This episode’s metaphor is all about acting. Which is appropriate, if a little bit meta. Dexter himself is playing a part, of course – the part of a sweet father, a devoted lover, and a responsible cop. But he’s having a little trouble pleasing all the members of the Baxter family. Rita insists she’s happy raising the child on her own, but her moodiness leaves her unable to hold down her hotel job, and Astor seems upset at the idea of Dexter and Rita having a child out of wedlock. The only solution is to convince Rita to marry him – but after having married Paul because she was pregnant, Rita is understandably reluctant to repeat her mistake.

Dexter, of course, can’t think of how to describe his desire to marry her in anything but practical terms. Meanwhile, Miguel Prado keeps pressuring Dexter to allow him to tell his other brother, Ramon, what happened to Freebo. But Ramon is a loose cannon, and only Dexter can see it. So he manipulates Ramon into demonstrating how volatile he is – but he’s classically Dexter throughout the whole thing. He never forces Ramon to do anything he wouldn’t do, put in a tight spot. Dexter just creates the tight spot and lets things unfold.

Kind of like Jigsaw.

Hmmm.

Meanwhile, in Plot B, the friction between Deb and Quinn is getting out of hand. But her dislike of him isn’t quite enough to turn her into a “rat” who will report him to Internal Affairs, despite their repeated offers of instant promotion. During a particularly violent murder case, Quinn steals Deb and Dexter’s revelation about the true killer – and even that isn’t enough to make Deb compromise her ideals.

The problem with Dexter, of course, is that he exists in such a delicate balance. One wrong step, one stroke of bad luck, and his world could be shattered. How long can they keep this going? Before long, they will have to do something bold and controversial. Something that might divide the fanbase. It’s risky, but necessary – like a lot of what Dexter does.

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