‘Dexter’: ‘I will not kill my sister. I will not kill my sister’

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At the start of last night’s episode, all is not right in Dexter’s (Michael C. Hall) world, which really annoys him. Our favorite serial killer likes things neat and tidy, but unfortunately the death of his brother (who he happened to kill) is still bothering him, which prevents him from going about his deathly business. Plus, the hiding place for his corpses has been discovered and, maybe worst of all, his annoying younger sister Deb (Jennifer Carpenter) is staying with him and making a mess of his pristine apartment. He’s an orderly sort of fellow, and any alteration in the status quo throws him off his game.

Meanwhile, Dexter’s girlfriend Rita (Julie Benz) decides to have a funeral for her convict ex-husband, Paul (Mark Pellegrino), who Dexter happened to put in jail. Dexter advises Rita that the state could bury Paul at no expense. He does so partially because he doesn’t want her to spend money on a dead loser, but also because it irritates him that other people can’t neatly sort away death the way he can. This episode is all about the non-neatness of death. First and foremost, Dexter mourns the loss of his brother, the Ice Truck Killer (Christian Camargo). Of course, their origin as killers comes from the loss of their mother at the hands of their father. Also unable to cope with death is Deb, still reeling from the discovery that her fiance was the Ice Truck Killer (why she is allowed back on the police force so soon and why she is not under psychiatric care is unclear).

Perhaps sympathy for a young girl whose mother was slain on the order of gang lord Little Chino (Matthew Willig), a would-be victim who Dexter let get away, finally spurs our hero to deal with death the way he knows best -- by causing it. And despite his objections toward Paul’s funeral, Dexter finds the value in finally grieving and releasing his brother. Although with Deb’s constant outbursts, tantrums and stubbornness, the question must be raised of whether Dexter killed the wrong sibling.

The unresolved issues of the first season seem largely behind ‘Dexter’ and Dexter now, which puts him on a more even keel, where he needs to be to handle his latest challenges: the FBI agent brought in to address the Bay Harbor Butcher (AKA Dexter), and his upcoming stint pretending to be a drug addict. Rita discovers that Dexter framed Paul to put him in jail, but assumes that Dexter’s methods were the result of a drug problem. ‘Yes, I have an addiction,’ Dexter admits to her, with a faint wry smirk. Rehab might not work for drug addicts, homophobes, alcoholics and pop stars, but killers? Maybe.

-- Claire Zulkey

(Photo: Showtime)