to explode?" From the living room, eating off his TV tray, Harry says, "Happy Thanksgiving, son." He looks at him, shocked he's there, and Rita notices and asks if he's okay. He lies, "Yeah," then asks her if it is, isn't it. She says yes; everything's exactly as it should be: perfect. He says she's right. Then she asks if they can go around the table and everyone say what they're thankful for, but Dexter blurts, "No!" Deb looks like, "What the hell, dude?" And Rita looks sad. But he says he doesn't want the yummy food to get cold. Cody says he's thankful for Dexter, and Dexter smiles because, see? He's not like Arthur. He says "Let's eat" and finally takes a knife to the turkey.
Quinn and Christine make out in her doorway and she asks if he's sure he doesn't want to stay. He says he's too tired to stay the night (well, there is always the option of actually sleeping when you stay over); she made sure of that. She doesn't protest, but they make out. He says he'll see her tomorrow, and she says, "And the day after that, and after that." Are we supposed to think that he had a total change of heart about her in the course of this episode? Because she did nothing that would have that effect other than the blowjob, but that can't be the first time she's done that for him, can it? They say goodnight, and she says she's here if he changes his mind. She closes her door, looking happy. Then she gets a knock, and turns back to the door, all "Joey." But when she answers, it's Arthur, looking totally scary and crazed. The music is supposed to freak us out, like she's the bathtub victim, but she just says, "Hi, Dad." So, is she in on it, and helping him cover it up? Or another victim like her (half-)siblings?
week: Joe R.'s back, and Dexter's making checklists: "Kill the guy you're looking for, remember to pick up diapers." He watches Arthur watch a potential victim, and DVO wonders if he's set Trinity's round in motion by saving his life. Dexter, on the phone with Arthur, asks him what he's doing. Arthur doesn't know what Dexter thinks he saw, but he doesn't appreciate being followed. In his big white, killing-people van. Deb grills Christine about how quickly she got to the Lundy crime scene. Christine calls Arthur and says, "Daddy, I think I'm in trouble." Arthur beats his phone against his steering wheel and says, "Stupid, stupid bitch!" Harry talks Dexter through figuring out that Arthur leaves four victims behind each time, not three. Then Arthur tells Dexter to walk away after maybe Dexter finds another body, which Arthur seems to put in concrete? Only three episodes left, and it's getting intense. When it airs, probably none of it will happen in that order, since these previews tend to mislead.
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DeAnn, a writer and editor in Portland, Oregon, thinks teenagers wouldn't complain about their parents if they knew about Arthur. You can contact her at twopmodmars@gmail.com.