Dexter is not a well-rounded show. It can oscillate from the amazing, whenever Michael C. Hall is on screen and the various serial killers through the seasons, to the god-awful, basically the relationships and random subplots. It doesn't bode well for "Everything Is Illumenated" that it's completely about the relationships with hardly any plot development to speak of other than on the Dexter front, but the episode turns out much better than it could have been.
First the bad: Angela and LaGuerta fighting again and kind of making up. It's a plot that has no upside or value, but the writers decide to plow through with the two of them still married. Seeing Quinn with a girl as part of an undercover operation, Deb declares her feelings for Quinn and he reciprocates. Yawn.
Dexter and Lumen were hit-and-miss, and I'm a bit worried how they'll proceed. The combination of bad lines and Julia Stiles's overly enthusiastic acting made the initial scene at the marina cringe-worthy, as Lumen continued to pepper absurd questions while Dexter tried to ignore her. Instead of seeming charming or funny, Lumen seemed more goofy and annoying. She's been mopey all the time, but this had to be the worst possible time for her to not to be silent and teary.
Lumen finally starts acting like she has been, violent and agitated, before the guy calls his buddy about Lumen and is killed by Dexter. But the episode takes humorous turn when Dexter puts the body he originally had with the Lumen's body which Masuka chalks up to some wild sexual thing.
The final scene is very good and Julia Stiles redeems herself. While she does seem like an undue burden, Dexter finds a kindred spirit in her. She, too, has a dark passenger and like Dexter has a need to get revenge on those who harmed her, and recruits Dexter to her cause. This solves Dexter's problems of finding people to kill, but it also forms a stronger link between the two and thus another avenue for Dexter to be caught. Well, as long as Dexter is still around, the show will survive, despite the uselessness of the other characters.
We're halfway into the season and things haven't picked up much. The Santa Muerte stuff is uninteresting, Peter Weller's character has yet to do anything other than say a few irrelevant lines. At least Dexter has a clear goal of killing for Lumen.
Score: 8.4/10
