TV-Reviewed

In “If I Had a Hammer,” Dexter gets closer to the Trinity Killer by talking to him and finding out how he manages to hide his secrets from his family. This episode was as much about Trinity as it was about Dexter and it was interesting to see the parallels between the two lifestyles and it was interesting to see that Dexter actually has a lot to learn from Trinity.

Last week we learned that the Trinity Killer has a family and Dexter does some investigating by going to church with him and just getting to know him. The Trinity Killer has pretty much the perfect life, outside of murdering people that is. He has a family and his kids describe them as a “cool dad.”  There were truly some creepy moments in this episode which happened every time Dexter and Trinity were together. I think it was, because we weren’t sure what either one was about to do next. There were times where I thought that Trinity knew that Dexter was on to him and then there were times where I thought Dexter was going to go for the kill right then and there. Also watching Trinity use the hammer that we saw him murder someone with last episode was creepy and watching as he gives it to Dexter as a gift was a great move because if Dexter hadn’t accepted it, then it would have looked somewhat suspicious. John Lithgow is doing very well with his character and while I’m not so taken with him as I was with Jimmy Smits last season, but I’m still very impressed.

Dexter is having problems at home because Rita is still pissed about Dexter lying about getting rid of the apartment. Rita is pretty menacing when she’s not in a good mood and she’s definitely a much different person then who we saw in season 1 – she’s much stronger. It was funny watching the two attend couples therapy and Dexter not being able to emotionally understand Rita, which is something he’s always struggled with. We did have a breakthrough with Dexter telling Rita why he wanted to keep his place because he needs somewhere to put his stuff. So now he has a place at home to keep his tools that his dark passenger uses. He even got a lock, but I have a bad feeling that the lock is going to come off in a manner that Dexter isn’t going to like. I think that will come in a future season, however.

Michael C. Hall as Dexter Morgan and John Lithgow as Arthur Mitchell

Dexter is learning a lot from the Trinity killer, like how to blend in more and he’s learned to be himself around his family. Dexter’s family is what keeps him stable and it was admirable that he realizes this and realizes that if he loses his family that it could be the end of him.

We had other great stuff going on with Debra thinking about bending the rules to get the vacation murderer put in jail. She thought she was the one who shot Lundy and it was interesting to see her think about lying that she saw someone and then pull out of it. Unfortunately for Dexter though, she also realizes that Lundy’s things were stolen and she now is on to the fact that the Trinity Killer was the one who did it. This ruins Dexter’s plans a bit because now he has to worry about his sister getting in Trinity’s radar.

We also had Batista and Laguerta drama which had them trying to figure out a way so both of them could stay in homicide. I thought it was very interesting that there solution was for them to stop seeing each other, and at first, I thought it was a con, but it’s not. It actually looks like they’re making an actual attempt not to see each other. We’ll have to see how long this lasts though.

This was a very good episode with a lot of meaningful dialogue and some interesting plots that continue to develop. I look forward to seeing this relationship with the Trinity Killer develop and look forward to seeing Debra delve deeper into the Trinity case and her father.

Rating: 8.0