Season 4 Finale “The Getaway” Episode Recap

Big spoilers within. If you have’nt seen the Season 4 finale yet, you do NOT want to read this post, come back once you have!

Whoa.

Dexter & Arthur declare peaceWho saw *that* coming? Not me! A fantastic episode to wrap up the season. Rather than jump to the end let’s get back to the beginning of the episode. As you know last week’s episode “Hello, Dexter Morgan” ended with Arthur right in Dexter’s face on his own turf – the Homicide division of Miami Metro. Dex manages to nudge Arthur towards his office where an agreement is reached, Arthur does’nt want to kill him, does’nt want anything to do with him, just wants Dexter out of his life. Dexter agrees, only to buy him some time and get Arthur out of the office.

Thinking he’s intimidated Dexter, Arthur heads out the office with a smug look on his face. However Dexter realises that this may be the only opportunity to catch and finally kill him, so follows after him. He runs into Quinn in the carpark who has beef with Dexter about a report, Dexter – in no mood for delays winds up shoving Quinn to the ground. The chase begins.

While speeding through the streets, old faithful Harry appears – “What’s your plan Dexter?”. Dexter’s only plan is to follow Arthur until an opportunity arises. Adding to the stress, Rita calls about wanting a honeymoon - unfortunately he should have been concentrating on the road more and swipes a side mirror of another car. Ignoring this he follows his target into a parking garage and watches as he walks towards a bank. A perfect spot to nab Arthur on his return.

Dexter -about to lose it in front of the copsUpon his return Dexter cleanly grabs Arthur and knocks him out with his needle juice. Seems that Arthur was at the bank to close his account and take all the money, which can only mean that he’s planning a getaway. About to wrap things up nicely Dexter notices the guy who’s mirror he knocked off along with two cops, just as he was thinking his luck was finally changing. The conversation with the guy and the cops heats up when the he tries to take a photo of Dexter, who loses his cool and goes for the jugular and is then promptly arrested.

Back at Miami Metro, Deb is ordered to take the day off by Batista as she only just witnessed Christine commit suicide. Rather than chilling out Deb favours using this time to chase up one of Harry’s CI’s. The CI leads her to a scarily familiar place, the home of Brian Moser where Deb was on the cutting table 3 years before.

After Rita bails Dexter out of jail, she drives him to his car. Dexter hopes that Arthur is still unconcious inside, but unfortunately not. Arthur escaped and headed straight for his house to ransack the place for more money, which Dexter had hidden near the van above a light in the garage. Dexter grabs the cash and heads off, now without a clue how to track down Arthur again. Later Dexter talks to Rita about the honeymoon, Dex thinks it’s a very good excuse to get the family out of harms way. Astor and Cody go with their grandparents to Disney World while Rita and baby Harrison leave for the Keys ahead of Dexter who wants to stay behind for the night to take care of Arthur.

To clarify the Moser situation Deb goes to talk to Harry’s old cop buddy who hesitantly opens up and confirms that Dexter is indeed the son of Laura and Brian’s brother. Deb naturally flips out over this information. Meanwhile at Miami Metro things are heating up as they begin to work out that Stan Beaudry is not the killer they’re after. Deb is called in to interview Scott Smith, the 10 year old who was kidnapped by Arthur, Deb opens up to him about being kidnapped and helps Scott to remember the sign on the car he was taken away in. It’s the Four Walls sticker. This leads them to a build where they dig up a young boy, this along with other information leads them to one… Arthur Mitchell.

Debra & Batista open up the Garage to find Dexter already there.As he has no idea how to track down Arthur, Dexter heads to the Mitchell household to find that Arthur was there and desperate for cash. Suddenly Dexter is surprised by noise outside, the house is covered in SWAT. Dexter manages to quickly run and hide in Arthur’s coffin. Arising out of the coffin moments later just as the garage door opens to Deb and Angel and he explains that he rushed to the scene so quickly he forgot his flak jacket.

Once the rush is over, Harry intercedes to lecture Dexter, saying that the harm Arthur did to his family is bound to happen to Dexter’s, “You’ll always need someone on your table”. Deb interrupts this to tell Dexter about Laura Moser, Dexter plays dumb and pretends he never heard of her. Following on Deb tells him that two boys were left behind after Laura died, Dexter was one and the other was Brian Moser – The Ice Truck Killer . Dexter does actually panic a little but turns this into faux confusion and guilt that he was responsible for Deb becoming Brian’s target. In a teary moment Deb dismisses Dexter’s guilt stating that he is the only constant good thing in her life. Dexter takes this well and sees it as a way of differentiating himself from Arthur as no-one saw good in Arthur, but at least Deb and Rita do in him. Right after this conversation Dexter clocks the broken windshield that Jonah smashed with a baseball bat, Dexter looks through the envelope he got off Arthur earlier, he sees a receipt for the GT 500 to fix the windshield…. as well as a respray.

Back at Metro, the Feds have come in to take over the Arthur Mitchell case, much to the bemusement of the team. The least impressed was Debra who took the opportunity to blame the FBI for not listening to Lundy in the first place, which eventually led to his death. Matthews attempts to defuse the situation but even Quinn steps in to reiterate Deb’s point.

Arthur-CruisingEnjoying his cruise down the highway that afternoon Arthur seems to be very pleased, but later that evening he needs to pull over as the Mustang is blowing smoke and clunking, he pops the hood “Where’s my fucking oil cap?”…. Dexter appears through the smoke, pushes him to the ground “Hello, Arthur Mitchell” (cute) and wrestles him to the ground. It appears that Dexter beat him to the car shop, took off the oil cap and presumably hid in the trunk. Finally Arthur is on Dexter’s table, surrounded by hundreds of photos of his victims. A deep conversation begins, they talk about family, their inner monsters, heaven and acceptance before the merciful Dexter switches on Arthur’s trainset and plays that incredibly creepy “Oh Vera” song, then takes the infamous hammer, claw side down and kills Arthur Mitchell.

On the Slice of Life, Dexter disposes of Arthurs remains and ponders that his Dark Passenger needs to take a back seat to what he really wants now, to focus on Rita and his family. The family which used to be secondary and part of Dexter’s mask has grown into something very human within him. Back at home he glances over the family photos on the wall. His phone beeps, receives a voicemail from Rita, calls her back only to hear that her phone is right next to him. Outside of the room he hears a baby cry, rushes towards the voice… flips on the bathroom switch to see baby Harrison on the floor surrounded by blood, peering around the corner Rita comes into view, lying in the bathtub full of
My two stabs:

Holy shit eh? We all knew a major character was going to kick it this season, but Rita would have been about last on my list! I admit in retrospect it is one of those things I *should* have seen coming. It does make perfect sense, John Lithgow and the Trinity killer could not be just another target for Dexter, it had to be significant. Then with Harrison I do feel bad though, regulars of my little blog would remember a post in which I complained about Rita being so annoying, with an accompanying poll:

Note: There is a poll embedded within this post, please visit the site to participate in this post's poll.

I never knew the esteemed writers of Dexter read my blog! ;-) On a serious note I do feel bad about that poll now, but at least 148 (47%) of you agreed that Trinity should take her out too! Thanks for sharing the guilt guys. I will miss Rita though, she was always good Yang to Dexter’s Yin. As well as the character I’ll also miss the gorgeous Julie Benz. I wonder if she will return in Season 5 as a Harry-esque ghost? By the way there has been much net-natter about the whole scene being a dream in which Dexter will awake from in S5, showrunner Clyde Phillips has confirmed that this is not the case.

What do you think is in store for season 5? Big things are going to change that’s for sure, but as the entire cast & crew are off on hiatus even they don’t know where the next season will go. Discuss the episode in the forum, leave a comment and you may want to follow me on Twitter. BTW regarding twitter, please don’t just follow me, talk to me as I’m always up to chat about Dexter!

RIP

Rita Morgan

13th December 2009

Dexter&Rita-Not-like-Paul

“You were the wind beneath a serial killer’s wings.”

View my blog to see more reviews of Showtime's Dexter, such as The Getaway Episode Recap

Season 4 Episode 11 Hello, Dexter Morgan

Dexter's worst fears have been realized. Because of Debra's unrelenting pursuit, Miami Metro is just one step away from discovering the identity of the Trinity Killer. And Dexter can't let that happen. Arthur's arrest would not only deprive Dexter of a satisfying kill, it would also expose the secret life Dexter's been leading in his pursuit of this monster. Dexter must take drastic action to buy himself time to deal with Trinity in his own fashion. Meanwhile, Rita decides to confide in Dexter, which doesn't go as well as she'd hoped. LaGuerta and Batista's breach of ethics paints them into a very tight corner. And Arthur, who still can't understand why Dexter didn't simply turn him in, begins his own bloody investigation into Kyle Butler.



I'll Be In Touch - Trinity and Dexter have a tense telephone conversation in the aftermath of the botched kidnap killing




Material Witness - Angel interrogates Christine while Deb and Quinn discuss her connectiopns to Trinity

Season 4 Episode 10 Lost Boys

Dexter finally believes he understands the beast known as Trinity. But when a ten-year old boy goes missing, Dexter is forced to question everything he's learned up to this point. It's a race against the clock. And with each step forward, Dexter has to confront the real possibility that he may have more in common with Trinity than he'd like to admit. Secrets abound - from Cody, who is forced to defend one of Dexter's lies, Masuka, who can't bring himself to confess what he witnessed at Thanksgiving, and Debra, whose recent discoveries force one of Miami's finest into making an impossible decision.



A Little Pain Now - Dexter and Rita take Harrison to get booster shots



Where'd You Go - Dexter follows Trinity, who is stalking his next victim

Season 4 Episode 9 Hungry Man

For most people, Thanksgiving is a time for traditions and family. But for Dexter, it's an opportunity to get closer to his most dangerous adversary yet. As Dexter gains insight into Arthur's psychology by studying those closest to him, he finds himself drawn into a bizarre and twisted world. Meanwhile, Rita has her hands full preparing dinner for a packed house, including a few unexpected guests. Batista gets closure on an old case, while Debra uses the holiday to continue her investigation of the Trinity Killer, a pursuit which threatens her brother's safety and brings to light surprising revelations about someone else close to her.



Chocolate Lava Cakes - Deb and Vince come by for Tanksgiving dinner



How Unfortunate - Angel and LaGuerta discuss Thanksgiving plans

Season 4 Episode 8 Road Kill

Dexter has always known his father's Code was meant to protect him from exposure. But after committing a serious mistake, he wonders if it could have been designed to protect him from something even more dangerous - human emotion. When he discovers that Trinity is planning an out-of-town trip, Dexter sees an opportunity to ride along and gain insight into the mind of a fellow monster. Even so, Dexter isn't prepared for the startling revelations Trinity makes along the way, revelations about his own past which only serve to convince Dexter of what he must do. Meanwhile, back at Miami Metro, Debra refuses to let a technicality keep her off the Trinity case. She works through others to ensure her voice is heard - that is, until she realizes that her single-minded pursuit of the Trinity Killer may have blinded her to the truth.



DNA Sweep - Deb tries to work on the Trinity Killer case from behind the scenes




Small Cracks - Dexter learns that the Trinity Killer is going out of town on another home build

Season 4 Episode 7 Slack Tide

Dexter finds himself enjoying a brief moment of tranquility. He's finally managed to strike a balance between work, family... and other pursuits. But he's keenly aware that times like these aren't meant to last. When Miami Metro discovers a string of murders connected to a prominent photographer, Dexter sees an opportunity for a clean kill. However, his plans seem to be thwarted every step of the way. Quinn has taken a renewed interest in Dexter's nightlife. Dexter's plans to keep Astor and Cody distracted with new activities soon backfire. Even Harry disapproves of Dexter's choice of pastime, urging him instead to focus his efforts on the Trinity Killer. Meanwhile, Debra returns to work, frustrated to find everyone treating her with kid gloves. She decides to concentrate on her pursuit of the Trinity Killer as well as delving into her father's checkered past - investigations which Dexter fears might lead her to danger - or worse, the truth.



Hardly See Them - Portraying Kyle Butler, Dexter runs into Arthur



Slow to Evolve - Quinn and Dexter help Debra move into the apartment

Season 4 Episode 5 Dirty Harry

Recent events spur Dexter into his own investigation of the Trinity killer. His motivations are now personal, and the clock is ticking. But the closer Dexter gets, the more he realizes that Trinity is unlike any monster he's previously encountered. Meanwhile, Debra blames herself for events that were out of her control, and in so doing pushes away those closest to her. As LaGuerta and Batista close in on the Vacation Murderers, Batista realizes he can use Quinn's relationship with a certain reporter to his advantage. And when Rita discovers a secret Dexter's been keeping from her, she begins to realize just how little she knows about the man she married.



Behind the Line - Dexter is held up when he arrives at the crime scene



Denver Omelet - The Trinity Killer has an eerie interation with a waitress

Season 4 Episode 6 If I Had a Hammer

Dexter knows it's only a matter of time before Miami Metro discovers the Trinity Killer's latest handiwork. Therefore, he has to work doubly hard to stay one step ahead of their investigation. Dexter has begun to realize that the closer he gets to Trinity, the more he stands to learn from this very different beast. Trinity hides behind a well-kept mask, and getting behind that facade will require some extra prodding on Dexter's part. Meanwhile, Debra becomes frustrated when she finds herself shut out from her own case. She considers bending the rules in the name of justice, risking her career in the process. LaGuerta and Batista come to regret a major decision, and realize that by playing by the rules they may have painted themselves into a corner. And when the friction between Rita and Dexter comes to a head, Dexter gleans relationship advice from a most unlikely source.



100 Ocean Gate - Deb asks Dexter for a ride to the police station while they discuss a new homicide investigation



Work it Out - Rita and Dexter visit their therapist

Season 4 Episode 3 Blinded By the Light

It's hard enough for Dexter to fake one-on-one relationships. Now he finds himself at the center of a bustling suburban community. When a local vandal begins stirring up trouble, the neighborhood becomes vigilant and wary, two things Dexter certainly doesn't need. His mobility is also hampered by Rita, who insists on driving him around after his incident. Dexter's not the only one feeling trapped - Debra is less than thrilled when Anton announces he's taken a local job to spend more time with her. Meanwhile, the Trinity Killer dispatches his next victim. Debra becomes drawn to Lundy's theories about Trinity, while Dexter finds himself in awe of Trinity's masterful killing technique. Despite their enthusiasm, LaGuerta threatens to shut down the investigation, instead focused on bringing the Vacation Murderers to justice.



Blending In - Dexter learns more about a local vandal at the neighborhood barbecue



Club Level - Quinn tries to make amends with Dexter as the investigation for Johnny Rose continues

Season 4 Episode 4 Dex Takes a Holiday

Rita takes the kids out of town for the weekend, leaving Dexter time for some much needed R&R. And for him, that means stalking a new victim. He sets his sights on a woman accused of murdering her family - a fellow cop, no less. The more Dexter learns about this woman, the more he begins to question his own judgment. Can Dexter handle the pressures of family, or is he headed down a similar dark path? Meanwhile, LaGuerta and Batista argue over department protocol, which threatens their professional relationship. And Debra aids Lundy in his quest to find the Trinity Killer, neither of them realizing just how close Trinity is to achieving his goals.



Those Eyes are on Us - Batista and LaGuerta discuss how they want to proceed with their relationship



It's a Good Feeling - Deb and Lundy continue gathering evidence to find the Trinity Killer

Season 4 Episode 2 Remains to Be Seen

The pressures of fatherhood threaten to bring Dexter's world crashing down. In his carelessness, Dexter realizes that he's misplaced crucial evidence, something that could expose his dark side to the world. But his search will have to wait, as Miami Metro's two simultaneous murder cases continue to escalate. Their top priority is to solve 'The Vacation Murders', a series of robberies gone bad that threaten Miami's lucrative tourist industry. Lundy, however, remains convinced that the bigger problem is dealing with the Trinity Killer, who unbeknownst to them is already stalking his next victim. Dexter has to weave a web of lies to extract himself from his duties, hoping to bury his secret before someone else finds it first.



Bubblegum Gelato - An accidental run-in brings the Trinity Killer closer to his next target



Vacation Murders - Lt. LaGuerta surprises Angel with the media's take on the vacation murders, while Deb continues to work on the Lisa Bell case

Season 4 Episode 1 Living the Dream

Dexter has always managed to get himself out of tough situations. But he suddenly finds himself in unfamiliar territory - life in suburbia. Now a husband and father of three, Dexter struggles to balance his family's needs with his ongoing duties as a blood spatter analyst for Miami Metro Homicide. The exhaustion is taking its toll, and as sleepless nights start to threaten his job performance, Dexter wonders if maybe he's taken on more than he can handle. And he'll need to stay sharp - the department is busier than ever, with two new murders on their hands. The detectives, Debra included, are surprised when Special Agent Frank Lundy returns to share his theories on the case. Lundy believes they're dealing with a serial killer he's been chasing for years, whom he's dubbed "the Trinity Killer". Meanwhile, Dexter's Dark Passenger drives him to seek out a fresh victim. But with so much already on his plate, is Dexter up to the task?



Just Me and Blood - Dexter's got a new victim, but first he must play his part as daddy Dexter



A Killer Cliche - Dexter gets ready for work

Season 4 Episode 9 Hungry Man

For most people, Thanksgiving is a time for traditions and family. But for Dexter, it's an opportunity to get closer to his most dangerous adversary yet. As Dexter gains insight into Arthur's psychology by studying those closest to him, he finds himself drawn into a bizarre and twisted world. Meanwhile, Rita has her hands full preparing dinner for a packed house, including a few unexpected guests. Batista gets closure on an old case, while Debra uses the holiday to continue her investigation of the Trinity Killer, a pursuit which threatens her brother's safety and brings to light surprising revelations about someone else close to her.