I think the episode was quite entertaining and should be been given a B or A-. Although it wasn't as great as previous episodes, it kept me entertained. Even with the predictable ending, I still felt sorry for Dexter.....he let out emotions he seems to have never let out before. But I guess like Stephen said, it helps that the characters are intriguing.

The interaction between Dex and Trinity were well done. Dex getting nervous as they go out to the woods, him choosing his "weapon" before they cut down the tree, etc....I thought was very well put together and played off.

The whole plot-line of Debb trying to find out about Harry sleeping around did end with a bit of a fizzle. But I'm thinking it will be picked back up again. My guess is next season for that.

With Quinn following Dex around, it does feel a bit like a "been there done that" but it's still fresh enough to keep me curious as to what will happen between them in the future.

And I'm still gonna say something is not right about that reporter. What I don't understand is in the previous episode she asked Quinn about getting Debb to do an interview and Quinn pretty much told her to forget about it and leave it alone. But then here she is showing up to the cop-shop to try and get Debb to stop and talk to her. Although she may have been there to have lunch with Quinn, wouldn't he have been a bit upset that she didn't listen and still tried to get Debb to talk? I dunno, I'm more than likely looking way more into it than I should.....but I still feel something is not right about her.

Anyways, I enjoyed the episode and I'm highly interested in who that coffin is for. Does Trinity know that Dex is onto him? Why was he so pissed off? Trinity has, in my opinion, been the best and most interesting serial killer villian on the show. Yep, even better than the Ice Truck Killer.

Yeah, I don't get how you see in that reporter being suspicious in anyway.  She's not really doing anything different than any other reporter does - being real pushy, trying to get that one BIG story that'll make them famous, etc.  That's all I think she's doing.

SPOLERS:

As for calling the ending predictable - I would only say it was only because deep down in your head you knew one day this plot line would come up.  If you think about it if it didn't happen like it played out you wouldn't have though nothing of it.  Everybody - guilty or not - okay, mostly everybody will say they didn't do it just like this guy did.  It just happened to be that this cat was the one.

On that note - I haven't slept in two days and I swear I see see through people out of the corner of my eye, sort of like ghosts.  Just insomnia, though, no drugs.

Yeah, I would have given this episode a B OR A-.

Spolier

Just before he killed that guy I had my doubts as to whether he was the killer, just due to the fact that he had an assistant which they weren't showing much of but mentioned a few times. And Dexter kind of rushed to the conclusion that it was the photographer. He did find evidence but he seemed distracted. He is usually way more thorough.
What`s good about the "fizzling" of Deb's search for her father's mistress was how Dexter kind of explained to the audience why it needed to fizzle. If Deb ever found out it who it was , it would lead to the ice truck killer, hs brother,then to him. His life would be over and the show.
Man, I hope my boy Des doesn't get to close to Dexter's secret or he might end up like the dude from season 2.
And you seem to have this obsession with the reporter. Yeah, she`s hot but come on. She's not doing anything out of the ordinary. She's being a nosey, pushy annoying reporter, which is her job.

Based on some comments Lithgow made at Comic-Con, I have a hunch where several of these plot threads are going to wind up by the end of the season.  But I shall say no more about that...

Who's the coffin for?  At first I thought it was for Trinity himself.  So that means he's planning on committing suicide?  Why?

On the other hand, why build a coffin made out of handmade wood from a tree he chopped down himself (with Dexter's help)?  That suggests to me he wants the coffin to be untraceable.  But then why let Dexter go with him to chop down the tree?  Is he planning on killing Dexter?  Or maybe his own family?  I don't know.

Nice that Deb gets Dexter's apartment.  But I'm going to miss seeing Dexter prepare for his next kill there.  Instead we can look forward to him researching his victims in a cheap wooden shack.  Ah well.

OMG come on, this episode deserved a C at best. After last weeks beautifully simplistict outing, which I consider to be the best of the series so far, this was a Huge let down. Not only was the whole thing with the photographer predictable, it was insulting. It was a means to an end and the means were not justified. Dexter's whole code is based on not getting caught and BEING SURE. He hears Battista say "I'm sure he's our guy" and thats basically enough for him. He does have to be a little more sure than that, so he goes to the studio to look around. While staking it out he straight up sees the assistant leaving alone. Aslo, there are probably 10 other people that could have access to that building besides the assistant. I will never believe that Dexter would make a slip up that Major.

I don't mind that Deb looking into Harry's past "fizzled out". Somethings simply end, thats life. It doesnt have to carry weight and it doesnt have to turn into to much. In fact it actually ended earlier. Deb was never looking to find anything greater than answers about Harry and I believe she really didnt want to know too much. She simply wanted confirmation of what Dexter told her, which she had already. She wasn't actively pursuing this anymore, the lady called her after a few weeks or so. She didn't even need to see the lady she did in this episode, but she did and by the end of their conversation it disgusted her. She didn't want to hear the details which tell me that she only cared about knowing the truth the rest didn't matter. Besides all of that Laura Moser is dead, once Deb saw that she would have moved on, anything else would have been too contrived and unbelivable.

What was excellent about this episode  was the trip that Dex and Arthur took.The whole scene was wonderful, creepy, and possibly enlightening. "Choose your weapon" Arthur asks. Dex sees the chainsaw but grabs the axe. When they get to the tree Arthur wants to cut down, he somehow can't start the chainsaw, which Dex accomplishes in one try. I thought it was interesting that Arthur gives a little bit of a scoff and then removes his glasses while he watches Dex start the chainsaw. It gave me the impression that he wanted to see how Dex handled it. He seems to say, if your not gonna choose it I will force your hand. Dexter then cuts down the tree, (trees symbolize life) which we know will eventually become a coffin.  We still don't know who the coffin will belong to, but it is interesting to note that it was made from the "life" Dexter took. Finally, while Arthur and Dexter drive back they hit a deer. The animal is injured and Dexter says it is suffering and Arthur needs to kill it. He grabs the Axe, the "weapon" he chose earlier, and hands it to Arthur. Does Arthur clean up his own mess? No he can't, or won't, do it. The task eventually falls onto Dexter again. Whether they are tools or weapons, in both instances Arthur manipulates the scene until they arrive in Dexter's hands. I'm not yet sure what this all means, if anything, but it was a beautifully planned and executed scene none the less. Too bad that it was placed in an otherwise subpar outing for Dexter and the gang.  

You might want to lay off the weed, Dash if you can't see that maybe Dex's family problems from the past couple of episodes might be the reason that he's slipping.  Is this your first excursion into this season?  Just wondering because the way you make it seem by what you say is that despite all that's happening around him:  trying to balance a family, job, and murdering that he won't slip up anywhere.  He's usually an A-list worker and boyfriend but he's messed up plenty already on that side in the first few epidsodes alone, what's not to say that he wouldn't make a mistake of this calibre?  He isn't a superhero - he's only human and to expect somebody to do something perfect EVERY TIME is a little more ridiculous than Dex making a slip-up.

Yes Dex is stressed, sure he could make a slip up. Do I believe it would be like this No. Dexter's balancing act is nothing new, he has been doing it for three and a half seasons so far. His family is larger now and with the addition of his son he did screw up already this season. However in that scenario he crashed his car and forgot where he hid the body. This is a completely different situation. Dexter's whole life he has learned this code, his ritual. It is basically the only constant in his life. I would have been ok with him screwing up if he had done his homework, but he did next to nothing and jumped to conclusions. The whole thing was contrived and unrealistic for the character that has been established.

Lol! The reporter is hot. Yes indeed and I enjoy every scene with her jugs hanging out.

But I just feel she came out of nowhere and just wiggled her way into Quinn's love-life. I know people come and go on the show, but to me, I just feel something isn't right about her. Yeah she's being the pushy reporter as most reporters do, but that still doesn't change the fact that my "feeling" is a bit off about her....that she isn't all as she appears.

Pony, I don't know that dex's "life" would be over if Deb found out about him.  While I haven't read the books, my understanding is that Deb does know about him in the book continuity.

I'll say this about the predictable argument.  Yes they did telegraph the fact that this photographer wasn't the guy and that the killer was his assistant.  I knew that for sure when the assistant left the studio, but I had my suspicions a bit earlier.  Still, with Dex being to desparate to get in a kill, along with the balancing act of husband, father, cop (or blood-splatter expert whatever his title is) and dealing with Trinity both as a future victim and as a bit of a mentor, it should be easy to tell that Dex might slip up.  He found all the evidence he needed in the photographer's studio, but he never checked his alibi.

I don't mind the "been there, done that" feel of the Quinn storyline either.  I think Dexter (the tv show, not the character) needs the tension that this type of story arc can provide.  The viewer has to think "oh, how's Dex going to do all this with Quinn watching every step he takes."  Again, it's not going to be the main storyline of the show, but it makes for better Drama than Batista/Leguarta.

 I give this review an F for offering insight as shallow as a freshman's paper on why you should be allowed to drink during class.