Dexter Season 6 Episode 9 - Get Gellar

Dexter the Good Shepherd

We finally get some insight into what's driving Dexter this season. As we saw clear back in episode 1, Dexter's core motivation is his love for Harrison. He's trying to prove to himself that he can pass on something other than a Dark Passenger. And he's using Travis as a test case.

I've had my own dark passenger for so long that I can't really recall life without him… it's simply been my own affliction that I accept as part of who I am. But for Travis, his dark passenger is a more recent acquisition… So I'm going to help separate them.

Dexter clearly sees Travis as a chance for him to succeed where Harry failed. In his conversations with Harry - some of the best moments of this episode, we see Dexter's real pain, caused by the fact that he can finally hope:

Harry: I would've given anything to get rid of your Dark Passenger.

Dexter: I'm not sure you even tried… you just refocused it…. I kill Gellar, Travis gets a second chance. The one I'll never have.

and then later,

Harry: If you remove Travis' Dark Passenger, what are you getting out of this?

Dexter:Maybe I can learn to control my own. Maybe I can be… better.

Harry: A better what? A better Person?

Dexter: I don't care about being a better person. It's too late for that… A better father to my son. Is that so surprising to you? I want to be a better father for Harrison.

This is all about Harrison. Dexter wants to find some way to show others the Light. If he can save Travis from his Darkness - in the person of Gellar - then he can hope that he can succeed where Harry failed. He can save Harrison from the life of a monster.

And the difference between Harry and Dexter is telling: Harry could never see the possibility of Light in Dexter. He was convinced that Dexter was fundamentally broken, beyond any sort of help. Dexter rejects that sort of fatalism and embraces the basic hope of Jesus: that all people have the potential for Light. That maybe people aren't so lost to darkness they're beyond redemption. Dexter won't give up on redemption for Travis because to give up on Travis would be to give up on redemption for Harrison, and ultimately to give up on redemption for himself.

The real question is: Can Dexter be redeemed? If he can, will he? And even if he does, what does that actually mean for Dexter?

It's clear by now that "redemption" for Dexter doesn't actually mean Dexter's salvation. He doesn't want to be a better person; he's not looking for his own salvation. He's going to keep killing (which is probably better for the show's ratings). And Deb's therapist, Dr. Ross seems to confirm this for us. In her words, Dexter is a chair, and we all need to quit expecting him to be anything else.

But that doesn't mean that there's no hope for Dexter at all. His Hero's Journey showed him that he doesn't have to kill. That, in fact, he doesn't even necessarily want to punish every person who kills. Jonah killed his mother, but Dexter saw the remorse in his eyes, so wanted to spare him. That's a far cry from the avenger we saw killing Joe the unrepentant quarterback in episode one or even Nick, who didn't regret killing Brother Sam.

Dexter didn't even try to save Joe from his darkness. He tried and failed to save Nick. But since he successfully completed his Hero's Journey, he will succeed in saving Travis from Gellar.

The Power of Religion

Dexter (the show) is using religion carefully and respectfully this season, most notably in the portrayals of Christian characters. From the Nun in episode 1 to especially Brother Sam and his church community, Christians are seldom portrayed so sympathetically in media. Given that this season's killers consider themselves Christians, I appreciate the writers balancing the crazies with some great, earnest Christian characters.

Using characters like Brother Sam alongside Gellar illuminates one of the season's more potent observations:

Religion in-and-of itself is a neutral, but powerful force.

We see this play out in the final confrontation between Travis and Gellar this episode:

Travis: I don't believe in a God of violence.
Gellar: Then go read your Bible… Repent your sins, Travis. Or you will burn for all eternity… He's going to give you one more chance, and all you have to do is listen to me.

Yes, the Bible is full of violence, and religion has been used as a source of violence throughout history. Travis gives in yet again to Gellar's persuasion, setting us up for the final confrontation between Dexter and Gellar.

But Dexter (the show) argues that religion can be a source of hope as well. Brother Sam used the power of religion to redeem. And Dexter is tapping into that same power to battle Gellar for Travis' soul. To fight Gellar with his own weapons. Given all of this, I was intrigued by the portrayal of New Atheism in the person of Dr. Trent Casey, a Richard Dawkins-esque professor Gellar selects as the victim of his Bowls of Wrath tableau. Casey was pompous and cruel to his Creationist opponents, though Dexter confessed an affinity for him.

Dexter (the show) has resolutely rejected the New Atheist proposition that salvation can be purely naturalistic. That's what Harry tried with Dexter and all we got was a killer who's really good at hiding his darkness. Religion has offered Dexter his first legitimate hope that things can be different.

That religion can be used to perpetrate violence isn't sufficient reason to reject it. Dexter (the show) seems to be arguing: Religion doesn't kill people. People kill people.

Prophecies and Resolutions

The big reveal this week was that Gellar has been dead all along, and that Travis has some sort of Dissociative Identity disorder. In short: Travis is Gellar, but he doesn't know it. In previous posts and comments, I argued strongly that Gellar was alive. Several of my previous predictions were also predicated on the fact that Gellar was alive. However, I also rightly pointed out that Travis is torn between Gellar and Dexter. That much isn't faked. This is Fight Club, not Primal Fear. So I'm awarding the writers 2 points.

Also, I predicted that we wouldn't see the Bowls of Wrath as a tableau. Again, I was clearly wrong. That's another point for the writers.

The total score so far is Writers 6, JR. 4. Bad episode for me. Time to step up my game:

We've got three episodes left and only six days until Doomsday, with two tableaus to go. Suffice to say, the last three episodes are going to move. Last week, I offered some thoughts about how Season 6 might wrap up if Gellar turned out to be dead. I think this is the best bet for what we're going to see happen in the final three episodes:

Dexter will learn quickly that Travis is not evil. That he isn't aware that Gellar is dead and that he has been killing everyone all along. Dexter will confront Travis with this knowledge, which will push Travis deeper into Darkness as he realizes he killed his sister. Dexter's final confrontation with Travis will be in the midst of the final tableau. We'll get a devil-and-angel-on-the-shoulder set up where Travis is forced to choose between finally embracing Gellar's darkness and returning to Dexter's light. He'll choose Dexter, which redeems both Travis and Dexter.

1. Dexter will not kill Travis. Instead, he'll help Travis get a second chance.
2. We're going to find out a lot more about Gellar and Travis' history in the next episode. What happened when Gellar died? Why is Travis disassociating?
3. Travis will end up in jail. Whether he turns himself in or Deb catches him, Deb needs this one solved (unlike Trinity, who the police think is still at large).

Is Gellar anticipating a resurrection, just like the Two Witnesses? Showtime president David Nevins told Entertainment Weekly that these final three episodes will set up Dexter's (the show) Endgame. What could that mean?

1. We know Louis the Intern now has the prosthetic hand from the Ice Truck Killer case. This was a direct message to Dexter from his brother Brian. We also know that Louis is a pretty sharp guy, who has been paying close attention to Dexter because he's impressed with Dexter's ability to read blood at crime scenes. Might this attention develop into an unhealthy obsession that leads to Louis uncovering some darker truths about Dexter? And what all does he collect, anyway?
2. This gives me (unhealthy, irrational) hope that Deb is going to find out about Dexter's Dark Passenger. How might that happen?
3. What's going on with Deputy Chief Matthews, Captain LaGuerta and Deb? Clearly Deb's going to figure out that Matthews was in the room with the dead prostitute. But what does that mean for Deb's career? Will she face a "do the right thing" moment? Will that play into what she decides when she learns the truth about Dexter?
4. Hail Mary Prediction: A repentant Travis will see Dexter as his guardian Angel. The police will write this off as yet another delusion, but it will lead to Deb discovering the truth about who Dexter is.

How did you react to the revelation about Gellar? What do you think this means for Travis and Dexter? And how do you feel about Dexter's (the show) Endgame falling into place?