Episode 711: Do You See What I See?

Do You See What I See? is the eleventh of twelve episodes in Season Seven of DEXTER, and the eighty-third overall episode of the series. Directed by John Dahl and written by Manny Coto and Wendy West, it first aired 9 December 2012 on Showtime.

The estimated number of viewers for the episode during its original airing was 2.60 million.

As Christmas approaches, Dexter tries to balance his life with Hannah and his relationship with DebraHannah's father leaves a tip for Debra that could incriminate his daughter; the man who ordered the murder of Dexter's mother is released from prison.

Summary
Dexter has never really thought about what lies ahead or growing old because the future has never been kind to people like him or their loved ones. Now, though, he’s beginning to imagine a happy life spent with Hannah and Harrison.

While he’s at Hannah’s house, Dexter receives a call from the Dade County of Corrections informing him of a parole hearing for Hector Estrada that morning. He explains to Hannah that Estrada was the leader of his mother’s killers --  and the last survivor. She understands that Dexter wants to kill him and remarks that it’s the universe giving him a Christmas present. Dexter smiles and says she’s the only one who would see it like that.

Without drawing attention to himself, Dexter attends Estrada's parole hearing. When the chairman of the Parole Commission asks if anyone wishes to speak for or against the prisoner, Dexter says nothing, With no objections, Estrada is granted parole under the Compassionate Release Statute.

Nadia doesn’t answer Quinn’s repeated phone calls. He leaves a fifth message, asking her to call him.

Masuka, wearing an elf’s hat and elf ears, takes a survey about whether there should be a Secret Santa this year. No one seems interested, though, and he remarks, “Man, the Christmas spirit around here sucks big reindeer dicks.”

Angel informs Debra that Arlene Schram has been found living in Hialeah. She’s been arrested twice for drugs and has two kids from different fathers. Hannah’s father, however, has not been located. Apparently, he “dropped the dime on his daughter and then skipped town.” Angel feels guilty for not telling Dexter they’re investigating his girlfriend, but Deb says it’s her call.

At Matthews’ request, Dexter visits him on his boat, Ocean Master, where he’s hanging Christmas lights. They sit down and Matthews gives Dexter the heads up that LaGuerta thinks he may be the Bay Harbor Butcher. Dexter looks astonished and asks what makes her believe that. Matthews spells it out: “She knows your life story, your childhood, what you saw in that cargo container. Most people... that'd screw 'em up for life. I mean, your brother went through the same thing you did, and look what happened to him. He saw your mother dismembered before his eyes, and he went on to dismember his own victims. The Bay Harbor Butcher also dismembered his victims. Of course, your brother wasn't the Butcher. The murders continued after his death. But it's weird, huh? Another thing that's weird -- that cabin where Doakes died. It was rented to a man named Jimenez. He was one of the men who killed your mother. I mean, what are the odds?”

Dexter realizes that he is being interrogated. He lies to Matthews, claiming to have seen Doakes on a boat which he suspected was used to dispose of his victims. Dexter says that both he and Doakes had slips at Coral Cove Marina, but he moved his boat to get away from him and didn’t come forward because he was too fearful. Matthews seems convinced and promises to get Maria to move on. Dexter leaves, needing to make sure something is found to back his story.

Debra meets with Arlene in her backyard. She threatens custody of her children unless Arlene testifies about Hannah poisoning their counselor. Arlene says she'll need to think about it.

At Ocean Promenade, Jamie watches Harrison while Dexter takes Deb aside and tells her about his conversation with Matthews. He needs to set up definitive proof that Doakes was the Bay Harbor Butcher. However, Deb insists that it’s too risky for Dexter to plant evidence and she demands to do it, stating that she doesn’t want Harrison growing up without a father. Then Jamie takes a picture of Harrison, Dexter, and Deb with Santa.

Matthews visits LaGuerta at her house. She accuses him of letting his personal feelings for the Morgans cloud his judgment. He tells her that she’s blind to Doakes’ guilt because of their close relationship. When LaGuerta insists that she would have known if Doakes had a boat, Matthews quips, “Well, call it a wild guess, but if he was using it to dump his victims into the ocean, he probably would have tried to keep its existence a secret.”

Arlene meets with Hannah, terrified that she will go to jail or lose her kids. Hannah thinks her father ratted her out and tries to persuade Arlene to keep quiet, telling her, “When that fucking counselor was putting his hands on us and I shut him down for good, you backed me up. We always stuck together. That's not gonna change now, is it?” She promises Arlene that she will figure something out.

Dexter looks up old boat storage places online, finding one that "looks like Doakes." His phone suddenly buzzes with a one-word text from Hannah: HELP. It turns out that she needed his help to bring home a Christmas tree. They plan to spend Christmas Eve together since Dexter will be spending Christmas Day with Debra and Harrison.

After dark, Deb parks on LaGuerta’s street and watches her house. While she’s waiting, Deb swallows at least one pill with a drink of water. As soon as LaGuerta leaves her house and drives away, Deb gets out of the car.

Dexter is watching when Estrada is released from prison. As he runs after a bus, Dexter thinks, ''That's not the walk of a dying man. I guess freedom was the tonic he needed. But I'll soon change that.''

Quinn goes to The Fox Hole looking for Nadia. He spots Jenna, another stripper, who is giving a lap dance to a customer. She tells Quinn that Nadia left Miami because she wants a fresh start and is working in a Las Vegas casino. Nadia left a note for Quinn, which said he means a lot to her and she’ll never forget what he did for her. Quinn thanks Jenna and leaves the club, dejected.

LaGuerta and Matthews are in her garage, searching through boxes of Bay Harbor Butcher evidence that she had requested from the FBI. They find deep sea lures in a tackle box, along with a key for a boat storage facility.

They find the boathouse, which has been empty for years. When Matthews opens a cabinet door, he discovers a stash of trash bags, rolls of plastic wrap, and a set of knives. LaGuerta calls in her private forensic team and they find Doakes’ fingerprint on a knife. LaGuerta takes Matthews aside to remind him that Dexter is a forensics expert who has the skills to plant such evidence. He tells her to let it go, but LaGuerta says she can’t because she owes it to Doakes to clear his name. Matthews states that he's done investigating Dexter and expects her to live up to her end of the deal about getting his pension reinstated.

Unexpectedly, Hannah shows up at Debra’s beach house to talk about Dexter. She tells Deb that Dexter is finally looking forward to the future and asks if they can work out their issues for Dexter’s sake. Deb, however, says she’s going to protect Dexter from her, warning, “I'm not gonna give up until your murdering ass is behind bars for good.”

Dexter again meets with Matthews on his boat, this time bringing a bottle of his favorite alcohol. Matthews says they found the boat house, along with evidence that leaves no doubt as to Doakes’ guilt. He admits that he was stupid to have even entertained LaGuerta’s crazy notion about Dexter being the Bay Harbor Butcher. He assures Dexter that he will no longer have to worry about LaGuerta. Dexter tells Matthews that it’s the best Christmas present he could have imagined.

As soon as Dexter leaves the boat, he phones Deb, who is on her way to Hialeah. He informs her that Matthews and LaGuerta are calling off the investigation, but Deb’s a bit skeptical.

Dexter introduces himself to Estrada as Steve Gaskill. He praises Estrada as a legend and asks for his help in moving large quantities of sativa that he is receiving from a buddy in Honduras. At first, Estrada is suspicious but Dexter convinces him that he’s legit. They agree to meet on Quayside Road at 10:00 p.m. so Estrada can see the product.

Angel notifies Dexter that Debra was in a car accident and is in St. Joseph’s Hospital in Hialeah. When he arrives at the hospital, Dexter is told that Deb sustained a lot of bruising and a broken wrist, along with an excessive amount of her anti-anxiety medicine in her system. When Dexter asks why Deb was in Hialeah, Angel explains that she was going to a second interview with Arlene Schram, who may have witnessed Hannah kill someone. Angel speculates that Deb took too many of her anti-anxiety pills because she’s convinced that her brother is dating a serial killer.

When Debra wakes up, Dexter is at her bedside. She remembers falling asleep at the wheel, but is sure that she didn’t accidentally take extra pills. She thinks Hannah drugged her, admitting that it was a good plan to make it look like she overdosed on her own medicine. Dexter, though, doubts that Hannah tried to kill Deb.

Dexter looks through Deb’s house, hoping to prove that Hannah didn’t poison her. He does find a blonde hair in the bathroom, but wonders if it fell off him.

He tracks down Deb’s wrecked car in which he finds a nearly empty water bottle. He takes the bottle with him and sends it to the lab to have the water analyzed.

Angel drops by Maria’s office to check on her. He wishes her a Merry Christmas Eve and invites her to a party later at his restaurant. Angel also informs her that he is putting in his retirement papers on the first of January. He explains why he enjoys the restaurant, “You open up, you feed people, you clean up, you close up, and you go home. That's it. That's your day. You don't carry it with you.” Maria confides that she wishes she had made some different choices in the past.

Dexter has Christmas Eve dinner with Hannah, Harrison, and Jamie at his apartment. Deb is still in the hospital but she is expected to be released the next day. As plates are passed, Dexter admires Hannah’s beauty, while asking himself if a poisoner can ever be fully trusted.

After dinner, Dexter and Hannah go to her house. She remarks on how they started off in Santa's Holiday Adventure and now they’re together on Christmas. She asks Dexter to stay the night, but he has to meet Estrada.

Dexter soon brings up his suspicions: “When Deb had her accident, she was heading to Arlene Shram's house. She was hoping Arlene would give her a statement that would let her arrest you. But Deb never made it there. She blacked out behind the wheel. Does that sound familiar?” It’s what Hannah hoped would happen when she poisoned Sal Price.

Hannah seems astonished that Dexter would think she had something to do with Debra’s accident. He says that she always does whatever it takes to protect herself, and Arlene saw her poison the counselor's coffee. Hannah insists that Arlene isn’t a threat because she can be discredited. “But Deb is,” Dexter states. Hannah sarcastically asks, “Do you really think that I would be that stupid to try and poison the Lieutenant of Homicide? And to think that you wouldn't figure it out? Wouldn't exactly bring us closer together, would it?”

Dexter is unsure if Hannah is being truthful and asks why she was at Deb’s house last night. Hannah says that she thought Deb would back down if she knew how much she loved him. Dexter warns that if something happens to Deb again, he will suspect Hannah’s involvement. Hannah accuses Dexter of having an inability to trust..

After a pause, Hannah tries a different tactic: “Okay, I'm not sure quite how to say this, but... I've never made a mistake. If I had poisoned Debra, then she would be dead, and if you know me the way that you say that you do, then you know that that's true.” She advises Dexter to figure out what type of future he wants, and shows him the door.

Dexter meets Estrada at the arranged location and walks him to a shipping container. Upon entering, Estrada immediately becomes suspicious. After a brief struggle in which Estrada fires a wild shot, Dexter sedates him with a chokehold and secures him on his table. He looks through Estrada’s wallet, remarking on how much he’s changed over the years. He then confronts Estrada: “Three men murdered my mother. Juan Pablo Aliso was shot in another deal. Santos Jimenez. You remember him. He testified against you. I cut him into six roughly equal pieces with a chain saw... just like he did my mother. Just like I'm gonna do to you.” Estrada realizes who Dexter is, but calls him “Dickie Moser.”  Dexter continues, “I was three years old when you left me in that container.” He forces Estrada to look at a picture of himself at age three.

Estrada accuses Dexter of working with the “fucking bitch cop” who got him out since there was a big push for his release from the Captain of Miami Metro. When Estrada angrily says he was set up, Dexter replies, “You're not the one who was set up.”

The two officers who were following Estrada had lost him at the shipyard. Soon they hear a gunshot and call LaGuerta to meet them there. When they open the door to the storage container, they find plastic-wrapped walls and a chainsaw with its motor humming.

Dexter is trying to quietly flee the scene with Estrada, but Estrada escapes by jumping into the water, forcing Dexter to leave on his own. It wasn't the universe giving me a gift, he thinks. It was LaGuerta.

While Dexter is stuffing Christmas stockings, a lab tech calls and confirms that the water in Deb’s bottle was 40% alprazolam, more than enough to knock someone out. ''It was no accident. Hannah dissolved the pills into Deb's water so that she'd pass out behind the wheel. A problem in Hannah's life solved. Hannah poisoned Debra. It's not the future I had wanted with Hannah... but maybe it's what I deserve.''

After Dexter drives Deb home from the hospital, he tells her that he has a “present” for her. He gives her Sal Price's pen, explaining, “If you test it, you'll find traces of aconite on the end and Hannah's prints. I found it the next morning. I kept it out of evidence. As long as she's free, you're not safe.” Deb acknowledges how hard it must be for Dexter to turn Hannah in.

Hannah is gardening when Dexter shows up at her house. She asks if he knows what he wants and he answers, “Yes.” She points out that they’re standing under mistletoe and they kiss, but Hannah senses something is wrong. Dexter says he’s sorry. The police appear and Debra places Hannah under arrest for the murder of Sal Price. Hannah looks at Dexter in disbelief. As Angel handcuffs her, Hannah tells Dexter that he should have killed her.

Quotes

 * “Your talent's in playing the game, and you play a great one. Hell, you beat me.”  - Thomas Matthews to Maria LaGuerta
 * Christmas is a time of expectation. If you're good, a red-suited fat man will break into your house and leave you presents. But Santa Claus doesn't exist. - Dexter (voiceover)
 * "That's the thing about people that poison people, Dexter -- They're really fucking sneaky." - Deb to Dexter after her car accident
 * I should know better than to count on the future. All you can ever believe in is now -- this moment -- because in a blink, everything can change. - Dexter (voiceover) when Hannah is arrested

Related Pages

 * Aconite
 * Arlene Schram's Houses
 * Debra's Beach House
 * Dexter's Apartment
 * The Fox Hole
 * Hael Baker
 * Hannah McKay's House
 * Laura Moser's Killers
 * Maria LaGuerta's House
 * Marine Storage Warehouse
 * Ocean Master
 * Sal Price
 * Shipping Yard
 * Shipping Yard Massacre