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EPISODE 3.3: "The Lion Sleeps Tonight"

The Lion Sleeps Tonight

Episode summary:
While grocery shopping with Rita and the kids, Dexter comes across a fellow predator. But this one is a pedophile. After the pedophile is seen talking with Astor, Dexter must decide if he fits The Code. Meanwhile, Debra has a new homicide to solve, a mysteriously skinned Jane Doe that they like Freebo for. But Dexter knows that Freebo is not the culprit, so he must find a way to help Debra identify their murder victim, thus proving that Freebo didn’t do the crime. While doing this, Dexter learns that Miguel Prado wants Dexter to be his friend. But just how smart is it for Dexter, a serial killer, to befriend an Assistant District Attorney?
Original air date:
 October 12, 2008
Written by:
 Scott Buck
Directed by:
 John Dahl
Guest star(s):
 Jimmy Smits--Miguel Prado
Anne Ramsay--Ellen Wolf
Notable music:
 Daniel Licht
Rolfe Kent (opening theme)
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Dexter's Open Case Files
Description of crime: A young man is found dead on the grass by the beach. The tree-trimmers called it in.Javier the pimp (dead)

Victim(s): Javier, the pimp that Deb questioned, whose information led her to connect Teegan's death to Freebo.

Assigned officer(s): Debra Morgan, Quinn

Crime scene: The victim is in plain view lying on his back. His torso is bare and reveals a large portion of skin that has been excised with a knife.

Suspect(s): To the detectives, Freebo is the main suspect.

Clue(s): The missing chunk of skin is the same M.O. as the female victim, Teegan.

Blood evidence suggests...

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Victim(s):

Assigned officer(s):

Crime scene:

Suspect(s):

Clue(s):

Blood evidence suggests...

Add to Dexter's victim files
Victim Name: Nathan MartenNathan Marten

Age/Occupation: Freelance photographer/Convicted sex offender
License Plate Number: 4QLPR7

Where/how Dexter stalks victim: Dexter confronts him in public first, and then sneaks up on him at his home.

Why victim deserves it: Although he never killed anybody, and he hasn't committed any crimes that he hasn't already paid for in prison, Dexter kills him because he feels that this man threatens "his children" (a first time for Dexter).

Dexter's kill methods and rituals: Very unusual for Dexter--he just strangles him. He doesn't talk to him or take a slide of blood. He just sneaks up behind him and strangles him.

Victim's last words: "Urg!-"

Location of killing: Nathan's house

Close calls/slip-ups: None.
Add image of victimVictim Name:

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Where/how Dexter stalks victim:

Why victim deserves it:

Dexter's kill methods and rituals:

Victim's last words:

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DAYDREAMS
CLUES TO DEXTER'S PAST
  • Dexter volunteers to see a physician to confirm his good health. During his MRI, he imagines Harry comparing scans of a (bad) serial killer's brain to Dexter's. The two brains are shown to be identical. This further deepens Dexter's fears of inadequacy when it comes to being a father.
  • Dexter tells Miguel "My father was disgusted by me", which prompts Miguel to call Harry an 'idiot'.




DEXTER'S RELATIONSHIPS
DEVELOPMENTS WITH RITA
INTERACTIONS WITH OTHERS
  • Dexter comes to accept his role as father and let's Rita know that he will be there for her and the child by resting his hand on her belly.
  • Miguel becomes very persistent with Dexter and will not take the hints Dexter gives him that he does not want to be friends. Miguel eventually gives Dexter the shirt he was wearing the night Freebo was killed, which contains incriminating evidence against Miguel, as a sign that he truly trusts Dexter.
  • As the police team gathers for their morning cup of coffee, Quinn tries to engage Dexter in playful conversation. He gets the hint, and asks, "Not much into small talk?"



SIGNIFICANCE OF EPISODE TITLE


Throughout the episode, there is a running motif of Dexter as a protective lion, and Rita and her kids as members of his pride. Dexter makes allusions to the jungle and the African savannah. When a predator threatens one of Dexter's cubs (Astor), Dexter's inner-lion comes out and he kills the man, thus having to modify his code to fit in people who mean to do harm to "his children". The Lion Sleeps Tonight was also the name of a popular song by the Tokens in 1961.

EPISODE HIGHLIGHTS
BEST MOMENTS
BEST LINES
  • Dexter "dancing" during couples' yoga with Rita
  • The episode's title is an extension of a metaphor Dexter uses to describe his life and habits: himself as a lion in the serengeti. Among the phrases he uses to describe events around him are- "The rare and elusive white cheddar (mac and cheese)", Astor as his "cub", the thought "my animal instincts are never wrong", the musings "as the sun sets the lowly scavengers come out" and "the lion never fears the jackal", and finally the observation that "night is good for the hunter, bad for the hunted."
  • Miguel shows up at Dexter's house mildly intoxicated late at night. They converse on Dexter's front porch and both indulge in hard liquor. Miguel speaks of his alcoholic father, growing up in Castro's Cuba, and arriving in Miami on a sinking boat when he was five. He concedes to Dexter that he felt he could never live up to his father's expectations, and despite his many accomplishments he always remained a failure in his father's eyes.
  • Deb visits Anton at the nightclub where he performs. She seeks to make amends for arresting him at their last meeting. He tells Deb he's been working on a song dedicated to her. As he performs the song in Spanish, Deb brags to a group of girls that the song was written for her. Laughing hysterically, the girls reveal the meaning of the song, "Puta flaca mala" -- "mean, skinny, bitch".
  • (Dexter; during yoga class) "This is absolutely, without a doubt, the worst moment of my life."
    (Dexter; a few moments later when having to dance) "I was wrong. This is."

  • Dexter: "Miguel Prado. The only person who's seen blood on my hands."

  • Deb: "A mother-f****in' roly poly, chubby cheeks, s**t machine? Are you kidding me? (Her reaction upon learning Rita is pregnant)

  • Dex: "My mother was killed by a chainsaw, my brother was killed by, well, me...that kind of stuff?" (His internal response to Rita asking about his family history)

  • Dex: "My animal instincts are never wrong" (His realization that Nathan Marten is a pedophile)

  • Masuka: "This is a deliberate insult against me AND my people." (after discovering an issue of FQ in the trash with gum on it)