Quinn isn’t doing so hot, either, since he apparently doesn’t want to make much of his life. Both Angel and Jamie pressure him to take a test to get a promotion, and he whines, kicks and screams until he settles down and just freaking does it. Deb returns to Miami Metro for a few minutes to help Quinn with the El Sapo case, bringing back a bunch of mixed feelings since they were engaged. Yeah, remember that little plot thread? I certainly forgot about it since nobody’s mentioned it for a while.
There were a few scenes in this episode that really pulled the focus back to what matters: Dexter is starting to lose control of everything. He has utterly destroyed Deb, and he finally realizes it. He’s not asking why she won’t answer his calls anymore, because he’s finally realizing she really doesn’t want to be around him. Now that he has to share the burden of his secret, he no longer controls his own fate. Who knows what Deb might do? So far this season she’s snorted coke, become addicted to pills, become attached to a criminal and killed a Mexican assassin in cold blood. She’s finally become unpredictable, and that is very bad news for Dexter.
After his realization that he was wrong about who the killer is, Dexter bares his heart to Vogel, opening up about Deb but still keeping his secret about LaGuerta. She describes psychopaths as necessary for human development, calling them “gifts” and calling Dexter perfect. The final shot of Vogel holding him tight is haunting, mostly because something is off about the good doctor. Whether she’s the killer, an accomplice or just a mentor genuinely seeking to help Dexter, she is manipulating him in ways that don’t promise a good end for either of them.
Manipulation has a special place in Dexter, and Dr. Vogel is holding the reins just a bit too tight for comfort. That knot in my stomach that I feel after each episode is tighter than it’s ever been. Deb is almost beyond help, and whatever she decides to do could decide how the series ends. Dr. Vogel is yet another loose end who knows too much, and her role in everything is still too murky to call her friend or foe just yet. And Dexter? I honestly can’t say. In ten episodes, everything will change, and nobody will be able to fix any of it. Let’s just hope that knot loosens a bit in the upcoming weeks.