Episode 1 picks up pretty much right where we left off from the Season 1 Finale. It's 38 days since Dexter killed his brother and he hasn't been able to go on the hunt since Doakes, who is very suspecious of him has been trailing his every move. So what does he do instead? He takes up bowling and joins the squad team.

Deb is also trying to adjust to life after the fact and is now somewhat of a celebrity, known as the Ice-Truck Killer Fiance and is constantly being harassed by passerby's that are intrigued by her. She is putting up a good front in trying to make others think that she is okay and has moved on with her life. Clearly, she is suffering from serious Posttraumatic stress disorder as the guy with the broken nose can now point out.

Back to Dexter, who try's to make a kill, but can't go through with it. And then he try's again on a HUGE gang banger, but get's sloppy and allows him to escape. What could possibly go wrong for him now? Oh, how about a couple of Treasure Hunters discover his mass grave at the bottom of the ocean where he has been tossing his victims remains. 

Hahahaha. A somewhat serious episode suddenly turns into almost a comedic farce at the end when Doakes, who has been trailing Dexter for over a month, waiting to learn his deep, dark secret, stumbles into his Addiction meeting and then....encourages him to stick with the program and to not f uck up. And then when Dexter confesses to Rita that the program was liberating and he is glad she kept at him to go, only to discover that his sponsor, Lila (Jaime Murray) is hot. Haha.

It was only a matter of time before Deb would be able to focus on the job and get her mind off being the victim, which finally netted a pattern of those that are the victims of the Bay-Harbor Butcher (i.e. Dexter). The conversation between Dexter and the Car Salesman, Roger (Don McManus) laying on the table was probably the most interesting thus far in that he was able to engage Dexter as he was seeing first hand how to Lie better.

Dexter and Lila (Jaime Murray) are getting closer now that she is revealing more about her past, something that Dexter can relate to. And to further drive home that they seem made for each other is the fact that he allowed her to talk him into confronting the man that butchered his mother when he was just a kid. The same man who basically shaped who Dexter became. I like Jaime Murray and hope she's on the series for a long time, but I just have a bad feeling that her run will end during the Season Finale. Just a gut feeling it's not gonna end well for her.

The other thing I found fascinating are any of the scenes that both Deb (Jennifer Carpenter) and Frank Lundy (Keith Carradine) share together. He has become more or less her surrogate father figure, guding her through whatever ordeal seems to be ailing her at the moment. Sure enough, she went apesh*t on her boyfriend when she thought he had lied to her. They make up at the end, but this is certainly far from over.

Biggest reveal of the episode was finding out that Harry, Dexter adopted father, had a relationship with his birth mother. So he clearly didn't just happened to arrive on the scene and rescue Dexter as a kid. But what has next to be revealed is why he only rescued him and not his brother Brian as well,

Another great episode where 3 things go down. First, Dex and Doakes finally throw down...kinda. Dex purposely sabotages Doakes investigation to make him look incompetent. Then later Dex headbutts Doakes away from prying eyes to get him to attack him a few minutes later in front of a roomful of witnesses. So, Doakes is now suspended from the Police Force, which is only going to elevate the situation higher.

Deb bares her sole to Lundy, which was actually a very cool moment between the two. Lundy is at a loss for words and doesn't know how to respond. No need to when Deb lays one on him. A bit old yes, but they have great chemistry together on camera and I can see how they would get together. But this show is called Dexter for a reason, so I know it's going to end badly for Lundy and it's going to be Dexter that kills him. That's where the Catch-22 will come in. Dexter has two choices: Kill him to save his own ass, breaking Deb's heart or let him live and go to Prison so that Deb can be happy with the man she wants.

Finally, Lila shows her true colors by setting fire to her loft that she lives in, just to get Dexter to run back to her. Clearly she is a psychotic arsonist and her favorite movie is probably Fatal Attraction. My guess is that once Dexter pulls away from her, she will snap and go after Rita's kids Cody and Astor.

Oooooooooooh shiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiit!!!!!! They are ramping up everything faster than I expected. I figured that nothing would come to a head until the Season Finale between Doakes and Dexter. But damn, was I ever shocked to see that Doakes was waiting for Dexter at the docks trying to dispose of Jimenez body. It was a bigger shock because I thought he was off in a Third World country or something trying to get blood work done to analyze the samples that he found in Dexter's house. The ending is a big whopping cliffhanger. I really don't see any other way out for Dexter. He has Doakes locked up in a cage surrounded by bricks and bricks of coke, but where does he go from here? He can't let him go because Doakes isn't going to just agree "not to tell anyone".

The only "out" I can see of Dexter without having to get rid of Doakes is to drug him up big time with the coke and then turn him over to the police who already suspect him as the Bay-Harbor Butcher. So, drug him up and destroy his credibility which is already on thin ice.

I thought it was pretty funny how Deb inadvertently let it slip that she is sleeping with Lundy and the reaction from everyone in the force.

After a long run of 5 Star episodes, this one gets a slight bump down because it was kinda a filler episode with the idea that Dexter was going to turn himself over to the police and confess to being the Bay-Harbor Butcher. I knew he wouldn't for obvious reasons. It was just a question of how he wouldn't have to turn himself over regarding Doakes. He was either going to die an accidental death or someone would discover where he was and free him from his cage. As soon as Lila stole that little prompter from Dexter's car, I knew that she would follow the trail of his last known destination which would take her right to the cabin.

A very funny moment with Dexter playing different scenarios in his head as to how Deb would react to the news of confessing his deep dark secret to her. It was actually a bit too comical because the episode was pretty dark leading up to this. Still a good episode though. I liked the confrontation between Deb and Lila. Kinda. I like that Deb is standing up for herself and those around her, but I knew that her threats would fall on deaf ears. Deb just needs to kick Lila's ass once and for all.

It was fun re-watching Season 2 and even though I knew what was coming around every turn, I was still on the edge of my seat and that is a testament to great writing, great characters and great actors to breathe life into them. Definitely worth a Buy for sure. I notice that I never gave Season 2 a grade. This time around, I'd give it 4 1/2 Stars out of 5.