S6:E7 “Brian Moser, my dead brother. It’s been a long time since I’ve seen him.” – Dexter
The morning after Dexter kills Nick, he’s on his boat throwing garage bags into the water with Brian, his brother who he killed in the show’s first season. Dexter says he feels relieved to see Brian, and Brian points out what I’ve been thinking all along – that Dexter is not…happy this season, and Dexter says he’s sad he wasn’t able to forgive Nick like Brother Sam told him to. But the bonding moment ends when Dexter gets a call from Deb, asking that he come to her office immediately. Once he arrives, Deb says the Trinity Killer killed his wife and his daughter. Dexter knows Trinity didn’t actually kill them because he killed Trinity, and Brian concludes that maybe Jonah, Trinity’s son, killed them and is now following in his father’s footsteps. But in order to find out what happened Dexter is asked to drive to Nebraska, where Trinity’s family moved to get away from him.
“Hello, Dexter Morgan.” – Jonah
Dexter comes across Jonah working in a hardware store, and he learns that once Rita died, the Mitchell family figured out he was Dexter Morgan and not Kyle Butler. Jonah says that they, as a family, decided not to rat him out to the authorities because they realized Dexter tried to help them when their father was beating them. Dexter asks why his mother and his sister were murdered, and Jonah says he thinks his mom called his dad asking for money and it made it easier for him to find them and come kill them. Dexter inquires if Jonah actually saw his father kill his mother and his sister, and Jonah says they were already dead from falling down the stairs and from being beaten with a hockey stick (these comments get Dexter’s attention because they are consistent with what seems to have happened in the crime scene photos). The conversation ends when Jonah tells Dexter to go back to Miami because everything’s over.
“Holly, you’re safe. What did they make you drink?”
Deb and Batista get a call from the hospital, saying a woman was there who said someone named “the Professor” held her captive. When they get to her bedside, they hear how two people captured her, but that the younger one decided to let her go. She describes that the younger guy called the older guy “Professor,” and that they called her “whore” and made her drink blood. She says she tried to befriend the younger guy because she could sense he was weaker, and that it worked because he ultimately was the one who took her in the car and dropped her off by the beach. Deb tries to call Dexter to see where he is, but only gets his voicemail again. She decides to go to his house and call from there because then it would look like his babysitter, Jamie, is calling him and he would be more likely to answer. Once she’s there and rings Dexter, he finally answers but is careful not to tell her where he is. This frustrates Deb, and it became immediately clear that this was supposed to be a moment in the season where Deb starts to suspect her brother of…something. Dexter quickly hangs up and tells Brian they don’t have much more time to kill Jonah so they’d better head off.
“What are we doing here?” – Brian
“I don’t know for sure that he’s guilty.” – Dexter
Dexter and Brian drive to the Mitchells’ house, but don’t get out of the car. Brian asks what is going on because they need to go inside to kill anyone, but Dexter says they can’t yet because he’s not sure if Jonah is guilty. Brian goes on a long tirade on how stupid Harry’s Code is, but Dexter remains grateful for it because not only is it part of the ritual, but it keeps him from getting caught. Brian maintains that Dexter doesn’t need a rulebook to figure out if he can kill someone, and the repeated bullying eventually makes Dexter get out of the car to go get his knives out from the trunk – only to realize the “gimp from the hotel” took them. Dexter and Brian go inside the house anyway, and immediately smell bleach. They also find some blood on the stairs…and also a surprise visit from Jonah. Dexter asks Jonah to take him through how his father killed his mother and his sister and to point out to him where the blood landed on the walls, and show where he applied the bleach when he was cleaning up. Dexter sprays some makeshift substance that glows when it comes into contact with bleach on the areas of the house Jonah says he cleaned up, and concludes that Jonah’s his father did not kill his mother and his sister. Jonah says obviously his father didn’t kill anyone because Dexter killed him, and then he runs off.
“This guy is leaving you no choice. Kill him before he kills you.” – Brian
Dexter and Brian drive back to the hotel in search of the desk clerk who they suspect took their knives, and they find him in the garage. He says he wants $10,000 before he can give Dexter back his things, and Brian is off in the corner encouraging Dexter to kill him. When the clerk pulls a gun, Dexter has no choice and reaches for a pitchfork on the wall and lobs it into the guy’s stomach. Brian is very pleased because this time, Dexter didn’t evaluate the situation according to Harry’s code before killing someone and instead, just went with what he felt. Over at the Professor’s barn, Travis stops by and after the Professor gives him more crap about them obeying God’s orders, he takes a fireplace utensil and points it in the direction of his superior. The Professor asks him what he’s going to do, and Travis says he wants to be free. Gellar says he’ll ask God about it.
“You shouldn’t have come to Nebraska.” – Jonah
Dexter meets up with Jonah again in a warehouse somewhere, and Jonah tells him he shouldn’t have come to Nebraska. He then says he’s angry at him for killing his dad because he wanted to do it after he abused him and his mother and sister for so long. Naturally a physical altercation ensues and once Dexter becomes the dominant fighter, Jonah tells him he wants Dexter to kill him for what he did, and that his sister actually killed herself because of how their mother blamed her and Jonah for their father leaving. And then Jonah confesses to killing his mother after he found his sister. Dexter realizes that Jonah lured him there to kill him and be punished for what he did. Then Brian steps in and tries to remind Dexter how good killing someone feels, but Dexter isn’t interested in Jonah anymore because he has a conscience and regrets ending his mother’s life – and so he gets in his car and drives back to Miami without Brian. Along the way, he stops and picks up Harry, and smiles at his new passenger.
I thought I would be upset with Brian’s return because it didn’t seem particularly original to me, but the dynamic that played out between Brian and Dexter was pretty enjoyable. It seemed like Dexter was a little bit more animated and on his toes and witty! That’s the Dexter I miss! I don’t really understand the reason for Dexter being so down in the dumps this season, and I’d really appreciate it if he’d get a grip on things and lighten up a bit. In that way, Brian was right all along.
