Jeez, the twists and turns! Let me see if I can even organize this logically. In no particular order:
LaGuerta's gotten nowhere with her correct theory that the BHB took out the Barrel Girls perps, prompting Deb to, unwillingly enough, take the opportunity to convince her that they should drop the investigation. But LaGuerta doesn't give up – and in the end, in researching county boat registrations, she finds Dexter's name. That's right – so much happened in this ep that I am leading with that.
After a request from Isaak Pullo's lawyer to independently confirm the DNA evidence, MM discovers that Isaak Pullo's blood is gone. Quinn feels terrible enough, but at least does get to reunite with Nadia, who's shaken but unhurt. Jason Gedrick casually reneges on his promise to Quinn to let Nadia go, prompting Quinn to donate the money from last week to Batista for his restaurant, and the fact that even these two produced a genuine "Aw" moment shows how head and shoulders this season is above any other in ages. Deb makes Dexter promise that he won't kill Isaak Pullo, as she's going to have a tail on him 24/7. This proves true, as the newly free Isaak Pullo finds Dexter at an outdoor café; since he's being watched, he merely wants to know what makes Dexter tick. Dexter taunts Isaak Pullo with details of how he killed Viktor, and Isaak Pullo lets him know he's going to find a way to pay Dexter back for it. Like Isaak Pullo wasn't scary enough, Dexter – now you're motivating him to get creative?
Much as Dexter did last episode, Deb has been doing a little thinking about Hannah's husband dying at 40, and suggests to Price that she have the body exhumed and tested for aconite. Price supplies the address of the late husband's sister, to whom Deb goes to for permission to dig up the body. From her, Deb learns that Hannah was pregnant when the husband died but had a miscarriage immediately after, and following those twin tragedies, she cut herself off from her husband's family. Deb's happy for all the information, but less jazzed when an examination of the body reveals no tissue – Hannah apparently requested the body not be embalmed, which resulted in complete decomposition and as such precludes the test from being run. Deb also goes to Dexter and asks him how he messed up so royally on the blood-spatter report; when he dissembles, she pegs him once again, accusing him of covering up the real evidence so he could save Hannah for his table. Funny she should say that!
Even though they initially agree that sex in front of the reindeer was a mistake, Hannah learning that Dexter is a serial killer only strengthens their bond. Unfortunately for Dexter, Price spots him dropping Hannah off at her house and quickly confronts him with the accusation that he covered up the true story of the blood spatter from the double murder because he's involved with Hannah. Thinking quickly, Dexter offers to tell Price what Randall's last words about Hannah were if he'll keep quiet about Dexter's involvement with her. Price agrees to think it over, only to turn around and blackmail Hannah into giving him her story firsthand (she does get him to agree to leave Dexter out of it) – but he's not the only one playing multiple angles, as Dexter attempts to throw suspicion on Price for some of the murder cases he covered that were never solved. Once he lifts Price's DNA (and while he's up, deletes all Price's digital files on Hannah), he triumphantly tells Price what he plans to do – whereupon Price keels over. You see, noticing Price's habit of chewing on his pen, Hannah cried crocodile tears during her story of how she killed the girl, and then when he got her a tissue, she dipped the pen in an apparently untraceable (which, I suppose, means it wasn't aconite) poison. Dexter's attempts to revive Price, genuine as they seem, fail, so he's got, to put it mildly, some 'splainin' to do.
Although she doesn't divine Dexter's issues with Price, Deb correctly guesses that Hannah murdered him, and she hauls Hannah in with a gusto only increased by her feelings for Price. She tells Hannah that she expects to match Price's tox screen to that of Beverly Grey's, and when she does, Hannah can expect to take up residence in the county jail. She also drops the bomb that she knows about Hannah's pregnancy, whereupon Hannah's ersatz emotion turns real in a hurry. When Dexter storms over to her place to confront her about killing Price, she confesses that she killed her husband because he was the one who didn't want a family – he threatened to leave her unless she got an abortion. They realize that they've been protecting each other, and fall into each other's arms with, this time, a real tenderness. Which is interesting timing, as Deb, having been thwarted by the tox screen coming back negative, calls Dexter and urges him to take Hannah out before she can kill again. And I know I've said this about Batista, but this time Dexter's the one whose expression is reminiscent of that Danny Glover Lethal Weapon quote.
With an appropriate amount of liquid having been sprayed onto him by a trusty PA, Dexter lies post-coitally on the forever-sullied Christmas table as DVO wonders about chemistry, and it's not super-interesting, but I'll agree with him that it's possible he only wanted to get Hannah on his table in order to deny the effect she has on him. His incomprehension of his own tendency to babble idiotically in her presence supports the theory, at least. DVO wonders what happens now, whereupon Hannah obligingly answers the question by rolling over to straddle him and holding his own knife to his throat. I did warn you about this, Dexter. She asks him how he likes it, and although he replies he doesn't, much, the excitement in his eyes says otherwise. She asks him if a normal date for him ends up with the girl wrapped up in plastic, but he tells her he doesn't date, so she wonders why he wanted to kill her. He tells her that killing bad people is what he does, prompting her to, somewhat more kittenishly, ask if he thinks she's bad, and he barely manages to breathe, "You fit the general description." Heh. She responds, just as breathily, that he has no idea, and while that's wholly untrue, I don't think Dexter's going to disabuse her of the notion, given that they're already going at it again.
Deb has brought Price back to her place, but instead of the promised making out, they're still talking about Hannah. Oh, I can't remember if I mentioned it, but last episode it was established that Price has quite the oral fixation, and they're reminding us of it by having him mercilessly decimate a straw with his teeth. Deb remarks on that, but Deb, if you really find it that irritating, you could put something else in his mouth I'M JUST SAYING. I mean, I'm not even trying to be provocative - I just hate welchers. After some more talk about his book, Deb tells Price that she's been mulling over a new angle, and brings up the dead husband Dexter told us about last episode. She thinks that if she could get permission from a of kin to have the body exhumed, they could have it tested for aconite. Price pipes up that Hannah's husband had a sister, and she'll probably be easier to ask for permission than, you know, Hannah. Both satisfied with the plan, they proceed to have sweaty sex that puts Dexter and Hannah to shame. Well actually, Price leaves after giving Deb a kiss so chaste I would have thought Showtime's Standards and Practices would reject it as not nearly prurient enough, but given Deb's talk of getting a life and the fact that Price is about to croak, I'm rewriting the scene as Deb probably now wishes it had happened.
It's morning, and Dexter and Hannah are driving, not looking too much the worse for wear, considering the lack of sleep and the unspeakably filthy night they had. DVO uses a chemistry metaphor to lead up to Dexter telling Hannah that "this" can't happen again, and given all the incredibly wrong events of the night past, I can't blame Hannah for asking for clarification. When Dexter tells her he's talking about the sex part, though, Hannah agrees, prompting Dexter to ask why in a tone that rather obviously translates to "Was I not good?" Hannah, however, merely points out that it wouldn't end well, and then, in a hilariously conversational tone, asks Dexter if he's going to try to kill her again, because she feels like she's entitled to that information. So not only have they given the Hannah character depth, they've made her capable of dark banter. Dexter, not quite as lightly, tells her if he wanted her dead, they wouldn't be chatting, so they can just think of it as a misunderstanding. Proving yet again how beguiling he finds her, Dexter shoots Hannah a side-eye before noting that she doesn't really seem that shaken up by what happened, and while, considering she told you to go ahead and kill her, that doesn't track as particularly surprising to me, I am interested to hear her answer. She agrees that she probably should be a little more freaked out, and her scientific detachment is definitely displaying her sociopathic tendencies, but she goes on that maybe, she never believed he'd go through with it. Dexter looks at her long and hard, possibly deciding whether to tell her how many people before her thought he wouldn't go through with killing them, but any such statement is forestalled by some jerk on a motorcycle zooming in front of him, forcing him to slow down. When Dexter honks in irritation, the guy flips him off, prompting Hannah to raise an "Uh oh" eyebrow and Dexter now to match her conversational tone from earlier: "Boy, did he pick the wrong car." They giggle over their shared status, and it occurs to me that while Dexter is a sociopath and a serial killer, he certainly has managed to hang out with more than his share of murderers. He should start his own social network, which, in homage to Frisky Dingo, I would have to insist be called "Killface."
Dexter reaches Hannah's place, and he starts to get out, but she tells him to stay put before leaning in for a kiss. They look at each other meaningfully before Dexter notes that Hannah never really asked him why he kills people. Hannah: "I don't need to." Damn, whoever's writing Hannah is hitting the marks. She hops out, and Dexter watches her go - but then, looking down the street, sees Price watching from his parked car. DVO quickly realizes how bad a situation this could be, so he gets out of his car, prompting Price to do the same. Price immediately tells him that now he understands why the blood work on the Randall spree was compromised, and he's right on the merits but incredibly wrong on the details, so DVO, in assessing his options, quickly notes that as far as Price knows, he's an innocent lab geek in over his head. And if you take out the "innocent" part, he's right. Dexter begs him not to write about him and Hannah, as it'll destroy his job, but Price is unmoved, although he does suggest that Dexter go on the record. This gives Dexter an idea, and he offers something better - he'll tell Price what Randall's last words about Hannah were. Although he clearly doesn't trust Dexter implicitly, Price is intrigued enough to say he'll give it some thought, and as such will keep quiet about Dexter and Hannah for the time being. He cautions Dexter to watch what he eats around Hannah before heading off, leaving DVO to note that he's got yet another reason to stay away from Hannah now. Amazingly, he doesn't even need a chemistry metaphor to arrive at this conclusion.
Cheyenne Metro. Deb comes in to see LaGuerta, who tells her that she got nowhere with her Barrel Girls theory, so she was thinking the two of them could brainstorm, as she thinks they must have missed something. Deb, however, takes the opportunity to try to end this once and for all, as she suggests that maybe they've only been pushing so hard because they were hoping to clear Doakes. LaGuerta is taken aback, but concedes that it's possible they've been reaching for leads, and Deb presses the point, saying she's no longer sure the investigation is worth it. LaGuerta considers for another moment before, not without some layered emotion, agreeing that maybe Deb is right, and Deb doesn't argue with her own success as she takes the opportunity to get out of there. In the hallway, she mutters that she's going to hell. Everyone has their own ideas about such things, but I imagine Deb's hell as a Ned Flanders-type place in which the strongest language you'd ever hear is "No siree, Bob."
Dexter is researching and coming up empty on weapons to use against Price when Deb comes in with the blood-spatter photos and, after a short preamble, asks Dexter if he missed the idea that there was another killer. Dexter hems and haws about blood spatter not being an exact science and whatever, which is hilariously incredible from the guy who does physical research on this stuff, but Deb, with a cat-that-ate-the-canary face, goes on that there was blood on the victim's dress that Dexter could have had tested. Dexter replies that he didn't think the test was worth the time or money, but Deb's going his number again: He's covering for Hannah "to save her for your table." I mean, she's not up on the most current events, but Dexter still has to be alarmed at how easily Deb is reading him now that she knows what to look for. He doesn't have time to dwell on it, though, as Batista enters and tells him that Isaak Pullo's lawyers are on their way in, as they want to run their own analysis on the samples they took. Er, are these things not usually independently audited? I mean, if not, couldn't the cops just make up evidence? Maybe I'm too naïve for this show. Dexter thinks that won't be a problem, but Masuka then comes running in with the news that the blood sample has gone missing. Dexter's face falls...
...and his move surely hasn't improved when we cut to LaGuerta chewing everyone out. Masuka immediately comes to the correct conclusion that the Koshkas have an agent inside MM, and Batista backs him up, saying this explains why Isaak Pullo's attorney asked for early discovery - he knew the evidence would be gone. Quinn looks super-shifty - good poker face, dude -- as Deb tells them that blame can wait, because if they don't find new evidence in the twenty-four hours (not sure why that number is significant), Isaak Pullo will walk. Batista goes to check out the evidence-room log while Dexter notes that the crime scene is still locked down, so they might be able to pull some fresh evidence from it. Deb sends him, along with Masuka and Quinn, out to try to do that, whereupon LaGuerta tells Deb that the way this situation is shaping up has the potential to make her very unhappy. It's a testament to the gravity of the situation that Deb does not "duh" her.
Apparently, despite Deb's order for Dexter to "haul ass" over there, it took some time to get prepared, as Batista was able to join them, along with that female cop they have not exactly managed to give a storyline as yet. Masuka asks Batista about the restaurant, and Batista tells him he's been approved to take over the lease, but he needs a few thousand to keep the place running. This sounds like more pungent shit than they're about to smell, but whatever, I certainly don't care near enough about Batista's stupid restaurant to do a financial analysis of it. Anyway, as I alluded to, when the cops enter the place, they find shit everywhere - the Koshkas apparently broke the sewer line to contaminate (and how!) the scene, and when Batista asks the group if they'll look around to see if maybe there might be some stray blood that didn't get sullied, Dexter sighs that he wouldn't get his hopes up. Batista then asks Quinn to step outside with him, leaving Dexter to, with hilarious resignation, put on his latex gloves, all "Yeah, these are sure gonna do a lot."
Out in the wonderful relatively fresh air, Batista informs Quinn that his name was on the list of people who visited the evidence locker in the past 72 hours. Quinn gives his canned story about the case he's working on before aggressively asking Batista what he's insinuating, but Batista evenly replies that Quinn is dating a Koshka stripper. He tells Quinn he's doing his job, but Quinn's direct denial is good enough for him. He heads back inside, leaving Quinn to contemplate how with all the crap he just spouted in that little chat, they might as well have stayed inside...
...where Dexter is on the phone relaying the bad news to Deb. She urgently tells Dexter that Isaak Pullo could be on the street that night (that sounds closer to how long I thought it would take than "twenty-four hours"), so Dexter replies that he's just going to have to take care of Isaak Pullo himself, and his tone is awfully unmodulated, given he's in an indoor location with at least three cops in shitting distance. (Forgive me.) Deb, however, says she's going to put a 24/7 tail on Isaak Pullo (talk about a budget nightmare!), so Dexter shouldn't do anything. Dexter agrees, but only because he's got Price to worry about at the moment.
Speaking of whom, Price walks into Deb's office with the address of Hannah's former sister-in-law "Laurie" on a piece of paper. Deb's like, they have this thing called "email" now, and Price hits on her a bit and then prevails on her to meet him for a drink after seeing Laurie and give him an off-the-record update. Deb agrees, because when has she ever said no to beer?
Quinn turns up to Nadia's for a tearful reunion. She tells him she's unhurt, but the Koshkas sent her to their club in Fort Myers, and she was afraid she was going to end up on the plane back to Kiev. If only she knew where Jason Gedrick actually threatened to send her. Quinn puffs out his chest about not letting anyone hurt her, prompting her to realize that he must have promised them something, and she warned him about that. He assures her she's going to be free, and I wonder if even he realizes how unlikely that is now that he's hearing those words out loud.
Meanwhile, it's not even nighttime, and Isaak Pullo is heading out of the prison, back in one of his lovely suits. Outside, Lurch apparently feels that this is a special enough occasion for him finally to speak, and he greets Isaak Pullo warmly. Jason Gedrick is there too, and, indicating the police car in prominent view, suggests that Isaak Pullo is probably ready to get back to Kiev. Isaak Pullo, however, informs him there's still the issue of Miami being overcrowded - "by one." Haha, Isaak Pullo only killing one more person? That's like trying to eat just one Lay's Potato Chip!
Deb is over at Laurie's house (Laurie's played by Hey! It's That Guy! Julie Warner), and she gets right to it, asking for permission to exhume her brother Jake's body, as new evidence has come to light suggesting Hannah might have poisoned him. Laurie is surprised, as she thought they had a great relationship - especially after Hannah found out she was pregnant. Deb's jaw drops, and Laurie goes on that Hannah told her in confidence and she was surprised, as she didn't think Hannah wanted kids. Keep this in mind for later. Laurie finishes by saying that Hannah lost the baby right after Jake's death, and she cut off his whole side of the family thereafter despite Laurie reaching out to her numerous times. Deb tells her she needs her help to find out for sure what happened, and Laurie nods her agreement.
Meanwhile, down by the beach, Price accosts Hannah at a flower stand (same one at which she was unloading last week, I think) and tells her he wants to write her authorized biography. She's all breezy sarcasm until he drops the bomb about Dexter, so, apparently already feeling attached and protective of him, she agrees to talk to Price if he'll keep Dexter's name out of anything he writes. Price counters that that depends on what she tells him, and she invites him over to her place for the afternoon at four. Price then wastes no time in calling Dexter and telling him he'll swing by the evening at seven, so apparently he doesn't think that the details of a multi-state killing spree could possibly take more than a couple hours to relate. In all seriousness, I suppose this is meant to show that Price is untrustworthy, as if he'd meant what he told Hannah about keeping Dexter out of it, he wouldn't honorably be looking to trade that same promise to Dexter. Not that it's going to matter, you probably won't be surprised to hear. Dexter is happy that they're meeting up, as he's hatched a plan: Price has covered some very bloody cases, not all of which have been solved, so he's going to throw suspicion on him of having killed one of the girls so he could write her story - all he needs is Price's DNA. He then argues with himself about whether he should go tell Hannah what's up, and since they just showed a photo of him on Dexter's desktop, has he dropped the idea of Harrison ever coming home, or am I going to have to call Child Protective Services myself?
Quinn barges into Jason Gedrick's office and demands Nadia's passport. Jason Gedrick: "No." That's essentially the scene, but we do also see Nadia dancing topless, which is surprising - since it hadn't happened up to this point, I figured a no-nudity clause was in Katia Winter's contract. Then again, maybe Showtime doesn't sign those as a matter of policy. You have to admit it would add up.
Dexter turns up to Hannah's, and she's obviously pleased to see him even as she wonders what happened to their plan. They exchange their news about Price, whereupon Dexter tells Hannah that he'll take care of Price. Hannah asks if he'll do so in the same way he "took care" of her, and I'll readily admit that is a scene I'd love to see, but she apparently is asking if Dexter intends to kill him, so Dexter tells her no - he only goes after killers, and that's the code he lives by. The whole code thing amuses Hannah: "You know, sometimes life just has to be taken. There's no need to dress is up." Whatever you may think about the good-evil placement of his alignment, it seems clear that Hannah's threatening to push Dexter more toward the chaotic end of the spectrum. She leans closer and says she thinks Dexter's simply afraid to admit that he enjoys killing, and that's something she and Deb could certainly chat about. Dexter asks if Hannah doesn't, but, displaying a hint of revulsion, she tells him no - what she does, she thinks of as helping Nature. "Nature adds and subtracts. Survival of the fittest." Dexter replies that she's the fittest, then, and if you use the British definition of "fit" then it's really hard to argue the point.
Hannah asks if Dexter ever thought about what it would be like not to have all these rules, and they are getting worked up to the point where a single fake snowflake would have them ripping each other's clothes off right here, but Dexter assures her he can get Price to back off for good. She warns him that she's used to dealing with things on her own, but he asks her to think of him taking care of the situation as a goodbye present. She agrees, but soberly adds that they're going for a record for "how many times we can say goodbye for good." Dexter leaves, and when he does, Hannah looks conflicted, unaware that Dexter is too as he turns back to regard her. DVO notes that she's not drawn to his darkness like Lila (ew) was, nor blind to it like Rita, nor does she need it like Lumen. God, when you line them up like that, your taste in women has been pretty shitty, Dexter. Just another way this season is an upswing. DVO goes on to wonder why, since Hannah accepts both sides of him, he's walking away from this, and again, if Harrison doesn't even enter his mind, I don't know how he can claim he's not the worst influence in the world, much less a positive one. Instead, we get chemistry yet again: "Because when some chemicals mix, they combust. And explode."
There's a coffin sitting in a lab, so apparently that's a big thumbs-up on the exhumation. Outside the room, we see Deb telling Laurie that she doesn't have to be there, but Laurie declares her intention to wait, so Deb heads in, and the lab guy opens the top half of the coffin, and isn't this episode just the greatest olfactory experience for the participants? Deb is extremely dismayed to see that there's nothing left but bones, and the lab guy informs her that this would happen if the body weren't embalmed. Deb asks if that isn't standard procedure, which reminds me I really need to do a Six Feet Under rewatch at some point, and the lab guy tells her yes - but the of kin is allowed to specify otherwise. That would probably not be true if the dead person had made his wishes known while he was alive, so nice job, JAKE. Anyway, there's no test to be run, so Deb is faced with the wholly enviable duty of informing Laurie that this whole exercise was for nothing, and she's not having the greatest episode, is she? I wish I could tell her it's going to get better...
...but I suppose a temporary respite is better than none, as Deb is showing up to the bar to meet Price and ordering a double Scotch instead of her usual cheapo beer. She tells him the news, and Price knows his field well enough to realize immediately that the body wasn't embalmed. Deb castigates herself for putting Laurie through that ordeal and complains that her job sucks - she only does it "because I don't know how to do fuck-all else." I'd like to preemptively send flowers to whatever career counselor gets the privilege of working with Deb. Price tells her that he's going to interview Hannah "later," and if Deb's knocking back a double Scotch in the middle of the day, maybe she should think about advertising. They make a dinner date...
...and then it's Hannah time. Hannah asks Price if he'd like some lemonade, and Price looks at her hilariously long before passing. I mean, it's pretty funny that she's basically like, "Poison?" and he's like, "No, but thanks for asking!" I do hope, though, that before she's gone, Hannah gets to use Mags Bennett's "the poison was in the glass" line. Hannah does have some lemonade herself, making me think I was close to getting my wish, and then tells Price that before they start, they have to be clear that he'll leave Dexter out of it. Price agrees - not what he said the day before, remember - and then, as Hannah notes him sticking his pen in his mouth, pulls out his recording device and asks her to start with the couple from the motel...
...while Dexter, knowing that Price is over at Hannah's, is taking the opportunity to return to Price's house and collect some of his DNA (bloody floss, like nice) and fingerprints. He then heads to Price's computer and deletes all his files on Hannah, despite a buzzing noise over his left shoulder that seems to want him to leave as quickly as possible.
Hannah is getting worked up as she recounts what happened; she was guarding the woman, Randall stabbed the husband, the woman started screaming bloody murder and jumped on Randall - and then Hannah went to town on her with her knife. Hannah's convulsively sobbing by the end of this, to the point where she can't even get the words out to ask for a tissue, but Price gets the message, turning his back on her for a couple seconds. And I will say I was live to her game the whole time here, but probably only because the show hammered home Price's oral fixation from the get-go; otherwise, it wasn't telegraphed at all. Price tells her to take a second as she continues to sob...
...while Dexter, apparently having a rather light work day, is at an outdoor café eating, I guess, an early dinner when Isaak Pullo appears and joins him. Apparently not having expected him, Dexter regards him darkly, but Isaak Pullo assures him he's not there to hurt him - not until he figures out a way to lose the police tailing him. Instead, he thought he'd take the opportunity to ask Dexter something: You see, he realized in jail that while he's very clear on his own motivation for wanting to kill Dexter - revenge for Dexter killing Viktor - he's not so clear on why Dexter killed Viktor, as his story about it being payback for Anderson, a man he barely knew, doesn't really wash. Being so graciously invited to reveal something about himself, Dexter decides to enjoy the opportunity, as he looks Isaak Pullo dead in the eye and tells him he's the kind of guy who hunted Viktor down, strapped him to a board, put a plastic bag on his face and crushed his skull with a fire extinguisher. Isaak Pullo, getting more than he bargained for here, can't help but wince at hearing his "friend"'s end so graphically described, and Dexter goes on into the silence that he's going to do the same thing to Isaak Pullo, "give or take the fire extinguisher." Isaak Pullo takes a couple more moments to pull himself together, then meets Dexter's gaze once again and tells him he's going to regret sharing that information with him. And I can think of any number of ways that could be true, including Isaak Pullo making the information public, but for now, he takes his leave. When he's gone, Dexter's expression makes it seem like a lot of that last scene was false bravado, which makes me think he's not yet completely insane.
Jamie's doing laundry at Dexter's house, so is she just his maid now? It's apparently totally dark in Miami at 7 PM, as Price is just now turning up to Dexter's place. Price's first statement is that Dexter is an interesting guy, which is true but lacks context, and goes on that he feels like he should do his book on Dexter, a comment that's never explained and, as you'll soon see, never will be. Price starts to set up for the interview, but Dexter asks Price if he can't pitch him a book idea first, and uses the framing device to tell Price, who's chewing on his pen again, about his plan to set him up for the unsolved murder. When Dexter lets him know he's got the DNA evidence already, Price gets to his feet and curses, but it seems clear that he's starting to feel some distress that's physical as well as emotional, and even as he tells Dexter that he won't get away with it, he suddenly seizes up, clutches his chest, and keels over, knocking his head on Dexter's coffee table before hitting the ground. As Jamie rushes in, Dexter realizes that this was Hannah's handiwork, and then Dexter tells Jamie to call 911 as he gets to work doing CPR. And I know I said in the recaplet that his efforts to revive Price were genuine, but even though there was only a second of hesitation, it's true he only sprung into action once Jamie was in the room, so I guess we'll never know what he would have done if there hadn't been a witness...
...and then we fade to later, with police on the scene. Jamie is recounting her experience to Quinn, and admits that she heard a raised voice, although she doesn't know to whom it belonged. Elsewhere, Dexter is telling Batista that Price was unresponsive to his efforts to revive him, so it looks like Price is the one who's a fitting subject for a book. Quinn comes over and asks Dexter if he and Price were arguing, and Dexter uses the truth as best he can as he says that Price accused him of messing up the Randall blood work, and that caused him to raise his voice a bit. From the living room, Masuka notes that the amount of blood from Price indicates a wound that couldn't possibly have killed a man, although if he died instantly, wouldn't the blood have stopped flowing? Such questions will have to wait, since Deb is just arriving to see her...buddy? Potential romance? Partner in true-crime nerdery? lying dead on the floor, and she marches straight over to Dexter and demands an explanation... oh wait, no, she just whines that she can't even have a drink with someone without him dying. I mean, I guess Dexter talking to Price about Randall's last words is actually a reasonable enough cover story, but after everything that's happened this season and especially in the last two episodes, I can't believe Deb's not at least raising an eyebrow in Dexter's direction. Then again, it is fairly unlikely that Dexter would, to use an expression fitting this episode, shit where he eats. Either way, Deb at least has the major idea correct - she's sure that Hannah poisoned Price because he suspected her of being an active killer, and she's going to pick her up and run a tox screen on Price's body. When she's gone, Dexter gets that particular face that only appears when he's completely lost control of a situation. Not surprisingly, it's been a lot more common this season.
Dover Metro. Hannah is led in as DVO wonders how Hannah can be so calm, since she must know that Price's body is going to be tested. He watches the monitor as she takes a seat in the interrogation room, and Deb joins her and, after a short preamble, tells her Price is dead. Hannah admirably feigns shock, for which DVO compliments her, but Deb, after ascertaining that they're not going to "cut through the bullshit," accuses her of being a killer, saying she's got the blood report on Beverly Grey, and she thinks she's going to be able to tie that to Price's tox screen. Hannah suggests that sometimes people just die, and she's probably thinking about subtraction again, but Deb sees an opportunity, leaning forward and asking if that's what happened to her husband - an her unborn child? "What the fuck happened, Ms. McKay? Was he pressuring you to have a family? Was it making you feel trapped?" As DVO notes, Hannah's not acting anymore as she swallows hard before telling Deb, her voice not entirely under control, to charge her with something or let her go. After Deb spits that she's trying to give her an opportunity to come clean, Hannah stands to go, but pauses to tell Deb something her grandmother used to say: "Trust those who seek the truth, but doubt those who say that they have found it. My grandma wasn't ever wrong." And given how much Deb's life perspective has changed this season, it's no wonder that Deb's attempt at a dismissive smirk doesn't quite come off. As Dexter watches her go, DVO intones that she survived Deb's questioning, but she might not make it through his. "...in bed," I feel is the obvious continuation.
Well, here's Dexter, turning up to Hannah's with a dark enough look on his face that, as soon as she opens the door, prompts Hannah to immediately explain that Price was going to destroy her life. She adds that Dexter wasn't exactly updating her on his plan, but he snarls that Price died in his apartment. "My living room is a crime scene. You know who I am, what that means to someone like me." She admits she intended for the poison's effects to kick in while Price was driving, so it would look like "a convenient auto accident," and Dexter doesn't seem to notice, but how many other people might have died as a result if that had come to pass? Hannah assures Dexter that she's never going to prison in a tone that suggests death would be more welcome to her, and goes on that the last pen Price chewed on had "a little something" on it that's completely undetectable (which, as we've seen from Beverly Grey, means it couldn't have been aconite). Dexter says she'd better hope so, to which she snaps, "I know so," so maybe she's used this untraceable poison before? She sighs that she wishes she could have destroyed Price's book along with him, prompting Dexter to be all "Funny thing about that!" Hannah's genuinely moved, and tells Dexter she could feel him watching her while she was being interrogated. Dexter asks if Deb's accusation regarding Jake was true, but Hannah tells him that actually, it was the opposite - she wanted a family, but he didn't - he even threatened to leave her unless she got an abortion. Now, I'm not saying her story is necessarily bullshit, but Hannah is a sociopath, and we heard Jake's seemingly non-sociopathic sister say she was surprised to hear Hannah wanted kids. So maybe, having her plan in place, Hannah told Laurie that to throw suspicion off her. I mean, if you take her story at face value, it's an awfully big coincidence, her miscarrying a fetus after committing murder to save it. On the other hand, Hannah is selling the shit out of this speech, as when she tells Dexter she miscarried, she adds with a sad, ironic smile, "Sometimes life subtracts." For once, I feel like the ambiguity is intentional rather than the writers having their heads up their asses, so I appreciate it. In a different tone, however, Hannah goes on that sometimes Nature adds - does he realize how they, two killers, looked out for each other? With that, any resistance to her is stripped away, and he moves in close, puts her hand on his heart, and starts kissing her intimately, with true connection rather than the carnal desire of the night. Harrison, meet your new stepmom!
At the station, Quinn hands Batista a check for ten grand, his secret way of starting to atone for his misdeeds. He covers by referencing some inheritance he came into a while ago, like that wasn't gone in a cloud of Season Six hookers and blow, and says that Batista is family to him. Batista gets up and pulls him into a hug, and while it's hardly been worth sitting through all the bullshit these two have perpetrated with each other, it's a nice moment regardless.
Deb's in her office when Masuka comes in with the tox report on Price - it's negative for anything suspicious, and they ran it twice to be sure. Deb really looks like this is the last straw...
...but first we have to check in with LaGuerta, who's at home continuing to do more police work than like anyone else on this show, ever. And as it happens, by cross-referencing a couple lists, she discovers that - I believe under an assumed name - Dexter is the proud owner of a boat. I don't know if her mind goes immediately to the recollection of how much Doakes believed there was something wrong with Dexter, but I have the feeling it will.
Deb is at home, listening to Hannah's confession, which she apparently retrieved from Price's things. Dexter may have been talking about him and Hannah being reactive elements, but Deb's the one that looks like she's about to explode.
Dexter's lying awake in bed as Hannah sleeps to him, and DVO notes that he can't stay away from her - even when they're apart, she's in his head. "Is this what love feels like? Is this how it begins?" Obviously, from that question, he doesn't believe he loved Rita, which is just as well. His phone rings, and he answers to hear Deb tell him that Hannah killed Price, and she's going to get away with it and will kill again. I don't believe Dexter sees at this point where she's going with this, which makes his request that they talk about it in the morning kind of situationally hilarious, but Deb won't be put off - she can't let this happen again. "There has to be some fucking justice. It's you, Dex. You know what I'm saying? She deserves it. I want you to make it right. Do what you do." With that, she hangs up, and Dexter's left to look frightened and confused as he contemplates how this season's cube has been turned by someone else's hand yet again.
John Ramos is a writer and film producer living in Los Angeles. His current film, "The Trouble With Bliss," starring Michael C. Hall, Lucy Liu, Brie Larson, and Peter Fonda, can currently be seen on iTunes and other digital platforms, cable VOD everywhere, and Showtime. (Facebook and Twitter here.) You can email him at couchbaron@gmail.com, follow him on Twitter at https://twitter.com/couchbaron, or check out his blog, "Pull Up A Chair," which he'd just love for you to stop by.