Arthur is planning a lone trip to Tampa, ostensibly to participate in another Four Walls building project, but Dexter surmises he's about to start another kill-cycle earlier than expected. So, Dex convinces Arthur to let him accompany him on the job, mainly by swelling the sense of humanitarianism Arthur has in his heart, and a two-man "road trip" is soon underway. The journey proves to be quite an eye-opener for both men, as Dex admits to killing an innocent man (mistaking him for an "animal" on a hunting expedition), and the astonished Arthur finds a way to help Dex cope with his remorse by opening up about his own dreadful role in his sister's death...
An oddly invigorated Arthur took Dex to his family's old home, specifically to the bathroom where he accidentally caused his sister to slash a vital artery while showering, setting in motion the eventual suicide of his brokenhearted mother, and savage beatings at the hand of his inconsolable father than only ended when Arthur committed patricide to end his abuse (although he kept that detail vague, unaware Dex already knows these facts having researching his past already.)
With both men unburdened by sharing their secrets, the turnaround in Arthur's temperament was darkly humorous to behold (dancing jigs, regaling a family of diners with his inappropriate family history), but Dex was instead more interested in preparing "kill room" in his motel bathroom to put an end to Arthur's lifetime of twisted killing. But maybe Dexter wouldn't be quite so keen to end Arthur's days if he knew what information Deb (Jennifer Carpenter) had uncovered...
Having convinced LaGuerta (Lauren Vélez) that there's some merit to her theory that Frank Lundy's phantom "Trinity Killer" was responsible for shooting them both, she later realized that the trajectory of her gunshot wound doesn't tally with a 6'4" tall suspect -- rather, the killer would be someone quite short, which means Trinity wasn't responsible for Lundy's death after all. But if it wasn't Arthur, and it wasn't original suspect the Vacation Killer, just who was it? Fortunately, now there isn't a conflict of interest, Deb is free to take lead on the investigation into her ex-boyfriend's killer, while Angel (David Zayas) takes point on Lundy's murder.
A handful of relatively dull subplots weren't enough to spoil the episode, but they're still not really clicking. With Dexter away for a few days (pretending to be at a Tampa convention), Rita (Julie Benz) spends time with neighbour Elliot and is surprised by a frisson of attraction between. While it's a decent idea to throw some love hurdles in Rita's way, this all felt very rushed and unlikely -- mainly because Elliot was only introduced last week, so the sudden possibility of Rita cheating on her husband didn't feel likely or worthy of introduction with only four episodes to expand on. As for LaGuerta and Angel's dormant office romance erupting on an office desk (literally, I'd guess)... please, just make it stop.
The big dramatic moment of "Road Kill" was when Dex had prepared his kill room only to discover that Arthur had left the motel in secret and gone to the Four Walls construction site to commit suicide by jumping off the half-built house. His 30-year cycle of murder completed and unexpectedly cleansed of guilt, Arthur's final move was to kill himself and be buried in the coffin he'd built in his garage (as I predicted), but Dex refused to let Trinity take the coward's way out and prevented his fall -- to be helped and applauded by a group of builders.
It's now quite an intriguing relationship that's formed between the two men, as Arthur believes his destiny has been averted by Dex (who has come into his life as an instrument of God), so this rips his plan to pieces. Will he continue his usual murderous activities, believing that some higher power wants him to? Is his absolution genuine and enough to rehabilitate Arthur completely? Or will Arthur simple be free to indulge his dark urges without the specific structure imposed by his childhood trauma -- effectively becoming a wild animal Dex has accidentally taken off the leash?
Overall, "Road Kill" was very good and found some provocative ways to spin the story into new directions -- mainly with the oddity of Arthur and Dex's relationship, but also in the fact Debra's realizes she's been chasing the wrong man over Lundy's death. With regard to that revelation, is the show about to throw a new felon into the mix at such a late stage, or is the culprit someone we've already met or know about? Who would have a reason to kill Lundy? Or was it just a random shooting and mugging unconnected to the show's ongoing storylines, with the subplot now palmed off onto Angel?
Actually; how tall is Arthur's teenage son..?
15 November 2009
Showtime, 9/8c
written by: Melissa Rosenberg & Scott Reynolds directed by: Ernest Dickerson starring: Michael C. Hall (Dexter Morgan), Julie Benz (Rita Bennett), Jennifer Carpenter (Debra Morgan), Desmond Harrington (Det. Joey Quinn), Lauren Vélez (Lt. Maria Laguerta), David Zayas (Sgt. Angel Batista), Preston Bailey (Cody), Courtney Ford (Christine Hill), John Lithgow (Arthur Mitchell), Esther Paik (Mrs. Lee) & Greg Joung Paik (Mr. Lee)
