Last episode, we saw Dexter break down and ask for help from someone else. This was a major lesson he learned from Brother Sam - that he needs a "higher power". Though Sam was talking about God, Dexter turns to the police. This is the first time Dexter has ever turned to the police in the middle of a "Big Bad" case. Had Dexter turned Trinity in to the police, for instance, Rita would still be alive.Because Dexter called the police, he is able to prevent Wormwood. He saves Deb and dozens of others.
But not without consequences for himself. Dexter inhales a bit of the Wormwood gas, which he's warned will lead to dizzy spells and more if he doesn't get treatment. The Wormwood attack brings in Homeland Security, which paralyzes Miami Metro for a couple of days. Because his "higher power" is paralyzed, Dexter refuses more help, with disastrous consequences.Because he can't find Travis, Dexter decides to lure Travis to him. Travis' final tableau is the Lake of Fire, which involves:
Then Satan, who is the beast, was thrown into the Lake of Fire, which is the Second Death.In Travis' warped mind, Dexter is the False Prophet. Dexter decides to embrace this role, letting Travis conflate him into the whole of the unholy trinity of the Revelation: Satan, the Beast and the False Prophet. Remember that Travis blames Dexter for Gellar's death. In the Revelation, the Beast kills the two witnesses. So Dexter embraces his role as the Beast by setting up a false tableau.
At the museum where Travis works, Dexter defiles a fountain topped by an angel statue, echoing the image of the Beast the false prophet sets up in Revelation 13:15. He also leaves Gellar's hand on the statue, letting the police know Gellar is dead (and has been all along).Travis gets Dexter's message loud and clear, altering his rendering of the final tableau to present Dexter as the Beast in the Lake of Fire. He receives a video text from Dexter letting Travis know where to find him:
Mark this day, Witness. The End is not upon the world. The End is upon you. You know who I am. You know what I am: the Beast is coming for you.
Travis heads to Dexter's boat dock and as Dexter attacks him, those Wormwood after-affects kick in and Travis overpowers him. He wakes up on a boat surrounded by gas canisters. Travis is on Slice of Life, and casts a flare into the ocean, enacting the Lake of Fire with the Beast and False Prophet right in the middle of it.Dexter not only ruined Wormwood, but seems to have forced Travis' hand with his Beast Tableau. Deb and the rest of Miami Metro believe that the Lake of Fire won't be staged for two more days. What consequences will this have for how the End plays out?
Both Travis and Dexter continue to foil each others' plans. Of course Dexter will win out, but at what cost?
Predictions and Resolutions
First, I rightly predicted how Wormwood played out. That's a clear point. I also predicted that one of the tableaus would be a Lake of Fire. But I also predicted that the final tableau would involve the death and resurrection of the Two Witnesses and speculated that we'd see an Armageddon tableau. That'll cost me a point.The score with one episode remaining is Writers 7, JR. 8. Not bad headed into the Endgame.
If we assume that Travis is not, in fact, one of the Two Witnesses, then he has a problem: the world's not going to end after his final tableau. Travis is going to have some sort of crisis of faith. If he follows suit, he's going to blame Dexter. And there's been some foreshadowing in this episode that spells bad news for Dexter.Death of the Firstborn?
In order to catch Travis, Dexter sent Jamie and Harrison away for 48 hours. Deb also mentions that the End is supposed to come in 2 days. I doubt this is a coincidence. Jamie also reminds Dexter to choose an animal for Harrison to be in his preschool production of Noah's Ark (another story about the End of the World). Dexter finds it appropriate to choose the "king of the beasts" - a lion.In the Revelation 5, Jesus is presented as the "Lion of the Tribe of Judah", who is also a slaughtered Lamb. Now that Travis has Dexter's boat, it's not going to be hard for him to figure out who Dexter is. Is it possible that he's going to kidnap Harrison, to offer him up as a final sacrifice to bring about the End?
I'm still (possibly irrationally at this point) pulling for Travis' redemption. If that's the case, two scenarios are likely:
- Dexter is going to talk Travis down by forcing him to confront the truth about himself. Both Dexter and Travis would have to face up to their innate capacities for Good (Dexter) and Evil (Travis).
- Deb will find Dexter and save the day. If Dexter's journey has mainly been about learning that he needs other people - a huge revelation for Dexter - then he'll be rewarded by salvation from the Other.
In either case, Harrison won't die. Dexter has learned and grown. He'll succeed now where he didn't with Rita.
Playing the Long Game
Here are a few more ideas that involve what's being set up for the next couple of seasons:
First, Travis creates his final tableau painting (the one starring Dexter) in the home of a couple he's murdered. That's another crime scene. When the police find it, it's going to be very hard for them not to realize that Dexter has some ties to Travis. This could all be explained away because Dexter stopped Wormwood, but after Trinity killed Rita, Dexter having ties to DDK should raise at least a few eyebrows. Could this be how Deb learns the truth about Dexter?
Speaking of Deb and Dexter, could they actually be together? It's hard to imagine that the rest of their community (the police force) would accept that. But Deb obviously has some messed up feelings for Dexter, and Dexter said clear back in season one that if he could love anyone it would be Deb. At the minimum, these feelings will make it much tougher on her when she finally learns the truth about Dexter.Finally, Louis the Intern crossed the line from creepy to malicious. We learned a couple of episodes ago that he owned the prosthetic Ice-Truck Killer hand. And last episode we learned that his video game is actually a be-the-serial-killer storyline. So let's review what we know about Louis:
We know that Louis has a lot of money thanks to his previous games. We know that Louis has been studying how cops catch bad guys from the inside. We know that Louis has studied famous serial killers because of his video game. We also know that no one else knows what his video game is actually about (he told Dexter). Apparently, he also knows the truth about Dexter because we see him mail the ITK hand to Dexter.Put all that together with his cryptic statement to Dexter:
You just made me realize that I've spent my whole life on the sidelines playing make-believe games. And now I want to get out there and make my life count for something.You get a guy who's set up to become a very bad guy in the next couple of seasons. He's got an unhealthy obsession with Dexter. He's set up to play with Dexter like no one we've ever seen before.
