There’s nothing like a perfectly timed walk on a beach to promote enlightenment. Had Dexter known this was the secret to attaining his sister’s approval, he certainly would have experimented with it weeks ago.
“Buck the System” accomplishes a few things that Dexter fans had been curious about: 1. Debra seems to understand Dexter for who he is, and 2. There may be a new love interest for Dexter.
What sticks out most with this episode is how the seemingly innocuous story of Wayne Randall still has an impact on the main storyline. We finally meet Hannah McKay, the woman who was just 15 when she went on a killing spree with her then-boyfriend Wayne Randall. At first glance, Hannah seems to have created a new life with no interest in her dreadful past. When Dexter needs to get a DNA sample from her, she plays hard to get. The scene ends with Dexter getting the last word, but I sense we are not finished with Hannah.
Is there something inside Hannah that draws her to men like Randall and Dexter? While the scene between Dex and Hannah was calm, we cannot ignore their odd connection. Perhaps Hannah picked up on a feeling that reminded her of the joy associated with her time spent with Wayne Randall? Maybe she felt guilty for being so cold to Dex? Either way, the point of her existence in the world of Dexter is not to become a “once and done” character. While I thought this was the most interesting aspect of “Buck the System,” we need to cover a few other items I feel are important.
As some of you had guessed, the Ukraine mob story has finally crossed paths with the meddling Louis Greene. While Louis tries to sink Dexter’s “Slice of Life” boat, the Ukrainian mob boss (Issac) confronts him about the killing of Viktor Baskov. For a second, it appeared that maybe Issac would upgrade his killing weapon from a screwdriver to a power tool, but he uses a gun instead—so much for extending his creativity. Will the blood of Louis Greene left on the boat come back to haunt Dexter later in the season?
Debra has finally reached a point of understanding Dexter’s Dark Passenger. Sure, the process was painful and drawn out, but we’re finally there. It took the killing of an innocent girl and Debra almost receiving a beat-down by Ray Speltzer, who was dressed up like a twisted comic book character. For those of you comic book geeks—think Loki.
The one item not resolved is the killing of Viktor Baskov. I fear that Issac won’t stop until he gets the revenge he’s looking for. After the killing of Louis Greene, he now has Dexter’s name and his connection to Miami Metro. It’s just a matter of time before those two characters are placed firmly in front of each other with nothing but “time to kill.”
Things to keep an eye on:
-Is Batista having an identity crisis?
-Is there more to Joey Quinn’s “dirty cop” ways?