Dexter, Season 7, Episode 6: Do the Wrong Thing, Review

With a season that has had so much propulsion and excitement this far, it was inescapable that a slower episode of Dexter would come along and tonight’s episode, “Do the Wrong Thing,” was definitely a moment for a breather. With Isaak behind bars, Dexter’s worries seem locked away as well. With his adversary and threat momentarily contained, our twisted protagonist is able to pursue other interests, like the blonde vixen Hannah McKay. The episode is filled with sexual tension that builds until it culminates in a heated moment on Dexter’s table. Yet again, Dexter finds his life entangled with a beautiful blonde who complicates and confounds, but she is different from the fair-haired beauties of the past. Where Rita was a complete innocent and Lumen a wounded victim, Hannah seems to be a prime example of the type of person Dexter would normally despise and destroy, yet he finds himself inexplicably drawn to her for reasons other than to feed his Dark Passenger.

This week opens with Dexter’s imagined father Harry warning Dexter to leave Hannah alone. Usually Dexter follows Harry’s Code, unless the code impedes Dexter’s compulsions and this week his Lizard Brain is telling him that Hannah McKay is guilty and she must be put down. After only just last week promising Deb that he will not interfere with Miami Metro cases, Dexter purposely sabotages the blood reports on the recently discovered Wayne Randall victims to hide Hannah’s involvement in the murders. He doesn’t want Miami Metro obstructing his own investigations and procedures. Dexter travels to Hannah’s flower shop to show her the new report and to apologize for accusing her of being a killer, but really Dexter is only getting closer so he can dig up more dirt. While casually conversing, Dexter learns that Hannah not only has a dead husband, but a dead mentor as well. The two mysterious deaths of people close to Hannah all but confirms for Dexter that he must take Hannah McKay down.

Dexter’s theory is further helped by another investigator with interest in Hannah McKay. The author of a book profiling Wayne Randall’s murders arrives in Miami to take a look at the newly discovered evidence. The writer, Sal Price, discloses to Dexter that he has suspicion that Hannah McKay may have taken part in the Wayne Randall murders and is continuing to kill. After stealing Price’s information, Dexter believes he has all the proof he needs that Hannah is murdering her victims using poison grown in her garden. Later in the evening while Dexter is reviewing Price’s information, Hannah arrives at her apartment. Hall and Yvonne Strahovski dance around their obvious attraction, intermixing gazes of lust and suspicion as they try to figure out each other’s motives. When Dexter pays Hannah another visit, her curiosity in Dexter’s constant presence boils over. She demands to know what he wants, and Dexter replies by saying, “I want to take you out,” which obviously works on two different levels.

Finally, when the two have their date, they share a starry-eyed moment as Dexter takes her to a place that she longed to visit while she was with Randall. Before things get too romantic, Dexter drugs Hannah and she awakes to find herself on Dexter’s table. After giving his pre-murder monologue, Dexter gives Hannah a chance to say her last words and the confident femme fatale only stares unwavering into Dexter’s eyes and says, “Do what you got to do.” Dexter raises his knife to finish Hannah, but at the last moment has a change of heart and quickly cuts Hannah free and the two engage in fervent, complicated sex. Now with Dexter’s real motives revealed, how will Hannah respond to Dexter’s Dark Passenger and how will Dexter protect Hannah from Price’s looming accusations?

These aren’t the only future problems Dexter has. Deb isn’t exactly thrilled with her brother lately, and her patience is being strained the more she learns about his true self. Deb learns from LaGuerta that she is looking into the Jordan Chase murders, the murders Dexter committed with Lumen during season five. When Deb lets this information be known to Dexter, she pries for knowledge about Dexter’s actions involving Jordan Chase. When she finally discovers that Lumen was Dexter’s accomplice, she reacts with pure disgust. Debra cannot believe that Dexter was romantically and criminally involved with another woman so soon after Rita’s death. The hurt that Carpenter shows is multi-layered. Not only is this information shocking, but it also proves that Dexter may not be the love interest that Deb was beginning to think he was at the end of last season.

Deb’s anger only grows when she goes on a date with Price. The two are having a relatively good time before Price tells Deb his Hannah McKay theory. He tells Deb that the blood evidence Dexter tried to cover up proves McKay’s guilt. Right away, Deb realizes that Dexter intentionally flubbed the blood work, breaking his promise not to compromise Miami Metro cases. The Morgan siblings will definitely be having a long conversation about this soon. 

The major shift of Dexter’s focus from Isaak to Hannah has been a strange detour that has definitely dulled the action in sunny Miami. Reminiscent of seasons past, the show seems to be using Hannah as mid-season filler to break up the action of the main storylines and seemingly fill time. Hopefully the Hannah McKay plot will grow and blend nicely into the main action and serve as a focal point in the season’s endgame. Let’s hope the diversion isn’t just a pretty distraction.

 

The Best of the Rest

 

• Isaak is having a fine time in jail, asserting dominance over rival gangs and even using cell phones.
• Quinn, after returning the money, agrees to steal the key evidence in Isaak’s trial in exchange for Nadia’s safety and passport, which will likely result in Isaak’s release.
• The chemistry and sexual tension between Michael C. Hall and Yvonne Strahovski is palpable.
• Batista’s new dream is to open a restaurant, which the audience is supposed to care about?
• It’s fun to see Deb learning about Dexter’s actions in all of the past seasons, but why no questions about Doakes? Obviously that is one of Dexter’s bigger secrets and definitely something that will be hard to explain.