Review: Dexter ‘A Little Reflection’

Last time on Dexter, I was beginning to despair as the writing, the directing and, consequently, the acting all seemed to be taking a big dump.  This week has renewed my hope somewhat, but it will take more than a one-game winning streak to completely sell me on the rest of the season.  When last we left off, Dexter, Debra and Vogel were having some happy family time, killin’ folks, choppin’ up bodies and dumping them in the ocean.  The Brain Surgeon is supposedly caught (but is he really?) and Dex has a new potential target in the form of a rich kid named Zach.  This week, “A Little Reflection” puts Zach at center stage for what could be some interesting character development on the show.

Suspecting that Zach is behind a recent killing, Dex sets out to “vet” him.  He discovers that the kid does like to take pictures of crime scenes, particularly bloody ones.  He also likes to take pictures of a strange woman and thus Dex suspects that Zach may have found his next victim.  By using the friendship tactic, Dex gets a little info on Zach and, eventually, uses the more routine burglary tactic to find a real connection between the kid and the deceased woman.  So it looks like Dex has his next target, right?

But Vogel doesn’t want her creation to knock off the kid, instead trying to convince Dex that teaching him some form of Harry’s Code is a better option.  Dex isn’t convinced at first, but after getting the kid on his table and having a chat, he decides that having a little protégé might not be that bad after all.

In the meanwhile, Masuka is still trying to get closer to his newfound daughter, Dex and Cassie do a little courting and Quinn gets pissed because Angel decides to choose someone else to promote to sergeant despite pushing Quinn to do it.  Debra and her boss set out to catch the boss man’s sister’s boyfriend cheating on her.  But it looks like the boss has a crush on Debra, something to unfold in future episodes.  And the grand climax of the episode, the return of one of my favorite characters ever, Hannah the evil serial killer poisoning girlfriend!

Steering away from the awkward development of relationships between Dex, Deb and Vogel, we now get back to the doctor being a character that is more than just a story device.  She’s beginning to show her true mad scientist colors and both the Morgans are starting to become disenchanted with her.  Honestly, I could have done without Vogel entirely, but if they manage to salvage what is essentially a useless character, I’ll be satisfied if not happy.

The way the episode was put together was also much better than it has been for the last few weeks.  The many storylines wove through the 52 minutes and it didn’t feel disjointed or forced.  The idea of Dex becoming a mentor should be an interesting thing to explore and one that the show could have explored earlier (or perhaps throughout the entire season).  And the fact that Hannah is back and shall be wrecking some more havoc promises fun times, albeit it may prove too much overload for a show already heavy with story arcs.  All-in-all, a decent episode, though only more of this quality will redeem the show.

You can check out a couple of preview clips from next week’s episode, “Dress Code” by heading over to this site here.

Photo Credits -           

A Little Reflection still courtesy of sho.com