“This was Travis. He killed these people. Because he needed a place to hide.”
We begin with Dexter trying to swim ashore after Travis left him on a boat that was surrounded by fire. As he’s swimming, he contemplates if the world would be better without him and realizes that the one thing he’d miss if he were to die would be seeing Harrison grow up. He’s eventually rescued by a boat of people hoping to make it into Florida without the proper documentation and once they’re close enough to shore, all of them jump out and swim to the beach. Once back on land, Dexter reunites with Harrison and Jamie and tells them he just fell off his boat and that’s why he’s been gone for so long. He also reunites with Deb, who cries at the thought of almost losing him (again) and just blurts out that she loves him and that he must stop torturing her like this (even though it’s an angry sentiment, she’s not angry at all because at this point, she has realized she’s in love with Dexter). Dexter easily tells her he loves her too. Across town, Travis is preparing for his final act — which is to take place during that day’s eclipse – by sketching a building on a paper bag and yelling at the dead people in the room to stop smelling. Later, Dexter and the police are called to the house Travis was living in, and find the husband and wife he killed so he could stay there. Dexter walks into the living room and sees a huge painting on the wall that’s of him and some demons, and he quickly cuts away at his face before the rest of his team walk in, and goes to take pictures of the crime scene. Travis casually drives down the street and sees his hideout swarming with police, and he asks God for guidance. He takes out Dexter’s wallet and after he gets idea to go to his house, and he thanks God for not giving up on him yet. Back at the office, the police try to figure out where Travis is by analyzing Gellar’s old notebooks and they realize he’s headed towards a skyscraper so he can have a great view of the eclipse – but his drawing shows him WITH someone else. Dexter privately looks up some of Miami’s tallest buildings and finds the one that seems to match one of Travis’ sketches that he swiped from the house before the cops got to it.
“So jump to the sky, repent of your sins. Run to your savior and you’ll be saved again.” – Travis
Travis brings Harrison to the top of the building and stands by the edge holding him in his arms, waiting for the eclipse. He starts praying, and Dexter suddenly appears on the roof with them – but first finds the guard he killed. Dexter keeps running until he finds Travis holding Harrison, and he tells Travis that until the beast is dead (meaning Dexter), he cannot properly sacrifice Harrison and have it be meaningful. Travis asks if Dexter brought any of his needles with him and Dexter says he has, but he’s not going to give them to Travis until he puts Harrison in an elevator and sends him back down to the lobby. Travis puts Harrison in the elevator and then instructs Dexter to inject himself with the M99, and Dexter does. He collapses to the ground and just as Travis is about to kill him, Dexter wakes up and a struggle ensues. He knocks Travis unconscious and retrieves Harrison from the elevator. He grabs everyone and leaves just as Deb and her team race up to the roof and find the dead officer.
“I don’t think he understood that I’m in love with him, but still he said the actual words.” – Deb
Deb barges into her therapist’s office and tells her that she told Dexter she loves him, and that he said it back to her. She says he probably meant he loved her as a sibling, but she is still amped that she finally told him she had feelings for him (even though her feelings were disguised as feelings you have for a sibling). Deb sits down on the couch and admits it makes sense now, and understands why all the men she’s ever dated in her life were always substitutions for Dexter, or had things in common with him, and now it’s her mission to convey to her brother just how much she loves him NOT like a sibling. Meanwhile, Dexter puts Harrison to bed and then drives Travis to the old church and wraps him in cellophane, just like old times. Once Travis regains consciousness Dexter asks him why his faith means he’s allowed to commit murder and Travis doesn’t provide an answer, and instead Dexter is an example of how “putrid” mankind is. As Dexter cuts Travis’ face and takes his blood sample, he tells Travis that there’s a place for him and his serial killer ways in the world, and explains it’s his job to make sure the world stays in balance and that neither light nor dark overpowers the other. He then kills Travis with a rusty sword, and Deb watches from the doorway.
Initially, I had trouble with this season because it seemed like Dexter wasn’t his cheery usual self. Previously, we would see him bringing donuts around and working hard to conceal his serial killer identity with pleasantries and jokes. I became very fond of that guy, and so I was disappointed when it was clear that guy wasn’t going to be part of the sixth season. I was upset and missed the old Dexter but now that the season is over, I understand why that sweet guy had to go away, and it was because Dexter’s life has changed since then. He now has Harrison, and while you would think that means he would be doing everything in his power to protect himself from getting caught (by not killing anyone) so his son can have a father, it’s almost as if Dexter knows he’s not going to see Harrison grow up, and so he’s done pretending he’s just like everyone else, and I think that’s why he gave off a distinctly darker aura this season. Additionally, he struggled with his identity tremendously – this whole time he’s been trying to figure out what his purpose is, and if his tendencies mean he’s inherently evil. But in a way, he found himself through Travis. By comparing his kills to the ones Travis committed, Dexter was able to understand that he’s not evil at all (which is something we’ve known the whole time).
I also really appreciate what happened with Deb this season. She was under a great amount of pressure with her new promotion, and the majority of the time we watched as she struggled to fulfill her new responsibilities. But I have a feeling next season will be much harder for her, and I love the idea of her sexual attraction to her sibling being a storyline – ESPECIALLY when she just watched him murder someone. I really can’t wait to see where’ we’re going from here.
