Welcome back Dexter fans! When we last saw Dexter, Deb has walked in on him in the middle of the killing of Travis Marshall. Season Six was on faith, more shaping of the man that Dexter is becoming. “Oh God” being the last words of the season, we’ve been waiting very impatiently for the second to last season to begin. Thats right, only one season after this one left, so lets hope this starts off on a high note!

We start with Dexter speeding down the highway, stopping for gas but finding his credit cards not working. Using cash he has stowed away in a secret compartment he pays for the gas and moves on, going into the airport and buying the first ticket out of the country with more cash. During this time, his inner monolouge talks about the little secrets about themselves, and what do you do if your whole life is a secret.

We are then brought back right back to where we left off, Deb holding a gun to Dexter. Dexter begs her to lower the gun, acting surprised at what he was doing. He tells her that Travis came after him, that he snapped. Dexter says Rita’s death made him angry, and that he lost his mind when Travis came after him. Deb asks why he didn’t call her, which he tells her he wasn’t exactly in the best state of mind. He assures her that physically he’s okay. Dexter begs her not to call the station, that it would complicate their lives more than its needed. Dexter convinces Deb that they need to make it look like it was a suicide by Travis. They decide to make it look like a final tableau from Travis, using fire and his sword. Dexter tries to tell Deb he’ll take care of it, but true to Deb nature she takes it on.

We are then flashed back to when Dexter and Deb are kids, when Deb brings home a puppy. Deb is scolded for what she has, and Harry tells Dexter to not even think about it.

Back in the church, Dexter says he needs to keep his secret safe. He cuts Travis’ body free, letting the blood slide fall into the grates below. He uses Travis’ sword and stabs him with it. Deb buys the gas, and they set the church on fire. Dexter convinces Deb they need to leave before they are called in.  They sit on a dock, waiting for the phone to ring. Dexter thinks about how wrong this all is, that he should be on his boat. They are then notified of the situation, being brought into the church with the team. Dexter builds a story of the final tableau for Travis, while Deb looks on sadly. In her snide way, LaGuerta comes to tell Deb the Press is waiting for her. LaGuerta notices something in the grate, finding the shattered blood sample. She passes it off to one of the other forensics team.

Dexter returns home to find Louis in his apartment, and that his computer was used. Jamie apologizes for Louis being in his side of the apartment, and leaves. Dexter checks his blood slides, realizing that the one from Travis is missing. He goes to check on Harrison, whispering that it will all be okay.

Back at his own apartment, Louis is still upset over his encounter with Dexter. Jamie says that he keeps getting weirder. On his laptop, Louis cancels Dexters credit cards. Meanwhile, Deb comes home with a beer and turns on the news to see herself on television, giving an interview. Mike calls her, asking where Travis’ car was. They discuss it a little, but Deb dismisses it. Mike sees someone pulled over to the side of the road, and goes to help him out. The man (which is played by Enver Gjokaj of ‘Dollhouse’ fame) tells him he is okay, he doesn’t need help. Mike raises his arms, telling him he’s a cop, but the man is insistant he doesn’t help. Mike opens the trunk to find a dead girl in there, and the man shoots him repeatedly. Swearing in another language, he takes the bracelet off the girl, wipes the car clean, steals Mike’s car and drives away.

Dexter is getting ready when Deb knocks on his door. She asks him how he was so perfectly ready to kill Travis. She comments that there was plastic wrap, the knives and his apron. He had changed his clothes, there were plastic sleeves. Deb explains she is just trying to put things together. Dexter apologizes for putting her in this situation, that she looks pretty stressed. He explains that all of that is in his car, that it is just part of his kit. Deb tells him that it doesn’t feel right, and he looks her to tell her that he knows that it doesn’t. He tells her that he never meant to get her involved in any of this. Deb calls after that she is. Dexter replies that they have to go to work. He sits in his room, flashing back to when Deb lost the dog. Dexter says that it is all his fault. Dexter explains to Deb he doesn’t know what else to say. Deb gets the call about Mike. When she leaves, he grabs his get away pack, in case Deb doesn’t let up. He glances at a picture of Harrison before he heads to the scene.

At the scene, Mike’s body is covered with an American flag. Angel says that whoever did this to Mike is going to be very sorry. Deb says that they do everything by the book. Dexter looks over the woman’s body, saying that it was blunt force drama to the head. Mike’s car has already been found. Dexter checks the turn signal for the fingerprints of the man. Dexter questions if Deb will ever believe him. She flashes back to the night, seeing Dexter in his killing mode. She also flashes back to Season One, when she is on Brian’s table. In the lab, Dexter notices Deb staring at him again. She goes into the file room, pulling the files on the Ice Truck Killer case. Opening the box, she sees the knife that Dexter used to kill Travis also being the one he used to cut her free from his brothers setup. In the office, Angel gives the lowdown on the woman in the car. The owner of the strip club she worked at owns 5 other strip clubs in the area. The fingerprint that Dexter had pulled from the turn signal has no matches in any database. Before he can investigate further, Deb comes in with the file from the Ice Truck Killer, telling him that she had a weird flashback to when she was on Brian’s table. Deb explains to him that she was on that table like Travis on that table, that everything was exactly the same. Deb tells him that she is sorry that she is asking all the questions but she is just trying to make sense of this. Dexter tells her that its not going to make sense. She brings things back to Mike’s case, walking out. In his head, Dexter begs for Deb to leave this alone. The computer catches his attention, finding a match to a man named Viktor (another ‘Dollhouse’ reference for Whedon fans?), who matches the man who killed Mike. “When you are losing control of your entire life, its good to focus on what you’re good at. My little secret.” Deb sees Dexter leave, and she sneaks into his office as soon as the elevator door closes. She pulls up his computer, which is a picture of the two of them with Harrison as his desktop picture.

Dexter drives to Viktors home to kill him, seeing that someone packed in a hurry. He finds blood and gunshot residue. He goes on the computer finding a flight leaving in less than 2 hours, flashing to the beginning of the episode. He says the syringes in his bag are for diabetes, then spots Viktor in the airport.

Meanwhile, Angel and Quinn go to the strip club where Kasa worked at, turning off the music and questioning everyone that worked there. Quinn recognizes the manager, saying he started off as a low level scumbag and now must be a mid level scumbag. Angel questions him about Kasa, which he tells him that she wasn’t the smartest girl in the world. Quinn starts questioning one of the girls, who is looking behind him to the signals being given. Angel tells Quinn there is blood found.

At the airport, Dexter grabs Viktor in the bathroom, using a wheelchair as a disguise to bring the unconscious man around the airport. Dexter takes him to the unclaimed baggage area of the airport.

In the office, Quinn and Angel tell Deb about finding nothing in the club. Deb says shut down their club every night until they start talking. They decide to go have a drink in Mike’s honor, although Deb asks for a rain check. She talks to Misuka about Dexter, while Angel talks to Quinn about his problem. Angel tells him to deal with his problems, and Quinn tells him to deal with his. But they agree that Mike was a better cop than they would ever be, drinking to that.

Dexter talks to Viktor in his usual manner. Viktor tells him that he will give him money, or anything. Dexter tells him he is doing what he has to do, for control and make things the way they were. Viktor asks if there is anything he can do to keep him from killing him. Dexter tells him no, using a bag and a fire extinguisher to kill him.

In the Ukraine, the organized crime family talks about making the issues go away with Mikes death. They also talk about when Viktor should arrive.

Deb runs on her treadmill, stopping with a flashback. She calls Dexter, but Jamie answers, saying that Dexter is at work. Jamie tells Deb that Dexter works crazy hours, sometimes until three or four in the morning. Deb says she’ll call Dexter tomorrow.

On his boat, Dexter looks at the body of Viktor, flashing back to when Deb lost banjo. Harry tells Dexter that he must never tell her the truth about himself. He dumps the body and says that compassion does not fit him. Back at her place, Deb continues to look over the Ice Truck Killer file, flashing back to the night on the table, remembering their conversation of not being a killer and a hero.

In the office, LaGuerta talks to Misuka about the church evidence, noting the slides. Back at the apartment Dexter walks in to see Deb has torn the place apart, finding the hand, the slides and the knives. She asks him, “Did you kill all these people?” And he replies “I did”  She then asks “Are you a serial killer?” To which he replies “Yes.”

Quite the explosive start to this season of Dexter. I’m sad to see Mike go, I really enjoyed his character and thought that him and Deb made a great team. I’m glad to see Angel and Quinn back on the same page as well. From the setup it looks like that it is going to be an intense season with Deb knowing what is going on. What did you think of the premiere?