Well, it's all coming to a conclusion, if not the one I would have expected. So despite last episode, Daniel/Oliver is not so much a fan of his mother, and on top of that he's jealous of the attention she paid to Dexter. Vogel later admits to Dexter that she saw Daniel and that she hopes to establish trust with her son in order to get him into a facility before begging Dexter not to kill him. Dexter, however, holds fast and tells her Daniel is beyond help, and the video evidence he shows her (he got it by backtracking Daniel's surveillance of Vogel's computer) of Daniel killing Zack seems to sway her.
As he said at the end of last episode, Dexter plans to leave Miami for Argentina with Hannah and Harrison – but not before he kills Daniel for Vogel's sake (according to him). Deb can't believe Dexter's just going to leave her, but as always, she goes along. Quinn finally dumps Jamie and tells Deb he still has feelings for her, and they get back together, it would seem. Stupid Harrison then racks himself on Deb's treadmill, and the resultant wounds are severe enough that Hannah needs to take him to the hospital; when the nurse recognizes her, this leads to Clayton learning that Hannah took Dexter's son in, so she's in more trouble then she or Dexter knows.
In the end, despite Dexter's warning that she should only see Daniel in a public place, Vogel has Daniel over to her house – and Daniel ends up slitting her throat with Dexter watching helplessly from outside. So Dexter needs to get Hannah and himself out of the country, but surely he's not going to do so without avenging his spiritual mother. How that all goes down? All will be revealed in the remaining two episodes.
Despite the cozy feeling with which we left last episode Daniel/Oliver informs Vogel at the breakfast table that their little repast hardly makes her his mother again. But it doesn't hurt, right? Vogel tries to tell Daniel that she'd like to arrange to get him the care he needs, but surprisingly, the perfect psychopath who was institutionalized as a child doesn't completely see the value in being locked up again. He also puts the blame for him killing Richard on her, as he claims she ignored him and focused on Richard. Vogel claims that at the time, she didn't know how.
Let me just get this out of the way now: I suppose I'm not that shocked or even disappointed by the loss of Vogel at the end of this episode – it's certainly one way to propel the story toward its end. But she's supposed to have unparalleled acumen in dealing with psychopaths. We even saw it with her saving the structural integrity of her toes from the false Brain Surgeon. So for her just to be a shaky wreck from now up until Daniel sends her to the Great American Psychiatric Association In The Sky is a fairly big letdown; she never seems to make the slightest inroads into getting into his head, nor am I sure she ever even tries.
Anyway, bringing it back to the lead character, Daniel grits that Vogel figured out how to help Dexter – she gave him the life she never granted him. Vogel doesn't have an answer to that except to tell him she's sorry, but he doesn't believe her and takes off. He had a lot better manners at the diner.
At Deb's, Dexter brings in Harrison, who practically jumps into Hannah's arms, not that she's any less excited to see him. After the big greeting, Dexter sends Harrison off to play so he can tell Hannah about Clayton seemingly backing off. However, he tells her, she still needs to lie low with her face having been all over the news. Honestly, Dexter himself set the precedent of never wearing a disguise, but could Hannah not even bother to dye her hair? Put on a floppy hat and sunglasses? There are many examples in pop culture, and even a fake mustache or Arlene Schram's cheap rinse would be better than nothing. But no… no one on this show has heard of such things.
So when Hannah asks how she's going to get out of Miami, Dexter tells her that no one will be looking for a woman with her husband and child, and that if they all leave together, suddenly no one will recognize the hot blonde who's been in and out of the local news for literally years. Hey, I just work here. Dexter then runs down his checklist of things to do before he leaves: give his notice, see some people called "Astor" and "Cody," sell his stuff …the list is endless even without killing his surrogate brother! They giggle about moving to Argentina, but Hannah turns serious when she hears that Dexter still intends to kill Daniel.
Dexter explains that Vogel is not thinking clearly (which I'll certainly co-sign on) so he needs to protect her. Hannah notes that Dexter is atypically involving emotion in his killing, and then we see a foreshadowing shot of Harrison playing with Deb's treadmill. Sidebar: I was at a sandwich place the other day that was showing a local news scare story on the accidents kids have with exercise equipment, but we don't have time for it to turn into too much of a PSA thanks to Deb arriving home.
Hannah's like, "Hey, there's my nephew holding hands with a serial killer I'm not related to", so she takes him away so Dexter and Deb can have a little chat out on the lanai, which seems to witness a lot less fun than the one on Golden Girls. Dexter explains that with the security detail pulled, he can't have Harrison at his apartment until he kills Daniel. Of course, that's not Deb's issue, so Dexter's like, "Well, he kind of has to hang out with Hannah since we're all leaving together and she's pretty well going to be his mother?" With everything that's happened, it really says something that Deb is stunned and is like, "HAVE YOU THOUGHT THIS THROUGH YOU COMPLETE MORON."
But Dexter is unfazed, so she moves on to the part where he's leaving her. You'd think he might at least have brought the subject up himself, but like I've said before, he's a typical weak-willed man when it comes to women, and guys like that always choose the path of least conflict. As if to drive it home, he feebly calls that it's hard for him too, which she shuts down with a "Don't EVEN" look over her shoulder without even breaking stride. Well, Deb, in Dexter's defense, he thought about it for almost three full seconds before telling Hannah yes.
At the restaurant, Quinn sits down with Jamie, who smiles and tells him not only is she graduating, she got a recruitment letter from the "Greenwood Academy" in Atlanta for a therapist's position. Quinn is ten times more excited about "Atlanta" than anything else in that statement (that's even more subtle than your deer-in-the-headlights look when she proposed moving in together, Quinn) and when she tells him she wouldn't move there without him, he's like, "But SERIOUSLY, do what's best for your career." Jamie's smile fades a bit as Quinn goes to get a drink, and Jamie, I'm pretty sure there was at one time a version of you that knew you're way too good for him, so GET IN TOUCH WITH HER.
Vogel comes into MM in response to a summons from Matthews, who tells her that Zack is still missing and he promised the parents he'd look into it personally but he's hit a dead end. Vogel, sadly, isn't in a position to reply, "And how!" It's a shame she's still acting all jumpy and squirrelly, though the part where she tries to hide behind professional ethics is pretty hilarious for the viewing audience. As is the way Matthews unwittingly seems to channel Mr. Bookman the library cop on Seinfeld in peppering Vogel with questions about Zack. Vogel tells Matthews nothing, though, and then heads out the door in two minutes flat. Like that was worth the carbon emissions to get over there…
…except it allows Dexter -- who's been cataloging a history of Daniel's misdeeds -- to shepherd her into his office and try to warn her that she's in danger. However, she demurs. From her tone, Dexter infers that she saw him, which she admits to. He obviously thinks she knows where he is, but she denies it and confesses that Daniel was angry when he left, and she's not sure she'll see him again. Hard to believe he might simply disappear after going to such lengths to get her attention, but then again, she's not exactly on her game when analyzing her son. When she goes on to say that she didn't tell Dexter she saw him because he wants to kill Daniel, Dexter reasonably asks what she thinks she can do for him. So she tells him she plans to establish trust with her son, to repair the damage she did by failing to be a good mother, before eventually getting him back into a facility.
Rather than point out that this scenario is entirely delusional from stem to stern, Dexter asks how many innocent people will be sacrificed in aid of this little trust-building exercise, not to mention the danger to her. But Vogel begs him not to use her as an excuse for killing Daniel. Well, since you bring it up, Vogel, Daniel leaving Zack's body in Dexter's home suggests to me that Dexter doesn't actually need an excuse. I'm not fluent in serial killer, but after eight seasons I think I've picked up enough of the language. Regardless, Dexter has no reply, so Vogel leaves, whereupon Dexter complains to someone that Vogel doesn't want his help. Someone, however, thinks he shouldn't leave this unfinished, and then such internal/external debates are put aside when Batista comes in to tell Dexter they've got a crime scene…
…and if the ensuing cut to Deb and Quinn isn't intentional commentary, I don't want to know about it. Deb apparently has asked Quinn to lunch so she can complain about Dexter leaving, but Quinn, for no reason related to his own life, is like, "Sometimes change is good, whether you're talking Atlanta or Argentina!" Deb doesn't see it that way, but Quinn suggests she try to view it from Dexter's point of view -- adding that when he left New York, it was a really tough decision -- but it turns out being on his own was the best thing for him. I'm not sure this is entirely supported by his years-long character arc of vacillating between a genial and a surly booze hound, but I suppose it sounds good, and rather than argue Deb reveals that Batista returned her badge to her. Quinn's thrilled and Deb's cautiously optimistic, too, probably knowing that an uncomplicated return to the force is one of the bright sides of Dexter leaving.
Quinn then gets summoned to that same crime scene involving a biker fatally hit by a motorist, and how I haven't been witness to that yet in Los Angeles I can't even imagine. The actual crime has nothing to do with anything, and only marginally more relevant is that Nikki shows up late (apparently it's Saturday). When Masuka realizes she's high, he sends her home. Geez, Masuka, how did you think she got through serving horny customers topless? You should be thankful if a little chronic is all you're dealing with here.
Elsewhere, Dexter HILARIOUSLY mentions Rita's death as a reason he needs a break. He barely even knew her name when he was married to her, and four seasons have passed now, but Batista shows that he's going to be the absolute worst at reading people right to the end as he heavily suggests that Dexter "really needs this." Hee. A little talk about Jamie, an appropriately awkward man-hug, and some words about Dexter always having a home at MM, and we're out.
Some time later, Dexter has just put Harrison down for a nap when he settles in to discuss Daniel with Hannah. I don't necessarily need tons of action but this episode is hopelessly talky for the third-to-last offering we're going to see. Hannah's initially not clear why Dexter is going through with killing Daniel when Vogel doesn't want him to, but when he explains again that he wants to protect her, Hannah's like, "Well, hop to it so we can get to Argentina." Dexter obviously thinks Vogel is the key to finding Daniel… but maybe her computer will do. Oh, good, a scene involving computer hacking? That'll pick up the episode's pace!
Daniel is waiting in his truck when Vogel, who is driving a lovely old Mercedes convertible, parks behind and then joins him. He opens the passenger door for her and tells her he'd like to show her something, and she all but cowers on the sidewalk, so he smiles and assures her he's not going to hurt her. Honestly, I'm not sure how she can reconcile her statements that he's no danger to her with her palpable fear of him, but it's not a paradox we're going to have to consider much longer. She does, however, eventually consent to get in.
Then he brings her to the room in which he's apparently killed all his victims. She asks the reason she's there, which is a question I'd frankly be afraid to bring up, especially since his answer is to have her sit in the very chair in which he's performed his grotesque brand of surgery. But he assures her he cleans it off after every time because I'M SURE THAT'S THE ONLY THING ON HER MIND AT THE MOMENT.
Daniel tells her that the room is a reminder of the institution which she sent him to. He's made it look just like the place's "Treatment Room," as they called it. When he'd refuse to take his meds, the doctors would force him into a chair such as the one she's in and force the pills down. No offense, Crazy Eyes (sorry, I'm just watching Orange Is The New Black now), but did they force enough of them down? Daniel goes on that the rest of his days weren't much better before recalling that Vogel wanted to help him, so he asks her to show him how to exist in the world as he is. She replies that she can't help him murder innocent people, but he takes her hand and tells her he wants to be a son she can love before begging her to help him.
After her successful experience with Zack, does it not even occur to her to teach Daniel the Code? Sure, she'll need a practical expert at some point, but if she's looking for a way to help Daniel that doesn't involve institutionalization, why wouldn't she at least float the idea? Again, I feel like so many opportunities were missed at the end with this character. She's behaved so helplessly when offered an opportunity to turn her psychological acumen on the very person for whom she went into the field. Of course, Daniel could completely be putting it on here, but there's no indication this occurs to Vogel that I can see.
Anyway, Daniel points out that Dexter is trying to kill him, so she tells him she'll talk to Dexter and he begs her to make the right choice this time. "Choose me," he says. With some more confidence, she tells him she'll do whatever it takes to be his mother again. They settle into an embrace that, while understandably tentative, is still far smoother than the one Batista and Dexter shared.
Using Vogel's spare key, Dexter enters her place and explains to someone that the spyware Daniel installed on Vogel's computer can be used in reverse (um…). So he starts poking around and finds videos of Daniel killing all his victims, including Zack. By the way, he drilled into his brain while he was still alive, which is just lovely. He copies the video onto a flash drive as someone babbles some nonsense.
At MM, Clayton is waiting to talk to Batista, who's on the phone giving someone (not that someone) specs for an ad seeking Dexter's replacement. When he's off, Clayton tells him that Hannah's trail has gone cold and the case is back to low priority… and by the way, what was that phone call about? Batista tells him about Dexter leaving -- and while it's maybe unfair to expect Batista to connect the dots -- you'd think he might wonder about the sound of grinding gears that's suddenly coming from Clayton's head.
Quinn gets home and breaks up with Jamie. Seriously, there's practically no fanfare to it and almost nothing to discuss, although it might be better form to do this when she's not actually cooking dinner. Jamie, of course is like, "Thanks for letting me move in, but by all, means go fuck Deb like you've obviously wanted to." He denies that this has anything to do with Deb, which given that we saw him kiss her is pretty rich. Jamie doesn't bother dragging it out, which is just as well, since it's going to take her a little time to go through the literally thousands of local/Atlanta-based guys out there for her that are better than Quinn.
Deb arrives home and glumly observes the Argentina-bound crew on the lanai. Dexter then notices her and brings a beer in, and they gingerly chat a bit before she tells him she wants him and Harrison to be happy, but she's scared of losing his constant presence. Dexter suggests that her life might be better in some ways without him, but she won't be deterred. "Moving on without you feels like jumping off a cliff," she says. I doubt it will help, Deb, but I'm pretty sure you used similar language about discovering Dexter was a serial killer, and that turned out all right…ish. Dexter asks Deb to come join the family outside, and she reluctantly complies.
The morning, Dexter is looking up images of Argentina on his computer. (I feel compelled to add, not any particular city, because God knows when two serial killers are uprooting their lives with a child in tow the last thing they need to be is detail-oriented). He then calls Hannah to check in as she is on the lanai watching Deb and Harrison play on the beach. But it's inconsequential and quickly interrupted by a visit from Vogel, who launches into an ENTIRELY transparent speech about how she was wrong and Dexter and Hannah can have a relationship, so why don't they move far, far away and get going on that? Lady, you're disappointing me right and left here.
Thankfully, she drops the act at the first sign of a raised eyebrow from Dexter and earnestly tells him she thinks there's hope for Daniel and that she can help him. But Dexter -- seizing onto her statement that Daniel doesn't like killing -- is like, "Oh you don't say, and on an unrelated topic, I have an interesting video for you to see!" When Vogel sees the brutality with which Daniel killed Zack, she's horrified, and Dexter, not without some sympathy, tells her he's sorry but there's no hope for Daniel. After taking a moment to recover, she asks what now, and Dexter's like, "After the video you saw there's no need to tiptoe around, is there?" He asks where Daniel is, and Vogel admits that he's supposed to call her that evening, so Dexter asks her to set up a meeting at a public place and to let him know where, because Dexter WAS SO GOOD ON A SIMILAR STAKEOUT LAST TIME. I think he's even wearing the same shirt Daniel spotted at a hundred paces. Vogel looks overwhelmed, but she eventually chokes out a request that Dexter not let Daniel suffer before she heads out.
Deb and Harrison are still on the beach when "Max" Clayton saunters up. After he introduces himself, Deb sends Harrison inside (either the boy has been coached not to talk about Hannah to strangers or that's another really close shave). Clayton tells Deb he's worried about Dexter and he suspects that there might be a connection between Hannah's rumored presence and Dexter's sudden intention to leave town. Deb plays it cool in telling Clayton she doesn't keep up with his romantic life (um, hee), but he wouldn't be so stupid as to be involved with Hannah still. Whatever else her discovery of her brother's true nature may have done to her, it's sure made her a better liar. Clayton buys the idea that Deb doesn't know anything but still thinks the whole thing is fishy, so he gives her his card and asks her to give him a buzz if she discovers anything.
Inside, Deb informs Hannah of what happened and urgently tells her she's got to stay out of sight until she leaves. Hannah agrees and then thanks Deb for saving her ass – again – and Deb somewhat wryly notes she's better at it than she expected before something seems to cross her mind. Skipping Hannah's offer of lunch, she rushes out and over to Elway's. She tries to be conciliatory, but he's still a walking bruised ego as he tells her he knew she was never going to work out in the job (riiiight) and he already heard she's going back to MM. (Which is hilarious, because as far as I know that's far from official). But, sensing his wounded pride isn't going to be taking a break anytime soon, she takes the high road as he sniffs that he'll have security pack up her office and deliver the contents to her house. Deb, I know you want to get out of there but do you really want random people delivering to the address AT WHICH YOU'RE HARBORING A MURDERER? This doesn't seem to occur to her, though, so she peaces out. We're never going to see this place again, I'm pretty sure, but I still have to ask: does anyone else actually work here?
Despite Hannah's admonition to mind what Dexter told him, Harrison insists on playing around on Deb's treadmill and ends up falling flat on his face and getting a huge gash on his chin for his trouble. God, kids are dumb… and this is coming from someone who once laid his open palm flat on a red-hot electric burner because it looked pretty. After a quick examination and an unsuccessful call to Dexter (you'd think she might give Deb a try, too), Hannah makes a quick decision and then she's running into the emergency room with Harrison in her arms. The nurse is sympathetic, but when she takes a good look at Hannah, her eyes narrow, and she's left with the uncomfortable realization that she's in a moral dilemma, which I'd imagine is fairly rare for her.
Meanwhile, it turns out Hannah couldn't reach Dexter because he's busy setting up a kill room, which again seems premature given how horribly he bungled his last attempt to take Daniel. But he's too busy congratulating himself about how far he's come since the last time he used one of these places. For a change, I'm on someone's side as he cautions Dexter not to have unrealistic expectations for his future. But Dexter's goofy smile at the thought of his new life with Hannah will not be denied. Obviously, because even if he makes it to South America, it's only going to be so he and Hannah can replicate the end of Butch Cassidy And The Sundance Kid.
At MM, Deb passes Jamie and greets her, getting this in response: "Go fuck yourself." That's out of bounds, girl, particularly since as far as you know you still work for her brother. Deb's like, "For once I don't even know what I did!" She's got more important things on her mind, though, as she goes into Batista's office and tells him she's ready to come back if he'll have her. He's like, "Duh doesn't even begin to cover it" before embracing her. But then she asks for a week or two before her return. Batista agrees before telling her not to worry about Jamie. When Deb asks what all that was about, Batista tells her about Quinn and how Jamie blames her. Again, Jamie, I thought you were better than that. You don't have to be Deb's biggest fan, but Quinn's male dickery is on him. Speaking of whom, Batista sees Quinn enter his field of vision and is like, go get 'em, tiger, so Deb stalks out and is like, "WE NEED TO TALK."
Outside, Deb asks if he broke up with Jamie because of her. Quinn tells her she was a factor, but ultimately, he wasn't happy, and there's no way he was going to marry Jamie. Kind of funny Quinn thinks that's a solid reason to break up with someone, because he sure wasn't happy when Deb did it to him. Deb's not thrilled that the kiss they shared was a catalyst for his decision, but just as Quinn does in regard to her, she admits that she still has feelings for him. On top of all that, back then she didn't see a future for them, but now she's not so sure. She kisses him, and while I'm not sure bringing a lawman closer into her life is a great idea even with Dexter leaving, I will concede that emotionally these two seem right for each other. Plus, Quinn didn't figure Dexter out even back when he hated him.
At the hospital, Clayton is talking to the same nurse who gave Hannah the stink-eye earlier, and the nurse was like, "Oh yes, Hannah was here with her son, Harrison Morgan." Congrats, Clayton, you get the Maria LaGuerta Memorial Detective Award! Enjoy it while you can! Also, Hannah signed in as Deb, so that's great for Deb, I'm sure.
Inspecting the damage to his son's face, Dexter asks how many stitches are holding it together, and Harrison, with the pride you'd expect from a boy his age, tells him six. Hannah chooses to emphasize how brave Harrison was about the ordeal rather than the stupidity/disobedience that caused it. After Dexter allows him to go play, he apologizes to Hannah for not being there and how she had to go out in public because he was busy setting up a kill room. Hannah says it's okay, but does tell him about Clayton and reiterates that they can't stay much longer. Vogel then calls and tells him that Daniel is coming to her house. When Dexter protests that this wasn't the plan, she tells him she wanted a private goodbye, since it's the last time she's going to see him. It's impossible to take any glee from a "she doesn't know the half of it" here, but it does seem obligatory regardless. The doorbell then rings, so Vogel disconnects, leaving a fairly frantic Dexter running out the door. He pauses outside, though, worried about the possibility that Clayton will come back, but someone urges him to protect Vogel and not worry about what he might have to lose here.
Vogel is so nervous she can't even pour her tea without spilling it. Not that the serpent's gaze with which Daniel is fixing her is helping. He asks why she wanted to see him, and she casts about for a bit before telling him she thought it would be nice for them to talk about normal things. Woman, you've had all day to consider this with your sharp mind, and this is -- as you said -- the last time you'll ever see your son. You can't think of one thing to say, be it ersatz or genuine? You put yourself in jeopardy here because you said you want a proper goodbye, so have a fucking proper goodbye, whatever that may mean to you! But no, Vogel keeps unconvincingly telling Daniel that nothing's wrong while offering only the lamest reasons for wanting to see him until Daniel's finally like, "Look, I've seen a lot of people die, and you're acting more afraid than all of them put together, so what's the deal?" Vogel continues to look like a mouse in a snake tank.
Dexter pulls up to Vogel's house, and I know your feel the urgency, Dexter, but perhaps your squealing tires aren't super well-advised? As if to illustrate that, Dexter's barely out of the car when his phone rings… it's Daniel, who tells him to freeze. The light from Vogel's living room flips on, and through the bay window Dexter sees Vogel standing impassively with Daniel to her. Dexter tells him not to touch her, but Daniel intones that Vogel chose the wrong son before taking a knife and slitting his mother's throat. Dexter breaks down the door, but Daniel's already gone (although I think his car is parked out front given that Dexter noted he was still there), and all he can do is watch helplessly as Vogel wordlessly expires on the floor. Dexter's pretty much as moved as he gets as he chokes out animalistic sobs and embraces his mother figure, and certainly this raises the Daniel stakes for him. But (this is the last time, I promise) I'm still disappointed Vogel didn't try harder in one direction or the other.
Only two more episodes to go.
John Ramos is a writer and film producer living in Los Angeles. His new film, a documentary on online privacy and the exploitation of personal data called Terms And Conditions May Apply, a New York Times Critics' Pick, is now on iTunes here. You can get news on it from the film's Twitter accountor website, or check out trackoff.us to learn how to protect your privacy. Also, you can email John 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.