Dexter Goes a Little Crazy -- A Great Moment from Last Week's "Dexter" Episode

About Last Night -- Wherein Dexter discovers that Miguel has been playing him, but good.



With HBO's TrueBlood finished until new episodes appear next summer, we can now concentrate fully on the last three episodes of Showtime's Dexter. This season has a been a good one for our serial killer, with a bravura and chilling performance by Jimmy Smits as Dex's confidante and co-conspirator. We've learned that Smits' Miguel Prado has gone rogue, throwing off Dexter's Code to murder his professional enemy, defense lawyer Ellen Wolfe, played with great verve by Anne Ramsay. Seeing her dead at the bottom of the open grave was a grim moment, and especially so for Lt. LaGuerta who had become Ellen's close friend (and though I think they were both supposed to be straight, I felt they might have tumbled into bed at some point, or was I just reading too much into their girl talk?). LaGuerta also took it on the chin last season when her good friend and ex-partner/lover Doakes was murdered by the evil Lila. Lauren Velez as LaGuerta has been especially superb in these last few episodes.

As we've said before, we're not so wild about the whiny wedding planning obsession of Dexter's girlfriend Rita, but we were on the edge of our seat as Deborah and Quinn (Desmond Harrington) raced to save her new boyfriend/informant Anton (David Ramsey) from more torture at the hands of The Skinner. We love that Angel finally has a girlfriend, too, the tough but appealing Lt. Gianna played by Kristin Dattilo. Is she going to be too street-wise for Angel? I don't think he was too thrilled to discover that she hit it off with Masuka, sharing bizarre sex practice information with the enthusiastically pervy forensic investigator.

Considering that we're only three episodes away from the conclusion of this season, it doesn't feel like Dexter's been quite as viscerally involving or richly-plotted as the first and second years of the show, but there have been other pleasures. This season has been more domestic, more emotional, very different but still very compelling and getting more so, thanks so much to Smits' excellent work and his excellent chemistry with Michael C. Hall. Were Smits not so much fun to watch as he sinks further into his mania, with Dexter desperately trying to keep him in check, this season might have been a bit of a let-down. But it's not, not even close.

Don't miss tomorrow night's Dexter episode on Showtime!