Nightclub Shootout

Dexter 5.07 Review - 'Circle Us'

Guest Starring:

Joseph Julian Soria as Carlos Fuentes

Chris Vance as Cole Harmon

Maria Doyle Kennedy as Sonya

Geoffrey Pierson as Captain Matthews

April Lee Hernandez as Officer Cira Manzon
with
Peter Weller as Stan Liddy

with 

Jonny Lee Miller as Jordan Chase

and

Julia Stiles as Lumen Pierce

After witnessing the death of Lumen's second rapist in 5.6, this week's episode of Dexter eased up on the major story arc of the season, and instead focused on tidying up all the subplots within the season - namely involving the dramatic conclusion of the Santa Muerte case. Of course, there were also some brief developments for other secondary characters as well, like Sonya's Saint Bridgitte statue (implying she is trying to raise Harrison to be a sort of Christian, much to Dexter's chagrin), and Quinn's awkward relationship with Stan Liddy, the man looking into Dexter.

However, the main focus of this review is on the two major plot points of the episode - Dexter and Lumen's researching into the rest of the men who raped Lumen, along with the epic Santa Muerte conclusion. This week, we were treated with an interesting change in the narrative, as we saw one of Lumen's rapists head to Boyd's swamp and place the barrels containing the dead girls into the back of his ute. From there, we discovered that the man in question was involved in a car accident, and the five barrels fell from the back of the ute and opened in the middle of a main road.

Dexter and Masuka working on the 'Barrel Girl' case.
Image copyright of Showtime.

Now, with Miami Metro on the case of the 'Barrel Girls', it seems that Dexter and Lumen's job will be that much harder, and the rapists in question are attempting to stay one step ahead of the investigation. Lumen, however, was able to identify her third rapist as Jordan Chase's head of security, a man by the name of Cole. After investigating Cole's home, and barely escaping with his life, Dexter and Lumen manage to steal a photograph of the five men who raped her and uncovered the connection between all the men - they were all buddies from high school. Now that Dexter and Lumen know who the rapists are, all they need now is to silence each one before Miami Metro discover the link and before the rapists in question find Lumen.

Captain Matthews warning LaGuerta and Batista not to screw up the sting at Club Mayan.
Image copyright of Showtime.

The second major plot point of the episode involved the dramatic climax of the Santa Muerte case. After setting up a stakeout/sting, LaGuerta, Batista, Quinn, Cira, Debra and their informant all prepared to apprehend the Fuentes brothers. After Cira is discovered wearing a wire, Carlos accidentally shoots the informant dead, and proceeds to run for his life out of the club, shooting anyone in his way. Debra comes busting in and confronts the killer, in an eerily similar situation like in 5.4, with Carlos holding a woman hostage. However, this time, Debra has learned her lesson, and takes the shot, shooting Carlos straight in the head and killing him. Of course, now Debra and the rest of the Miami Homicide department are in a precarious situation, as Marco Fuentes is still on the loose, and several innocents have been severely injured.

Will LaGuerta lose her job for making a crucial mistake in the sting? Guess we will have to wait until next episode to find out.

Of course, i should also mention that Quinn was informed by Stan of some developments in Dexter's life, namely that Dexter has taken off the for sale sign at his house and that Dexter has a woman living in the house. Quinn witnesses Dexter talking to Lumen while at a crime scene, but hasn't had a chance to confront Dexter about it yet.

Will he reveal his investigation to Dexter or Debra? Only time will tell.

Anywho, these are my final marks for the episode:

• Potency of the season's theme(s) identified in the episode:  *********

• Editing & Scenes of Relevance:  ********

• Main characters connection with audience/actors effectiveness in role:  ********

• Secondary characters connection with audience/actors effectiveness in role:  ********

• Music & Visual Effects:  *********

• Originality and appeal of the episode's narrative:  *********

• Integration and effectiveness of multiple story arcs and character relationships:  ********

Overall Marks:  59 / 70

Grade Percentage: 84% 

This week's episode of Dexter has finally started to merge all the story arcs together, and tidied up some loose ends. With all the suspense and activity going on, i certainly look forward to the final few weeks of Dexter and cannot wait to see what the writers have in store for us.