She looked through the peephole and saw the cleaning staff. Then she sat down against the wall between the entry door and the common door. If you rewatch the scene you can see the door bust open, just past the door you see her and just past her you can see the entry door with the fire escape map on it.
Yeah, I’m not sure what he did about that. He may have rented it under a fake name and CC number, or maybe that’s yet another one of his slips…add it to the montage at the end of the series.
I feel like in the first seasons of the show a lot of time was spent showing us how meticulous Dexter was. How he’d set everything up perfectly so that no unanswered questions were left, so that Miami’s missing person reports didn’t skyrocket. Quite a few of the people he killed were living on the bad side of the law and probably wouldn’t be missed, but some were pretty high up on the food chain. However, in the last few seasons, we’re not seeing that stuff anymore. I don’t know if it’s because the writers don’t want to spend the time with those scenes, or if it’s because they assume viewers find that stuff boring, or because they think we’ll fill in the blanks, or what. Like, say, with Boyd. He seemed pretty devoted to his job, and obviously had close friends in this creepy rapist crew. Dexter must have somehow tied up loose ends for his roadkill cleaning job, right? Or something? Guess we’ll find out when the Miami PD starts investigating him. But it’s easy to forget that he used to be so careful.
I think it’s entirely possible that Dexter becomes less methodical as he becomes more emotional. He’s evolving. Which may eventually be his undoing.
As for the door, presumably someone will notice that the direction of force that caused the damage came from Cole’s room into Dexter’s (i.e. Dexter didn’t do it). He’d already checked out of the hotel by the time anyone noticed Cole was missing, so it wouldn’t necessarily tie him to anything. He’ll probably get asked about it, but he could always claim that it must have happened after he left the room and there’d be no way to prove he was lying, or any real reason to suspect that he was.
Good:
Lumen and Dexter’s scenes, esp in the hotel room when she is finally able to sleep
The creepy cop and Quinn.
Deb and Maria going at it.
Cole breaking through the adjoining doors, even though it was completely implausible. I expected it, but it was still good drama.
Bad:
Gosh, where to start?
Once again, Dexter stays out all night and all day. He is being a really crappy father leaving his son with the nanny 24/7. This kind of character 180 really bugs me because for all his major flaws, Dexter always tried to be a good father and dad and that juxtaposition helped humanize him. As an absentee father, I’m feeling a whole lot less sympathy with him.
Is Dexter on some kind of LOA from work that they didn’t tell us about? If not, when is he getting his day job done? He spent the better part of three days at the “Take It!” seminar.
Cole’s “rough sex.” Someone would have called security after hearing those blood curling screams.
I’d have thought that when Dexter was called onto stage and interviewed by Chase, that that scene would have been dramatic gold. It wasn’t. I don’t know if it was the camera angle (I’d have preferred if the camera was tighter on his face so that we could see the barest registers of emotion) or what, but I found the whole thing poorly executed.
Cole kicking down the adjoining door and there being no explanation of how Dexter handled it. Are we to believe that no one noticed him bringing in a new door and paint to patch it up? I mean, come on.
The convenient absence of security cameras in the hotel that would make it very easy for detectives to solve the case of the missing security guard. It’d catch Dexter arriving with very little, Lumen arriving with five bags of supplies, Lumen racing down the hallway followed by Cole, Cole never leaving his room, and then Dexter leaving with enough to fill up a valet cart.
Lumen sees Cole, and instead of staying in the crowd, where she’d be safe, she runs back into the hotel and into a room so he can kill her in private. Doesn’t make sense. Also doesn’t make sense that she doesn’t remember to check the adjoining doors to ensure they were double bolted.
Later, Cole breaks through the adjoining door between the rooms, but he’s not seen coming down the hallway when she’s trying to get into her room. So how did he know where to find her?
Lumen knew that Cole would be at the hotel, yet she walks in and out of the hotel several times without even putting on a baseball cap to conceal her identity. Argh!
Jordan is absolutely involved in the murders. After one of the cop interviews, he praises Cole for getting the police pointed in the direction of Boyd with the wallet, and Cole says “I didn’t do it”.
I can’t believe that Laguerta thinks she can slip the noose by getting just one cop to back up her story. How many people know that Deb objected to the arrangements at the initial briefing? How many people were on the radio when Deb objected to sending in the junior cop to sit at the bad guys’ table?
I think Quinn is also going to back up Laguerta. We already kn ow he’s corrupt, and he suggest to Deb that she do exactly what LaGuerta told her to do.
Oh, and I can’t believe Deb didn’t tell the young cop that SHE was on the Laguerta’s sacrificial altar first, until Deb wouldn’t stand for it. Like, “There’s the lesson you need to learn from this. You’re gold now, but Maria will stake you out on an ant hill whenever she feels the need”.
I’m hoping this will be the season where Dexter gets caught, and his sloppiness will come back to serve as evidence against him. One can hope, right? 
I feel like the series would greatly benefit from a switch of pace at this point. I’ve loved the series, but I’ll be disappointed if they repeated the reset ending of season 2. Having a 6th season with Dexter on the run from the police could have a lot of potential.
Just saw this on Tivo after a week traveling on business. Some thoughts…
No, this would have been wrong. The story thread has (so far) taken great pains to keep Lumen from actually killing anyone. Certainly she’s an accomplice, but it seems as if Dexter is deliberately keeping her from sharing in the ultimate deed, and her pathetic attempts with the Dentist and during her confrontation with Cole lead me to think she doesn’t have it in her.
Also, what I found most striking about the scene on the boat is when Dexter ID’ed Jordan as one of Lumen’s rapists. Lumen was actually the one casting doubt, and reminding Dexter that he needed to prove it. I also notice that since she became more involved with Dexter, we haven’t seen Harry at all.
It comes with the territory, and I’m willing to forgive alot if the character development is interesting. I was ready to give up on this series before the last two episodes, but I really think we’re going to see more interesting character interaction–I really think they’ve found more to explore in Dexter’s character via the tool of the Lumen character. As for the rest…
I don’t care about these characters at all anymore. The move by Laguerta was obviously intended to jump-start some character dynamics among the station crew, and I’m convinced the young cop was introduced simply because it’s gotten stale seeing the same four people fuck each other week after week. I don’t count Matsuka; he’s obviously only comic relief now.
I can’t believe how much scenery Weller chews thru in an episode. His character is hilarious, and in a way his seediness makes him a perfect stalking horse for Dexter–he’ll likely come pretty close to the truth, but no one is going to listen to a dirty, extortionist ex-cop with a dime-store cigar. Given the actor’s profile it seems unlikely he’ll survive the season (though perhaps I could say the same about Julia Stiles), but I’d love to see him hang around for another year–though I’m betting he eventually ends up like Doakes.
I agree with this; the whole scene seemed forced. There was a vague hint earlier that Jordan was trying to scare Dexter off–especially when he mentioned Harrison–but if that was the attempt here it dfell flat. Another possible explanation was that the scene allowed Dexter to confess some details about Rita to Lumen without the awkwardness of a private conversation–Lumen now knows she should tread carefully around the subject of Dexter’s dead wife. But ultimately, I think the scene simply served to get Lumen in the open, have Cole chase her, and set up the mini-scare/Dexter to the rescue scene.
All in all it was a bit lazy, though I like how Dexter re-used the word “shattered”. He had to be prompted for the word by Jordan, and latched onto it to cover his real feelings when he saw Rita in the tub. Was he using it sincerely with Lumen when he described how he felt after his mother’s death, or was he just parroting the right word? I suspect the former, but can’t necessarily rule out the latter.
This is why I think the Lumen character is so important. There is so much potential for her relationship with Dexter, and I’m not just talking about romance (though I’m sure that’s where things will lead). Giving Dexter a real confidant provides a wealth of plot opportunities, patch up some of the more unbelievable plot holes (it’s getting hard to believe the nanny would put up with Dexter’s weird hours–at least this week Deb was on hand to watch Harrison for a change), perhaps lead to some more elaborate stalk/kill scenarios (I for one am getting bored with the lack of defrinition in Dexter’s interchangeable targets)–in short there’s a chance here to take the series in new directions, and at the very least give Dexter someone to talk to so we can have fewer of those intrusive voice-overs.
I think the perfect nanny is a ridiculously contrived plot device simply yo allow Dexter to get out for more stalking and killing at night. They really should have killed the baby off with Rita. They got rid of the other two kids easily enough.
I get the feeling that Chase is feeling Dexter out to being part of the “Take It” Team. They are short a couple of members at this point. Three now that Cole is history. Perhaps Chase recognizes a kindred spirit when he sees one.
Was is definite that Dexter stayed all night the night of the groupie sex scene? He may have gone home and come back in the AM. Also, do you think he drugged Julia and that’s why she slept thru the night?
I am of the opinion that the repetition of the word “shattered” was merely parroting. He still has no frame of reference in discussing feelings. I think he is still on the verge of actually having them. I also think this is another reason to think that Chase recognizes Dexter’s nature, he hopped right in there on stage and provided a word for Dex to latch onto, knowing he would have real trouble with the “feeling” part of the interview.
Loved the line where Dex said he felt like the normal one in the group and that never happens.
I disagree, in part. I think it’s clear that Dexter has been feeling emotions for a while, but as you said, he has no frame of reference so he has only just started to recognize them for what they are, and he doesn’t understand them at all. But he did go after the pedo who was trying to groom Astor – which violated the Code of Harry, since the pedo didn’t actually kill anyone. His VO made it clear that he wasn’t doing it to keep up appearances, either, he was doing it to “protect his cub.” Why protect Astor if he didn’t care about her except as a beard?
Same with when he discovered Rita’s body. I thought it was clear that he realized for the first time that he really did love her. He said “I did it” – he felt guilty, which is not an emotion he’s ever been prone to. I certainly think realizing that surprised the hell out of him, though. Plus, he’s been genuinely worried that Harrison will turn into a serial killer too, again not something I could see him caring about if he didn’t care about Harrison.
It seemed to me that he latched onto “shattered” because he lacks a native language to talk about his emotions, so while he needed to be fed a word, it did fit once he heard it. I think a lot of his upcoming character development is going to be him stumbling around trying to figure out how to identify and process what he’s feeling.
After reading your post, Kaio, I have to say I have to agree. Dex’s feelings have been making themselves known for quite awhile and he really has no idea how to deal with this new side of his being or even to begin to know how to express himself. His willingness to open up at least partially to Julia is a big step for him.
I had not noticed the absence of Harry until it was pointed out. I find that very interesting.
Dexter’s presence was essential to her sleeping, because for the first time since her rescue, she felt enough at ease to actually sleep. If you don’t feel safe, you sleep fitfully. It brings about the great irony of Dexter’s character – on the one hand, he’s a murderer capable of great brutality and detachment. On the other hand, he can be gentle and comforting, albeit in a non-traditional way, to people who are “innocents.” By touching her forehead like that (almost in a mind-meld position), he was conveying that he understood her pain and was there to keep her from harm. It’s terribly romantic actually.
Besides, even if he did go home, who did he leave Harrison with when he returned? Deb has been spending the nights at Quinn’s place.
I honestly don’t know why they just don’t have the nanny be a live-in. It’d make a lot more sense.
My attempt to explain why the nanny is not a live-in: Dexter’s apartment. The apt is a constant, almost to the point of being a character in the show. It appears in every episode, because it is part of the opening when Dexter strolls out. Key scenes have to play out there, such as this little gem.
Dexter is currently residing in the apartment and the writers cannot have the nanny present for many of those apartment scenes. Therefore, the nanny is not a live-in. Otherwise, the excuses for why the live-in nanny is always conveniently away for key scenes would get just as tedious.