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Dexter Review: “What’s Eating Dexter Morgan?” (Season 8, Episode 3)

If there's one thing that's perfectly clear about this final season, it's that Dexter Morgan is slipping. To be fair, Dexter has always been about the slightly lovable serial killer evading capture, but his secrets are spilling over from every side, and it's getting more difficult to silence those who know. As tense as the situation is getting, though, this week's episode didn't break much new ground. More time was spent retreading old ground rather than pushing forward.

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There’s also a key scene where Vogel questions Dexter’s love for Deb, wondering if he loves her for how she helps him or if he really does. Remember how psychopaths don’t generally love anyone? If he can beat that, then what is he? Vogel also reveals that her and Harry disagreed on one important piece of the code: Harry thought it most important that Dexter never kill an innocent, while Vogel decided it was more pertinent to keep his identity a secret. Just by that, we can guess where she stands on the Deb issue.

Deb’s attempted confession is one of the most important scenes of the season so far, not only because her guilt has reached its highest point, but also because of how Dexter reacts. Vogel’s influence is dangerously close to overcoming Dexter’s own moral compass, and despite her role still being a mystery (other than surrogate mother), she’s very obviously against Deb’s involvement in Dexter’s life. It’s almost like a jealousy issues, and I’m sure future episodes will bring the conflict between the two to a head.

Deb’s boss, Elway, is also up for some scrutiny, because so far he’s been totally inoffensive. Heck, the scene he shares with Deb is the first sign of happiness we’ve seen from her in weeks. The only suspicious activity we get from him is his love of drinks full of electrolytes he offers Deb whenever she’s hungover. Maybe he’s a shaman? You have to admit, nobody would see that coming.

This week of Dexter didn’t present much new information for viewers, but it is starting to flesh out where Dexter and Deb stand, and for once, I’m feeling more sympathy for Deb than I am for Dex. Maybe, just maybe, getting caught wouldn’t be the worst thing for everybody. Like Dexter himself said, he’s been doing more harm than help as of late, and Vogel’s controlling hand isn’t helping matters much either.

But until the final credits roll and Dexter is done for good, we’ll never know just what to expect. The only thing that’s for certain is that Deb is going to be beyond pissed when she wakes up, and Dexter isn’t going to get off that easily. Sibling rivalries, am I right?