TV Review: Dexter 7.6, "Do the Wrong Thing"
“Do the Wrong Thing” definitely wavered and stumbled a bit, but it was still fun and considering the hot streak season seven has had, this lull may serve the seasonal arcs well by acting as a sort of calm before the storm.
rating: 3.5
It had to happen sooner or later. No, Im not referring to Dexter and Hannah finally hooking up; Ill get to that in a minute. Im referring to the first episode this season which hasnt had the same momentum as the rest of season seven. Do the Wrong Thing may be the worst episode this season, but that doesnt mean it was a bad episode there were plenty of great moments and it moved along well enough it was just a bit of a departure from the preceding episodes this season. The reason for that is the sidelining of Isaak in favor of greater focus on Hannah. With Isaak in prison (for the time being), hes temporarily been removed as the primary immediate threat. This isnt surprising; considering what a beast he was last episode its easy to imagine that if Isaak wasnt somehow put in a corner, the season might be over already. So it makes sense that wed take a small reprieve from dealing with Isaak whos doing just swell in prison, breaking the wrists of any Columbians that obstruct his view. I say a small reprieve because thankfully the show didnt do what they could have which is completely ignore Isaak until he returns from his incarceration. Instead we saw how hes doing as well as how his people and Miami Metro are each busy preparing for his inevitable release. But with the Ukrainian Terminator muzzled for the moment, Hannah, the mysterious femme fatale extraordinaire, commands Dexters complete attention. The episode opens with him stalking her with Ghost Harry whose appearances this episode were actually tolerable though used merely as a means for the audience to see Dexters conflicting internal monologue, something that doesnt really warrant Harrys appearance but because he actually made good points, Im letting it slide. The scenes between Michael C. Hall and Yvonne Strahovski have been well written, amusing, and enjoyable, but its difficult not to see this as familiar territory already tread. First in season two there was Lila, a psychotic succubus intent on just generally being walking toxic waste, and then in season five of course we had Lumen, the damsel in distress. Granted, these women were each distinct individuals with totally different motives and characteristics, but they each filled similar roles for Dexter. Again, Hannah doesnt exactly resemble either, but shes clearly representative of a path Dexter has been down before on several occasions (though hes not half as pretty, lets not forget about Miguel Prado). Still, all episode Dexter struggles to balance his need to kill (and why not the flirty, hot, homicidal blonde?) due to all the stress hes endured recently with the inconvenient truth that Hannahs status as a merciless killer is somewhat murky. Basically Im a bit conflicted as to where I think this is going as well as how its being handled. Sure, its entertaining, but it hasnt really proven yet to be contributing much that we havent already seen. In addition to Dexter making less than intelligent decisions regarding Hannah, he also demonstrated a definite lack in sound judgment when he pushed for Deb to take Sal Price, the crime writer, up on his offer for a date. Really? The one other guy on the planet that suspects Hannah is more than just a victim and you want to pair him up with the woman from whom you promised to not withhold information? Okay. Debra and Dex werent the only characters to open up and tend to their personal needs; Angel, we come to find, is in the midst of deciding to retire so he can get away from the detective game and get into the restaurant business. Im telling you guys, we are inching ever closer to an Angel spin-off sitcom on CBS. I like Angel but after Deb shot him down on the suspicious suicide of Alex the bartender, Im glad to see some consequences and retirement isnt an unreasonable one. However, as with Hannah, Im not sure where this is supposed to be going. How will this serve any of the story lines which have been introduced thus far? How will this effectively contribute? Quinn, on the other hand, while also dealing with personal business (which also happens to be super entwined with his professional work), is repeating past mistakes which will directly affect the plot by agreeing to tamper with evidence in the Isaak Sirco case in exchange for Nadias safety. Weve all seen this coming and, what do you know, here it is. Quinn has always been so short-sighted and seemingly empty-headed that at this point each scene I see him in in which he isnt either being killed or fired brings utter shock and disappointment. Surprisingly, the only person in Do the Wrong Thing who is staying on top of business is LaGuerta as she continues her search for anything that could lead her to the real Bay Harbor Butcher. This is another story thread for which the writers clearly have plans, but apparently cant do anything about them until we get closer to the season finale. Despite meandering a bit, LaGuerta and Debs scene together was great to watch entirely because of Jennifer Carpenters incredible portrayal of Debs sneakiness in steering LaGuerta away from trails that would lead to Dexter while still upholding her duties as lieutenant. Though Isaaks scene with his Columbian friend and those between Dex and Hannah were the most compelling for me, I think my favorite was the latest installment in the ongoing conversation between Dexter and Deb regarding Dexs devious deeds. In Do the Wrong Thing we finally got around to the Barrel Girl/Jordan Chase murders thanks to LaGuertas persistence. It was fun watching Deb finally put the pieces together about Dex and Lumen and I loved Dexters outburst when he said, Let me worry about LaGuerta! Do the Wrong Thing definitely wavered and stumbled a bit, but it was still fun and considering the hot streak season seven has had, this lull may serve the seasonal arcs well by acting as a sort of calm before the storm. Im curious to see how the show will make Hannah something more than just another love interest/accomplice. Im eager for LaGuertas meddling to enter into the mix. Quinn is seriously close to losing his life (I hope). And I have to suspect that Angel will be sucked back in soon so that should be good too. Ultimately the second half of the season will determine exactly how successful Do the Wrong Thing really was so until we get there, heres hoping for less meandering and aimless roaming and more Isaak the unstoppable killing machine versus our homicidal hero.