Dexter works out with Jordan Chase. Jordan tells Dexter that his tragedy can help him put his life back together in an active way. Jordan explains that he's following Plato's idea of the fractured self. When they're changing, Dex sees that Jordan has a pendant/vial that appears to be filled with blood. On his way out, he notices that there are tons of security guards in his office. Dex is giving Lumen the 411 over the phone when someone tries to break in through the back door. Dex tells her to leave through the front door, but someone's trying to come in that door, too! She hides in the bathroom, holding a knife to fight off... freaking Astor! She's drunk with a friend and has run away from her grandparents' house. Harry makes an appearance and tells Dex to get the girls out of the house.
Deb is afraid she's going to get fired, and Quinn tells her that he loves her, which bothers her because she's already got too much to deal with. Harrison calls Lumen "mama" in front of Astor, which perpetuates this whole 24/7 hate thing that she's working like a lava lamp. Deb gets relegated to the file room, where she starts reading cold case files.
Dexter meets with Jordan again and gets a little bit of the substance that's in the vial. Of course, after Dexter is gone, Jordan goes IMMEDIATELY to the vial and notices that there's been tampering. Deb reads the Barrel Girls file and sees that DNA from multiple perpetrators was found, though all of the murders were pinned on Boyd Fowler. Deb tells Masuka and Batista, and Batista agrees to bring it to someone's attention, though it could mean bad things for his career (closing a case that wasn't actually solved and all that). Lumen calls Dex and tells him that Astor and her friend are missing. He thinks they've been abducted. Dex calls the police and reports the missing girls. They find a guy with a van and it ends up being the other girl's mom's boyfriend's. The girls get picked up for shoplifting. Deb meets Lumen and, as you can imagine, it's a comfy as a fucking snuggie. While Dexter tries to talk to Astor... unsuccessfully, Lumen sees bruises all over the friend's body. The mom's boyfriend is hitting her. Astor says she didn't think Dexter would care, because he never really spent time with her.
LaGuerta thinks that Deb is trying to get back at her regarding the Barrel Girls and refuses to reopen the case. Deb freaks out and tells her that they're trying to solve crimes, not advance their careers. LG agrees to reopen the case, then offers that she'd suspended Quinn to protect Dexter. Uh-oh. Also, she knows that Deb and Quinn are dating. Deb talks to Quinn and finds out that he thought the composites of Kyle Butler could have been Dexter.
Dex finds the boyfriend and beats the living shit out of him. The guy's like, "Are you some sort of psycho?" and he replies that he's not today, he's just a concerned citizen. Liddy is waiting for Quinn when he gets home. He shows him the pics of Dex and Lumen on his boat. He knows that they're hiding something. Quinn wants to stop the investigation, but Liddy doesn't even care about the money now. He thinks the case is big and he'll get some sort of revenge on LaGuerta. Quinn freaks out on him, and there's clearly gonna be hell to pay for somebody.
Dex tells Astor that he's proud of her for sticking up for her friend. Then, he tells her that he loves her and it's maybe Michael C. Hall's greatest acting moment. The blood from Jordan's vial belongs to Emily Burch, who is still alive. Lumen gets a call from Jordan Chase, who asks for Dexter to call him and says that "tick tick" stuff. Then, he calls her by her NAME and it's terrifying!
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Previously: Dexter tracked down Cole Harmon at Jordan Chase's seminar, where he became acquainted with the suited shaman. LaGuerta got Manzon to lie that Deb was responsible for the Club Mayan debacle. Liddy found out that Lumen arrived in town a week before Rita's death. Dex killed Cole with Lumen in the room and she loved it. Dex found out that Jordan was a bad guy. Liddy took pics of Dex and Lumen throwing trash bags (with Cole inside of them) off of his boat.
We begin with Dexter on a treadmill and what appears to be the open sky behind him. He tells us that, on a good day, when he's running, the voices in his head quiet. It turns into just him and his breath and his feet on the sand. Interesting. I kinda feel the opposite, like it's a time to turn your inner voice on full blast, because you're already expending so much energy that your head won't explode from all of the thinking. As you can imagine, I like it when I don't have things in common with Dexter. Well, Dex tells us that this isn't one of those good days of running. It's a day of running with Jordan Chase. Weird. Jordan tells Dexter to pick up the pace. He's having his private session with Jordan and was hoping to find evidence that Jordan was involved with the Barrel Girls killings and with Lumen's abduction. He reminds us that his code dictates that he know for sure that one of his victims is actually a bad guy. Jordan tells him to run faster again. Odd, since Dexter is built like a brick house and probs could run circles around Jonny Lee Miller (who is lovely too, just saying).
Jordan says that he knows that Dexter probably isn't getting what he wanted out of this session and Dex is like, yeah, well, kinda not. But, of course he's talking about the clues. Dexter is very lucky that he gets to answer so many questions truthfully and the person doesn't know what he's really answering. Jordan says that intense exercise breaks down your defenses and brings out your feelings. Dexter replies that he's feeling like he'd like to talk about things on a couch. Jordan stops his treadmill and tells Dex to trust him. This is the way to build the new Dexter. He reminds Dexter about a talking point at his seminar -- the one about how tragedy fractures us. He says that tragedy is also an opportunity to build yourself into the person you want to be. He's telling me that I didn't use the premature cancellation of thirtysomething to its fullest potential? Well, this is an entirely new tragedy and I will be a triathlete by December.
Dexter seems skeptical and Jordan tells him not to be. Dex asks him what tragedy befell Mr. Jordan and he says that they're not there to talk about him. Dexter presses and says that it must have been something big to inspire his philosophy. He agrees to disclose his inspiration, but tells Dexter that it has to stay between the two of them. Plato. The notion of the fractured self is from Plato. Scandalous. I keep a copy of Aristotle under my mattress. Don't tell. Jordan says that reading Plato was a revelation. He took that fractured self idea and ran with it and boom. Million copies sold. So, now that he has told his non-secret, he wants to know Dexter's actual secret. He VO's that it will be told over Jordan's dead body.
So, this is a corporate gym/spa thing? It's really nice. Dex is changing in the swank locker room. He VO's that an hour on the treadmill garnered him zero knowledge about Jordan, though he did get his day's cardio out of the way. He adds that Jordan is one tough nut to crack. Cue Jordan: "You're one tough nut to crack. Do you know that, Dexter?" Dex VO's that he wishes Jordan would stop doing that. Jordan comes out of the shower and says that Dexter didn't give up anything about himself. If he doesn't, how can he help him? Dexter offers that maybe Jordan can't help him, just as Jordan is opening his locker.
There's a pendant hanging in Jordan's locker. It appears to have a red fluid inside of it, possibly blood. Jordan says that Dex shouldn't worry, because sometimes it takes several sessions to have a breakthrough. I'm assuming that Dexter is not paying for this, right? Dexter needs to get to that vial. He says that he thinks that Jordan can help him to and asks when they can have another man date. Jordan says that he should check with the receptionist, because he THINKS he might have some available time in the morning.
A lady at the front desk looks Dexter's name up in a computer as Dexter notices the overwhelming amount of security guards standing around. And, what appears to be some sort of super-processor server thing-y (that's what Steve Jobs calls them). Lucky Dexter, says the British receptionist, there's an appointment available at 10 am the morning and nothing after that for two weeks. Dexter tells her that he doesn't remember seeing her the last time he was there and she says that she just started three days prior. He also mentions the security guards and she says with a smile that Jordan is beefing things up. As he walks away, he VO's that the extra security is no surprise since he and Lumen have been knocking off his friends one by one.
Later, in his car, he tells Lumen over the phone that there were about a dozen security guards standing around. He says that he'll still be able to get to the blood vial pendant while Jordan is in the shower. He'll extract a small amount and run it for DNA. Lumen says that she loves that he can do things like run shit for DNA. We do too, Lumen. Dexter thinks it might be blood from one of his victims. At the very least, it's important to him since he wears it around his neck like a trophy.
Casual blood talk is over. Lumen sees a shadow at the backdoor. Someone is trying to break it. Dexter tells her to leave through the front door and he'll be there in a few minutes. Good idea except someone is trying to get into the front door too. He tells her to hide. "Where?" she asks. OK, Lumen, I understand things have been rough, but it's time to start fostering some survival skills. You're seriously a train wreck. Dexter tells her to go to the bathroom, obviously, and says that he will get there as soon as he can. On her way, she grabs a knife. Step in the right direction, Lumy.
She goes into the bathroom and leaves the door ajar so that she can see out. The people have gained access to the house. They're coming to the bathroom. Dexter tells her to put the phone down but don't hang up. They get closer. She raises the knife. The door opens. The light comes on. Screams. A liquor bottle drops to the floor and breaks. It's ASTOR and a friend. "Who the fuck are you?" asks Astor. "Who the fuck are you?!" asks Lumen.
Cut to everyone, including Dexter, in the kitchen. Astor still wants to know who the fuck Lumen is. Dexter says that Lumen is a renter. Hmm. That's gonna be hard to sell, but you do what you gotta do, says the relatively mild-mannered writer/hoofer to the serial killer. Astor's not buying it. Her friend snaps at Astor that she said the house was empty and Astor, so snarly and horribly teenaged in behavior, says that there was no way she could have known that Dexter would get a girlfriend so soon. Ouch. Dexter would just like to know who Astor's friend is. The girl answers that she's Olivia and she lives near Astor's grandparents. Dex asks how they got there and Astor says a taxi. Dexter points out that it's 250 miles from Orlando and Astor spit-chuckles and says, "From the bus station." Oh shit, this girl is asking for it. Then, Dexter asks where they got liquor and reminds Astor that she's only 12. Wow. I'm almost inclined to believe she'll be all Julie Taylor by the time she's 15, what with the way that pendulums and gravity work and all that. Either that, or she'll knock off a 7-11. Olivia is surprised at Astor's age, because she told her she was 14. Olivia says that the liquor came from her mom's liquor cabinet, then says that she needs to sit down. It's actually a little reassuring to know that these girls aren't that great at playing drunk. Her mother thinks that she's at Astor's grandparents and vice versa. Astor asks/demands/shames Dexter to not call her grandparents -- at least not until the day. Lumen agrees that they should stay the night to sober up. Dexter says that he will stay too. "With her?" asks Astor, but before she can get an answer, she has to run to the restroom. Lumen takes Olivia to bed and goes to help Astor as well.
Harry appears and urgently tells Dexter that he needs to get those girls far away from him. He reminds him that Astor's mother is dead because of him. Jesus, with inner voices like this, who needs to be a functioning member of society? Dexter argues that he needs to make things right with Astor and be a good father. Lumen comes back to the kitchen and Dexter tells her that he's going back to the apartment to get Harrison and bring him back.
The morning, Quinn is having coffee while Deb is stomping around the kitchen. He tells her to relax and she reminds him that she's about to have the worst meeting of her career. He points out that she's meeting with a union rep, who is on her side, but she's still afraid that she's going to get fired. He reminds her that even LaGuerta said she would be reinstated, but Deb doesn't trust her. He says that she can trust him though. Oh really, brother-watcher? Isn't it weird how, as viewers, we can be offended that this cop is successfully gathering evidence that would convict a serial killer? Makes me feel uncomfy. Then, Quinn tells Deb all of the things that she has going for her, including having a boyfriend who loves her. Oh no he didn't. We're about to have headless Quinn on the menu. Deb retreats internally and says, "You're seriously going to drop that on me now?" I love her. Quinn says it's just an expression, which is actually an excellent way to not look like a total loser when you say you love someone and they don't say it back. Remember that everyone, though hopefully you'll never need it. In which case, remember that, like Deb, you don't have to feel pity for someone who says it to you when you're not in the mood to say it back. You can actually get pissed. I like this new way of living.
Deb leaves and I guess RoboCop has some sort of beeper in his car like they have on the doors of retail shops, because he calls as the door closes. In a show that's all about finely wrought twists and turns, Liddy's phone calls and appearances really strain credulity. Unless, of course, he's inside the apartment. Nah. Quinn asks him what's up and he replies, "Your pecker." That's really gross. Apparently, Quinn's supposed to get a boner over the photos of Lumen and Dex on the boat tossing Cole's body overboard. He wants to meet Quinn for a beer, but Quinn reminds him that it's 7 am and he has to work. He hangs up the phone. Liddy is in a store and, post-hang up, looks at a little kid with a toy car and shoots him with his finger. The kid is like WTF and goes to his dad. OK, this would just be a little nothing moment except that the kid they got? Amazing. A) First of all, he smiles the sweetest little smile when he has eye contact with Liddy. B) Seriously, you can read seven or more things on his face when Robo does the gun thing. World, welcome to the new Edward Norton.
Lumen is scrambling eggs while Dexter sits at the table with Harrison. She asks him if he still wants to keep his appointment with Jordan. He does. He wants to get some blood/whatever from the pendant that he's carrying. That's something he's actually good at, as opposed to understanding teenaged girls. Lumen says that he should share something with Astor --talk to her about what he did as a teen. He says that he killed the neighbor's dog and she says that she shouldn't tell that. Breakfast chats are my favorite. The girls come out for breakfast and Lumen gives them eggs and tells them that it's good for soaking up the alcohol. They look worse for wear, though what I wouldn't kill for a teenager's hangover right now. Black Friday has more than one meaning, is all I'm saying.
Dexter tells Astor that he would like to spend the day with her after his meeting and she sullenly agrees, though she wants Harrison to be there too. He drops his Glo-Worm or whatever and Lumen picks it up and Harrison, who is quickly developing foot-in-mouth syndrome and I'm not just talking about limber infants, says, "Mama." Over and over. This, of course, enrages Astor because she can't not be pissed for one minute this season. Lumen says she doesn't even know Harrison, but Astor's not having it. She tells Harrison that his mother is dead and tells Dex that she doubts Rita would have brought in a "tenant" so quickly had he been the one who died. I'm not actually sure about that, no offense to Rita. Lumen watches Harrison while Dexter goes to meet Jordan. When he's gone, Olivia turns to Lumen and says that her family is pretty weird too.
At the station, Deb ignores Quinn after her meeting. She tells Batista that she's being banished to the file room until her hearing. He says that his report about the Club Mayan incident backed her completely and she thanks him. As she walks away, she passes Manzon and says, "If anyone needs a real fucking detective, I'll be in the file room." Manzon looks bothered, which is so stupid to me. She HAD to know that Detective Debra Morgan was going to have her on the top of her list from here on out. She's lucky she doesn't get punched every time they're in the same room, because not only did she lie about Deb -- Deb was the one who was watching out for her during the whole botched stakeout in the first place. I mean, she just got the old school super-sized value meal of bad karma with that career strategery.
Down in the file room, Deb greets Francis, who I always love to see. She says, "Detective Scapegoat, reporting for duty," which gets a laugh. Francis has better things to talk about though. She wants to know how things are going with Quinn. She says that Quinn dropped the love bomb and she's unhappy about it because she thinks she feels that way too. I love this girl. Francis directs her to stack of cold case files that she has to archive and she immediately opens the Barrel Girls folder. Francis reminds her that she's supposed to file and not read, but you know how this is going to go.
Jordan and Dexter are post-workout again. Jordan tells Dex that he seems more open and Dex once more gets to double entendre his way through a convo by saying that he feels that he might get to TAKE AWAY SOMETHING VALUABLE from this session. There are many lockers but only one shower, I guess, because Jordan's just getting in now and Dex is already in his clothes. Anyway, Jordan says that he still feels that Dex is not being completely honest as he leaves to shower. Dex immediately gets to work with latex gloves and a syringe. He's gonna get some of that pendant juice. He uses a needle so small that he thinks there's no way Jordan could notice. He puts the blood on a slide and says that Jordan is already helping him. He barely gets everything in place before Jordan walks back in. He leaves and Jordan notices something funny about his locker. He immediately goes for his pendant, but nothing seems wrong. Then, he notices a tiny bit of pendant juice on his finger. He flexes his jaw real mad-like.
Deb is still reading that file. Francis admonishes her, but she's really absorbed. She finds that there are multiple DNA strains found in the Barrel Girls case, but all of the murders were pinned on Boyd Fowler. She pulls out Cole's file and points out that he could be a match. Deb says she needs Batista to try to reopen the case, because she's supposed to be filing.
Dexter tells Masuka that Astor showed up at his house with a friend and he asks how old the friend is. Too far. He has gone too far. He gets a call from Lumen who says that the girls are gone. She left with Harrison to try to get more Advil and now they're gone. She says that the backdoor is open and their cell phones are still in the house. This is an ASTOR ALERT. Dexter says that he will be right there and Lumen is very apologetic. When he gets home, Elliot is there and holding Harrison on the front lawn. Dexter takes the kid as Elliot says he saw a fair-haired guy knocking on the door. Fits the description of Cole, Boyd, Jordan and Dan the dentist. Not good. Elliot got part of his license plate and Dex asks him why he didn't stop them. He didn't know anything was amiss. He only remembered part of the license plate number because it's a habit from neighborhood watch shifts. He and Lumen go inside and he looks for signs of a break-in. He says that he needs to call the cops, but Lumen says that all of their recent activities might be found out if they ask questions. But, Dexter doesn't care. He calls anyway. Wow. That's huge. Does anyone find it strange that Dexter never feels compelled to kill anyone that he knows and loves? Sometimes his pathology doesn't make a ton of sense to me. I thought the idea was that he had this disconnect from humanity and a need to kill things and Harry directed him to, you know, take out people who deserved it. Now, it's become clear that the arc of this series is Dexter's evolution as a feeling person, but it's hard sometimes for me to reconcile his psycho need to kill with his obvious devotion to his family. Sure, he's a little apathetic towards Deb sometimes, but it's like his problem is not feeling love, it's expressing it. And, that's not really a good reason to kill people. Not that there is a good reason.
At the station, Dexter tells everyone that he doesn't know anyone who would take the girls. He chooses not to lie about being with Jordan Chase and Deb pauses. She reminds Dex that a bunch of weird stuff is surrounding Chase. They begin to talk about the Barrel Girls case, but Dex implores everyone to just look for the van that Elliot saw.
So, yeah, they find the van. It belongs to a blonde due and they get him at a gas station. When he arrives at the station, Dexter pushes him against a cop car and demands to know where Astor is. He's Olivia's mom's boyfriend and he'd used the GPS on Olivia's phone to find Dexter's place. He's looking for the girls too. Dex gets a phone call and, as he takes it, the boyfriend (Barry) asks Deb if Dex is always this violent. The girls were found. They were held for shoplifting. Deb, Barry and Dex go to pick them up and the girls insist it was a misunderstanding. Olivia seems nervous when she sees Barry and says that she doesn't want to go with him. Dex notices and says that he'll take the girls to pick up their stuff and will meet Barry later.
At the station, Batista tells LaGuerta about the new evidence in the Barrel Girls case. LaGuerta is afraid that Deb is just trying to make her look bad. Batista reminds her that it's DNA that was found, not something Deb made up. LaGuerta is just worried about the department looking bad.
Deb meets Lumen. Dex tries to pass off the whole tenant thing, but Deb's not buying it. She asks where all of her stuff is and mentions that she trusts he enough to leave Harrison with her. He sticks with his story though and she leaves while giving him a super-duper sideways glance. He calls Astor in to have a talk, but she's not having it. She keeps on cursing and at one point- after a "fuck" is hurled, Dex is like, "Astor, you can not talk to me like that." There's something so authentic and perfect about the way he says it, like he'd never really considered that she couldn't talk like that to him. She says she won't say anything at all then. Dex says they'll sit there until she's ready to talk.
Meanwhile, Lumen is talking to Olivia, who says she's not ready to go home. She takes off a layer of clothing, which lifts her shirt and reveals bruises all over her torso. Lumen asks her where she got them and says that she understands. Dex and Astor are still in a stand-off when Lumen comes out and tells about the bruises. Astor says that it's Barry who is hitting Olivia. Dexter asks why she didn't tell him and she says she didn't think he'd care. When they lived there, he was always gone. Olivia is her first friend since Rita died and she didn't know how to help her. Dexter says she did know what to do. She came home. He's going to take care of this.
At the station, Deb tells Batista that nothing is wrong with Astor that turning 20 won't fix. And, I guess not being a fucking orphan, Deb. Come on, now. Batista tells her that LaGuerta isn't going to reopen the Barrel Girls case. Deb stomps into her office and says that all of the bullshit politics are one thing, but she is concerned about justice for the five dead girls. She mentions the Fuentes brothers case as well as LaGuerta giving Quinn bogus vacation days at times so she wouldn't have a partner. Weird. She stops her and says that she's reopening the case. Then, she tries to throw some shade by saying that she made the Fuentes situation "go away." What? Bullshit. She also says that Quinn wasn't on vacation. She'd suspended him to protect Dexter. Shit. Deb doesn't know what she's talking about, but LaGuerta simply says, "You're so interested in the truth. How's Quinn?" Slam.
Deb immediately goes out and finds Quinn. They go to an interrogation room and she asks him about the suspension. He admits to investigating Dexter and she's, of course, pissed. As she walks away, Liddy calls. NATURALLY. He ignores the call.
Dexter meets Barry at his motel, without the girls. He beats the living shit out of Barry. He punches him in places and describes what happens when he hits him there. He points out that the liver is connected to a nerve that creates terror and he tells Barry that's what Olivia felt all of the time when he hit her there. He tells Barry that he's to call Olivia's mother and break up with her. He should leave without even picking up his stuff. Then, a swift kick to the kidneys and he's gone.
Dex gets into his car and Harry's there. Dex expects to be criticized, but instead Harry says that he put himself out there. Dex is more than he thought he was and he let him down by leading him down the current path of his life. I guess that answers some of my earlier questions. Most of Dexter's patterns were created by Harry.
Liddy is waiting for Quinn and eating chicken when he gets there. He tries to show the pics of Lumen and Dex, but Quinn's not interested. He gives him some money and says he's done with the investigation, but Liddy's not having it. He thinks that he's actually on to something big and the department will be kissing his ass when he breaks the thing open. Quinn tells him to get out, but Robo's all don't fuck with me. He's so weird, that guy. I'm surprised he didn't lose his job for being such a fucking creeper. Robo says he's going to call Deb and Quinn slams him up against a wall and tells him to stay the away from them. Robo winks at Quinn, then leaves.
The day, at the station, LaGuerta changes all of the Barrel Girls murders to unsolved. Batista is glad, but apparently he's still going to sleep on the couch. Deb's not speaking to Quinn. He tries to apologize, but she's not having it. Yay!
Dex drives the girls to Orlando. Olivia says that Barry called her mother and broke up with her. After he drops her off, he tells Astor that he won't tell her grandparents about the whole episode if she doesn't want it. He says he's proud of her for helping Olivia. She says that she wants to know if Lumen is his girlfriend and he says that she isn't, but she knows she's more than a tenant. He says that she's a friend and he's helping her. She asks if helping makes him feel better about what happened to Rita and it appears that it does. Then, he says that he loves her and it's really a lovely moment. He looks out of breath and uncomfortable and euphoric all at once. She says that he should come in to see Cody, which will blow her story about Orlando. Good girl. He VO's that the thing he wants most is to be a good dad.
At the station, Dexter gets the results to the pendant juice. It's some girl named Emily Birch who has gotten a bunch of DUI's. She's not dead. Hmm. Elsewhere, Lumen gets a call from Jordan Chase! He says that he's looking for Dexter and says the "tick tick" thing. She's terrified. Then, he says, "Take care, Lumen." Scary Town!!!!!!
Jeff Long is a writer/actor in Brooklyn. He can be reached at jeff.long75@gmail.com