Dexter: Episode 109 – – Father Knows Best – -flashback review

When Dexter learns that his biological father, Joe Driscoll, only recently died, it’s an opportunity to learn about his real parents. Dexter also suspects Joe may have been murdered.

Dexter Morgan (Michael C. Hall) never had the simplest life. So, when he’s informed that his real father only recently died, it’s an obvious shock. For the most part, Harry Morgan (James Remar) had been his father. Still, Dex inherited Joe’s house and other belongings, and it’s an excuse for Dex to hang out with his girlfriend Rita (Julie Benz), his sister Debra (Jennifer Carpenter) and her new man, Rudy Cooper (Christian Camargo). Of course, by this point in the show, the audience has an inside scoop on Rudy — he’s actually the Ice Truck Killer!

Poor Joe Driscoll, Deader than Disco

As one might expect, Dexter suspects that Driscoll may have been murdered, but the remains are cremated before he can find definitive proof. Still another big question remains: Is this really his dad? To help find out, Dexter takes a blood sample of himself. Then, later on, he sneaks into the morgue to take samples from dear old dad. On the down low, Dex arranges to have the samples analyzed by his buddy, Vince Masuka (C.S. Lee), and they’re a verified match.

As further proof, Dexter finds an old “Thank You” card among Joe’s things. Dexter realizes that, back when he was a kid and in need of a transfusion, he received an anonymous blood donation. The young Dex (Dominic Janes) then sent this same card to the donor. In a touching scene, Dexter and Rudy collect Joe’s ashes and scatter them in a bowling alley the man frequented (interestingly, it’s revealed that Dexter also has natural skills as a bowler).

Dexter and Other Darker Elements in “Father Knows Best”

This is a big episode for Sergeant James Doakes (Erik King), who’s account of a shooting incident doesn’t match up forensically. Dexter’s blood spatter analysis says the shooting happened differently, and fellow officer Angel Batista (David Zayas) takes the matter to internal affairs. There it’s revealed that the victim was previously a Haitian paramilitary enforcer, encountred by Doakes when the Sergeant was doing “Black Ops” work for the United States. As one might expect, the death is swept under the rug (and one expects it’s a pretty massive rug, given all the things stored beneath it).

In another development, it seems Rita’s ex, Paul (Mark Pellegrino) is reverting back to his abusive ways. His checkered past is threatening to catch up with him, as Rita is just barely allowing him visitation rights with his kids. On top of that, he’s jealous of Dexter angling in on “his” wife. While Dexter has a code which may prevent him from killing Paul, Dexter also knows that Paul lacks any such code, and is impulsive enough to not only threaten him, but his burgeoning family with Rita and the kids. Not only could that blow his cover, but it seems Dex may actually care for them a bit.

Meanwhile, the episode’s darkest moment is when, back at Joe Driscoll’s house, a neighbor named Irma Holt (Jeanette Miller) identifies Rudy Cooper as a cable repairman. It’s suggested that she saw him entering Driscoll’s home at one point, though we know it’s probably not for “repairs.” In fact, near the very end of “Father Knows Best,” Rudy also visits Irma in the same “cable repairman” getup, with some pretty ominous implications.

Did Rudy kill Joe Driscoll? Undoubtedly. Does Irma meet a similar fate? Also undoubtedly. It can be logically deduced that Rudy killed Driscoll by injecting him with insulin, and presumably gained some information on Dexter from him during the process. While we don’t yet know Rudy’s full relationship with our man by this point, we can reasonably assume it runs pretty deep, and gets pretty bloody.

That’s it for this Dexter recap! What are your thoughts? Let us know in the comments!