Dexter: Waiting to Exhale or Dexter gets his groove back

Episode 202 of Dexter saw the ‘Bay Harbor Butcher’ further exposed, and our favorite serial killer gets his groove back, blood slide-style!

Dexter‘s 2nd season began in the wake of some startling revelations about blood spatter analyst Dexter Morgan (Michael C. Hall). He learned about his traumatic childhood, and that his psychopathic side was literally “born in blood” after seeing his mother chainsawed to death.

He also learned his brother Brian (Christian Camargo) was a serial killer, too — though less bound by moral strictures. Of course, Dex ultimately killed his brother to protect his foster sister, officer Debra Morgan (Jennifer Carpenter).

Now, however, Dex is trying to piece together his life, and his ability to kill. Can he get back on the rebound? After putting his brother to rest, he had a tough time slaughtering two victims. One, a blind voodoo priest named Jimmy (Glenn Plummer) was let go with a warning.

The other, a notorious gangster named Little Chino (Matthew Willig), simply escaped. If that’s not enough, Dexter’s bags of body parts have been found in the ocean by a scuba team, and the police force he works with wants to find the man they call the “Bay Harbor Butcher.”

Dexter’s 2nd (Then 3rd) Chance

If at first you don’t succeed, try and try again. When Dex makes a second attempt against Little Chino, it is to no avail. In fact, he nearly gets captured in an ambush by Chino’s gang.

As we see Dex hide from them, we can sense both his frustration and anticipation. It’s obvious that his persistence will likely pay off. It’s just a matter of when and how.

Eventually, Dexter dopes the big guy up in a garage elevator, knowing Chino would be there to “silence” a child witness. This time Dexter doesn’t screw up, applying the force of a machete, then adding Chino’s crimson contribution to his slide collection.

Then, to avoid more body bags being discovered, Dexter decides to dump his new kills in the Gulf Stream.  That’s called using the ol’ noggin!

Dex Has an Addiction

Unexpectedly, Dexter’s girlfriend Rita (Julie Benz) holds a funeral for her abusive ex-husband Paul (Mark Pellegrino). While she copes with complex feelings about him, Dexter deals with feelings about killing his brother. Not long after the ceremony, Rita confronts a vulnerable Dex about Paul’s shoe being found on their property (he rightfully accused Dexter of knocking him unconscious, framing him for a drug offense and accidentally leaving Paul’s shoe behind).

Semi-panicked, Dex sidesteps the issue by admitting he has an addiction. While he’s slyly referring to his serial killing, she assumes he’s abusing drugs. It’s another bit of dark humor in a show notorious for being on the edge!

Anyway, by this point in the series, Dex has to deal with covering up his crimes, shaking off the nosy Sergeant Doakes (Erik King), and now pretending he has a drug problem. Oh, and of course he has his official day job. Can’t forget about that!

What are your thoughts on this Dexter episode? Let us know in the comments!