Dexter “Talk to the Hand” Episode Guide

It’s the penultimate episode, and you know what that means. This episode was so jam-packed with action, twists, and gut-wrenching scenes I’m not sure that this plain old recap can do it justice. So read on, faithful visitor, read on. And if you get the chance, make sure to watch this episode.

• Miami Metro arrives at DDK’s boat, thanks to Dexter’s anonymous tip. They find the bodies of Holly Benson’s and Steve Dorsey – the active blogger on DDK’s website – and evidence that the next tableau, Wormword, is a seriously real threat. They alert Homeland Security and realize that Batista is MIA.

• Because Quinn’s been a mess this whole season, he didn’t realize Batista’s absence and rushes over to Steve’s house to check it out. Miami Metro is on their way too.

• Travis has tied Batista to a bed. He gives Beth instructions on how to successfully position Wormwood, and she heads off to the station. He’s just about to shoot Batista when Quinn arrives full-force, kicking open the door and rushing into the burning room to save Batista.

• Deb confides in Dex about Matthews’ involvement in the Jessica Moore case, and he advises her to approach with caution. He invited her to dinner a couple of episodes back, and now the awkward date is here. They both dance around the subject, but then Deb confronts him. He honestly tells her that Jessica OD’d and he tried to revive her, to no avail. He asks her to lie for him, and she agrees.

• Back at the station, two things happen simultaneously: Beth begins to activate Wormwood while, and Dexter realizes that the woman sitting out in the hall is, in fact, the late Steve’s wife. He tackles her before the gas can really spread, confining her to an interrogation room to avoid most of the gas, but inhaling a pretty significant dose himself. Miami Metro evacuates.

• Dexter is supposed to head to the ER, but instead he focuses on how to find Travis and stop the next tableau, supposedly called “The Lake of Fire.” Travis, holed up somewhere eating sherbet, flicks on the news and discovers that Beth was Wormwood’s only victim. He decides that the rest is up to him and starts cryptically drawing on the wall as the camera pans back to reveal the poor woman he has killed in order to occupy her house.

• In Deb’s recent session, Deb’s therapist makes a ballsy suggestion – that Deb and Dex’s complex relationship may be more than just brother-sister. Deb’s reaction is pretty much ours: ew, and hell no. But, um, that doesn’t stop her from dreaming about a scene where Dexter and she are eating Chinese food and spontaneously kiss...which is only slightly more awkward if you think about Michael C. Hall and Jennifer Carpenter’s actual relationship history... 
• On the theme of creepy hands this week, Lewis is up to no good by drawing some sort of psychic lines on the hand from the Ice Truck Killer case, and mailing it to a one Dexter Morgan at Miami Metro. If this is because Dexter insulted his video game...

• Dexter has decided to fight fire with fire in order to draw Travis out. Outside of the museum where Travis worked, Dexter paints a fountain in blood with a giant 666 on its forehead and Geller’s decomposed hand sticking out of its chest. When news reaches Travis, he receives a video message from Dexter “The False Prophet” Morgan, subtly hinting to meet at the marina. On the wall, where he had previously painted his own face in the next tableau, he repaints it with Dex’s face. -

• Matthews visits Deb again, and somehow word of his indiscretion got out. Even though Deb attempts to convince him that it wasn’t her, he doesn’t believe her. Deb confronts LaGuerta, who has been nothing but a conniving bitch the whole season, with the obvious truth: she’s back in control by blackmailing Matthews in to retirement. -

• Meanwhile, Dexter stalks Travis near the marina but has a nausea attack kudos of Wormwood’s lingering effects. Travis gains the upper hand and knocks him out. He wakes up to find himself tied to a tiny rowboat as Travis dumps some extra fuel into the harbor and sets it alite. He manages to jump out of the boat just as the whole thing explodes, swimming to safety. -

I don’t know which was more intense – those 48 minutes or the preview for next week. Travis manages to find out about Harrison, guys. HARRISON. Don’t forget to watch Dexter’s promising epic finale next Sunday on Showtime at 9 PM: “This is the Way the World Ends.”