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Dexter blames himself for Vogel's death even as he removes all evidence of his presence in Vogel's life, and Deb, pretty moved herself, vows to use her return to the force to help Dexter, although she warns him that if she catches Daniel she won't be handing him over for the table treatment. Also, Hannah's booked an itinerary for her, Dexter, and Harrison for only two days hence, but Dexter wants to take care of Daniel first, and an even bigger problem time-wise is the approach of a tropical storm that threatens to ground any outgoing flights.
From here, Dexter gets the shock of his life when he gets called into an interrogation room in which Quinn is interrogating Daniel on the Cassie case. Daniel claims just to want to clear his name, so he submits to a DNA test, which gives MM the knowledge that Daniel was Vogel's son. Also, Dexter puts two and two together and checks out the abandoned hospital at which Daniel's been killing his victims; in it, he finds Daniel's laptop with video of all his kills on it. Meanwhile, Clayton asks Deb about the hospital incident, and Deb tells him she was the one who took Harrison in. Not believing her, Clayton goes to Elway and tells him his suspicions, so Elway stops by to give Deb a fake apology while checking out the place, and although Deb kicks him out quickly, it's clear that Elway is on to Hannah, so Deb gets her to an airport hotel to wait until it's time to go.
Dexter lists his place, and who should show up to make an offer but Daniel, who proposes that he and Dexter take their leave of each other and both stay alive, adding that Dexter has much, much more to lose than he does – he'll go after Dexter's family if he doesn't relent. Dexter fakes his agreement but still plans to take Daniel out despite the mounting pressure on him to get out of Miami, and he sends the videos of Daniel's Brain Surgeon kills to a news outlet; with the combination of that and the arrest warrant MM has put out on Daniel thanks to the DNA test showing his familial link to Vogel, Dexter figures Daniel will be returning to his door, which does in fact come to pass – but Deb helps Dexter captures him, and soon, Daniel's waking up in the very chair in which he killed all those people. Dexter realizes that the kill holds no joy for him anymore, so he changes the plan up and has Deb come arrest Daniel – unaware that Clayton has been tailing Deb. When Deb steps out to say goodbye to Dexter, Clayton bungles his way in and releases Daniel, who kills him and uses his gun to shoot Deb, although she does land one in his arm before he escapes. With Deb's life hanging in the balance and Elway at the airport just steps away from Hannah, it looks like the storm's not the only dark thing coming in the series finale.
Want more? The full recap starts right below!As Dexter uses Vogel's porcelain sink to rid himself of the blood on his hands, DVO vaguely blames himself for her death before going on that he's going to have to remove himself from her life. This leads to a quick sequence of him snagging some of her tapes and records before going to her computer and copying and deleting a bunch of files that presumably mention him. (You'd think that someone with the computer skills that Dexter has shown would have an idea more sufficient than this. Has he never heard of Time Machine?) DVO then says he has to call this in because he can't risk being spotted as he leaves the crime scene. He then kneels over Vogel's corpse as DVO offers some thoughts about avenging her death.
When then smash-cut to later where we find a bunch of MM personnel milling about the scene. Batista is sitting with Dexter (is this the first time a lawman has seen him in his signature I'm Going To Kill You brown shirt?) as he ascertains that Dexter (and Deb) were friendly with Vogel. Dexter's story is that she called him and asked him to stop by (well, that at least will match the phone records), but when he got there, he found the door kicked in and ran into the house, where he tried to stop her bleeding, but she was already dead. Quinn pipes up that "Miller" (she hasn't been around in ages, so not sure why we're pretending here) heard from a neighbor who said they saw a white male "in his forties" fleeing the scene in a pickup.
As long as we're truth-telling here: Daniel does not look anywhere near his forties, nor is Darri Ingolfsson even thirty-five. Also, it's nice that no one saw Dexter enter Vogel's place, or they would have reported that he was the one who kicked the door in. Batista sends Dexter home (probably much to his chagrin since he won't have the opportunity to cover up anything he missed), but they agree they'll see each other the day for Dexter's farewell to the job. As Dexter heads out, DVO intones that Daniel may have a head start on him, but he intends to catch up. That self-confidence will probably serve you well, Dexter, even if I don't have the slightest idea where it's coming from.
Quite early in the morning, Dexter turns up at Deb's and gives her the bad news. They commiserate about the loss, agreeing that without Vogel, they might not have found their way back to each other. It's a nice sentiment, but I think they should at least give the fisherman who foiled Deb's murder-suicide attempt an assist. Dexter looks as moved as he gets before he seethes that with Daniel out there, Harrison needs to be safe with Jamie at Batista's place. Deb offers to go back to work that day so she can aid Dexter in his search for Daniel. Dexter's wary of the position Deb will be putting herself in, but she cautions him that should she find Daniel first, he won't be appearing on Dexter's table. Dexter gives Deb a processing side-eye, but any further discussion is curtailed by Harrison appearing with Hannah and proudly announcing that he combed his hair. Hannah's dry addition that "He insisted" probably tells you all you need to know about the results.
After Dexter sends Harrison off to get his backpack, Hannah hands him a paper with their itinerary on it: they leave in two days, arriving in Buenos Aires, via Rio. Dexter is like, great, but there's one slight complication, and he tells her about Vogel and Daniel. Hannah asks if he's sure he can take care of Daniel in so short a period of time, but he flatly assures her that he can. (Here's a lesser-known Lisa Simpson quote that I still use all the time: "What are you basing that on?" In case you can't place it, the proper response is a pause followed by an enthusiastic "Who wants gingersnaps?")
Dexter is packing up his place when a middle-aged woman walks in and proudly announces that she's got five people coming by to see the place. She is rather well put-together so I'm wondering about the gender/sexual orientation makeup of the prospective purchasers, particularly if her website photos are flattering. After some nonsensical chat about the real estate market coming back, the realtor checks out a photo of Harrison and says he gotten so big, so I suppose this woman sold Dexter the place? OH SHIT, I just placed her! It's Sylvia Prado, Miguel's (Jimmy Smits) wife from way back in Season 3! How incredibly random! Except, with a little research, I found that the actress, Valerie Cruz, is on Homeland, so I'd imagine the network would want her to get a little face time here. Still odd that he'd go to someone whose husband he killed, but he's got enough victims at this point that maybe he's running out of options.
Anyway, she asks about the sudden move, and Dexter -- after giving a hilariously longing look at the air-conditioner -- explains that there are too many memories. (I wonder if he's mentally picturing happy times with his blood slides. Hee.) Sylvia then gets a call from someone she figures is Prospective Client No. 6, so she steps out to chat/ Jamie and Harrison join him and Harrison (his hair back to presentable), brandishing a sock monkey, accuses Dexter of packing up "monkey in a box." It's cute that they gave Harrison an episode title before the series ends, but I can't be the only one who as a child gave his stuffed animals less generic names than "Doggie" and "Monkey," can I? Dexter apologizes, and then when Jamie starts to get semi-watery about the two of them leaving, Dexter suggests she take Harrison for the night, and Jamie's only too happy to accept. I often think Dexter's lucky beyond credibility in the way his plans come together, but I have to admit this piece seemed like a pretty good bet.
Dexter shows his boat to some middle-aged doofus who's more interested in the size of the beer cooler than anything else. Dexter's like, "Thanks, I may be desperate to sell but I still think I'll wait for someone slightly more discerning than you". Also, a "Hurricane Laura" is coming to town, and since imparting that information is obviously the only point to the scene, you can guess she's going to be fairly important.
In Austin Metro (I really am running out of U.S. cities, so it's a good thing the series is ending) Dexter is doing some more Daniel research and realizes that although he's moved around a lot, his vocation has stayed consistent. Masuka then comes in to report that he found -- wait for it -- nothing at Vogel's. As much as I point out how much worse at his job Dexter is than he thinks, they'd still better hire one hell of a replacement for him or they're going to lose what little competence they have. I'm also not sure why that little interruption was even needed, it's not like we would have assumed any different, especially given that Masuka then heads right back out. Regardless, Dexter continues with his research and realizes that Daniel issued a demolition permit for a hospital that's still standing and correctly pegs it as a place Daniel might do his dirty work. Nikki then comes in and tells Dexter (who hilariously obviously has no use for her) that Quinn has someone on whom he needs Dexter to do a DNA swab.
When Dexter enters the conference room, he sees Daniel is speaking to Quinn. Assuming he's doing this as a taunt (it's a nice little twist) Quinn pipes up that he came in to clear his name on the Cassie case. Daniel adds that he didn't even know he was a suspect, although you'd have to be pretty tone-deaf not to realize Deb and Quinn were thinking that way the last time they talked to him. Quinn doesn't bring that up, but he does point out that clearing out of his apartment so suddenly looked suspicious. So Daniel manufactures some ersatz emotion as he replies that he couldn't stay after he and Cassie had spent so much time there.
He even pulls Dexter in, saying he knew Cassie and what a good person she was. I'm kind of surprised we don't get one of those quick imagined shots of, perhaps, Dexter jamming the DNA swab all the way into Daniel's ear. But whatever game Daniel's playing, it seems like he gets more than he bargained for when Quinn mentions the DNA sample and he asks if that's really necessary. Dexter is like, "Oh, it's necessary, especially with the timetable I'm on", and he swabs Daniel's mouth with relish before Quinn somewhat aggressively informs him he can go. The way Daniel keeps up his mannered politeness when it's clear Quinn wants to spit on him should be seen as plenty suspicious.
Deb is setting up her new desk when Dexter comes up (one whole day of overlap!) and tells him what just happened with Daniel. He shows her the DNA swab, and when she doesn't get the significance, he gives her an "I know you've been out of the game a while, but…" look. The test will reveal his familial match to Vogel, which will lay bare his history as a psychopath. Deb then asks why Dexter is helping MM here, and I'd point out that he didn't have a choice with the DNA test and it's something Deb would surely hear about soon enough. But Dexter seems sincere as he tells her he just wants Daniel taken care of …he doesn't have to do it himself. Deb looks like she doesn't quite know what to make of that but also that this might not be something that affects my life in roughly a day, so instead I'm going to focus on the fact that my desk doesn't have any pens. In aid of that errand, she raids Quinn's desk and gets caught in the act by the owner/ Quinn tells her to take what she needs but probably regrets that when she digs around and finds the engagement ring he once gave to her, although he jokes that he kept it around in case he wanted to marry someone else from work. Hey, Quinn, I was rooting for you and Batista too, but I think Florida's going to be one of the last states on the list for that kind of union.
At night, Dexter approaches the abandoned hospital, wearing his usual kill outfit. (Wouldn't he want to give it a night off out of respect for Vogel?) There's a long sequence of him walking down a hallway that I'm sure is meant to be very spooky but after the exquisite genius of American Horror Story: Asylum it's best to just leave these things to the pros, especially since he doesn't actually run into anything scary. And just for posterity, before I leave this show forever, can I say this: not counting the establishing ten seconds or so outside the hospital, would you like to guess how long we spend on Dexter walking through the hospital, from the time he enters to the time he opens Daniel's kill room door? Seventy-six seconds. Well over a minute spent on Dexter walking in the penultimate episode of the entire series when if they really needed to show him they could have done a montage in about five. I suppose it's naïve to think the writers would want to leave their best impression on their way out the door, but that's offensively lazy. Come up with more (and interesting) story so your editors can show their faces in public.
Anyway, downstairs is almost as much of a time-waster with a chat. Topics covered include the fact that Dexter's in a hurry to leave the country (I think we knew that) and that he doesn't sound like "the old Dexter" insofar as he's willing not to kill Daniel himself (also got that, thanks). So the only thing of consequence that happens in the sequence takes two full minutes to get to… and that's Dexter finding Daniel's laptop behind a hidden wall compartment. When he sees the videos of Daniel killing his victims, he's like, this is exactly what I need. But, you saw those videos last episode, remember? When you copied the one of Zack? You could just have grabbed Vogel's laptop out of the evidence room. Why is this so revelatory now?
Deb is working late, so Quinn stops by on her way out and asks if she's going to Vogel's memorial the day. From his point of view, Vogel saved Deb from a complete psychotic break. If only he knew…but then again he never knows anything. Deb tells him she is, of course, and Quinn leaves with a wink and a flirt. Then Clayton turns up and is like, "Hey, reports are that Hannah turned up to the hospital with Dexter's kid and said she was you, and what do you think about that?" Deb lies that she took Harrison in and that the woman at the hospital must have been mistaken "because I haven't been blonde since…a very bad freshman year." Prequel! Undoubtedly, Clayton doesn't believe her, but he plays it cool and takes off.
The day we see a solemn group is emerging from a church. Matthews thanks the MM people for coming and then asks who wants a drink, and the look on everyone's face is like, this may be a trick question but fuck it.
Then we're at Papa's. That set is getting a lot of work for a place you'd think Batista wouldn't have time to run now that he's a LIEUTENANT instead of RETIRED. Dexter's leaning against the railing separating the interior from the beach when Deb breaks off from flirting with Quinn to come over and tell Dexter everyone's really going to miss him. Dexter gives a genuine smile and says he knows. Matthews then stops by and talks about how proud Harry would be of both of them and how they've been like family to him. So I guess Deb thinking that Matthews wouldn't welcome her back to the force with open arms was about as astute as one of Batista's usual reads? He tells them he'll get them another round, brushing off Dexter's attempts to leave early.
We then get a quick check-in with, presumably, the winner for the Plot That Went Nowhere Award as Masuka once again apologizes for his overprotective behavior and Nikki once again tells him it was no big deal. Elsewhere, Dexter gives Quinn his blessing to pursue something with Deb, and it's not like Quinn couldn't wait out twenty-four hours here but it's still a nice sentiment as Dexter goes on that he wants to see Deb with someone who makes her happy. His tone and expression make it clear that he thinks Quinn could be that guy. They shake hands because a hug between these two would be even weirder than the one Dexter had with Batista. Then Dexter's phone rings: it's Sylvia, and she's got someone who "wants to see the place, wants to meet the seller, and is ready to make an offer …cash."
Okay, first off, great results on those five (maybe six?) people who came to see the place yesterday, and second, how is anyone ready to make an offer if they haven't even seen the place? I mean, I wouldn't expect Sylvia to ask those questions when she's smelling a commission, but what sets off your alarm bells these days, Dexter? He says he'll be there in half an hour, but no sooner after he's disconnected does Batista buttonhole him to reminisce a bit about their first case together before getting everyone's attention and announcing that while this is a solemn occasion. (HAHAHA, like anyone but Matthews has even mentioned Vogel). Dexter wouldn't let Batista throw him a goodbye party, so he's making this it. He goes on to say that Dexter will always be in their hearts and to wish him luck, and Dexter looks at a genuine loss for words as he tells the group he'll miss them too. It's definitely some real emotion he's feeling, but if he can name more people in this group than you can count on one hand, I'll have lost a bet with myself.
Dexter's approaching his door when we see Sylvia standing with her back to him, and she's blocking the client's face from view but he's wearing the same outfit as in the station and also COME ON. So, yes, it's Daniel, although DVO's exhausted "again" is fairly amusing. Dexter leads the group in, but Sylvia barely gets into her spiel before Daniel asks if he could talk directly to Dexter, adding that he'd like to skip the sales pitch. Sylvia is taken aback for a moment but, after a shrug of acceptance from Dexter, rolls with it and exits to make some phone calls, whereupon Daniel (his accent seriously coming out on the word "deliver") says he has a proposal for Dexter: they each go their separate ways and allow the other to live in peace. Dexter's like, "It's hard for me to entertain that idea when you killed your mother and also kind of mine right in front of me," but Daniel smiles that Vogel chose Dexter, and that he found it cathartic to kill her.
Now, he's similarly giving Dexter a choice: to walk away and live, or to come after him and die. Dexter clearly doesn't want to play, and he flashes that awesome "Don't fuck with me" smile on his face as he notes that Daniel is pretty sure of himself. Daniel counters that Dexter has much more to lose than he does, that he's created the perfect cover life with his girlfriend "Hannah" and sister and son. Of course the fact that Hannah and Deb both know Dexter's true nature means that they're not a cover life in the way that Daniel means, but the threat is real. Daniel presses on by adding that Dexter's already had one wife murdered. "That must be an interesting story," he says. (Ha, even though it's not, really).
Dexter appears to consider Daniel's offer before telling him he can live with it, and a pleased Daniel says he'll tell Sylvia he's put an offer on the table. I really hope he actually is planning to buy the place, because moving in on Dexter's territory like that would actually be an interesting character beat. DVO, however, intones that Daniel wants him to walk away "without realizing he's just reminded me why I can't." Fair enough, since he's probably referring to Deb, but good luck explaining this one to Sylvia the single mom who depends solely on commissions.
Clayton comes into Elway's office and tells him his suspicion that Deb's got Hannah at her place. Elway's skeptical that Deb would harbor someone she professed to hate so much, but Clayton presses him, so he goes on to admit that they didn't part on the best of terms. He doesn't add that he caused this friction by acting like an intractable meathead, but Clayton's sharp enough to assume that, I'm sure. Clayton tells Elway that if he's interested in the reward, he'll figure out how to patch things up with Deb.
Deb is just returning to her house to find Hannah nervously whipping up yet another gourmet meal, and I wonder who's been tasked with her shopping list? Deb tells Hannah that she should go on a competitive cooking show, and before I can make a joke about the potential twists and turns of such an appearance, Hannah dryly says she'd make sure she'd win. Deb can't even get her eyebrows raised at the "murder, hee hee" joke before there's a knock on the door. When Deb looks and realizes it's Elway, Hannah quickly withdraws into the bedroom. Deb opens up and greets him neutrally, and he explains that he's holding a couple items from her office that security missed. She's like, "Great, see you on the flip side", but he tells her he also wanted to talk to her and barges in through her objection that it isn't a great time. He apologizes for the way he behaved when she left, and even though such a sentiment is appropriate, the way he can't even look her in the eye because he's too busy casing the joint somewhat belies his sincerity.
Deb, fairly clear about what he's doing and is like, "Great, get out" but Elway notices the place settings and asks if she's expecting company. Deb, once again proving she's learned how to lie, is like, "That's right and I need to get ready so GET THE FUCK OUT ALREADY!" (She threw a "kindly" in there, but otherwise that's pretty much verbatim). Elway leaves, and Deb locks the door in disgust before telling Hannah that Elway's onto her, so she has to move fast.
We cut to Hannah calling Dexter and telling him she thinks she's been made. Dexter tells her to stay put and then does a U-turn. Then he's walking into Deb's to find Hannah with her bags packed. She tells him she tried to change her flight but everything's booked because of the storm, and Deb pipes up that Hannah will stay in an airport hotel until it's time to go. Dexter breaks the news about Daniel turning up and making thinly-veiled threats against all of them. But Deb thinks she can handle Daniel and encourages Dexter to leave with Hannah, who says she's got her money accessible now in an offshore account. Deb adds that the storm is going to ground all flights when it hits, but Dexter is too worried that Daniel might still come after them, which is reasonable. I mean, Dexter went to Paris to kill Lila (and thank God for that), so surely Daniel could hop a flight to Argentina to take Dexter out. Hannah doesn't like it, but her sigh is a concession.
Deb and Hannah pull up to the hotel, and when Hannah guesses this is goodbye, Deb amends that with "for now". She's going to see Dexter and Harrison in the future, and Hannah's now obviously part of that package. She goes on that she thinks Dexter's making a big mistake going after Daniel, and after they commiserate about Dexter's inability to let things go, Hannah sighs that she must really love Dexter. Deb: "Me too. Even though I don't want to." Now that she's with Quinn, we can all conclude that she's back to a sisterly kind of affection, right? Wouldn't it be nice to say goodbye to the series with that thought? Hannah leaves, and a hug would probably be too much but her warm smile is still something no one would have predicted a few episodes ago.
Dexter sends one of the videos he got from Saxon to a news tip line (their crummy website is going to handle a file that big?) as DVO talks about turning up the heat on Daniel. Someone makes some comments that are aimed at an even slower subset of the viewing audience than normal, but the upshot is that Hannah's presence has caused his need to kill to lessen if not completely abate. Once again, I think we got it.
Nikki turns up to Quinn and Deb with the DNA report, and Quinn tells Deb about Daniel's relationship to Vogel. Deb does a credible job of acting surprised, and Quinn wonders if Daniel could have killed Vogel as well as Cassie. Quinn, maybe you'll make sergeant after all! Particularly since the actor playing Angie's services seem no longer to be required.
At his place, Dexter is surprised when Deb turns up with a bag of groceries. She breaks a bunch of good news – there's an arrest warrant out for Daniel, and Elway and Clayton don't know where Hannah is (she knows that how?) – before announcing that it's Dexter's last night, so they're having dinner together. Dexter thinks it dangerous for her to be there since he's expecting Daniel to turn up to try to kill him, but Deb is like, "We are having dinner, and if Daniel interrupts I will personally grill his face along with the steaks I brought, so shut up and help me find where your kitchen stuff is packed." This only reminds me that it's hilarious to think that Dexter, with everything else he has going on, found the time to pack up his double-sized apartment of a few years by himself. Just figuring out a plan of attack for such a chore would take me an entire week.
At Deb's, a bunch of marshal-service people are ransacking Deb's place, so…why did he need Elway's help, then? I assumed at first it was a question of legality, but Elway's word about place settings and expensive shoes would hardly hold up as justification for a warrant. They can't find any physical evidence, but they do discover a visit to the website of "Aero Sudamerica" on Deb's computer. (Like, does Hannah really not have her own laptop in this day and age? And does she now know how to clear her browser history? I admit it's been years since I used a PC, but I still think I could handle that). Since there's no booking history, Elway declares his intention to check the passenger manifests and pull all travelers' passport photos (probably not necessary, since I'm guessing Dexter and Harrison are traveling under their own names), while Clayton says he's going to tail "the Morgans" (because they're one person) and see what he finds.
Dinner's ready, and as Dexter serves, Deb asks about Astor and Cody. Dexter tells him Astor's dealing with the move better since he offered her his SUV (teenagers) and then Deb stops to wonder again what life's going to be like without Dexter. I'm sure many loyal viewers are wondering the same thing. She goes on that every time she's fallen apart – even the times it was his fault – he's been there for her, so what happens if she goes to pieces again and he's not there? Dexter assures her that she's strong, adding that while he had to be taught the Code, she had a compass he always wished for. I doubt that's actually true, but it's nice of him to say. Deb tells him that maybe she'll be all right, but he shouldn't think it was the Code that made him a good brother. She touches his chest as she tells him there's a human being inside him, and from his facial expression he does seem to believe it. Deb then turns the TV volume on (I love how much local news these people watch) and they hear a report about the manhunt for Daniel. When Deb hears the part about the news station getting hold of Daniel's videos, she warily asks if Dexter helped them along, and he nods and says he needed to draw Daniel out before he leaves town …which is why she needs to get going. She considers it.
At a gas station, Daniel is making what's probably a daily stop given the huge pickup he drives, at the gas station when, once again, he sees on the local news (the station conveniently has a TV on top of one of the pumps with a speaker setup, because OF COURSE IT DOES) that he's now a wanted man. He curses Dexter's name, and then we get almost fifteen seconds of him driving off.
We're back at Dexter's darkened apartment. Dexter's underneath his fugly bedspread when Daniel's shadow passes in front of his window, and soon Daniel's entering the place (not clear whether he forced the lock, but if he didn't have to he should be awfully suspicious here) and drawing a blade. Dramatic music plays as he approaches Dexter's bed, like there is even an infinitesimal chance that Dexter's in any danger whatsoever here. Then Dexter pops up and grapples with Daniel until Deb slides up from behind him and sticks her piece in the back of his head. Dexter then gives Daniel the needle, and Daniel slides backward into unconsciousness. Dexter tells Deb he'll take it from here, and Deb gives him an uncomplicated, loving smile before heading out.
Later Dexter is waking Daniel up, not in one of his plastic-wrapped kill rooms, but in the hospital where Daniel executed his victims. When Daniel sees where he is, he says, "I guess this means you've decided against the truce?" It'd be a better line if Daniel hadn't already broken it, but I'll give him points for his equanimity. (Accent issues aside, Darri Ingolfsson has been pretty good in this role).
Dexter tells him it's his own fault for not leaving when he had the chance, but Daniel easily tells him he likes Miami, listing among its attributes a murder solve rate of about twenty percent. Dexter chuckles in a way that can only mean "That's why I work there… for the idiots." A bit of retread about how Dexter has changed leads to Daniel saying he's never been good at relationships. "The longest was a couple of weeks, and she was chained to my radiator." Surprisingly, Dexter sees less humor in this one. Daniel goes on to wish Dexter luck with not killing Hannah in her sleep, but Dexter is like, "You don't get it – I love her, I'm even thinking about her now, and you know what? I don't need to be here!" Look, I get that this is supposed to be another big "Dexter becomes more human" character turn, but the practical thing would be not to leave an enemy at your back, particularly one with so much dirt on you and a personal grudge to boot. But no, Dexter tells Daniel that while he's going to die, it'll be in the electric chair (not even by lethal injection?), and he gags him before calling Deb (what the hell time is it?) and telling her there's been a change of plan.
Just as the sun is coming up (SEE WHAT I MEAN), Deb pulls up and is being followed, unbeknownst to her, by Clayton. Inside, Deb finds Dexter outside the kill room, and Dexter tells her she should arrest Daniel and say she was looking into the buildings he inspected and found the hospital, which will result in her being the hero of MM. Deb's like, "I'm cool with that, but aren't your knives still in there?" Dexter tells her he's got a plane to catch so she should just leave the knives and people will think they belong to Daniel. He babbles some other details, but Deb stops him to ask for a hug, so they share an embrace while Dexter assures her it's just goodbye for now. Deb coos, "I know that, fuckface." Aww. They break apart, and Deb sends him off. As he gets in the car, someone tells him he doesn't need him anymore, like thanks for catching up to the rest of the class about five years late. Dexter takes off, and Deb calls for backup, but when Dexter drives off, we see that Clayton is no longer in his car.
That's because he's busting into the kill room and asking what the hell's going on. Once he removes Daniel's gag, Daniel puts on the terrified act and begs Clayton to help him. You'd think that of all people on the show a U.S. MARSHAL might keep tabs on manhunts in his current vicinity, but maybe he was too busy finishing a stakeout Sudoku puzzle to listen to the police wire. Also, whatever he may think of her, would he not wait for Deb before freeing this unknown quantity? Anyway, Clayton lets Daniel loose from his restraints and gets one of Dexter's knives buried in his chest for his trouble, and then Deb comes in and covers Daniel. Only, he's managed to snag Clayton's gun, which he quickly raises and shoots. Deb goes down, but she gets three shots off of her own, the last of which gets Daniel in the shoulder before he escapes out the side door. A close-up shows Daniel got Deb in the left side of her gut, but she manages to call in her predicament through her convulsive gasps. Once she's off, we see blood pooling beneath her.
Back at his place, Dexter is finishing packing as DVO talks (via tortured metaphors about light and dark) about how the people in his life have slowly overwhelmed his Dark Passenger. At the airport, Hannah checks the display board (their 1:42 PM flight is listed as on time), unaware that Elway is very near. Dexter and Harrison walk out as DVO talks about how bright his future is , but when we cut to black, a thunderclap hits on the soundtrack. One episode to go! See you week for hopefully a minimal amount of filler!
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.