Dexter Season 5 Recap: Episode 5.2 "Hello, Bandit"

Last week, Dexter had to tell the kids that their mother had been murdered. He also explicitly states his own guilt in the matter, casting suspicion on him by the FBI. This week, Dexter and the kids have moved in with Deb, in Dexter's old apartment. He is trying to keep them out of the house where Rita was murdered.

Dexter finally has his interview with the FBI. They clear him of any wrongdoing, but are curious about his connection with Arthur Mitchell. They know that Dexter was at Arthur's house during the investigation, and wonder why Mitchell targeted Rita. They are also on the search for Kyle Butler and are going to ask Arthur's family for a sketch. When they are filling in Laguerta of their plan, she drops some mail. Angel picks it up and notices a bank statement that shows she has over $280,000 with several $2000 deposits in a row. He quickly becomes suspicious.

Dexter rents a truck, choosing the one that appears to have a bloodstain. When he is starting to pack the knives in the kitchen, Elliott, the neighbor whom Rita kissed, stops by. He offers to help with the children, but Dexter tells him, nicely, to back off. When the box of knives spill, Dexter starts to pick it up and contemplates using it on Elliott.

The problems with Aster continue, as she isn't happy about the clothes that Dexter brought her, and the arguments continue. Dexter can't let go of his Dark Passenger, taking Harrison outside in the middle of the night as he examines the blood spatter in the truck. Harry appears, reminding Dexter of his responsibilities to the children, and that they could be his salvation.

Dexter hacks into the moving company's database to do a search on the truck. He finds that Boyd Fowler had last rented the truck, but tends to carry dead animals as his job. Dexter stages a dead animal in the road and calls it in, so that he can meet Boyd. Boyd is quite odd, quickly analyzing the carrion scene as if it were an actual crime scene. Dexter becomes even more suspicious. Is this man a murderer?

A decapitated head has been found, missing eyes and a tongue. It's laying out in the open, a la Ice Truck Killer. The local cop tries to pin it on Santa Muerte, a local gang. Quinn tells Deb she can stay with him if her apartment is too busy for her to rest.

Dexter gets distracted from looking up ways to help children deal with grief and starts to look up Boyd Fowler. Deb again reassures Dexter that he will be okay with the kids and that she can help. Deb calls Quinn to spend the night. When he opens the door, he tries to kiss her and she pushes him away. The next day, she tells him that nothing ever happened.

Meanwhile, back at the apartment, things appear to be going well between Dexter and the kids, until Aster puts out too many plates when setting the table. She and Dexter start arguing again, and Cody yells at them both to stop.

Masouka is getting annoyed with having to work cases Dexter normally does, but Dexter is taking mandatory time off. Their latest dead body appears to be the boyfriend of the headless victim, and it looks like he killed himself. They are considering it to be a murder-suicide.

Dexter stays on the hunt, because he feels that it makes him sharper. The sharper he is, the better father he can be, as he is more focused. He busts into Boyd's house, noticing more weird traits, such as perfectly lining up canned food. He almost gets busted in Boyd's house when he sneaks in, as Boyd comes home for lunch. He turns on a self-help tape as Dexter seeks a way out of the oddly locked house. Dezxter also discoers a lock of blonde hair, with a number on it. He follows Boyd to the middle of nowhere and finds Boyd dumping a barrel But before he has a chance to check it out, Deb calls. The kids never went to class at school. Dexter finds them at the house, staring at the bathtub where their mother was murdered. Aster keeps blaming Dexter for everything going wrong. She wants to go live with her grandparents, instead of staying with Dexter.

The Mitchell family has given their sketches of Kyle Butler. All three pictures look different, though there is a vague resemblance to Dexter. Quinn asks to keep copies of them.

Angel confronts Laguerta about the money. It turns into an argument about her being responsible with her money and him being irresponsible with his.

Deb comes home to Dexter drinking on the balcony. The kids are packing, because they are going to go back to Orlando with their grandparents. Aster is the one who wants to leave; Cody wants to stay. But Dexter told him he shouldn't be separated from his sister, just like Dexter and Deb stick together.

Deb calls Quinn to concede that the two had had sex. He continues to harass her. Even when they stopped to look at an apt for Dexter he was teasing her. Quinn is putting the three pictures together, like he is putting together a puzzle. It is looking like Dexter more and more.

Angel and Masouka go out to a bar. Some buy comes up and talks about Maria being Angel's Sugar Mama. Angel starts beating the crap out o fhim and several men pull him off.

The grandparents come to get the kids. Cody is in tears, begging Dexter to let him stay. Dexter looks extremely sad and tells Aster how much he loves them. She gives him a half hug, and they drive away, with Dexter choking back tears. He realizes he can still care about something, which make sit even harder to let them go.

Dexter goes back out to the dump site. He opens the barrel and discovers a dead blonde inside. He is envisioning how she was murdered. He realizes that he has another serial killer with whom to contend and thinks perhaps killing Boyd will help him get "back to normal".

Is Dexter going to find some peace by chasing Boyd? Will life be easier without Aster and Cody in his way? How will their mother's death affect them? Is Deb going to give in to Quinn? What is going to happen when they inevitably connect Dexter to Kyle Butler? Stay tuned to find out.

Dexter appears on Showtime every Sunday at 9 p.m., with a repeat at 11 p.m., and at different time slots throughout the week.