‘Dexter’ season 8, episode 7 review: Why Hannah McKay makes things strange

In watching tonight’s “Dexter” season 8″ episode, there is one question that we repeatedly found ourselves asking time and time again: At the end of the day, did we really need to see Hannah McKay tonight? It basically ceased the evolution of Dexter Morgan this season, forced Dr. Vogel into a tough spot, and also caused Deb to lose a great deal of the faith that she was starting to have in her brother. It’s almost now as if the first part of the season did not matter.

At the end of the day, the biggest issues with Hannah’s re-appearance basically come down to just two major things: Logic and resonance. We still have a very difficult time, first of all, believing that Hannah can enter a wealthy establishment with her new husband, and not have anyone running / screaming in the other direction. There are examples out there of asking your audience to take a leap of faith, but this may be too much even more most of them.

Personally, a more intriguing story would have been for Lumen to return, which would open a window for a time in Dexter’s life that Deb may still be a little cloudy on, and it would also be a romantic partner that she could be better support. Could you argue that then the murder of Cassie may not have happened? Sure, but a distraction is a distraction. We’re not entirely sold that it would have made any difference if it was Hannah, Lumen, or the ghost of Lila that turned up here. Dexter didn’t take his duties very seriously, and thanks to that, an innocent woman died.

This may be one of the weaker episodes so far that “Dexter” has really given us, mostly because there really was so much going on. We had the Masuka story (which is heading in directions unknown), Quinn and Jamie wanting to move in together, Quinn being ordered to stop the security detail, and Deb dealing with Elway at work. We hope we’re wrong, but it feels like we’re building to something, but not everything that is happening right now is necessarily a part of it. In some ways, the thought of this in a final season is a bummer.

Luckily, next week does already look exciting, and it presents us with that sliver of hope that there are some major developments ahead. “Dexter’s” still a very good show, but for these final weeks, we want nothing short of phenomenal.

Photo: Showtime