When the third season of Showtime’s Dexter ended, blood spatter expert and serial killer Dexter Morgan had eliminated his latest threat of exposure and taken on two new roles, as husband to Rita and father to Rita’s two children and their unborn baby. As the fourth season opens, Dexter begins to realize that “Living the Dream” may be more difficult than he realized.
Dexter Attempts to Play House in the Suburbs
As the episode opens, Dexter is contemplating how to fulfill a “deep, primal need”. Interspersed with scenes of another serial killer, it appears that Dex is on the hunt, making good on his promise to his father, Harry, to take out his homicidal urges only on monsters worse than him. It turns out that Dexter has a different need to fulfill — sleep. He has taken baby son Harrison out for a drive, hoping that everyone will get some rest. Harrison starts crying again immediately when the car stops.
The next morning, it becomes obvious just how far gone Dexter is. In a lovely parody of the opening credits, Dexter prepares for his day. But instead of putting together his usual perfect, sparkly human façade, Dex is faced with clothes covered in spit-up stains and broken shoelaces. Off his game, he can’t find his keys (they’re in the freezer) and takes the wrong file to court, resulting in killer Benito Gomez being set free.
At the police station, Detective Joey Quinn berates Dex; it turns out Quinn had helped the victim’s family and takes Dexter’s mistake personally. Dex apologizes; Quinn asks if Dexter’s “sorry” will stop the defendant from killing again. Of course, in Dexter’s case, it just might.
Life Is Good for Everyone Except Dexter
While Dexter struggles with his new life, things are going well for his family and friends. His sister Deborah has gotten her life in shape, moving in with her boyfriend, former informant Anton. She admitsthat she loves him, and is pleased with their living arrangement even though he is away much of the time working. Her life would be perfect if she could quit searching for her father’s mistress in his old informant files.
Life is also going well for Deb’s new-found friend, Lt. Maria LaGuerta. As the two engage in a rare moment of “girl talk”, LaGuerta tells Deb that she appreciates the younger detective’s efforts, but doesn’t need to be set up on a date. I becomes obvious why; LaGuerta is involved in a secret relationship with detective Sgt. Angel Batista. Even Deb’s prickly partner, Quinn, is going out with a reporter he met at a particularly grisly crime scene.
The “Trinity Killer” Emerges
At Quinn’s crime scene, from the beginning of the episode, a killer has committed a brutal murder in a bathtub. Combing over the evidence, Dexter finds blood stains under the linoleum that do not match the victim. He is interrupted by his sister’s ex, FBI Special Agent Frank Lundy. Although Lundy just wants to talk, Dex is nervous that the “serial killer hunter” is in town. Back at the lab, the sample is too degraded to test, so Dexter checks the address for old crimes and finds that a murder —for all intents and purposes, the same murder — was committed there 30 years ago.
Lundy arrives and tells Dex that he is tracking the killer, whom he has dubbed the “Trinity Killer”. Trinity has traveled the country committing the same three murders over and over for 15 years. But neither local nor federal authorities believe Lundy, so he has retired and is searching on his own. Dex informs Lundy that his killer has been working for over 30 years, trying not to seem too appreciative of Trinity’s success. Lundy leaves the office and runs into Deb, making her extremely uncomfortable.
Can Dexter Really Have It All?
In the midst of all of the chaos, Dexter figures out a plan to go after the wrongly-freed Gomez. He knows he must be careful, as he has promised his son to always be there for him. After all, Dex reasons, he is “killing for two” now. He chooses and preps the perfect location, and waits outside Gomez’ favorite bar, methodically stalking his prey... until he is awoken by an officer knocking on his car window. Frustrated that he fell asleep, Dexter revises his plan.
Plan B goes well, as Dexter subdues Gomez. The ritual proceeds smoothly, despite Dexter’s obvious fatigue; he confronts the man with his victims — only to be interrupted by a call from Rita that Harrison is sick. Dexter needs to go to the pharmacy and come home immediately.
Though rushed, Dexter finishes his work. He packs up the scene into the trunk of his car, then stops at the pharmacy. Driving home, he is pleased, thinking maybe he can “have it all”. His good mood is disturbed by visions of his father shouting at him to wake up, as a sleeping Dexter runs off the road and crashes his car, rolling it several times — with Gomez still bagged up in his trunk.
Laney Traylor - Laney Traylor has been writing continuously for more than 20 years, as her convoluted career path has led her through the fields of ...
