First off, let me apologize for whiffing on a key plot-point in last week's recap, in which I wrote that Mos Def's Brother Sam character had been killed. As it turns out, he didn't die in the shooting, and opened 'Just Let Go' in intensive care after being shot three times. Sadly, he passed away in this episode, but not before making one last-ditch attempt to save his friend Dexter's soul.'Just Let Go' was sad on several levels, and not just because we lost a character who was a source of wisdom and strength for Dexter. After Sam's death, Dexter was faced with a crucial turning point in his constant struggle between darkness and light. I don't know why I was disappointed that he chose the darkness, drowning Sam's killer Nick even after Sam begged him to forgive him. But it was a sobering reminder that our hero is also a murderous sociopath, just like Professor Gellar and the others he's obsessed with.
Then again, avenging the murder of his best friend, even if it was against his wishes, grounded the episode solidly in the gray area of moral ambiguity that 'Dexter' thrives in.
Just as Dexter faced a crossroads in this episode, so too did Travis, as he was called upon to torture, brand and eventually kill Professor Gellar's next victim. "We're the chosen ones, the two witnesses," Professor Gellar said, before telling Travis that he's slacking off. Gellar can sense Travis is growing a conscience, making his victim bologna sandwiches while draining her blood. After visiting his sister at her art class for kids, and perhaps remembering his car-conversation with Dexter, he regains touch with his humanity and lets the woman free. Gellar won't be pleased.We learned more details about Gellar's twisted ideology in this episode too, as Quinn and Batista analyzed his drawings and papers. His delusional prophecy is apparently based on the Enesserrette cult: he thinks that by murdering seven victims, he can bring about the apocalypse. As Quinn realizes that Gellar's former T.A.'s tramp-stamp may be an important symbol linking her to the symbolic crime-scene, everyone else will soon realize how big of an idiot Quinn was for sleeping with her and compromising the case in the process.
As Dexter struggled to keep his emotions in check after Brother Sam's shooting, he reached what he called "a fork in the road." In his kitchen, he had a deep conversation with his father's memory, as Harry helps him realize how important Sam was to him. "It's because he's traveled both roads that he understands the darkness in you ... and he sees the light," Harry tells Dexter.
Deb also had a break-through of sorts in therapy, venting about how uneasy she's been feeling since her promotion. Do what you'd normally be doing if you hadn't been made Lt., her shrink advises her. Deb throws a house-warming party at her new beach house, which Quinn comes to trashed, with a blond he just picked up at a bar on his arm. He proceeds to hit on Batista's sister and get punched in the face. You can't bring this guy anywhere.
Dexter and Anderson are investigating the Locos separately, and both initially finger Julio Benes' replacement as Sam's shooter. As Dexter is outside staking his place out, Anderson roll up and kills Hernandez in a shootout. "Justice has been done, but why doesn't it feel better?" Dexter asks himself. It's only later that, after reviewing the security footage from Sam's garage, Dexter notices that Sam's dog doesn't bark at the shooter. It turns out it was Nick, the gang-banger Sam tried to save, who gunned him down.
Later, Dexter's called to the hospital, as Sam has regained consciousness and wants to see him. He tells Dexter that Nick was the shooter, but Sam wants Dexter to deliver the message that Sam forgives him. It's not exactly what Dexter had in mind. "Just let it go ... you can't live with the hate in your heart," Sam tells him, seeming to make one last attempt to save his friend's soul. Dexter vows to try to let go of the darkness this one time, but it's a challenge that proves too daunting for him after Sam passes away.Dexter leaves the hospital, and confronts Nick on the beach. To his credit, he tries his best to forgive him for the murder, but Nick laughs and gloats about getting away with it. Dexter becomes enraged, and pushes him into the water, giving Nick his final baptism, drowning him in the ocean. It's a less-thought out and more impulsive act than his standard meticulously-planned kills, but the only witness is his the ghost of his brother, the Ice Truck Killer, who gives Dexter a round of applause for turning back toward his dark-side.
Has Dexter abandoned his new-found humanity? I hope not, because watching his growth as a father and friend has been one of the more compelling things about 'Dexter' lately. But this felt like a harbinger of bad things to come.
For more on 'Dexter,' check out Showtime All-Access.
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