Breakthroughs, Breakdowns, Brain Games All Around.

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Let's face it. The past few episodes of Dexter have represented trying times for our protagonist. Considering what he's been through--paranoia that the jig was up, letting go of his toys, abject disappointment at the identity of the apparent Ice Truck Killer, complications in his relationship with Rita--it's a wonder he hasn't completely cracked.

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"Shrink Wrap" opens in the proverbial "dark and stormy night," with Dexter and Jesus at a crime scene, playfully comparing blood splatters to Rorschach blots. The victim in this case is an obvious suicide, after all, so there's not a lot to investigate. It would be the most horrendous of cliches in lesser hands, but in the case of this episode, it's fitting. The night is there Dexter is most comfortable, and the events of recent episodes have signaled an oncoming storm.

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We're not talking a cloudburst here--the horizon is boiling ominously black, and by all indications, Dexter's Miami is potentially in the path of a hurricane of dark motives. And at the eye of the approaching storm is the inevitable showdown between Dexter and the Ice Truck Killer. The problem is, the winds are blowing from every direction imaginable.

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First, there's Deb's growing infatuation with Rudy, the doctor who fitted Tucci with crude prosthetics. She even consumnates her relationship with him, and in a post-orgasmic comment , he tells her she brings out "the animal inside" in him. Then there's Paul, Rita's abusive -ex, gradually entrenching himself as the dominant force in her life. In a particularly chilling scene, when he's playing with the kids, he bellows, "Here comes the monster!" Finally, there's LaGuerrta, battling the beauracracy of the LAPD. She knows from her unorthodox interviewing techniques that Perry cannot possibly the Ice Truck Killer. Still, the DA, sensing a PR opportunity, intends to bring the case to trial.

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All these threads are plot points that almost certainly will play significant roles in the final outcome of the season's run. But as tantalizing as they are, they serve as backdrops to the main thrust of "Shrink Wrap." Something about the suicide doesn't feel right to Dexter-- the victim was a prominent woman who seemed to have everything going for her, though she did suffer from depression. As he pokes a bit deeper, he discovers a pattern of suicides among high profile women who all were seeing the same shrink, one Dr. Meridian. And while the good doctor appears to be squeaky clean, he doesn't slip below Dexter's predatory radar. But, in accordance with Harry's Code, he has to know for certain that Dr. Meridian is a killer. To get the goods on Meridian, he goes undercover as a new patient.

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That Meridian is doomed is a given-- Dexter doesn't make mistakes when it comes to choosing his prey. The twist here is that the therapy sessions actually help Dexter in coming to grips with some of his deep-seeded issues. Through flashback sequences interspersed within the therapy sessions, we find Harry was a major factor in his foster son's later inability to connect with others on an emotional level. It was Harry who instilled in Dexter the notion that if you lose control, you become powerless, and that you must put on a facade to mask your true self. Harry was a hard taskmaster, it turns out. We're left wondering what Harry's motives actually were. And how much did he actually know about Dexter's origins?

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While it's tempting to write an entire article about that aspect of the character's evolution, for now suffice it to say that Dexter does have a breakthrough, and finally opens up to Rita, at least sexually. It's not easy, though, and after a failed attempt, Dexter realizes he needs one more session before he can kill Dr. Meridian. Apparently, this breakthrough takes, and Dexter and Rita have rough, sweaty sex--finally. And one layer of Dexter's carefully applied mask falls away.

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Dr. Meridian's mask has fallen into shreds, though. It turns out that he got his kicks by preying on the weaknesses of his distraught patients. He denied them theire anti-psychotic meds, and then preached the virtues of suicide to them, encouraging them to blow their brains out. Kinky fetishes like that cannot go unpunished, especially when Dexter has incontrovertible proof. The doctor made videos of his final sessions with the women, and saved them as trophies of a sort.

Dexter dispenses his slice and dice version of retribution on the shrink, but not before thanking him for helping him with his own neuroses. Dexter is nothing if not mannered.

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Ordinarily, this would be where the episode ends. But Dexter is rapidly approaching a climax. Rudy, the altruistic doctor who is also dating Deb, sends Dexter an IM, saying, "we'll share a cold one soon." Then we see him toying with a Barbie doll head as he walks into a refrigerated room cluttered with bloodless body parts. The Ice Truck Killer is finally revealed!

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Or is he..?