8.8 Are We There Yet? In previous reviews I haven’t been a big fan of Sam Underwood (Zach), but in this one he really upped his game, making himself quite likeable at a number of points. What I had much less time for were the awkward interactions between Hannah and Dexter, which concluded in probably the most unnatural lovemaking scene I’ve witnessed for some time. Perhaps it was the creative choice to make sure that Yvonne Strahovski didn’t display a nipple, or that the two actors were really embarrassed, or some other reason but it didn’t work. And, it also went on too long, which amplified for me the discomfort. A much better scene on so many levels was the family dinner, where Vogel got to play queen bee with her artificial relatives around her. She was obviously enjoying that intensely, though not relaxed enough to actually answer the critical question about how she became involved with so many killers. Rampling was on fire in that scene, and it re-established her as the focal point of this season, if there was ever any doubt. When Dexter finds Zach looking like a giant pez dispenser, there’s an iPhone docked nearby playing Make Your Own Kind of Music, a song written in 1968 made famous by Mama Cass. That’s the title of the next story, but it also probably indicates that whomever is responsible was either born in the fifties/sixties or is a big fan of that era. This music also appeared in both Every Silver Lining and This Little Piggy, so it’s an important clue and not just a random track. I’ll let those willing to speculate what it means to have that discussion below, because at this time other than it hinting at an older person I’m stumped. The bigger issue here is that those behind the show have now created a reveal that I can’t see will satisfy those who watch the show, as all the possibilities would be lame to some extent or another. If Vogel has a multiple personality disorder and she’s the brain surgeon then that doesn’t entirely make sense, because we saw someone else deliver the brain gift to her door earlier in the season. So that leaves Joey, Oliver (Cassidy’s boyfriend), or Elway. Unless you want something really off the wall, like Batista or Tom Matthews? But I’m being so easy distracted away from the true reveal, which is what started Vogel’s interest in psychopaths (her own son?). For this all to make the slightest sense, it’s her motivation in all of this that’s critical, and if that’s unbelievable then they’ve blown the whole final season on it. Dexter is now moving into that show-defining phase where they’ll either deliver something magical where all the pieces suddenly drop into place, or they’ll offer up a solution that manages to piss off just about everyone. With only four to go, it can’t be long before we find out if they’ve got a better trick than the repeated disposable plotline/character that they’d done to death this season. Read Billy’s review of the previous episode, Dress Code, here. Please, if you can, buy our charity horror stories ebook, Den Of Eek!, raising money for Geeks Vs Cancer. Details here.
