Dexter – Recap & Review- Road Kill

photo: showtime

Dexter
Road Kill

Original Air Date: Nov. 15, 2009

Karen Belgrad- TwoCents Reviewer
karenbelgrad@ thetwocentscorp.com

This week on Dexter, we deal with guilt and remorse. Dexter has both. Arthur Mitchell (Trinity Killer) has both. Laguerta and Angel have none. Rita may soon have some of both.

To catch you up to date: Dexter is married to Rita with a new baby. It’s stressing him out. The Trinity killer has been killing in a pattern of three (bathtub leg slicing, forced suicide jump, and bludgeoning), and after 30 years he returned to where it all began (Miami) to repeat the cycle’s origins. Detective Lundy returned to Miami (and Deb to his bed). They were shot, Lundy died, Deb survived, and Deb and Dexter believe Trinity did it. With the help of Lundy’s notes, Dexter tracked down Trinity and met Arthur Mitchell. And last week, Dexter accidentally killed an innocent man he believed to be a killer. And Trinity built a wood coffin.

In middling plot points, Angel and Laguerta having being doing it, but stopped in order to keep their jobs. Quinn is dating Christine, a reporter, who is getting all sorts of headlines from their dalliances.

This has been a fairly bloodless season of Dexter to date. We’ve had Arthur’s three kills. Dexter has killed three people (one being the aforementioned innocent). After eight episodes, this feels lacking for the premise of the show. The only thing that died in this episode was a fish… poor Mr. Limpet?

Dexter finally decides that it’s time to kill Arthur. He joins Arthur under the premise of going to another Helping Hands (Habitat For Humanity-type) build in Tampa using his Kyle-Butler fake identity. To everyone else, he’s going to Tampa for a meteorological convention. The glazed over looks of Rita and Laguerta as he described the weather to blood spatter connection were priceless. Alibi in place, the awkward road trip begins.

Midway through, Dexter tells Arthur he has killed a man. He loosely lies and calls it a hunting accident. This opens a floodgate in Arthur, who drags Dexter to his childhood home and forces his way in past the current non-English speaking residents. Once inside, he tells his story.

As a 10-yr old boy, Arthur watched his older sister shower… ummm…. Eeew? She saw him and with a similar reaction, fell through the shower door, sliced her leg on the glass and bled to death in the bathtub. Trinity Kill Style #1. His parents blamed him. His mother, unable to deal, committed suicide. Trinity Kill Style #2. His alcoholic father blamed and beat Arthur until he died. Presumable Trinity Kill Style #3. And now we have our backstory.

Back in Miami, Deb is pitching the Trinity killer’s bludgeoning as her case when she accidentally includes a bathtub kill image. She spills all, including her belief that Trinity shot her and Lundy. Laguerta removes her from the Trinity case. Deb, being as subtle as a bull in a china shop as always, gets Quinn to work her angles on the case for her. Miami Metro’s finest donate one vacation day each to pay for DNA roadblocks to try and catch the Trinity killer who took down a fed and shot one of their own.

Shortly thereafter, Deb realizes (based on her wound/scar trajectory) that Trinity was too tall to have shot her. After removing her top, to Masuka’s delight, to get his confirmation on the shooter’s size, which at around 5’7”, is considerably less than Trinity’s suspected height. She takes the information to Laguerta who separates the cases and puts her back on Trinity. If I were a fellow cop, I’d want my vacation day back.

In side news… Christine shows up at Quinn’s doorstep to try and get an “it bleeds, it leads” news story from him. She appears to be 5’7”-ish, doesn’t she? Masuka tells Quinn about Dexter’s scandalous past with Lila (Season 2). Quinn is a little too interested in learning about Dexter, eh? Laguerta and Angel do it in the briefing room, presumably without their briefs. Rita and the kids go fishing with the newly separated neighbor, Elliot, and his kids. While Dexter’s off in Tampa, Elliot makes himself a little too cozy in Rita’s company. Nothing too tawdry… yet.

Back to the action in Tampa, and Arthur is now unhinged and purging his conscience to anyone that will listen, which includes a very uncomfortable family in a local diner. Creppy John Lithgow has been replaced with blubbering John Lithgow. He’s still amazing in this role.

Now, for one of the most nitpicky goofs that completely took me out of the element. Dexter has set up his kill room in his hotel bathroom. Arthur is in the next room. Once Dexter is convinced Arthur is asleep, he goes next door to do his usual needle-in-the-neck handiwork. The clock in Dexter’s room reads 4:45am.

But, alas, Arthur is nowhere to be found. Dexter scurries to the Helping Hands site (four blocks away) and finds Arthur perched on the edge of the roof. In daylight. Apparently, it took Dexter almost two hours to run four blocks. For a show so meticulous in detail, this really stood out.

As Arthur goes to jump, Dexter grabs his arm. He internalizes that it’s not worth saving him just to kill him, but just as he goes to release Arthur’s hand, other Helping Hands workers reach down to grab him. Arthur lives to see another day. Dexter rues his missed opportunity, but wonders if someday suicide will be his only viable option as well.

On the trip back, Arthur tells Dexter he has found his remorse for his sister’s death. Arthur tells Dexter “Remorse keeps you from making mistakes.” With that, Dexter tips him off to avoid one of the DNA roadblocks. Dexter then voiceovers “If erring is human, remorse too, am I human too? Huh.” And with that, Dexter seems to have made peace with his murderous mistake from last week.

A good episode in terms of exposition and character background, but lacking in the suspense and nail biting that makes this series such a standout.

What are you Two Cents? Will Rita cheat? Will Dexter kill Arthur/Trinity? Did you miss Ghost Dad Harry in this episode?