There are a few major points I need to address regarding this episode. Let’s start with one that some may find very nitpicky of me: The hotel room door. So Cole Harmon recognizes Lumen and follows her to Dexter’s hotel room, where he proceeds to tackle the door down, pretty much destroying it completely. In comes Dexter, saving the day. Cut to moments later, and Dexter and Lumen are using the same room to carry out Harmon’s execution. Excuse me? What the hell happened to the door? Never mind the incredible amount of noise that was made when the door was obliterated.
Look, I can put aside some things to enjoy this show, but the fact that the door’s destruction and the ensuing ruckus wasn’t addressed really felt sloppy.
Another issue — though minor and very possibly of no consequence — was the fact that Jordan Chase not only recognized Dexter, but he knew his son’s name. I’m assuming Chase knew Dexter’s name through the apparent research he’d done into the Trinity Killer murders, as he said, though would the media have made any mention of Harrison? The look Chase and Harmon shared as Dexter was led out of Chase’s room seemed to indicate there may be further plans meant for Dexter in the eyes of Jordan Chase.
The talk between Dex and Deb was an interesting one. It could very much set in motion the possibility of Deb discovering what Dexter really is, and ultimately how she feels about what he does. It’s certainly not something that I could see happening anytime soon, and I don’t believe Deb’s attitude toward serial-murderer Dexter would be amicable, but that scene felt like a baby step in that direction.
The central theme to this season has been about partners, and it’s definitely an interesting prospect. Could Dexter take on a knowing partner? Should he? Is it at all possible that Lumen would want to carry on the business of vigilanteism, or will she feel done with it once those who’d wronged her are done with? Though I think it would make for a fresh change to the series, I definitely don’t see Lumen lasting as Dexter’s partner for longer than this season. I could see her taking the fall for Dexter, confessing to killing Jordan Chase and the others in order to exact her revenge upon them, seeing as she seems to sympathize with Dexter’s plight. If things get hairy later in the season — and you know they will — the quickest way for things to clean up for Dexter would be for Lumen to take the fall for them both. She has a slide of Cole Harmon’s blood — more than enough for her to prove she’s responsible for his disappearance.
Speaking of taking the fall, Dexter appearing very publicly on stage with Jordan Chase, emotionally talking about the death of his wife, could help in any possible investigation toward him possibly having something to do with Rita’s death. Obviously Quinn’s scumbag has to die, or else the jig is up, but should Quinn decide to move ahead with investigating or accusing Dexter of something to do with Rita, I could see this coming up.
Clacked by Keith McDuffee 
on Nov 15, 2010 @ 14:25 EST5EDT
I THINK the door that was obliterated was actually one between connecting rooms. It was not the front door, but the one when she was on the floor that as to her right (I think). Because it bugged me, too.
However, I thought the entire episode was awesome. I loved that he let her into the kill. It felt dirty. I mean, that was the most intimate he had ever been with anyone in his entire life. I could feel it.
I think Quinn’s scumbag will die, and somehow Quinn is going to understand Dexter better because I believe he will be responsible for scumbag’s death.
How shitty Batista’s wife was to Deb and that squirrelly little pleeb as well…ugh. I loved how Deb used fuck about every other word and even worked in a “fucktard” for me. I heart Deb. :-)
He comes from the left, from his own room. There was a cleaning lady in the hallway so he did what I would’ve done. The noise is a good point but honestly doesn’t Dexter get away with much more ridiculous things?
*mimiks Masuka explaining the guy chained to the pump*
:-D
*POST AUTHOR*
OK, I thought about it later, that he may have come from the next room door. And if that’s the case, my next concern would be Cole’s goons noticing the smashed door in his own room, which led to none other than Dexter’s room. Even if Dexter used an alias, they saw him check out at the same moment this person would have. Wouldn’t take long to deduce what happened.
Yeah but that would be after they found out the guy is missing which was at the end of this episode.
I fully understand your gripe about the door (which burst as if it had explosives attached to it – I mean honestly what was that thing made of?) but since Mr. Motivational Speaker is now also also a bad guy, this is now just the same situation it was with Trinity. He can’t go to the police, he hasn’t fully made out Dexter as his opponent… just a regular 8th episode of a season, no?
If you rewatch, it’s definitely one of the connecting suite doors. In all the hotels I’ve stayed in, they’re lighter than the main doors, and would be easier to break down. You can even see behind Cole that the door he broke open only has a single lock, while the entry door behind that has a lock, a bolt, and a privacy bar engaged. He wouldn’t have gotten through that in a single charge. It wasn’t destroyed completely, either. It’s still on its hinges and appears undamaged. The white strip that flew cleanly off was actually the part of the doorframe that held the lock receptacle. With that gone, it was like pushing open an unlatched door.
I would bet that the small amount of noise Cole and Lumen made in that scene during the day paled in comparison to the racket Cole and his prostitute made the night before, when more people would actually be in their rooms to hear it.
As for Jordan’s security, note that, as in all connecting doors, there is one for each room, just in case the occupants of said rooms are not in the same party. Each one opens inward toward your room and can be locked from your side. We only see Cole break down Dexter’s door, and, since he would have no reason to break down his own door, all Dexter would need to do is lock Cole’s door, and Jordan’s goons will never see the damage. The hotel won’t report it to Jordan either, since Cole’s room wasn’t the one damaged. Heck, Dexter might even be able to repair the doorframe himself, since it obviously wasn’t attached too securely to begin with.
And Keith, I find it endlessly amusing that the minor point of this door threatened to derail your enjoyment of a superior episode, yet you somehow can continue to stomach the problematic SGU week after week.
Even if Cole had broken down the entry door, however, I agree with Modwild that I would have wholeheartedly enjoyed the emotional resonance of this episode. Both the Dexter/Lumen and the Dexter/Deb scenes played out beautifully. I was pleasantly surprised to see that Deb is one of those cops that can kill someone when necessary and not be torn up about it, and like you wonder just how far the writers will take this with regard to her brother.
I was assuming that the Trinity thing had worked the other way. Jordan or Cole saw Dexter in the crowd, remembered him from Miami Metro Homicide, and had his people do the full-court press on Dexter’s background, hoping to gain some leverage on a vulnerable person inside Homicide to find a lead on the people hunting them. I suppose either theory could be true at this point, though.
I doubt Julia Stiles would be interested in a continuing role on the show, but do hope Lumen survives the season, even if just to leave Miami and go home.
One of the oddities that first drew Quinn’s suspicion was Dexter’s lack of an emotional response to Rita’s murder. If Quinn actually saw the video of the stage-borne soul-baring, I think that would only cause him to question his initial impression rather than confirming it.
No one mentioned two of my favorite parts. First, when Lumen mentions Owen, we see Dexter for the first time not wanting her to leave town and simplify his life. He might even have recognized on some level that he needs her. Second, Cira, who’s been built up all this time to be just like Season 1 Deb, turning on her partner like that and siding with LaGuerta, of all people. I definitely didn’t see that one coming.
*POST AUTHOR*
Ryan — Thanks for making those points about the door. I definitely feel better about it and your reasoning makes a lot of sense. I wouldn’t say it totally ruined the episode for me, but it made me wonder WTF was going on.
I did mean to mention Owen in this and that I can’t see his part being over. I’m sticking with Lumen taking the fall for everything she and Dexter are doing, as this episode seemed to really set up Lumen to sympathize with Dexter and wouldn’t want to see him brought in for what he’d done. All Lumen would need to save herself from a life in prison would be some proof that Jordan and the others were responsible for those dead girls, and Dexter could go on free.
As a former flight attendant who’s stayed in a gazillion hotels all over, I freaked when I saw that door push in, and then I went W.T.F…. not gonna happen.
They’re ( the writers oh… and yeah, the doors… )better than this. Don’t know why they went for that cheap thrill.
yeah the communicating door stun is bit too much but we can let that pass. Something that bother me more is Robocop taking pictures, there is no way you can take pictures clean like this even if you do have a million dollars lense, no way not at that distance and without light.
As fan we can let pass a couple of little things once in a while but this season there is a lot of “little things” and thats starting to bother me even if a very patient. Let’s hope the next episodes will be flawless.
I think that he only got pictures of them taking the bags into the boat, not dumping them into the ocean (i think:).
You’re correct. The producers cheated a little bit there for dramatic effect, which made the scene transition confusing. There is a narrative morph from the last scene between Dexter and Lumen out at sea to Liddy’s last picture of them at the dock, just as there was from Lumen freaking out to her waking up the next morning. When they’re out to sea, there’s just water and darkness behind them. When we cut to the picture, they’re in almost the same pose, but with what look to be city lights behind them, and a white pole, like the mast of another ship. Also, the picture is timestamped 21:19, and as Liddy rewinds to earlier pictures of them loading the luggage and boarding the boat, it’s 21:18. I noted that at no point does Liddy have pictures of them with the Hefty bags, which were still stowed in the baggage, so all it looks like is an illicit love cruise. And lighting and distance weren’t a factor at the dock, of course.
(Cut-and-pasted from an earlier post of mine to save typing.)
Consider these points
1. Did Chase really ” remember Masuka” from the seminar or has he been covering for his idol for years. ie Dan the Dentist Murder. Masuka is so stupid he may also approach Dexter later and ask if he staged such a thing. Masuka always want to be someone so here is his chance.
2. Liddy will bust in on Luman . See he the guy from the wreck m99 him question, wrap him question and kill him. Then seduce and kill Quinn. Dexter will see her loyalty to kill his enemies. He has more experience in the killing field. Chase will have to be his prey. If Masuka is indee a rat of mole for Chase . Luman can easily seduce and kill the little toad. Luman can take the fall for Dexter plead insanity to get a lessor sentance, return at some point when is not working anouther project when she gets out of jail or simply run off.
3. One of these idiots could discover Luman and kill or harm her. Dexter will have to dispose of the whole lot this would be ridiculous.
4. Weirder turn will Deb have to kill Quinn because he found out about Dexter. Hey Harry taught DExter to kill and get away with it . Why not Deb ? Maybe Harry himself was a serial killer and that was wy he knew so much about it !