Dexter agrees to help Lumen kill more of the guys that tortured her. Someone has a car accident and spills the girls that Boyd had left in the barrels in that swamp. Dexter and the department are on the case. Dexter sets out to find the guy who was driving them, who got away. When he's investigating the scene, he sees Lumen looking on from the sidelines. Liddy tells Quinn that Dexter took down the "For Sale" sign at his house -- Lumen is living there now. Deb finds that Jordan Chase is the owner of the car that was driving the dead girls. Jonny Lee Miller!
Apparently, the Santa Muerte case is still open; Laguerta tells everyone that they are going to perform an intricate stakeout. The Chief gives her a lot of pressure about solving the case. Jordan Chase reports to the Homicide Department, where Masuka falls all over him. Good stuff. He makes a good show about needing all of this to stay quiet. Lumen recognizes Chase's head of security as a guy who attacked her. This episode makes Masuka seem like he's a bastard/torturer in the making. Dexter and Lumen break into Boyd's place. They scrub away any trace that Lumen was there. Dexter plants Boyd's wallet near the car wreck scene. They speak to Chase again and he says that he doesn't know anything about Boyd. I think we all know where this is going. Jordan congratulates his assistant for driving the investigation towards Boyd, but the hack tells him that he didn't do it. Dex tells the nanny that, though she wants to keep a saint doll with Harrison, he doesn't believe in any of it. She's clearly bothered.
Liddy starts pressing Quinn for more money to make things happen. RoboCop tells Quinn that his priorities are out of place, so he gives him more money. Quinn is planted in a club to find the Santa Muerte bitches. Laguerta is there, too, and sends their witness to hang out with them, even though she's very nervous. Because Laguerta was afraid of not making the chief happy, she pushed things hard and Manzon was put in danger and several people (including one of the Fuentes guys) were killed. Dex and Lumen broke into another guy (Cole's) house and killed(?) him. Dex feels like Lumen thinks like him. Something weird is happening with the nanny. She's nice and all, but she's too fine an actress to not be some sort of killer. Dex introduces Harrison to Lumen. He's found a partner, whether he wanted it or not.
So, it appears that Lumen has taken up permanent residence at the erstwhile Dexter Morgan Family home. Dexter VO's that it has been a month since he freed Lumen from Boyd Fowler's house. He's bringing her food. I understand the need to heal and all, but Lumen should perhaps consider finding some kind of job. I'd suggest a job as a patient in a psychiatrist's office, but I'm just spit-balling here. She's looking at a giant map and she's got a roll of scotch tape at the ready. This can't be good. She tells him that she ate that morning and he reminds her that it is now evening, so (as he shoves a plate of food in her face- a paper plate- I guess he didn't unpack the china) she should eat again. She kind of half smiles and tells him that he's very controlling. I was thinking parental, but I guess that's part of being a parent. He agrees that he is controlling when he has to be.
Dexter asks her for details. I'm thinking that he wants to know about some sort of information that she has perhaps become privy to as she was taping things on this giant map, but instead it appears that she's giving him details about her torture. She says that, other than the of her tormentors that they have "taken care of," they still have to find "watch guy." She would be blindfolded in a room and unsure if there was even anyone else in it when she would suddenly hear a watch ticking to her ear. Then, the guy would whisper to her, "Tick tick tick. That's the sound of your life running out." No sir, that's the sound of a watch. "Bla-bump, Bla-bummmp, Bla." That's really more like what I'd imagine it sounds like when someone's life runs out. Or, "I'm leaving you, gotta run." "Wait! You're my life!" That too, but that's a little esoteric. She says he would wear a suit and tie and would take off his jacket and fold it. He would also take off her blindfold, because he expected her to be dead soon. Dexter points out that he was wrong. So, Lumen knows what Suit Guy looks like.
It's nighttime at what appears to be the swamp where Dexter first saw Boyd dumping the body. And, look at that, there's a man getting out of a truck and he's wearing a suit. And, he folds the jacket. He's making this very easy for us. There are a bunch of dudes in the back of the truck. He holds a flashlight while the guys wade out into the water. They start retrieving the barrels with the girls in them. Meanwhile, Lumen is telling Dexter that she wants to be a part of the whole revenge thing with the killing of her tormentors and he tells her that he doesn't need a partner. She really wants to though. So, the guys get all of the barrels loaded onto the truck and leave.
Dexter tells Lumen that he has to leave and she's like, oh right, the other part of your life. Dex VO's that he has no place for Lumen in his normal life, which isn't exactly true. I can think of a vacancy that became available as of late. One that was blonde too. Lumen thanks him before he leaves and he VO's about how weird it is. He shakes her hand, which really does nothing to make it less weird.
ALSO! The Suit Guy- and I actually believe that he was following all traffic laws but maybe he made a rolling stop- gets slammed by another vehicle when he tries to make a left turn. Awesome.
Dexter arrives home to find Sonya singing to Harrison. He walks over and she says a little prayer to St. Brigid. Dexter finds a little statue above Harrison's bed- also St. Brigid. Sonya says that St. Brigid will watch over him, then she leaves. Dex VO's that Harrison doesn't need St. Brigid, because he has Father Dexter. I either love that he said that or hate it. I don't know which one it is. Really I don't.
Deb is in cute underwear in the morning at Quinn's place. Quinn wakes up and she says that she's leaving for the gym. He seems to think that she's uncomfortable there and tells her that they don't have to live there- they could get a place together. Deb gets a call. She tells the person that she's Homicide and doesn't do traffic accidents. I know where this is going! She gets off the phone and Quinn asks what the call was about. Dead people. She tells him that he's probably going to get a call too, so he should get dressed. He asks why she didn't tell the phone person that he was there and she says it's because she's not there. She's so mean to Quinn. I like that. She doesn't anyone to know they're dating. He asks if they can at least drive to the crime scene together and she's like, yeah, and they can go to Disney World and ride roller coasters and hold hands too. Quinn doesn't even know what that means. I get it.
Dexter arrives at the crime scene. Batista tells him that their scene is already all over the news. Dex is shocked when he sees the bodies, realizing that someone had tried to move them. The driver escaped. There's goo all over the ground and Dex tells them that it's congealed organs. Quinn's grossed out and starts scraping his shoes on the ground. Deb says that all of the girls are blonde and between 18 and 35. OK, I would love to be a dead body on Law & Order because you might also get to film some sort of S&M film that gets uncovered later or photographed doing something cult-y or fun like that. But, I draw the line in my dead background work at having to lie on pavement covered in goo. New representation, girls. Look into it. There are signs of torture on all of the girls. A drunk person hit the Suit Guy, who apparently took off running after the wreck. Masuka is investigating the truck. He bagged the suit jacket in the cab, which Dex notices was folded.
Then, he notices Lumen watching from behind the police lines. He VO's some grumpy thing about not being able to keep the different parts of his life separate. Then, he tries to sneak over to where she is. At that moment, as things in Miami so often happen, Quinn gets a call from Stan Liddy with a report about Dexter findings. He says that Dexter removed the "For Sale" sign at his house and has been hosting a blonde girl. Quinn sees Dexter talking to Lumen and asks if she's also thin and pretty. Liddy affirms. Quinn says that he needs to find out who she is.
Dex pulls Lumen aside and tells her that it's not safe for her there. She's all worked up because she knows that her fate was supposed to be similar to the girls in the barrels. She wants to know what the current development means. It means the bad guys are on the run, says Dexter. Only in Miami do you get such clear-cut meaning in life. I might seriously consider moving there.
Deb breaks into the glove compartment of the truck and finds something that makes her exclaim, "Shit a brick and fuck me!" The truck is registered to Jordan Chase, the self-help guru that Boyd was listening to. The one voiced my Jonny Lee Miller! Yes!
In the lab, Masuka tells Dexter that he has listened to all of Jordan Chase's CD's. Dex asks him if he thinks Jordan could have been driving the truck in the wreck. Hell no, because the jacket in the cab wasn't nice enough and Jordan Chase only wears really nice clothes. Because, if you want something, take it. Maybe explains some things about Masuka? Masuka says that he found a bunch of fingerprints in the truck, but they all belong to the same person and there's not a match in his database. But, Dexter has apparently found a hair. Masuka is very excited about that. Dexter is flustered, because he needs to find the ID of the hair person before Masuka does, because that's the only way he'll be able to give Lumen what he promised her.
Quinn tells Deb that, though he has found ways to buy tons of Jordan Chase merchandise, he has had no luck locating the actual Jordan Chase. Deb reasons that he's in such high demand that he's probably not in Miami right now. Quinn threatens to kick down his door if someone doesn't answer one of the many messages that he left. Deb tells him that they've id'd two of the victims that were found in the body spill wreck. One was a schoolteacher from Wisconsin who had come to Miami 2 years earlier on vacation and disappeared. The other was a cruise ship employee who disappeared a year ago when the ship she was working on docked in Miami. Deb seems troubled. These were "good girls" and young.
Quinn finds this moment to be the perfect opportunity to tell Deb about a two-bedroom apartment he'd heard was available. Deb replies that isn't a workplace conversation, so shut up. He continues and says that it's probably not going to be on the market long. She's serious about him shutting up. LaGuerta calls them from across the floor and tells them to get into her office. She seems pissed. Deb is terrified and asks Quinn without hardly moving her lips if he thinks LaGuerta knows about the two of them.
In her office, Deb and Quinn find the Captain and Batista already there. This is about the Santa Muerte case. Deb says that she thought that was dead, but the Captain says that it's alive again. Apparently, the hoochie that Batista picked up at the club last week has assured them that she will bring the Fuentes brothers to Club Mayan the night. LaGuerta says that she will be overseeing the operation. Because they can't risk the brothers finding out, info about the sting will be on a need-to-know basis. Deb and Batista will be in a van outside the club. Quinn and Manzon will be in the club. LaGuerta will be walking around. She says that they plan to grab the guys before they enter the club. Deb reasons that, since they want to catch the guys outside, perhaps, I don't know, the cops should be stationed outside too? LaGuerta, who seems really nervous, says that they don't want to stick out, so they're going to keep to their normal posts.
Deb and Quinn leave LaGuerta's office. The Captain says to her that she has wasted a lot of resources on this case. She hasn't even been useful as the "master manipulator of the press" that she is known to be. If she doesn't nail the Fuentes brothers tomorrow night, he says they are going to have an interesting conversation about her future. Joe Reid mentioned while we were watching the season premiere that he doesn't really see LaGuerta's usefulness as a character on the show anymore. Moments like this almost make me agree. The Captain has never been presented as a wise and reasonable man, but his demands just seem crazy. It's like tickling someone when they are playing Operation. It feels like we're so desperate to raise the stakes for LaGuerta that actual asses are being reached into for ideas. This is what we got.
Batista gives LaGuerta a husbandly look of comfort, but she's not having it. She asks where they are in regards to finding Jordan Chase. Batista says that they have put calls in, with no luck. He says that Chase may be playing hard-to-get, in which case they will pay a visit to his organization. LaGuerta says that won't be necessary, because out of the elevator comes Jonny Lee Miller! Followed by Suit Guy.
While Chase is introducing himself with a salesman smile to Deb and Quinn, Masuka sees him and freaks out. He runs out to greet Chase (and Suit Guy holds him back just a little) and reminds him that they met before at one of his conferences. Chase remembers which one. That's some Dale Carnegie witchcraft right there. He must meet tons of people. Dexter says to Masuka that he will take his picture with Chase. He messes up a couple of times, but we'll see what that was for later. Chase eyeballs Dexter and introduces himself and shakes his hand with both of his own. Dex compliments Chase's watch and he says that his father gave it to him when he was a teenager and is water resistant to 100 meters. He can't imagine why you would need that, but it sure looks nice! Dex, sounding more and more like Vincent Price this episode in his VO's, says that, if he's the man that Lumen was talking about, Dex will make sure the watch accompanies him to the bottom of the Atlantic. Suit Guy is giving Dexter dirty looks.
In LaGuerta's office, Chase explains that he was in Jacksonville earlier when he got a call from Cole (Suit Guy) who said that a truck had been stolen from their lot and may be the truck that was found at the scene of the body spill. He flew back to Miami as soon as he got the news. Batista points out that Cole's jacket was found in the truck, but Cole says that it's his personal vehicle and he always leaves stuff inside of it. Also, the keys were in the ignition. Cole says an extra set are hanging at their offices and anyone could grab them. LaGuerta's all, and he's the head of security? Chase offers to help the police in any way they can. Batista says they will need fingerprints and hair samples of all of his employees, starting with Cole. Chase agrees and asks that his name and organization not be leaked to the press in conjunction with this "horrible tragedy." It would be a PR nightmare. LaGuerta says that, with his continued cooperation, it shouldn't be a problem.
Dexter VO's that sociopaths feel no psychic pain but do feel physical pain. He's pulling a hair out of Cole's head and he's feeling physical pain. As they are leaving the station, LaGuerta asks Batista what he thinks of Cole. He says that the "someone stole my car" excuse is the oldest in the book, though LaGuerta finds it hard to believe that someone in Chase's organization would be involved with this.
Masuka says that all of the prints and hairs in the truck match Cole's, even the prints on the ignition key. Batista says that this makes him the focus of the investigation. Jordan's alibi holds up.
That night, Dexter accidentally surprises Lumen at his place. She tells him that he needs to announce himself when he comes in. He chides her for having packages delivered. She reminds him that she needs things and he told her not to leave the house. She got a big flashlight. He tells her that she has a way of bending the rules. He shows her a picture of Cole, which was one of the pics he took. That's Suit Guy. He also shows her the other pic he took- she says she doesn't recognize the guy, though clearly he is a freak. No, Dex isn't talking about Masuka. Heh. She doesn't recognize Jordan Chase either. Dexter tells her that Cole will probably be arrested in the few days. He will never see the light of day afterwards. In fact, most of the guys involved with her torture will probably be brought to justice soon. And, since they execute in Florida, she could walk away, content that people will be getting what they deserve.
She says that she wants to take care of it herself and Dex VO's that he knows the feeling. She's drinking a lot of coffee. She begs Dexter to not back out of helping her kill the bad guys. He VO's that he actually wants to help her, for complicated reasons. So, he's going to help. He says that, in order to keep Cole for themselves, he'll need to derail the police investigation. He's going to give them another suspect- the man who killed all of the girls, Boyd Fowler.
He and Lumen break into Boyd's house at night. Luckily, Lumen has her new flashlight. First, Dex says they have to remove all evidence that Lumen was there. She's clearly traumatized with memories. Dex says that he will be with her, so she's fine. They go to the attic and she has flashbacks of being tied up. She says that she chewed on a rope that was on her hands for a whole day, then sneaked downstairs where she saw Dexter kill Boyd. Then, they start scrubbing.
Downstairs, he grabs Boyd's wallet to plant in the truck. The day, Masuka is all "Eureka!" re: the wallet. Once more, they are in Boyd's house, this time investigating. They find the locks of hair that Boyd kept. Also, they find a metal barrel with jumper cables attached. Dex remembers that preliminary forensics indicate that the dead girls were electrocuted. They also find a bunch of Jordan Chase stuff, which seems like something maybe Dexter would have absconded with in the interest of throwing the police off the trail. Seems pretty clear, I don't know, IMMEDIATELY, that this is all connected.
At the station, Batista asks Chase if he knows Boyd, from a picture. He says that he doesn't, but Batista says that he has all of his CD's and books. He reminds him that he's sold tons of stuff. Cole speaks up and says that Boyd was a stalker and he'd asked him to leave the organization offices several times. As they leave, Jordan tells Cole that steering the cops towards Boyd was the first correct thing he has done. Um, Cole corrects him, he didn't to the steering.
Dexter is holding Harrison and looking at Google Maps. He sing-songs to the baby that he's going to find Cole tonight. He's a bad man. Then, he's going to find out who the rest of his bad man friends are. Sonya comes in. Dex whispers to Harrison that he's not going to be able to talk to him like that for much longer, because eventually he'll understand. Sonya finds the St. Brigid doll in Harrison's toy box and figures that means he loves the doll. No, Dex says that he put the doll there. Brigid is just a person who died long ago and she doesn't protect anyone. Sonya seems really injured. Dex gets ready to leave and she explains that the world is dark and St. Brigid has comforted her and she thought maybe she could do the same for Harrison. She hope that he'll consider reconsidering. He's really nonchalantly like, "Sure!" And he leaves. Sonya seemed really disturbed there. Like she'd never heard of people not believing in saints before.
Quinn calls Deb before the stakeout and jokingly asks her what she's wearing. To a stakeout? She says she's wearing a diaper. She tells him not to where that ugly shirt of his (he's wearing it right now and starts taking it off) and he agrees. Then, Liddy knocks on his door. He wants money to find out about Lumen. Quinn hesitates and Liddy figures it's because he's having sex with Deb. Quinn relents and gets him some money.
Deb and Batista prep Yasmin, the hoochie witness. She's nervous. Manzon and Quinn are already in the club, as is LaGuerta. Yasmin says that the Fuentes brothers are already inside. LaGuerta already fucked this up. She says that it's a change of plans and tells Yasmin to go sit with the brothers. Not good.
Dex and Lumen are waiting outside of Cole's house. When the neighbor goes to sleep, Dex goes in and makes Lumen stay outside. Back at the club, one of the brothers calls Manzon over. Deb says that she shouldn't, but LaGuerta tells her to talk to them. Deb is freaked because of the danger involved. The dude immediately starts groping Manzon and sees that a of all, she's maybe wearing spanks, or b of all, some sort of police stakeout equipment is stationed on her upper thigh. Either way, he's furious. He jumps up, as does his brother, who pulls out a gun and shoots...into poor Yasmin. The other brother decks Manzon. Shooting everywhere. Deb runs in and corners one of the brothers who grabs a woman and holds a gun on her. Deb tells him to drop the gun, he doesn't, so she shoots him square between the eyes. She's stunned but cool when Quinn checks on her.
Dexter is looking around Cole's place. He sees a pic of Cole as a teenager with a bunch of other dudes. Suddenly, Dexter is grabbed from behind. His knife is on the bookcase and he can't reach it. Then, Lumen is there and beating the living shit out of Cole with her new flashlight. As Cole groans on the ground, Dex grabs her and says they have to get out of there before he sees their faces. In the car, Lumen seems exhilarated. She says thought she saw a shadow and Dex is surprised that feeling made her crash through a window. She says it must be some lizard brain thing and Dex VO's that she's beginning to sound like him. He shows her the picture of Cole as a teen. Boyd and Dan the dentist are in it as well. Dexter doesn't know what this means, but Lumen is psyched. They just need to find out who the others are. She reaches over and hugs Dexter. He asks her what she should do and she barely conceals a knowing smile. This scene is the best acting Julia Stiles has done on this show and her performance has been pretty high-quality throughout. Dexter asks her what she's smiling about and she points out that he said "we." He doesn't acknowledge it, but instead tells her to put on her seatbelt.
LaGuerta, with Batista by her side, tells the captain that Carlos Fuentes and Yasmin were shot and killed. Another innocent by-stander was shot and killed by a Fuentes and a few other people were hurt. The captain says this is a disaster and he wants a full report in the morning. After he's gone, Batista tells LaGuerta that they will get through this. In the heat of battle, all cops make mistakes. "Excuse me?" says LaGuerta. "If mistakes were made, they most certainly weren't mine." Then, she walks out as Batista has a look on his face like, "Am I here? Did that just happen? Did someone just flip the script?"
Dex returns home to find Sonya and Harrison. He notices that the baby is always happy in her arms. Then, he looks at the picture of Cole and Co. again. He VO's that partners come into our lives in different ways and you have to accept who your partner is. He grabs the St. Brigid doll and walks towards Sonya. Then, he puts the doll above Harrison's bed and prays to her. That's A LOT of acceptance. The day, he brings Harrison to meet Lumen. Slo-mo of Lumen holding the baby. Uh oh. Or, Yay!
Jeff Long is a writer/performer in Brooklyn. He can be reached at jeff.long75@gmail.com
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