Episode 612: This is the Way the World Ends

This is the Way the World Ends is the Season Six finale of DEXTER, and the seventy-second overall episode of the series. It originally aired 18 December 2011.

Dexter and Homicide race against a solar eclipse to catch The Doomsday Killer before the final gruesome act; Debra struggles with a new emotional reality.

Summary
Dexter is adrift in the ocean, clutching a piece of the lifeboat. He thinks it's fitting that he ends up where he's left so many others. When his makeshift float sinks, he believes that he won't see Harrison grow up.

Just then a small cargo boat happens by. It's carrying a group of people from Cuba trying to get into the U.S. illegally. They haul Dexter on board and save him from drowning. Not long after, the owner of the boat pulls out a gun and starts to rob everybody. Dexter reacts quickly. He grabs a boat hook, impales the man, and throws him overboard. Dexter then takes control of the boat and brings it near land. All jump into the water and make it to shore. Dexter borrows a phone and calls Jamie to pick him up.

Travis is still in the home of the couple he killed. A TV reports that a solar eclipse will take place the following day at 3:28 p.m. He states that people should stare at the Sun as it's better to be blinded than face the horrors that await them.

Dexter tells Jamie that he fell off his boat while out at sea. She reminds him that Harrison's Noah's Ark Pageant is tomorrow. He some time playing with Harrison before they sleep.

Travis breaks apart furniture and piles it in the middle of the living room. The stench of the dead couple is bothering him. He puts a large knife into a basket, says, "Today's the day," and leaves the house.

An emotional Deb hugs Dexter. She heard that his boat had washed ashore and was worried he was dead. She says, "I love you," and he off-handedly says, "I love you, too." She asks, "You do?" and says she doesn't think he's ever told her. They get word of a double murder.

It's the couple that Travis killed. Dexter is the first one inside which gives him the opportunity to remove his face from the huge mural Travis had painted in the living room. The rest of the team comes inside. They figure out the painting is The Beast in the Lake of Fire, and wonder if it's the final tableau. Deb is acting strangely around Dexter. After she leaves, Dexter spots a hand-written drawing in the trash. He doubts that Travis's work is finished.

Travis drives by the house and sees the police there. He wonders what to do next until he finds Dexter's driver license in the wallet he took when he incapacitated Dexter. He says, "Thank you."

Louis asks Masuka about staying around permanently. Masuka mentions part-time work might be possible.

Deb holds a briefing. She presents a picture that a pilot took the night before of a circle of fire about seven miles off shore. (It's the one set by Travis to surround Dexter in the dinghy.) The team thinks it means that Travis has completed his work. They speculate that Travis will watch the eclipse (the end of the world) from a high point, which in Miami means a skyscraper. Deb wants to post uniform officers at the top of the city's tallest buildings.

Based on the sketch Dexter found, he decides Travis will most likely be on top of the Transcorp building, which is solar powered.

Deb asks Dexter to do a final forensic sweep of the church after Harrison's pageant. She asks Dexter if they need to talk, but he says he's okay and calls her "Sis."

Angel tells Quinn that he's going to transfer him out of Homicide because of all his screwups. Quinn isn't happy.

Much to Deb's surprise, LaGuerta accepts her idea of targeting the skyscrapers in order to find Travis. She lets Deb have all the manpower she needs.

Using Dexter's keys, Travis lets himself into Dexter's apartment. There is a package left (delivered) at the front door addressed to Dexter which Travis brings inside. After changing his shirt with one of Dexter's shirts, he opens the box and pulls out the Ice Truck Killer's prosthetic hand that Louis anonymously sent to Dexter. Puzzled, he places the hand back in the box and sets it on top of the fridge when he hears Jamie moving around. He hides until she leaves with Harrison for the pageant. Travis finds the adjoining apartment and learns that Dexter, whom he calls The Beast, has a son and spots a flyer for the pageant.

The way the pageant is organized, each parent leads their toddler on stage wearing a mask that matches their child's costume. Dexter and Harrison are lions.

Deb gives final instructions to the officers that will be looking for Travis.

Quinn tells Angel that he's told his union rep that he has an alcohol problem. Since it's a disease, he cannot be fired or transferred as long as he seeks help. Angel fires back that Quinn is not an alcoholic, just a fuckup.

As Deb's team looks at one of Gellar's drawings and some old pictures, they suspect that Travis may not be done killing. Deb calls Dexter and says that before the eclipse (which is less than an hour), Travis will offer a sacrifice. Since a lamb was used in the drawing, she thinks it could be an innocent of some kind. Dexter immediately looks for Harrison but can't find him. Sister Daniels tells him that Harrison "just left" with a man in a lion's mask. Meanwhile, Travis is leading Harrison towards the Transcorp Building.

Using Harrison as a distraction, Travis kills the cop posted on the building's roof. When Deb checks in with the various buildings, Travis grabs the radio and says, "All clear."

Travis pulls out a sword and holds Harrison in his arms. Just before killing the child, Dexter runs up and orders him to stop. Since "The Beast" isn't dead, Dexter argues that sacrificing an innocent won't work. Travis agrees to release Harrison as long as Dexter injects himself with the needle he's brought. However, Dexter doesn't actually push the plunger and fakes passing out. He turns the tables on Travis just as he is about to kill him. He knocks Travis unconscious and saves Harrison.

When the Transcorp officer stops responding, the team heads over and they find him dead. They discover an altar, but there's no sign of Travis. Deb panics until LaGuerta shows up and assures Deb that she did the right thing.

Dexter injects Travis with tranquilizer and locks him in his trunk. He takes Harrison into the apartment and puts him to bed.

Deb barges in to see her psychiatrist without an appointment and blurts out that she realizes she's in love with Dexter. She believes that's the explanation for why she's chosen some terrible men. She's been trying to hide from her feelings. Her plan is to tell Dexter how she feels and find out his reaction.

Travis wakes up on Dexter's table in the abandoned church. Travis makes the case that he was chosen by God to bring about a new world. Dexter counters that all Travis was doing was using God as an excuse to kill innocent people. Dexter says light cannot exist without darkness and perhaps his darkness is needed to bring balance to the world.

While Dexter is talking to Travis, Deb walks through the church doors by herself. From a distance, she sees Dexter plunge a knife into Travis's chest.

At that same moment, Dexter turns his head and, realizing that his sister has seen him murder Travis, he utters, "Oh, God."

Quotes

 * "I am a father. A son. A serial killer." -Dexter to Travis
 * "Then it must be God's plan that you're on my table. Do you think it's God's Will that I'm about to kill you? God has nothing to do with this! You are wrapped in plastic because I want to kill you." -Dexter to Travis

Related Pages

 * Dexter's Apartment
 * Doomsday Killer Case
 * The Lamb
 * Our Lady of the Gulf Preschool
 * Milagro (boat)
 * Murdered Couple's House
 * Prosthetic Hand
 * Santa Maria de Loreto (church)
 * Transcorp Building (rooftop)