Tonight’s new episode of Dexter has opened up the floodgates. Things are happening fast in Miami—puzzle pieces are being put together left, right, and sideways—and returning to form, the human element has gotten in the way. It was a strong episode for the seventh season, and one question remains: what can be done when it comes to matters of the heart?
We left off last week with a bevy of new information coming Dexter Morgan’s way. And…a whole lotta booty! (Oh SNAP!) That’s right, Dexter Morgan finally got down and dirty with fellow serial killer Hannah McKay in one of the most surprising and (we hate to admit it) sort of hot sex scenes ever seen on the show. And as we all know—though Dexter certainly seems to need some lessons—sex sometimes, well, complicates things. And in Dexter’s case, it certainly complicates how he feels about Hannah, and whether or not she should end up dead on his table, rather than in the throws of passion.
And when this season’s seventh episode opens up (the appropriately-titled Chemistry), we find Dexter contemplating how and why their relationship got to this point. Dexter is probably a bit of a sociopath, so he doesn’t understand feelings or emotions, especially when logic is compounded by one or worse, both. But, in a surprise to no one, Hannah and Dexter actually work. Birds of a feather flock together, as the saying goes.
The couple’s freaky tryst continues when—no doubt in a moment of insecurity, because are these two ever really going to be able to trust each other?—Hannah takes a knife to Dexter’s throat before going at it again (serial killers are into some crazy s**t). This relationship is different. The two of them are different. Because at long last: two people so fervently on the outside have found someone else that completely understands them, down to their very core. It’s something that I’m sure Hannah never thought she would find, and something Dexter has never been able to understand in the past.
But Dexter and Hannah aren’t the only ones with chemistry—Deb is finally letting go of any (we hope) creepy feelings for Dexter and moving on with her life. And where does Deb search for potential romantic solace? Why the true crime author Sal Price, of course (interesting, given her terrible track record with men either being murdered or murderers). We all know that Deb has this sort of Black Widow quality to her—does this mean Sal’s days are numbered?
Of course it does. Because Sal is hot on the trail of not one, but two serial killers: Hannah and Dexter. And while he doesn’t know that Dexter is a serial killer, unknowingly messing with a murderer might even be worse than if he did. Sal pushes Hannah to go on record for his newest book—and with the mention of Dexter’s name, Hannah succumbs to his requests. Only Hannah sees an opportunity: to finally put Sal in a place that won’t affect her anymore. While Dexter attempts to coerce Sal with blackmail (setting Sal up to look like the murderer in one of his best-selling novel’s unsolved cases), Hannah has other plans. And we all know what happens when you cross a serial killer.
Another chemistry-laden relationship with terrible consequences? Poor, dear, misguided Quinn and his dancer-girlfriend Nadia. Quinn has stolen the evidence pegging Isaak Sirko to the Colombian drug lord murders in order to free his girl from the evil grips of the Koshka Brotherhood. In doing so, he’s mixed “sulfer with s**t” (which played nice and literally when the Koshkas contaminated the crime scene to ensure Sirko’s release) and caused a world of trouble for Deb and Dexter. And when Nadia finds out that Quinn’s possibly made a deal with the big bad Ukrainians, she knows he’s f**ked up. Such a hopeless romantic, that Joey Quinn. Too bad it burns him every.single.time. Don’t count on his threats to George at The Fox Hole to have any weight with the Koshkas anytime soon. This boy is a dirty cop whether he wants to be or not.
Speaking of the Koshkas, Isaak certainly seems to have quite the fondness for Dexter. Does someone have a weird thing for our favorite ginger murderperson? (Yes, but that thing is a thirst for blood, not love.) He shows up at Dexter’s lunch hour to talk business: death business! But Isaak is not alone: he comes complete with a police team tailing him at every turn. Are these cops surprised/weirded out by this meeting of a should’ve-been bad guy and a Miami law enforcement official? Or are they just that bad at their job that they don’t notice who Isaak is talking to so openly about murder? This seems like a great way to frame Dexter as the mole within the department, doesn’t it? But I digress! The two are brutally honest with each other at this point—because both men are convinced they’ll be the one to take the other down. Perhaps they’ll both do each other in: wouldn’t that be something? This one’s going to be a fight in any event, that’s for sure.
Getting back to the Sal Price storyline: well, he’s dead. That was fast! He’s also in a really unfortunate location: Dexter’s apartment. Sal was poisoned and suffered a heart attack: looks like Hannah won the race to silence Sal Price. The biggest victim in the Sal’s murder? Well, it’s a tie: Debra Morgan is one (for sure) and also, Hannah’s victims. Seems like both have lost an opportunity for happiness and closure.
Arguably one of the biggest bombshells of the night involves LaGuerta. Though it was only a brief moment within the episode. After Deb tried to convince LaGuerta that perhaps they needed to let the Doakes/Bay Harbor Butcher case go, our lady of perpetual interest has not let the evidence go cold. Yes, that’s right, the one that would “never” figure Dexter out (famous last words, I called you!) is mere moments away from discovering the real identity of the Bay Harbor Butcher—thanks to the boat records attaching Dexter to the body-drop point in the ocean. Remember when LaGuerta was just a girl with a crush on a blood spatter expert in season one? Oh how times have changed.
Ch-ch-changes! They’re everywhere, really. Though for Miami’s most attractive murder couple, it’s adjusting to their own feelings which takes the most effort. For Dexter and Hannah, figuring out where each other stands is difficult. They can’t seem to stop caring for each other, to their own chagrin: Hannah only talked to Sal if he agreed to leave Dexter out of it. Dexter grabbed evidence to plant/blackmail Sal and then took it all a step further, ruining Sal’s book by deleting his research on Hannah. No matter how many times these two try to say goodbye, they can’t keep out of each other’s orbit. “Chemistry deals with the reactions between elementary forms of matter. Separate the elements and you negate the reaction,” says Dexter. Of course Dexter tries to break it down to science. To something so cold and unfamiliar when it comes to matters of the heart. But when the two elements have minds of their own, they can react in other ways. Hannah’s killed Sal with one of her more untraceable poisons, and Dexter’s both upset and relieved. Can he really trust another person? Is looking out for Hannah and her for him, really such a bad thing?
But it’s Deb who has the biggest change of heart. Burned yet again by another potential love of her life getting murdered, she wants Dexter to do what he does best: kill Hannah McKay. After weeks and weeks of being unable to comprehend and logically accept Dexter for who he is, she is finally at peace with his serial killing shenanigans when her heart is broken. Love makes us all do crazy, crazy things.
“We both know it wouldn’t end well,” says Hannah, no doubt foreshadowing future episodes. Will Dexter’s killing of Hannah (if it happens) be the downfall of Dexter?
Some other things to note: Quinn totally knows that Dexter was lying about the argument between him and Sal—will this come back later? Angel’s restaurant has a backer now, with Quinn’s $10,000—is that the money from the Koshkas? And if so, will this ruin Angel’s life if the source of the funds is uncovered? Jamie returns (doing laundry for Dexter?)—does that mean little Harrison is on his way back to Miami? Hannah wanted kids—not afraid to pass those evil genes on, is she? Will she make a good new mommy for Harrison? Oh, and does anyone else think there’s something poisonous in those orchids on Dexter’s desk that might slowly, slowly, slowly be poisoning him to death?
So many questions, so little time! What did you think of this week’s episode of Dexter? Let us know in the comments!
[Photo Credit: Showtime]
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