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Title: Waiting to Exhale (07 Oct 2007)
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| Episode cast overview, first billed only: | |||
| Michael C. Hall | ... | Dexter Morgan | |
| Julie Benz | ... | Rita Bennett | |
| Jennifer Carpenter | ... | Debra Morgan | |
| Erik King | ... | Sgt. James Doakes | |
| C.S. Lee | ... | Vince Masuka | |
| Luna Lauren Velez | ... | Det. Maria LaGuerta (as Lauren Velez) | |
| David Zayas | ... | Det. Angel Batista | |
| Geoff Pierson | ... | Capt. Tom Matthews | |
| James Remar | ... | Harry Morgan | |
| Christian Camargo | ... | Brian Moser | |
| Judith Scott | ... | Lt. Esme Pascal | |
| Keith Carradine | ... | Special Agent Frank Lundy | |
| Christina Robinson | ... | Astor Bennett | |
| Preston Bailey | ... | Cody Bennett | |
| Matthew Willig | ... | Little Chino (as Matthew J. Willig) | |
The Miami Metro Police Department, led by FBI Special Agent Frank Lundy, begins the hunt for the "Bay Harbor Butcher". Both Dexter and the police are hunting for Little Chino, and Dexter is determined to kill him properly given a second chance. Debra and Dexter struggle to overcome memories of the encounter with Brian that led to his death. After Paul's funeral, Rita confronts Dexter about his involvement in Paul's death, and he admits to having an addiction, which Rita infers to be to drugs. LaGuerta shows surprising support for new boss, Lieutenant Esmee Pascal (Judith Scott).
Dexter finds himself brooding, self-doubting and trying to understand why he has lost his lethal touch and struggling with his kills, and on top of that the additional stress of having his underground burial site revealed, and in the process earning the nickname "Bay Harbour Butcher", which he strongly dislikes.
He also ends up feeling guilty about his recent inability to kill when his failure to murder Little Chino leads to an important witness being killed by Chino's henchmen, and the victim's little daughter suddenly finds herself without a mother.
Meanwhile, Debra still struggles with her traumatic experiences, and in this episode the issue is explored thoroughly, with the effects of her trauma clearly affecting her in a negative way both personally and at work. This storyline is very well-handled and I look forward to seeing more of how this theme is explored later on in the season. Jennifer Carpenter gets a few good scenes here and her acting talent is well-used.
Letting go is one of the major themes of this episode, as Dexter's relationship with Rita becomes strained when Dexter's lack of social skills leads to trouble when he fails to grasp the concept of mourning when Rita deals with the demise of Paul and his subsequent funeral. However, he's clearly having problems of his own as well, as he keeps seeing visions of his dead brother, and he gradually begins to understand more about the complexity of letting go of your past. I think the scriptwriters handle this well, and the scenes are both witty and thought-provoking.
I think the episode was good, it opened up a few interesting possibilities for the rest of the season, but I don't rate is as a classic as I think it builds for the future more than it is instantly rewarding.