The Love Shack

Episode six of this thrilling season of “Dexter” is entitled “If I Had a Hammer,” in which Dexter follows the disturbed Trinity Killer and discovers the mask in which he wears to cover who he really is to the world. He’s a loving husband to his wife, a great father to his kids, but only Dexter knows the truth of who Trinity is, and why he commits these vicious acts of murder.

Dexter, played by Michael C. Hall (“Gamer”), is chasing after Trinity, played by John Lithgow (“Ricochet”). Dexter introduces himself to Trinity with a fake name, and slowly enters the life of doing community work as Dexter builds homes along with Trinity. We eventually discover why Trinity becomes this maniacal lunatic – he lost his sister while he was young, similar to the way Dexter lost his mom when he was a baby. These two reasons for their dark secrets coincides with the fact that they both have a similar cause in their urge to kill.

The interesting part of this episode is that Trinity is just like Dexter in that he has a family, but there is a certain trigger that sets him off, and the cause is his sister. It could be that Trinity’s sister could have been murdered in front of him, causing a lifelong scar that has created a monster inside of him, just like the death of Dexter’s mom did for him. In the end, it is hoped that many unanswered questions will get resolved.

Dexter’s marriage has taken a spill, as he and his wife Rita, played by Julie Benz (“The Boondock Saints II: All Saint‘s Day”), are going to marriage counseling to resolve their issues, mainly the ones about Dexter not being honest with Rita. (Especially about lying to her about keeping her apartment.) Dexter struggles to communicate with her, and finally he opens up and tells her he needs space. She understands, and he builds a shack where he can keep his prized possessions. When Rita gives Dexter the keys to his little private shack, the smile on his face is priceless.

This episode is probably the least entertaining one this season. With the little unmasking that occurred with the Trinity Killer, there is still plenty of drama and shocking conclusions to come. Building homes with Trinity may seem nice, and using his murder weapon – a hammer – is a nice touch, but it is Dexter who is on the hunt, and for revenge, his sister Debra, played by Jennifer Carpenter (“Quarantine”), is on a similar hunt, and is getting closer to finding Trinity as well. Dexter, on the other hand, has a plan in mind.

Let’s just hope it goes smoothly.