Previously on Dexter, Debra gets sucked into Dexters world when he brings her on board with a new target, slowly seeing why Dexter does what he does. Quinn continues to get close to a dancer from the strip club that he’s been staking out and LaGuerta talked to Angel about reopening the Bay Harbor Butcher case, which she believes is still out there. Dexter meets the woman associated with the serial killer from the previous weeks murder, fumbling in his interrogation. Louis continues to try and thwart Dexter in his ways, ending poorly for him. Do you think Deb will start bending to Dexters ways? Will Quinn get sucked into another womans ploy? Will LaGuerta meet the REAL Bay Harbor Butcher?

“Just when it seems like Deb and I are making progress we make a left turn”. Dexter muses about how Deb will never accept him for what he is as she starts a bath with a beer in attempts to relax after dealing with Ray Speltzer. Dexter and Misuka go through the mausoleum where Speltzer kept his trophies. Back in the tub, Deb realizes the water running red with blood. Dexter stands in the door in a tuxedo, holding out his hand and asking her to be his. The blood runs over the tub as Deb begins to panic, unable to turn it off. She wakes up to realize the water had run over in the tub, noticing the water all over the floor.

Later on in the lab, Deb asks Dexter to come talk to her outside. She asks him about the Trinity killer and Rita’s death. Dexter tells her that Trinity is dead, which makes Deb question if he really loved Rita, if he is capable of love. Dexter asks her that before she walked into the church did she ever question how he felt about her. Before the conversation can continue any further though, they are interrupted by a phone call from Angel saying they caught Speltzer. Deb tells the team that they need a confession because he was wearing a mask when she saw him and cannot identify him off of that.

At the strip club, George presents Issac a dossier on Dexter and another on Louis. Issac knows that Dexter is the one that killed Viktor, leaving George to question why the police still are shutting down his strip club on a regular basis. Issac explains that Dexter and Louis must have been working alone, the rest of the force not knowing about Viktors demise. Issac points out Alex, the bartender, asking if he was one of their own. George confirms that he is, which Issac tells them to give the police what they want.

Back at Miami Metro Headquarters, Angel questions Speltzer. Angel plays up the fact that Deb is about to come in and question him, playing up the fact that she is the lieutenant, continually squacking in his ear. Deb, smiling at the thought, is then brought into the room. Dexter, in his mind, talks about how Deb needs this more than he does, and contemplates his next move. In the interrogation room Deb breaks out pictures of Speltzers mom, who recently passed away. She eggs him on, talking about his mom, about how pretty and vulgar she was. Deb continues to break Speltzer down, eventually getting the confession out of him. Afterwords, Dexter tries to convince Deb to go out for a drink to celebrate catching Speltzer, but she refuses. She explains to him that she feels undermined by the fact that she could have saved the waitress if she had just let Dexter kill Speltzer beforehand. She tells Dexter that she has been thinking a lot about Rita, and how she died because of Dexter’s selfishness. Deb continues on that someone needs to protect Harrison, when Dexter protests that he does protect him, she argues that someone needs to protect him from Dexter himself. Deb tells him that Harrison should live with Astor and Cody, his grandparents, but Dexter cuts her off. He tells her that he loves his son, that he is the only person who can and should raise him. Deb tells him that it is not fair of him to expose his child to his life choices, that since he doesn’t want to stop that he is putting him in danger. Deb asks him what if he had been 3 minutes later to Speltzer place, what if he wasn’t hunting Trinity. Dexter tells her that the mistake he made was that he didn’t kill Trinity the first time he saw him. He tells Deb that he will never make that mistake again. Deb tells him that it is not in his control, but Dexter counters that everything is in his control and he is not giving up his son.

Issac and George go to visit Alex in his home. They talk about his family, and how much money he sends back home each month. Issac offers a lot of money for his family if Alex takes the fall for Viktor. He is to kill himself after writing a note to Kasia. George tells him that if doesn’t do this that he will be killed anyway, and his family killed as well. They give Alex a shot, then tell him he won’t feel a thing. That it will be quick, like turning off a light. Alex cries as he looks at his familys picture and shoots himself in the head.

Hannah comes to the Miami Metro Headquarters. She comes up to Dexter to talk about one of Wayne’s victims, and how he was the last person to talk to him before he died. Hannah tells him that keeping in contact with Wayne was too painful, but they were headed to Argentina to start a farm, laughing at the thought. She tells him that they lived on farms in Alabama and nothing would have changed in South America. Dexter asks her if she misses him, which she replies that she misses the way she felt when she was with him, that life was just beginning and the world was in front of them, that anything is possible. She asks Dexter if he knows the feeling, which he quietly replies, “No.” Hannah excuses herself to talk to her lawyer, while Dexter watches LaGuerta walk into Debs office. LaGuerta tells Deb that they have a big problem, showing her a DVD of Speltzers arrest. At first you see him fighting off the policemen, but it is then shown that they never read him his rights. In court, the judge threw his confession out because of what happened, and Speltzer walked, now planning on filing a lawsuit against the police force. Dexter thinks about how there is something he can do as Deb storms off. Quinn receives a message stating that Alex committed suicide the previous night.

In his car, Issac says that the policemen no longer wearing uniforms is disrespectful to the dead. His bodyguard catches sight of Dexter going into the scene, driving away. In the scene, Dexter states that Alex had to have been sitting at the table and take his own life with the blood spatter. Quinn re- reads the note to Angel, explaining to him what he had done. Angel is still suspicious about the whole thing, Quinn is eager to shut the case.

Dexter comes home to see Jamie cleaning out Harrison’s old toys. Dexter sighs at how old Harrison is getting, convincing Jame to keep Lamby, a blanket Harrison used to not be able to go to sleep without. The next morning Dexter tracks Speltzer to his job at the cemetary. Before Dexter can finish his investigation of Speltzer, he comes back in and attacks him. A violent fight ensues, knocking Dexter out. He wakes up in a basement with a sign that says “Run”. He walks slowly through the basement to find Speltzer in his bullhorn mask with an axe. He begins to run, being forced into a maze. He comes to an elevator shaft where he jumps to the coards and climbs down into a maze of manniquins and strobe lights. Slowly manuvering around he manages to catch Speltzer, telling him to take a shower once in a while. He continues to run, trying to break out of going down each level, escaping to the roof. Dexter manages to escape by hopping on the back of a truck out of Speltzers reach.

Back at home, Dexter sends Harrison to Orlando for a few weeks to stay with Astor and Cody. He thanks Jamie for taking him there, with her telling him she might stay for a few days herself just to relax. Dexter tells Harrison to be good for Grandma and Grandpa while he is gone, Dexter thinking to himself he needs to keep Speltzer away.

Issac breaks into a crime scene, which was Viktors apartment. He takes a photo off the mantle, opning up the back of it to reveal a picture of the two of them. He becomes emotional at the picture, saying that he will avenge his death. “Everything I do is for you.”

Deb holds back tears at the waitresses funeral. Angel asks if she is okay, but Deb brushes him off telling him that she just wants to get back to the station and do the paperwork on Mike’s shooter. He walks away when Deb notices Speltzer standing in the background. She approaches him, telling him that he did enough, starting a fight, but Angel pulls her off before things get worse. Later on, Dexter goes to see Deb at home asking her about what happened. She tells Dexter what happened, and he reassures her that he is only there to see how she is. She asks him if things are ever going to get easier, when he tells her that nothing had changed except that she knows more about him. “What I know about you makes you a completely different person.” Dexter asks her if she will be there for him. After hesitating, she says she doesn’t know. She opens the door for him to leave.

Back at headquarters Quinn and Angel sit in silence, until Angel comes close to his desk to question Alex’s shooting more. Quinn tells Angel about the dancer he is seeing, which Angel rips him a bit before letting him off. He promises Angel he will swing by the club to make sure Alex isn’t some patsy for the mob.

Dexter eggs on Speltzer in the cemetery, luring him to a grave where he knocks him out with a shovel. He ties him to a gurney, letting him wake up. He mocks his screaming, then opens the incinerator. He tells him about Deb and their strained relationship, then uses the broken handle from the shovel to stab him. He puts his box of blood slides, which he gently caresses first, on Speltzers chest before putting him into the fire. “Goodbye friends”, as he shuts the door. Outside, Dexter watches the smoke through the chimney stack as Deb comes to the crematorium. Dexter tells her that smoke is Speltzer, she asks if he did this for her. He tells her no, and asks how she feels. She says she feels glad, then asks what that makes her. “Human.”

Yet another powerful episode from our favorite serial killer. What do you think of Dexter and Deb’s relationship now that she knows? Who do you think Viktor was to Issac that makes him so vengeful?