Loaded Couch Potatoes

*We’re going to be playing a bit of Catch-Up this week, so bear with us.

In this episode, Dexter is recovering from a vicious car accident that left many of us wondering if Benito Gomez’s body was still in the car. Now, we have our answer…

It’s not often that I fear for the life of our titular hero because of the obvious reason. However, after the season premiere, I was genuinely worried that the writers of the show had suddenly decided to have a Dexter-less season of Dexter. However, I, and I’m sure everyone else, was relieved to see that he had suffered only a mild concussion, and a bit of memory loss. Oh yeah, and not knowing whether or not the body of the man he had just killed was still in his car. We quickly learn that the body was, fortunately, not in his car which leaves Dexter wondering just where he could’ve left dear old Benny.

After a quick stay in the hospital, and a fib to Rita, Dexter goes on the hunt for his latest victim’s whereabouts, not completely sure where to begin. Or at least, Dexter wants to start searching. But, LaGuerta has other things in mind for him. The Vacation Murderers, as they come to be called, have struck again, and of course there is blood, so Dexter is dragged away from his pursuit for a short while. While at the crime scene, Dexter spots Quinn in a very troubling situation; he spots him stealing money from the victim’s hotel safe, which launches Quinn on an overly nice campaign towards Dex, most likely trying to be sure that he doesn’t run off and tell the proper authorities. In the past, I felt bad for Quinn as he simply seemed like a misunderstood bystander. However, now, I’m not so sure. I’m going to keep an eye on him in future episodes because I have a bad feeling he will cause an unfortunate amount of trouble for our sociopathic hero.

Meanwhile, Batista and Laguerta are still trying to work out what kind of relationship they have. Laguerta wants to keep it as private as possible, while Angel doesn’t care who knows. I don’t know about you guys, but I’m kind of already getting sick of this storyline. I don’t see it playing out in a way that will benefit the show.

I’ve got to give credit to the producers of this show; they know how to cast a villain. John Lithgow as the Trinity Killer is atsoundingly creepy and disturbing. He bgins stalking his next victim, Tarla Grant, a middle-aged mother of two. Lithgow plays Trinity as cold, calculating, meticulous, and with a dash of insanity. I’m really curious as to how this season will play out with Trinity involved. I’m starting to get the sneaking suspicion that by the end, everything will change.

After some time, Dex is finally able to get away from work for a little while so he can start searching for Benny’s body. He returns to the scene of the crash; no body turns up. He goes to the pharmacy he visited after, still finding nothing. His first visit to the abandoned boxing ring yields no results, except for an unfortunate spot of blood on the mat. The whole way. Dex begins questioning how accurate and efficient he will be with a family now. Even Harry warns him that he might not be able to balance work, a family, and his extracurricular activities. It seems that our hero has a lot to think about before he can continue doing what he does best.

Also, Rita catches Dexter in his lies that he told her after his accident. Not only was he injured, but she discovers that the car was all but destroyed in the accident, even though Dexter told her that it was a fender bender. Though Dexter was easily able to get out of trouble for those lies, it’s the first time that Rita has ever had to question how much she knows about the man she married. I believe that, as the season goes one, the show will play with that idea a little more.

Finally, after all is said and done, Dexter finds the body at…the abandoned boxing ring. When he goes back a second time, he sees the spot of blood again, even though he had cleaned it. He realizes that, in his hurried state, he knew that it would be to dangerous to take the body with him, so he made a pulley system and lifted the body to the ceiling. Goof fortune has almost always smiled on Dex when he was in a tight spoit, and this time was no different, though I’m sure that now he will make sure to be even more careful to take care of his late night activities.

Overall, I thought this was a very well done episode. The Laguerta/Batista storyline will most likely get old. And I suspect that Trinity’s activities are only going to get more troubling from here on out. Yes, it seems that Dexter will most certainly have his hands full this season, and I will watch every step of the way.