'Dexter' Review: "Argentina" – Kill You Later!

Last week’s Dexter ended with him stuck between Deb’s request to kill Hannah, to get some justice on Sal’s murder, and him staring at the very woman next to him on the bed. Talk about a rock and a hard place. The question is: Will Dexter pick his sister, or the woman he thinks accepts him for what he is, completely?

ICYMI: Dexter Recap: “Chemistry”

This week’s Dexter feels a lot like a transitional episode with a lot of mixed storylines, my guess is that we’re going to see a few different plots bloom in these last few episodes of the season that will be a lead in to Season 8.

First, there are the kids. Astor and Cody are back in town, along with Harrison. I like have that element back on the show, I think it pulls Dexter in more directions and it makes his life as a killer a little more challenging when he has to play family man on top of it too. Astor seem like your typical, mildly troubled teenager although she has more reasons to be troubled than most teens. Even though she’s smoking pot and she was reaching for a drink at Batista’s, she was also  very much mothering Cody the whole time they were on screen together and that makes me think she’s very much grown up, but she has a lot more to handle than a kid her age should.

Speaking of brother and sister relationships, I was really hoping they were going to completely drop the technically incestuous plot between Deb and Dex. I mean, it’s Dexter, they have so much to do, they don’t need the soap-like subplot (no offense). But they brought it up again this week and the look of shock and mild disgust on Dex’s face spoke for how I felt too. I love Deb and I love the relationship they have but there is absolutely no need to go that route when they already have her dealing with all of his secrets this season. And while both actors were amazing on that scene, I hope that is the last we will hear about that particular subplot.

Now, Dexter and Hannah? That I can get behind. It is completely messed up and knowing Dexter, it probably won’t last, but I like their chemistry and I like how, as they pointed out, they can be themselves with each other. I don’t know if I trust Hannah, though. When Dexter was having breakfast with her and eating that omelet? I’ll admit, I was a little nervous. But her reaction when learning about Harrison, Cody and Astor was interesting. Assuming she was telling the truth about wanting kids and loving kids, it should be interesting to see where this whole thing goes.

The whole Russians plot is getting a little tiring. I don’t know about the rest of you, but I would most certainly not miss Quinn if he got arrested/killed. I haven’t liked him in a long time, pretty much since he messed Deb up, and sure, him helping Batista was nice but that doesn’t make him anymore interesting a character and giving him a whole subplot this season was not a good choice. Now that he is going back to working with George and getting blackmailed by the mafia, all I can hope for is that he takes the high road and tells Deb or Batista what is going on and takes the blame he is due for it. But I’m not holding my breath.

On the Isaak front, I find him a lot more interesting. The acting is amazing and I can’t help but like the character even though he is coming after Dexter. Having him reveal his homosexuality to Dexter, making him more human was a great twist. I particularly liked the Rita/Viktor comparison since now Dexter gets it. He knows Isaak has to do it and even though I don’t think Dexter wants to kill him as badly now, it comes down to survival.

And finally, there is LaGuerta. Her particular plot seems to be moving slow this season, in the sidelines, with just hints of her investigation here and there. My thoughts (and this is just a spoiler-free theory) is that this will develop into a full blown cliffhanger and will become the main plot next season. I find it very interesting that it kind of arcs over the whole entire series and while LaGuerta is not that far yet, it seems pretty obvious that not only has she not given up, she is doing this completely alone now and she is flying under both Dexter’s and Deb’s radars.

She already knows about the Slice of Life being relocated and let’s face it, between that name, the blood slides thing and everything that was blamed on Doakes, she has a lot to go on. It should be interesting to see how this develops. Either way, it doesn’t look too good for Dexter.

What did you think of this week’s episode?