One of the "big" episodes of the first season of Dexter in that it sees the progression of the Ice Truck Killer storyline ("fresh" body parts, with blood flow, are left at different areas of Miami and they belong to the police's number one suspect, the night watchman), the relationship of Dexter and Rita (a miserable dog whines constantly because it isn't treated properly by its owner, with Rita setting her foot down despite the neighbor's bitchy, antagonistic, rude tone; taking it to a family that will love it, showing that she actually does have a backbone, and taking the first step in embracing sexual desire by giving Dex a blow job!), Dexter's secret investigation of the serial killer (the killer who invaded his home, set up the night watchman's body parts in areas extracted from photographs in Dex's album from his past, taken by Harry, left an "invite" to find the still-alive #1 suspect in the abandoned Angel of Mercy hospital), Debra's continual rise in her police department (stuck looking at surveillance tapes that might or (most probably) might not give them details on the killer's appearance by LaGuerta, a dispatched call (from Dexter, of course) leads her to the night watchman's whereabouts), a little development in the life of Detective Angel (David Zayas; he keeps requesting opinions from Dex on different jewelry gifts for his estranged wife, and the results continue to leave him discouraged), LaGuerta's humbling (after the unwise press conference calling the night watchman their killer, she must visit his mother to apologize; the mother, however, isn't angered towards her, but instead just wants LaGuerta to find her son; LaGuerta starts to allow Debra to slowly advance from the doormat position on her police squad), Doakes' hard times with his own cops and Guerrero's posted thugs as warning signs of a "return fire" soon to come (Doakes is eventually taken hostage, pummeled, and seems on the verge of being shot by Guerrero personally with those who set up the detective coming to his rescue, in turn admitting in their actions that this all was a sting to catch their drug-lord in the act of attempting to kill a cop), and ultimately Dexter's challenge regarding the "Code of Harry" (the ice truck killer leaves the night watchman on the slab awaiting execution, but Dex proves to him that he's not some garden variety psychopath; his code allows him not to just kill anyone, and that proves Harry's incredible influence on Dexter's growth and development from child to adult). Of course, as in each episode of the series, Dexter comments in narrative voice about "putting on his mask", so he continues to mimic human behavior although not truly feeling emotions is a burden he must forbear. The episode excellently takes us back and forth in flashback, connecting past events to present, and this all allows for a chess game between Dex and the ice truck killer who knows lots of intimate details.
Review of Let's Give the Boy a Hand
