Finally we’re getting somewhere. It seems to have taken longer than usual for this season to get Dexter involved with the Big Bad, though things have actually ramped up quite quickly in just one episode. Not only has Dexter pinned the Doomsday Murders on both Professor Gellar and Travis Marshall, but he came very close to taking Travis out. What’s somewhat surprising for Dexter, though, is how he so quickly took Travis for his word, whereas in previous seasons he’d have one hell of a time convincing himself that he captured the wrong man. I guess what’s different here is that he didn’t immediately drug Travis and have him bound and ready for killing, so Dexter purposely got Travis in a situation for a Q&A rather than a pre-kill confession.
It appears that Gellar has some sort of powerful affect on Travis that even he’s unable to explain, and I’m not sure if we’re suppose to believe it’s some sort of divine intervention or something else. For example, Travis saw blood coming from Gellar’s head one moment, then a shake of his head later it was gone. Was that some sort of mind game, or is Gellar perhaps drugging Travis into having hallucinations? Is it just that Travis believes Gellar is some sort of Christ-like figure?
I’m wondering now what Gellar’s plan is, as far as the “end of the world” everyone’s talking about. Is he planning for some sort of cataclysmic event, like a bomb or mass poisoning, to kill as many people as possible? How would the end of the world translate to him as it does in the Book of Revelation? Clearly he has an endgame in mind, and one that’s coming soon. If there was going to be an event to step up the evil that Dexter had to deal with, a genocidal maniac would be it.
There’s definitely something going on with Professor Porter, and the appearance of her elaborate back tattoo and the symboled book on her shelves all but leapt out at us to let us know she’s involved in Gellar’s game to some extent. She’s clearly playing dumb to the “Alpha and Omega of the Enesserette” book that Angel found; there’s just no way she didn’t recall those bizarre drawings and text from her time with Gellar.
I have to admit that, from my viewpoint, I thought Travis and Gellar had run over Porter and Quinn in the parking lot. In any case, I’m wondering what Quinn’s game is and where he’s going to wind up. Yes, part of his game is to attempt to make Deb jealous, whether he admits that to himself or not. But to what end? I’m hoping it doesn’t simply end up like some of the other dead end story lines of the past, like Angel’s first divorce. Is he going to wind up part of Gellar’s ominous end-of-the-world signs, with the help of Porter?
I really like the B story of this season, with Brother Sam, as it’s a story that’s significant in the world of Dexter but, at the same time, it’s not directly connected to the A story of the Doomsday Murders. I do believe the two will connect somehow in the end, but in a way that only affects Dexter and his rather new foray into th world of religion and worship of God.
“I see the way you look at people around here. You got the world’s youngest Lt. Batista and his hot rod. Masuka with …” – Deb
“I made the mistake of … going into his lab unannounced. He was …”
“Enough said.” – Deb
“Maybe I do need to go to therapy.” – Deb
“No more than me.” – Dexter
“Am I that fucked up?!” – Deb
Clacked by Keith McDuffee 
on Nov 01, 2011 @ 08:00 EST5EDT
Deb kept the engagement ring in her desk at the end, didn’t she? This suggests to me that once she stops freaking out about her new job, she’ll want to get back together with Quinn. But he’s doing his best to ruin any chance he has of getting her back. What an idiot. How could he act so blindsided by her refusal to marry him? He knows that she freaks out about everything – he could have just taken it in stride and waited to see if she changed her mind. I want their relationship to succeed (just because Deb’s other relationships have been disasters), but at the same time I think Quinn may not be strong enough to handle her personality. It takes someone pretty level-headed, like Dexter or Lundy, to calm her down.
Regarding Travis, I think Dexter always intended to use him to find Gellar. Otherwise he would have drugged him, as you pointed out.
Although Brother Sam as counterpoint to the Doomsday Killer is really on-the-nose, for me he is the most interesting character this season. In him, Dexter can see a possible future in which he no longer has to feed his Dark Passenger. One of the most lovable things about Dexter is his genuine curiosity about what makes other people tick, and his interest in Brother Sam’s use of faith to overcome his inner darkness fits right into that. Dexter is not the type of killer who thinks he’s righteous (in contrast to the Doomsday Killer) – he knows that darkness drives his actions. He recognizes that he has a problem. That’s why he doesn’t shy away from Brother Sam. A killer like Gellar would react defensively, would try to justify himself: “I don’t need to change, I’m right to kill those people. Who do you think you are, telling me that I need to change?” Dexter’s reaction is more along the lines of, “I don’t know if change is possible for someone like me,” which shows that he is recognizes his need and genuinely wants to overcome his darkness. Gosh, this show really is a giant metaphor about addiction, isn’t it… (But not necessarily addiction – you could fill in the blank with any sort of vice or character flaw.)
*POST AUTHOR*
Hm … I thought Deb put the ring in Quinn’s desk, not hers.
I wasn’t sure whose desk it was, so I’ll take your word for it. :-)
I want to be the first person to call it, but I don’t think Gellar is real! He is a hallucination of Travis’s. Travis may have accidently killed him in the past.
*POST AUTHOR*
OK … that just may be one hell of a brilliant prediction.
At first I thought that can’t be the case, since Miami Metro is out looking for the guy. But then … who’s to say he’s just not dead, and they don’t know it? We haven’t seen Gellar come out and actually kill someone, have we? We’ve just heard Travis say he has. However … what about when Travis woke up and the girl he slept with was tied up on the floor. Wasn’t she looking up at Gellar when Travis came walking in?
If we can rule out those things, I’d like to post this, giving you credit for the theory. Cool with that?
Love your theory, Malik!
Wow, I’m glad I wasn’t the only one who thought of that. Dad thought I’m crazy, but from the first episode, and especially after the second one, all those double hints just kept showing up! I reckon he’s a split personality though. Either that or a dark passenger.
That would be fantastic. Travis is the only person we’ve seen interacting with Gellar, isn’t he?
During the part of the episode where Angel discovered Gellar’s notes in Porter’s apartment, I was pretty sure she had killed Quinn. I thought it would lead to an ominous discovery where Angel realizes she’s not innocent, followed by him discovering Quinn’s dead body and Porter attacking Angel. It was just framed that way. I like that the show can set me up with false expectations that way, though.
That one hadn’t occurred to me, but it certainly would explain Gellar dropping completely off the map three years ago, as well as Porter’s defense of his character. Travis could have taken over writing Gellar’s blog as soon as he died.
In the previous episode, I did think at the time that it was rude of the waitress not to ask Gellar if he needed anything when she stopped to refill Travis’s coffee mug, even if she was flirting with the younger man. She nearly leans over Gellar for the refill, but doesn’t look at him even once. When she’s tied up in the kitchen later, she only looks at Travis the entire time from the moment he enters the room, even though Gellar, who supposedly tied her up, is standing right over her. The scene is choreographed perfectly so that what looks like her reacting to Gellar’s stroking of her hair could simply be in response to Travis letting go of her bound hands and leaving the room.
Gellar staring at them through the gap in the open bedroom door the night before could simply be a narrative device to indicate he was about to wake up as soon as Travis fell asleep.
This week, Gellar at least has his own mug at the bar, although we never see it served to him. Also, the girl behind them that smiles at Travis doesn’t look at Gellar either.
Finally, the reason Dexter suspected two killers was because of the differing skill levels displayed in the evidence. Travis certainly has the fine motor skills, but a splinter Gellar personality could be crude and hurried in his dismemberment.
Deb definitely put the ring in Quinn’s desk drawer. She went to one of the squad room desks which was sitting in front of the harbor window. Deb’s desk sits alone in the Lieutenant’s office with a wall behind it.
I thought it was bizarre that both Dexter and Hawaii Five-0 this week had a police officer in need of a new place come to the scene of a murder, and then proceed to haggle with the landlord over the rent by pointing out they would have to disclose the event to prospective tenants, a fact that would not be a deterrent to, say, a homicide detective.
Thanks Keith! I could wind up being just another crazy poster, but as Ryan mentioned, “In the previous episode, I did think at the time that it was rude of the waitress not to ask Gellar if he needed anything when she stopped to refill Travis’s coffee mug, even if she was flirting with the younger man.”
That scene sealed it for me! It occured to me when they kept showing Dexter talking to his father in the begining of the season.