DEXTER: Road Kill

I’m starting to wonder if they’ll wait until the end of the season to kill Arthur or spring it on us early. By my estimate, there are about four episodes left this season. That seems like a long time for Dexter to realistically wait to kill him. I mean, I seriously doubted he would just let him fall of the building, since the true ending to all this will be a Dexter-style killing. But, I can’t help but fear that at least one of the next four episodes will have to be carried by a secondary storyline, most likely Rita’s pending affair.

I’m also wondering the purpose of Rita having an affair. Dexter needs to have the relationship there to keep the conflict of the show going, right? When Dexter has an affair, it’s just another thing that we get to watch him juggle. When Rita has an affair, it’s like intimating that Dexter is going to die or stop killing. It would take a crucial part of the show away, and its crucial enough that it wouldn’t be going anywhere without major structural changes in the show. I just don’t believe it, so the storyline seems like a waste of time to me. It seems as if the writers said, “Well, we have to have her there. We haven’t done much with her. Throw her into an affair, that should work.” Hint: It rarely does.

That said, this episode got us closer to where we need to be at the end of the season as far as character development. Even though Deb’s convalescence didn’t last as long as I would have hoped, putting her neck out for Lundy’s memory gives her a lot more to do this season than in the past. They’ve also kept the Laguerta-Angel relationship out of the dramatic elements of the show, for the most part, which is how a workplace relationship on TV should be done. I’ve gone on record as a fan of this relationship…until it gets in the way of solving cases or killing those who need to be killed.

This week, Dexter and Arthur were on their way to Tampa so that, in reality, Arthur could kill himself where it all started. Or, was he not planning that until he and Dexter had absolved themselves of their sins? In any case, Dexter has, it seems, gone all in in trying to kill Arthur. It was interesting to watch Dexter give a veiled confession of killing an innocent man and to subsequently, watch Arthur react the way he did. Taking Dexter back to his childhood home and learning the truth behind what started all of Arthur’s killing was fascinating.

It got me thinking about Dexter’s ritual. All of it is part of the Code, sure, but otherwise it’s very utilitarian. It’s clean, to the point and allows him to adapt it to any location and situation. But Trinity’s ritual is extremely personal. It’s all based on past traumatic experiences that he either claims were his fault or knows for certain. I wonder if Dexter relishes that personal touch to a kill. Sure, he gets to monologue about justice to everyone who comes across his table, but the act itself is relatively cold.

These may not be healthy thoughts to have, but, hey, a show like “Dexter” will do that to you. From the looks of next week, we’re going to see the façade of Arthur Mitchell unravel even more, which will be exciting.

The one storyline that hasn’t been touched on yet is the reopening of the Lundy/Morgan shootings. Unless there was some trickery afoot, Trinity didn’t do it. So, who did? And, why open it back up? What will the payoff be here? This intrigues me as much as Trinity at this point, since it seems so random and unneeded.

Will Trinity die before the end of the season? And, if Trinity didn’t shoot Deb and Lundy, who did? Let’s hear your guesses!