Review: Dexter ‘Are We There Yet?’

Last week on Dexter, we saw the return of Hannah along with the impending resumption of her relationship with Dex.  We also saw Zach’s apparent break-down and loss of control, resulting in the death of Dex’s neighbor.  And finally, Debra was less than pleased with Hannah coming back into Dexter’s life and asked her boss to help track her down so that the police can nab her.  So what’s up with this week?  It looks like Hannah may be here to stay and that Zach may be less of a rampaging idiot that was first suspected.

Naturally, Dex is having a bit of trouble concentrating, being as how his long-lost, serial killer love is back in his life.  He tries to get her safely out of town, but at the last moment decides that they really do need to be together, regardless of the consequences.  Deb still doesn’t like what’s going on, however, so she tracks Dex and confronts him about the Hannah situation.

Along the way, Dex’s bizarre serial killer family strengthens its ties.  After figuring out that Zach wasn’t involved in Cassie’s killing (and in fact was framed by someone), Dex resumes his mentoring.  He lets Hannah in on the Vogel situation as well as his connection to Zach.  And together, they all sit down with grandma Vogel and have a nice dinner, chatting away about all those wonderful serial killer things.

In the meanwhile, Debra finally confronts Hannah about what’s going on and Dex’s lady does her best to convince sister Morgan that it’s all for the best.  Of course, the confrontation takes place when Zach is around, so now Deb is even more confused than ever.  Masuka’s daughter begins work at the lab and Quinn is still trying to track down Zach.  Oh, and the brain surgeon is back (saw that coming!).

This week was pretty good, with some complex writing taking care of many different situations (as well as complicating them further) and the actors did a good job with the inspired script.  Everyone seems back in their element, doing things that are key to their characters and no longer being distracted by needless side plots.  The story is tightening even as it sheds weight.

By far my favorite part of the series at this time is the interaction between Dex and Hannah.  I’ve said it before, but Hannah is one of my all-time favorite characters.  Dex tries to follow his code, but she is there to reflect his cold nature back at him, providing both love and temptation in one package.  Their idle serial killer chat times are some of the best moments of the show, a nicely dark and humorous approach that lends itself well to Dexter.

Next week, ‘Make Your Own Kind of Music’ has Dex, Hannah and Vogel worrying about the brain surgeon while still trying to work out the kinks in their everyday lives.  You can check out a couple of preview clips at this site.

Photo Credits -           

Dex and Zach courtesy of darklydexter.com