beauty and beauty: ‘Dexter’ Recap: The Real Brain Surgeon Is Revealed

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'Dexter' Recap: The Real Brain Surgeon Is…

Courtesy of Showtime

Poor Zach Hamilton never had a chance, and now that Dr. Vogel’s holding a piece of his brain, does this mean she’s been the Surgeon all along?

Dr. Evelyn Vogel (Charlotte Rampling) holding a chunk of Zach Hamilton’s (Sam Underwood) brain at the end of “Are We There Yet?” seemed to point some fingers at her, but it’s certainly not a confirmation that she’s the Brain Surgeon. After all, this isn’t the first time she’s been in possession of brain fragments, so who’s to say she acquired Zach’s herself? Someone might be sending her (creepy-weird) messages.

Dexter: Still Distracted By Hannah?

Dexter (Michael C. Hall) is going to figure it all out, at least he will once he stops doing it with Hannah (Yvonne Strahovsky). All she is right now is a roadblock; a complication. Debra’s (Jennifer Carpenter) boss is totally onto her and as she continues to dodge the law she’s only going to bring Dexter down with her. Too bad her beautiful blonde hair is getting in the way of him seeing that.

It’s doing more than that. Dexter actually wants to start a new life with Hannah. He wants to decamp to Argentina (what’s their extradition policy?) and become one big, happy family with Hannah and Harrison. Sounds like a great plan.

The Brain Surgeon: More Than A Little Connected To Vogel

Finally out of the sheets, Dexter finally begins Zach’s murder investigation with Vogel in tow. “Make Your Own Kind of Music” by Mama Cass was playing when Dex found Zach (and also when Vogel was kidnapped in her apartment). Vogel says it has no significance, but she’s either lying or omitting facts.

With the help of a few stray hairs, Dexter learns that Zach’s killer is… related to Vogel! Boom! No wonder she was so shady about that song.

“I have no family,” Vogel tells Dexter before adding one more crucial bit, “well not anymore.” Hey, maybe that’s some useful information, Doc!

Turns out Vogel was married and had two sons — Daniel and Richard. They’re “gone” now though, or rather, Daniel drowned Richard in the family pool and was then checked into a mental institution. Vogel says that Danny-Boy died three years after that — but I don’t think so!

Dexter, using some completely ridiculous facial recognition program that I doubt actually exists, deduces that Daniel is actually Oliver Saxon, dead Cassie’s boyfriend! So that’s why he told Quinn he didn’t recognize Zach Hamilton.

Debra Morgan: Whatcha Gonna Do?

And with the help of Debra, now Quinn’s on the Oliver scent too! With Dexter busy off hiding Hannah from a Federal Marshall, it seems that this (kissing) duo might be able to catch The Brain Surgeon first!

Which is exactly the problem. The Dexter-Debra dynamic now that everything is out on the table is fascinating. Dexter’s always been two steps ahead of Miami Metro, but now that he’s actually filling Deb in on his intel (in an effort to protect her), he’s forcing her to choose between her instincts as a cop and as a sister. And I think her patience for Dexter is waning, especially since Dexter has dropped Hannah onto her lap.

Dr. Evelyn Vogel: Stuck Between Two Sons

Speaking of interesting dynamics, Dr. Vogel’s in a pretty awkward situation now that her spiritual son is hunting her actual one. “I’m not going to let you kill him,” she tells Dexter. Dex arrogantly underestimates Vogel’s maternal feelings, and after drugging her in a failed attempt to capture Oliver, his brazen misunderstanding of the position Vogel is in completely blows up in his face.

So heading into the final episode of Dexter, we’ve got a little showdown on our hands that Dexter stupidly created. With that swift poisoning, Vogel has now switched allegiances — she’s Team Oliver/Daniel now, and if Dexter wants to kill him, he’s going to have to kill her too.

– Andrew Gruttadaro