Episode 311: I Had a Dream

I Had a Dream is the eleventh of twelve episodes in Season Three of the Showtime series DEXTER, and the thirty-fifth overall episode in the series. It first aired 7 December 2008.

Dexter must find a way to get rid of Miguel despite the fact that his friend is a highly placed district attorney (and Dexter's best man); Rita discovers that Miguel has been seeing an old flame; Debra finds a new clue to the Skinner's identity.

Summary
Dexter is trapped in the trunk of a car with his hands taped behind him. He guesses that Miguel's brother, Ramon, abducted him. With difficulty, Dexter frees his hands from the tape and prepares to fight his way out when the car comes to a stop. The trunk opens and Dexter swings and hits Vince Masuka squarely in the eye. Surprise! Dexter’s buddies from the police department had kidnapped him for his bachelor party. They think it’s hilarious that Masuka was punched by Dexter.

At they gather at the bar, Masuka holds a bag of ice to his eye. He proudly states that there is “premium alcohol, all-you-can eat buffet, plus high class entertainment.” Kill me now, Dexter thought.

Dexter notices Ramon dropping off Miguel. Later, Miguel appears to shed a tear while addressing friendship, trust, and forgiveness during his best man toast to Dexter.

In the early morning, Dexter has just gone to bed when Rita shows up at his apartment with breakfast. She tells him that Sylvia has kicked Miguel out of the house. Dexter tells her that he might drop Miguel as his best man, adding that Miguel is a “man without a code.” Rita brings out the wedding planner but Dexter cuts the discussion short to take a shower.

At work, everyone arrives hungover except for Angel and Dexter. Masuka is holding a bottle of cold water against his sore eye. When Debra punches Masuka’s arm for not inviting her to Dexter’s bachelor party, he asks if he’s the Morgan family’s punching bag. Quinn, suffering from a headache, is grateful when Angel turns off the lights.

Angel leads a briefing. The department hasn’t yet found the black SUV connected to Ellen Wolf's murder and he orders a recanvassing. Next, because the Nicaraguan Embassy is giving Angel the runaround on learning the true identity of George King, he tells Ramos to go there in person. Lastly, Angel mentions that Anton Briggs is coming in to go over his statement, and he tells Quinn to stay away from him. Quinn teases Debra by asking if she forgot her lip gloss.

Maria re-watches footage of the Toby Edwards interview and begins to connect the dots with respect to Miguel owning a black Lincoln Navigator. She calls Miguel and tells him they should talk.

Barbara brings Angel a few hangover remedies, but he assures that he’s not hungover and he behaved himself at the party.

Dexter abandons his plan to kill Miguel on his wedding night, concerned that Rita might wake up and discover that he's gone. Instead, Dexter decides to pin the murder on George King. Debra appears in his office looking for advice on what to do about Anton This leads to Dexter telling her that their father had an affair with a C.I. The news stuns Debra and she leaves, extremely upset. “Oops,” Dexter whispers.

The still emotional Debra interviews Anton, who tells her that his official statement doesn't capture the horror of the experience. He remembers that King went through his pockets and grabbed his change before he left.

While holding an ice pop to his eye, Masuka admits to Angel that he slept with Tammy Okama, the party planner. Because she likes him, Masuka thinks there must be something wrong with her, and he wants to do a background check.

Dexter begins to follow Miguel, who is now staying at a five-star hotel. He watches Ramon drop Miguel off at the hotel, after which Miguel ditches him by taking off in his own car.

Debra and Quinn return to King's skinning hideout. She pries into Quinn’s past and why he seems to have money due to his expensive car and watch. Quinn claims that an uncle in Boston left him a building. When he learns that Debra broke up with Anton, he begins to flirt with her and asks if she wants to carpool. Debra rebuffs Quinn and tries to answer a call from Angel. However, the reception is terrible and Debra suddenly realizes that King must have taken Anton's change to use the nearby pay phone. They hurry to the phone booth, hoping that call records will provide information on King's whereabouts.

Maria has Miguel over for dinner, which they cook together. Miguel makes a pass at Maria, but she dodges it. She then leaves the house under the guise of getting beer from her car. On the way out, she grabs Miguel’s keys and takes a few samples from the back of his SUV. Still on his recon mission, Dexter watches all of this from his car, parked nearby. Dexter is still there when Miguel leaves for the night. Before driving off, Miguel notices from a gauge that someone didn’t properly close his vehicle’s liftgate. He stares at Maria’s house while realizing that she’s on to him.

Maria talks privately with Dexter and asks him to test some hair and fiber evidence. She doesn't tell Dexter that she’s looking into Miguel, and insists that the results be kept quiet. Maria enters her authorization code into a database and allows Dexter to use her account. He reminds her that she chewed him out before when he tested a key without a case number. Maria says this is different and an inner voice is nagging at her,

At Miguel’s hotel, having just showered Miguel hears his laptop beeping. He checks the police database and discovers that someone, apparently Maria, has pulled up the Ellen Wolf Case.

George King’s payphone records come back. He had used the phone to call clients, workers, and order take-out food. King also called a lady in New Jersey who wintered in Coconut Grove. She had rehired King to landscape her lawn. Since the woman is out of town, Debra suggests to Quinn that King might be using her home as a hideout. They decide to check it out.

Angel tells Masuka that Tammy Okama has a record. She once ran her car into another one over a parking space and had to pay a big fine along with receiving anger management. This relieves Masuka who tells Angel that she’s not out of his league, after all.

Dexter matches one of the hairs from Miguel's SUV to Ellen. However, since he plans on killing Miguel, he hesitates on sharing the info with Maria.

Still excited by Tammy, Masuka asks Dexter if he can bring her to the wedding.

Debra and Quinn go to the vacant house and find a quasi-jungle in the backyard. A blue-and-gold macaw startles Debra and she trains her gun on it. Just then, Quinn spots King inside the house near a window. King makes a run for it with Quinn hard on his heels. When King is tackled, he cuts Quinn on the forehead and escapes. Debra calls for air surveillance and an ambulance.

While Dexter is away from his office, Maria finds his hair analysis report. She lets him in on her speculation regarding Miguel and Dexter acts shocked. Maria wants to get a warrant but Dexter advises that she sit on the information and build a case. Maria is torn about what she should do.

Dexter again decides to copy The Skinner's M.O. when he kills Miguel.

Quinn returns to the station with bandages on head. Angel tells him and Debra that King managed to escape the area without leaving a trace.

Debra presses Dexter for more information on their father's affair with a C.I. Dexter claims that Camilla Figg told him about it before she died. Debra brings up Anton, saying that she isn't taking him to the wedding, but isn't interested in taking Quinn, either. Dexter asks Debra to be his "best man" and she readily accepts.

Debra meets with Francis in Records and asks her to pull the files of her father's attractive female informants. Francis promises to put a rush on it since her own father stepped out on her mom.

Dexter observes Miguel and Ramon drinking at the hotel bar. He sneaks upstairs and tricks a chambermaid into letting him into Miguel's room. Based on what he finds there, Dexter realizes that Miguel is going after Maria that night and getting Ramon drunk to use as an alibi.

Later that night, Miguel lurks outside Maria’s house, dressed in black. He takes a spare key from under a potted plant and lets himself inside. He softly calls Maria’s name, but she isn't home. Miguel then plays the last message on Maria's answering machine. He listens to Dexter tell Maria that he has information on Miguel and Ellen and to meet him at a nearby café at eight. Prado glances up at the clock and notes that it’s past 8:30. Miguel quickly walks out the front door -- right into Dexter, who jabs a hypodermic into Miguel’s neck.

Miguel wakes up bound in plastic in Ellen Wolf's house. Dexter is wearing his kill outfit and a set of knives are within sight. The photos of Ellen and Maria are set up nearby, surrounded by candles. Miguel, clearly scared, tries to talk his way out of the situation, but Dexter is not having any of it. When Miguel states, "I accept you like a brother," Dexter replies, "I killed my brother. I killed yours too." This revelation sends Miguel into a rage. Dexter wraps a wire around Miguel's neck. "You little freak!" Miguel screams. "You think I'm done with you? You think this ends here? It doesn't!" "It does for you," Dexter answers before pulling the wire tight.

Quotes

 * If home is where the heart is, where do you go when you don't have a heart? In Miguel's case, a five-star hotel. - Dexter [voiceover]
 * “I had higher hopes for you. For us. But I finally just have to accept it. I’ll always be alone.” - Dexter to Miguel
 * “I tried... to crack that damn armor of yours.” - Miguel to Dexter
 * “There’ve been quite a few who’ve seen the real me as they… laid on that table. You're all just unchecked versions of myself. What I would have become without my father's code.” - Dexter to Miguel
 * “I know I'm a monster.” - Dexter to Miguel

Trivia

 * George King was hiding out at 931 Harbor Drive, Coconut Drive.

Related Pages

 * Bachelor Party Boat
 * Code of Harry
 * Dexter's Apartment
 * Ellen Wolf's House
 * Ellen Wolf Murder Case
 * Hotel Belvedere
 * Kill Room
 * Maria LaGuerta's House
 * Rita Bennett's House
 * Secret Skinning Spot
 * Skinner Case