Like Father, Like Son?

Rita may have been a nagging wife but does that mean she needed to die? Not that that was the reason for her demise at the hands of the Trinity Killer—his last victim before being offed by Dexter—but you have to wonder if the writers saw this as a way to both end the season with gusto and get rid of what has become a troublesome character at the same time. (While she had ample reason to be suspicious of Dexter's activities, all Rita ever did was gripe at the poor guy. No offense to Julie Benz, who did what she could with a more or less thankless role.)

It was a thrilling end to Dexter’s fourth year, a season that grew increasingly schizoid as it went along, with Dex intent on taking tips from Trinity rather than killing him when he had several chances to do so, in turn putting himself at risk, never more so than when Trinity casually walked into the police station to formally meet the man who went from being a volunteer builder to a major thorn in his side. John Lithgow is a lock for an Emmy nod for his portrayal of Arthur Mitchell, quiet at the right moments, full of rage when necessary, a chilling and layered performance from an actor best known to this generation as the loud and zany Dick Solomon from 3rd Rock from the Sun.

And what of the episode’s final moments, wherein Dexter finds baby Harrison sitting in a pool of Rita’s blood as Rita herself lies lifeless in the bathtub? The moment was nothing short of Dexter’s worst nightmare come true, the realization that everything he touches is destined to be damaged and that fate has brought these events to bear. Given the show's timeline, it’s unfortunate that, without some kind of Desperate Housewives-esque leap ahead, we won’t get to see if this tragedy has the same effect on Harrison as it had on Dexter when he was young. Looking ahead to next season, though, it’ll certainly be interesting to watch Dexter juggle his own Dark Passenger while he wonders if one might also be growing inside his son.