Constant Cravings

A perfect getaway is sitting on a boat with your family, lying down and looking up at the sky with no worries and enjoying every minute of relaxation. That is until the cell phone rings, and then it’s back to work for Dexter Morgan.

“Slack Tide,” episode seven of this fascinating fourth season, kicks off with Dexter, his wife, sister and kids enjoying a nice day on his boat, which gets interrupted by a phone call involving a severed arm that was found in an unusual place: Inside an alligator.

At the crime scene, it was revealed that the wrist had ligature marks and was bitten post-mortem, making it a murder. It was then announced that the arm belonged to a 19-year-old model from Nicaragua with an expired visa, recently working with a photographer by the name of Jonathan Farrow, who was rumored to buy himself out of a rape charge years ago.

Dexter, played by Michael C. Hall, meets up with Trinity, who we now know is Arthur Mitchell, and soon they’re on their way on to get supplies and head out to the woods to cut down a tree. An interesting scene shows both Trinity and Dexter on their way back: Arthur accidentally runs over a deer that leaps in front of his van, feels sorrow and is afraid to put it out of its misery.

Dexter’s inner voice talks to him about how he kills people for a living, and can’t put a deer out of its misery. Harry stands in the background telling Dexter that this is his chance to kill Trinity – with Dexter holding an axe in his hand we think he is about to do so, but he kills the deer instead. This shows a weakness in Trinity that kind of turned off Dexter, who is really trying to get to know what this person is really about as each episode goes on.

Dexter’s now interested in Farrow, thinking that he is the one who killed the model. He goes to his studio to find clues that may link Farrow to the murder, and discovers blood spots on the walls and floor. Now convinced that this was Farrow’s doing, Dexter quickly sets up shop and goes out to look for him at a local nightclub.

The only problem is that Dexter is being followed by none other than Quinn. An earlier altercation involving Dexter and Quinn made him curious about what the former is hiding. When Dexter notices Quinn, he quickly causes a distraction and heads out of there.

A scary scene is when we see Trinity in his garage, making something – he uses a smoother, going back and forth, with an angry look on his face. It’s then revealed that Trinity has made a casket, but for whom?

Farrow heads back to his studio, where he sees flashing lights and music playing. As he heads over, there’s Dexter with needle in hand, performing his signature move to the neck. Farrow awakes, all taped up with nowhere to go. Dexter talks to him about how he is a murderer, responsible for the death of the model. Farrow argues with Dexter, saying that he did not kill anybody. Dexter then stabs him in the chest, killing him instantly.

Dexter goes back to work with a shocked look on his face, noticing Farrow’s assistant being arrested by Bautista, only to find out that Bautista’s assistant is the real killer.

The shocking thing is that Dexter has killed an innocent man, which is the first time he has done so. The episode ends with him sitting in the corner of his office, with a look of worry and a feeling of disappointment.