Dexter Review: 8.05 – “This Little Piggy”

Even though the supposed “Brain Surgeon” was killed by the Dexter/Deb duo, ‘This Little Piggy’ was one of the more boring episodes of season 8 so far. Certainly not as entertaining as last week’s ‘Scar Tissue’.

Dexter and Deb have a therapy session with Vogel and suddenly, after a brief angsty bitch session by Dexter, everything is okay again between the brother and sister. Deb wants to help Dexter kill Yates after the “Brain Surgeon” kidnaps Vogel because, as she said, “…the family that kills together…”. They are successful in ridding the world of Yates, but something tells me that the world is not rid of the “Brain Surgeon”. Why would it be Yates? If he is this easily manipulated and this precise thus far, how did he let himself get caught and why would he suddenly kidnap Vogel? I guess he could be the Brain Surgeon, but I wouldn’t like how little sense that makes. Also, usually there is much more of a chase than this has been with Yates. I would want it to be someone stronger; someone like Dexter.

Quinn goes to get a DNA sample from a man who is very wealthy and contributes a lot to the community, so when he gets a bad feeling about the man’s son, Matthews shoots him down. Here’s the thing….. the “feeling” Quinn got? Yeah, we all got that as well. What f-ckery is this, where they make the supposed psychopath look like an outright… well… psychopath! He is obviously up to something when you first see him. If that wasn’t telling enough, the kid asks Quinn a bunch of questions about the murder. So even dumb as rocks Joey Quinn can tell that there is something obviously wrong with this Hamilton kid. They should just play ominous cheesy 80s horror film music as he appears on camera.

There were other things that happened in this episode, none of which I particularly care about. Jamie brought over a cute friend for a double date with Dexter, but he had to leave (Vogel/Yates/Deb situation) and she was very cool about it. Blah. It is too far into the season to be adding new characters and expecting me to care about them.

The reason that Dexter is such a great show is because you get attached to these characters (Rita, Miguel, Lila, Maria, etc…) and you get to watch Dexter destroy their lives, leaving the audience feeling some sort of emotion about it. In the season 4 finale when Trinity killed Rita, the second I saw Harrison in the blood pool I began sobbing. When I saw Rita’s face, I cried my eyes out. John Lithgow still haunts my nightmares! But this adding new characters for a few episodes and then expecting me to give a shit? I dislike that. Like that woman detective who is trying for sergeant…. I cannot remember her name off the top of my head. If she wasn’t in the next episode, I probably wouldn’t even notice. I understand that the series is ending, I just thought it would go out with a bang!

Overall I give this episode a 2 out of 5, and mainly only because Deb and Dex are back together again.

 

Dexter: 8.04 – “Scar Tissue”

“Scar Tissue” began very strangely because suddenly with no explanation, Deb and Vogel have a relationship. I don’t really like that we didn’t get to see that part, but I understand that time is of the essence in this final season. Vogel is trying to get through to Deb, seemingly using tough love but she also could just be trying to push Deb over the edge by making her feel guilty. She seems very manipulative. Vogel also accidentally shows Dexter the notes she has been keeping on her activities with him, leading him to kick her out of his life!

In this episode, we also got to see the actual brain surgeon whose name is A.J. Yates. Apparently he was a patient of Vogel. She recommended that he get brain surgery to affect his behavior. Why the hell was he not the first person she thought of? Or, like I said last week, maybe she is controlling the brain surgeon too!

Deb is struggling with what Vogel described as making “the best of a difficult situation”. She said that she should have shot Dexter instead of LaGuerta. Vogel explains to her that Dexter doesn’t know any better but that Deb shot someone in cold blood even though she knew it was wrong.

Because of this struggle, we saw one of the most dramatic endings to a Dexter episode to date! Deb asks Dexter if Harry killed himself after she saw the tape from her father’s last session with Dr. Vogel. Dexter said yes and explained that Harry couldn’t handle what he created, meaning Deter. Deb told her brother that she knows how Harry felt but he only had it half right. SHE GRABBED THE STEERING WHEEL AND STEERED THE CAR WITH DEXTER AND HERSELF IN IT AND DROVE IT INTO THE LAKE! Holy sh*t! I was actually legitimately surprised. But in usual Deb fashion, after she was saved by a local man, she swam out and saved her brother.

There is so much going on right now in this show! Masuka just found out that he has a 20 year old daughter who has the same awesomely ridiculous laugh as him. He did get all disgustingly pervy with her before he knew who she was though… which was uncomfortable. But that’s just Masuka being Masuka.

Quinn and Jamie are fighting, but at least Jamie is naked for it this time!

And I know I said this last week but I feel compelled to say it again…. I will RIOT if Quinn is the one who finds Dexter out! I have been re-watching season 4 and that is when Quinn began to develop suspicions about Dexter as a person. He has always had a feeling about Dexter and in season 5, he even has Dexter followed by a private investigator named Liddy! Imagine what he may put together now that he may become sergeant and with Deb as messed up as she is! Yikes! So many questions…. I do not want to wait a week! However, since I must, join me back here next week to read my rants and raves!

Overall I would say this episode was about a 4. To be very clear, the 4 is mostly because of how amazing the ending was. The back story is great, but I am glad we are finally getting back to the action!