Dexter Season 8 Episode 3 Recap: “What’s Eating Dexter Morgan?”

By Damon Martin – Editor/Lead Writer
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It’s quite clear that to this point in the final season of Dexter that Debra Morgan is falling deeper and deeper down a well and her chances of seeing light again get slimmer by the day.

In the latest episode titled “What’s Eating Dexter Morgan?”, Deb is doing her best to drink her way to the bottom of the pit after being discovered on the side of the road by the police after she smashed into a parking meter. She finds this rather hilarious, but the cop doesn’t so she’s hauled into the station. Instead of calling her brother, Deb rings up former partner/boyfriend Joey Quinn, who rushes to her rescue.

If there’s one consistency in Quinn through all these seasons it’s the fact that he is almost always attracted to the fatally flawed women. Despite his latest relationship with Bautista’s sister, it’s clear he still harbors feelings for his ex-girlfriend and can’t help but to heed her call whenever she needs him.

Quinn brings Deb to the station and despite her great pleas to leave her brother out of this, he immediately calls Dexter to apprise him of the situation. Dexter, who is still working alongside the shadowy Dr. Vogel insists that he has to help his sister because he helped lead her down this dark path when she discovered who he truly was and what he did. Dr. Vogel is stunned by the news that Dexter believes he feels real, actual emotion for his sister—something a pure psychopath is incapable of feeling.

Dexter finds Deb and coaxes her into a dinner date where he meets her at a restaurant for a little stroll down memory lane. It’s there that Dexter reveals his real plan. Remember the shooting for a few seasons back where Deb played hero and killed the assailant, essentially saving everyone’s life in the restaurant that day?

Dexter didn’t forget and had a video to remind Deb of her heroic deed—and it just so happens that one of the people she saved that day is dining just a couple of tables over with his family. If not for Deb, his family would be without their father. The video seems to do its intended effect, but it’s only temporary because the good feelings Deb has rushing through her veins only serve to remind her of the guilt she’s buried ever since unloading a bullet into LaGuerta six months ago.

More on this later….

The Search Continues for The Brain Surgeon
Dexter’s new gal pal Dr. Vogel is still wielding her instrument of understanding to turn him into her watchdog and bloodhound all rolled into one. At home, Vogel receives an anonymous message to look outside. When she does, two boxes are out there marked ‘his and hers’, both with pieces of brains wrapped neatly with a bow. The pieces are the part of the brain for vision, so it’s obvious The Brain Surgeon—whoever he or she is—wants Dexter and Dr. Vogel to see something they’re not seeing.

Could they be looking for one of her ex-patients and just missing something along the way? Only one way to tell so Dexter begins going through Vogel’s case files one by one to see who is still a naughty boy or girl on the doctor’s list.

While Dexter starts his search, the police find Sussman (the suspect from last week that Dexter knows isn’t the Brain Surgeon, but Miami Metro isn’t nearly as slick). His head is blown off, apparently a victim of suicide after being wrecked with guilt from committing such heinous murders. In other words, the cops think they’ve found their guy so the Brain Surgeon case is wrapped up and no further investigation is needed. Except Dexter knows better…

Back to Dr. Vogel’s patient list, he starts with a young workout fiend who hocks exercise equipment at the mall. Dexter goes there and tries to bait him by mentioning Vogel’s name and even showing him a book with her picture in it, but he’s not jumping at the chance to reveal he knows who she is. Dexter knows he’s hiding something so he breaks into his apartment to do a little research.

What he finds there is akin to what Dr. Hannibal Lecter’s refrigerator full of organs ready to be cooked including a brain completely in tact. Dexter knows that this guy isn’t The Brain Surgeon, but he’s a sick puppy nonetheless. This is one thing Dexter is quite good at, maybe the only thing he’s good at, so he takes care of the cannibal Richard Simmons even if he’s not the serial killer he’s trying to find.

Dr. Vogel’s Influence on Dexter Deepens

No one is sure what Dr. Vogel is up to yet (many believe she’s the Brain Surgeon or directing the kills in some way) but no matter what her motive is she has something in store for Dexter as this season reaches it’s climax. She continues to tell Dexter that he’s incapable of true emotion, and almost implores him to let that façade go so he can focus on the real task at hand.

Dexter is still being torn in two directions—his sense of urgency to find and finish this Brain Surgeon killer while also trying to save his sister from utter self-destruction. He can only go in one direction ultimately and it’s clear which way Vogel is pointing him at.

Just as it appears Dexter is ready to go back on the hunt for Vogel, he gets another disturbing call from Quinn.

Dexter’s big trick to remind Deb about her heroism has now led to her walking straight into the police station (after a lot of booze) where she confesses to murdering LaGuerta. Luckily Quinn intercedes and puts her into an interrogation room before anyone else hears what she’s saying, but it’s clear she wants to be punished for killing her former boss.

Dexter and Dr. Vogel arrive on the scene just in time as she’s written down her full confession on paper—we don’t see what she wrote so noboby is sure if she implicated her brother or not—but now she’s angered because she once again didn’t want Quinn to tell her brother anything about this. Dexter takes matters into his own hands, and uses a little of his patented tranquilizer on his sister to subdue her and take her back home.

There he leaves Deb (handcuffed mind you) in the capable (yeah, right) hands of Dr. Vogel. He’s convinced she can help his wayward sister and pull her back from the brink.

To this point in the season there are far more questions than answers, but that’s to be expected for the grand finale that could very well end with Dexter dead or behind bars. Dr. Vogel definitely has ulterior motives when it comes to dealing with Dexter. What she’s hiding remains a mystery, but she’s working overtime to convince Dexter that he is nothing more than a blunt instrument with one aim in life and that is cold blooded murder. She is either involved in the Brain Surgeon murders or has a much clearer idea of who is committing the crimes and just wants to watch Dexter work to find this latest killer.

Could the newest serial killer be someone from Dexter’s past? Is it possible that this person was Vogel’s failed attempt at creating another psychopath with the power of good like she did with Dexter?

More will be revealed next week when Dexter returns on Sunday night on Showtime. Leave your comments below to let us know what you thought of this latest episode.