I wasn't planning on doing episode reviews for Season 7 of Dexter, but I couldn't pass up on the chance to comment about what takes place in the season opener. So, I recently finished watching Season 6 and the final scene, the cliffhanger of when Deb see's Dexter killing Travis has been replaying in my head over and over. It actually left a very uncomfortable feeling with both characters with me and I really didn't know one way or another how the Season Premiere episode was going to deal with this. In my head, I kinda figured and suspected that Dexter would be able to talk his way out of it and convince Deb that it was all in self-defense.

Well, that's exactly how Are You....? opens up, picking up right where Season 6 ended. I knew that she would "believe" him because she needed to believe him. Her fragile mind wouldn't be able to cope with the idea that he willingly killed someone else, especially after her relationship with the Ice Truck Killer. I also knew that she would ended up helping Dexter burn down the Church to get rid of all trace evidence (all but one very incriminating blood slide that is).

The entire hour of Are You....? left me feeling somewhat shaken because I was very sympathetic to what Deb was dealing with, wanting her to make things right and understanding why she was suddenly questioning everything, replaying key moments in her mind over and over. Her suspicions were clearly on display and I knew that she would start to do off-books investigating of her own as she starts piecing things together. What I didn't see coming was Dexter returning to his house at the very end of the episode to find Deb sitting  among the ruins of his apartment with his knife kit on the table in full display and more importantly his blood slides. Holy sh*t! There is no way for him to talk his way out of this one and when Deb ask him "Are you......a Serial Killer?" and he simply replies "Yes", left me wanting to see more. Damn, Now THAT's a cliffhanger. Can't wait to see what comes next.

My guess is that the next episode will be Dexter retelling all the details about their father Harry, his code, Brian Moser, Trinity, Luman and Travis. And then it will be up to her to decide what to do next.

That didn't take long at all. Episode 3 has Dexter basically bringing Deb along to show her what it is he does when it comes to vetting one that may turn out to be a serious bad guy. Of course she doesn't agree or go along with it and in the end, it ends up costing the life of an innocent girl. This epiphany opens Deb's eyes, but she is still not on board with what Dexter does, but you can now see that she is straddling the fence, something that I wouldn't have suspected so soon into Season 7. This bad guy will be the one that Deb sics on him to take out the garbage. Probably the second to last episode. Just a guess. Another solid episode. Bonus points for adding Yvonne Strahovski to the cast. Me love her long time! Hated to see Louis go the way he did. It would have been fun to see him and Dexter trying to sabotage each other the entire season. But, Louis' blood on Dexter's boat is going to have huge ramifications no doubt and the one time that Dexter is totally innocent of any wrong doings.

Great episode for a couple of reasons. First off, we get the reveal that Yvonne Strahovski's character is just like Dexter....a cold blooded serial killer and that she was just as complicit in the killing spree that her then-boyfriend got all the credit for. Really not sure where her story is going to go. Will Dexter hunt her down and do what he always does to killers? Or is this the start of a romantic dance? I'm going with the later since he basically derailed the investigation by lying about her involvement...to save her. We shall see,

This episode finally addresses Quinn's dirty-cop background. We always knew he was dirty at one time with a shady background. So, when he "accepts" the bag of money left in his car, we can only think one thing. My guess is that he will do the right thing because his character seriously needs a redemption so that we can root for the guy. Right now, not so much.

Loved the cat and mouse chase that Dexter and Issac are currently engaged in. Can't wait to see where this goes. As for Deb, it looks like she will turn a blind eye to Dexter's..."activities". She just doesn't want to know about it anymore. It's eating away at her. The rest of the season will definitely have her questioning everything. But will she do anything to stop him? Probably not until the Season Finale, which goes against the idea of her siccing Dexter on the Big Bad Dude that is Issac.

Great writing, especially with the set up. But even greater writing by switching it up when you expect it to go a certain way. I previously said that there would come a time during this season (season finale was the episode I picked) when Deb would sic Dexter on someone to get justice (Issac was the person I picked). Well, Deb finally reaches out to Dexter and gives him her blessing to take out the garbage. The twist is that she wants Hannah 'taken care of'. It was ironic that she tells him to do that, not knowing that he was sharing her bed at that very moment.

Deb just can't seem to catch a break in the men she chooses to be with. As soon as their romance got off the ground, Hannah made sure to deal with him her own way by poisoning him. It's just bad luck that he would drop in Dexter's apartment of all places. Yikes. And he is innocent of that! Who knew. Elsewhere, LaGuerta is getting closer and closer to uncovering the truth.....

Kind of weird to see Dexter and Isaak suddenly working together to take out two hit men sent to kill him. I was expecting a big showdown between the two in the season finale. Who would have ever guessed that it would be Isaak that would convince Dexter to surrender to the idea of loving someone unconditionally (Hannah). I should have suspected that he would meet his demise in this one once they established the Arsonist Killer or whatever they decide to name him...or her. I wonder if it's someone that we have already seen during this season or someone else entirely new. Leave it up to Deb to save Hannah's life. I also like that LaGuerta sought out Tom Matthews to help solve the Bay Harbor Butcher case. Good reason to bring him back this season, but I think Matthews already knows that Dexter is the one and has been keeping his secret all along.

Fantastic episode. Two story-lines running concurrently to each other and each delivering for me in a big way. Which one to address first? I'll start with Hannah. I like that Deb is super protective of Dexter. Hell, she has already proven that by covering for his homicidal ways. Duh! But her sisterly love has gone up a notch. Nothing was revealed, but I am 100% positive that Deb purposely planted a strand of Hannah's hair in her own house, drugged herself and then purposely crashed her car all in the hopes of convincing Dexter that she tried to kill her, much like she did with Sam Price. Well, it worked. Dexter gave Deb evidence the evidence that she needed to arrest her. Sh*t is gonna hit the fan when Dexter finds out what Deb did!! Well, this is all speculation on my part. Otherwise this is gonna be egg on my face!!

The other story that has been fun to watch is LaGuerta continuing to try and prove that Dexter is the Bay Harbor Butcher. I totally bought it hook line and sinker that her manhunt was over once they found Doakes "boat" with evidence that proved HE was the Bay Harbor Butcher. So imagine my surprise when it was revealed that LaGuerta engineered the release of the last man that had a hand in the death of Laura Moser...Dexter's mother. This is getting goooooooood.

Added Season 7 Review here.