Dexter Review: “Scar Tissue” (Season 8, Episode 4)

Vogel also makes it clear to Dexter that Deb might not want him in her life once her therapy is done. Dexter refuses to accept this, which puts a lot of undue pressure on Deb, in turn hurting her ability to be around him. Pretty much anything Dexter does is hurting his relationship with Deb at this point, and it hurts to watch their relationship implode so fast.

In the end, Deb is ready to try and make amends with Dexter, and the fact that she’s sober is a big step. While they’re driving to lunch, she asks her brother if Harry killed himself, and Dexter explains the truth: that Harry overdosed after discovering what Dexter was. Shattered by this revelation, Deb yanks the wheel so the car flies into a lake.

Don’t worry, both siblings escape in time. But the fact is that Deb is still not fixed. Her week with Vogel definitely helped her sober up and begin to come to terms with the hand she’s been dealt, but she won’t be that easy to fix. This just goes to show how damaged she really is, and how much more work Dex and Vogel will have to do to have any hopes of her coping with their plans.

On the sidelines, Masuka meets his college-aged daughter for the first time, and Quinn gets into a bar fight to defend Deb’s honor. Masuka’s revelation came out of left field, but it’s nice to see our favorite pervert get a few seconds of screen time that actually grow his character. Quinn is still trying to do right by everyone, and even if most people hate him, I find him to be more likable this season than in years past. Back handed compliment I guess? Also, a new pretty girl from 4B is introduced to Dex, and Deb’s boss continues to be exceptionally nice to her. Given her luck with men before, I’ve got my eye on him.

So far, this season has been all about Deb and her relationship with Dexter, and surprisingly, I’m OK with that. It used to be that any week without Dexter murdering someone was a wasted week, but it’s been more exciting exploring the new depths of the relationship between the two after the corner Dexter backed Deb into. Even though Dexter is lacking a compelling big bad to wrap up its final season with, the fact that we get to see characters grow in new and damaging ways more than makes up for it. Let’s just see where they end up in the next eight weeks.