My Review of Dexter's 5x07: "Circle Us"

Written by Scott Buck
Directed by John Dahl

Jordan: “You finally did something right, Steering the cops towards Boyd, very smart.”
Cole: “It wasn’t me.”

No, but the two of them should be very worried right about now. Seriously, guys, Dexter just put Boyd in the frame for Cole’s botched attempt at moving all the barrel girls and both he and Lumen know where the security man lives and the fact that Cole, Boyd and Dan the dentist were friends since childhood. If I were a bad guy, I’d definitely start being a lot more careful but somehow I get the impression that Jordan and Cole aren’t that perceptive.

Maybe it’s a natural cynicism I have towards motivational speakers in general but Jordan is definitely the kind of man I wouldn’t trust within an inch of my life. So of course the show would have to cast one of the sexiest men in order to play the role – Johnny Lee Miller. I won’t devolve this review with a swoon-fest but it’s hard not find Jordan a little more attractive than I normally would.

Also his arrival on the show is pretty due anyways. We’ve already seen and heard him thanks to Boyd and seeing him in the flesh finally gives both Dexter and Lumen a big visual threat to go after. There were no illusions in this episode that Cole is little more than a henchman and Cole is little more than a lackey.

I liked that Dexter and Lumen took the assertive approach with trying to deal with Cole. It’s too bad that their attempt on his life failed and it was also a little reckless to but if Lumen hadn’t intervened, Dexter would’ve been in a lot of trouble, so I’m more than grateful for the fact that she did.

There’s a part of me that wanted to yell at Dexter for not trying harder to dissuade Lumen from her mission against her attackers (after all, the cops were now on the trail for Boyd and accomplices) but the more I thought about it, the more I want to see Lumen and Dexter do their own brand of justice instead.

Truthfully because I don’t see something like jail being a deterrent to someone like Jordan Chase and secondly because he’s a danger that should be eliminated but both Dexter and Lumen are going to have to act a little faster. Jordan presumably already knows that the latter is still breathing and Lumen’s paranoia in this episode was beginning to grow a little.

As for the more romantic connotations of Dexter and Lumen’s partnership, I really should disapprove but not only do Michael C. Hall and Julia Stiles continue to work extremely well with each other but the pacing feels a lot more organic than certain other shows would’ve. Plus it does feel like Lumen is helping Dexter in her own indirect way.

At the start of the episode not only was he desperate to keep Lumen away from his normal life but he was also trying to control the kills as well. Both of these were crushed when Dexter accepted Lumen as a partner in crime and also when he introduced her to Harrison. I really do hope that doing this won’t blow up in both his and Lumen’s face because I don’t think we need another Rita disaster again.

However as Dexter might have let Lumen into his life and even accepted Sonya’s belief in a Saint Brigit statue, why do I get the impression that Quinn’s going to regret getting Liddy involved in his Dexter exposing crusade? Liddy might have tipped Quinn off about Lumen but it didn’t stop him from trying to get more money out of the bent copper. Quinn, you really should’ve just stuck to pursuing without any help.

As for Quinn, while he might be lying to Deb about Dexter, I do have to admit that I believe his feelings for Deb are genuine. He didn’t seem particularly pleased when she told him that she didn’t want to out their relationship and he seemed a little miffed when she didn’t want to discuss moving in with him either. I have to admit, I actually a little bad for him there.

Deb on the other hand, that girl really does know how to kick ass, doesn’t she? Finally after weeks of the Santa Muerte storyline not progressing much, Deb managed to shoot once of the Fuentes brothers before any more damage could ensure. Unfortunately while this should be a crowning moment of brilliance for her, it’s more likely to backfire on her, thanks to both Maria and Matthews.

Now much as I usually think Maria is good at her job, she made a bloody bad error wit sending Sierra over to the Fuentes brothers along with Yasmin, the latter who wound up being killed in the process. She should’ve listened to Deb on this one. As for Captain Matthews, I am increasingly growing tired of that character. He was okay when he first speared but he’s not even an interesting antagonist any more and the last thing we need is more angst for Maria and Angel as well. Just go away, Matthews.

Also in “Circle Us”

The name of the episode came from a prayer that Sonya said to Harrison. I actually thought the statue was going to lead to a bigger conflict with Dexter and Sonya but I’m glad that it didn’t.

Lumen: “So what do we do now? How do we find them?”
Dexter: “I’m not sure ‘we’ is the operating word here.”
Lumen: “What are you talking about? We’re doing this together.”

Lumen revealed more quirks about her captors this week including Cole’s penchant for folding his jacket as well as Jordan’s watch.

Dexter (re statue): “That’s either a saint or the most boring action figure I've ever seen.”

Dexter: “It’s not safe for you here. They could be watching.”
Lumen: “Who is this? What does it mean?”
Dexter: “It means they’re on the run, you need to go.”

Both Dexter and Lumen better hope that neither of their hair samples show up at a later date because when Masuka was going through Boyd’s hair book, I was nearly sure a bit of Lumen’s was going to appear.

Dexter: “And what are you going to do with that?”
Lumen: “It’s just a flashlight.”
Dexter: “You have a way of bending the rules.”

Quinn: “What are you wearing tonight?”
Deb: “For the big stakeout? A diaper probably. I have to sit in that van with Batista for hours.”

Masuka turning out to be something of a fan of Jordan’s seemed rather in character with him. Plus it gave Dexter a good opportunity to take a snap of Jordan to help Lumen, even though she didn’t recognise him.

Dexter: “So what do we do next? What?”
Lumen: “You said ‘we’.”

Chronology: Over a month since “Practically Perfect”.

“Circle Us” is continuing the strong strand of this episode and with the arrival of Jordan, we have finally got a face to hate for the remainder of the season. Here’s hoping they utilise Johnny Lee Miller perfectly.

Rating: 9 out of 10.