This episode was all about police work, and having babies. Who ever thought an episode of Dexter would be about having babies?
We start out with Dexter and Rita at the gynecologist's office. As Dex watches little kids run around, his thoughts are entirely normal for a man in his current position: He loves children, as long as they're other people's. Then he adds his own twist: "I'm not in the business of giving life." You got that right, buster! But it's too bad, because Rita's pregs for sure.
At work, everyone's looking for drug dealer Freebo because he killed ADA Prado's brother. Except that he didn't, Dexter did, though not exactly on purpose. But that means Dexter needs to find Freebo before anyone else does. Meanwhile, Deb's trying to figure out who killed Teegan, the girl they found in the water, and only Dexter knows that it was Freebo, and that Teegan was his girlfriend. For a police department employee, he really isn't being very helpful.
Prado tells squad captain LaGuerta to let him help with his brother's case, and we're still thrown by Jimmy Smits' strong Cuban accent. It's not the first time he's done it, but we've seen him on too many hours of TV with "NY" or "L.A." in the titles. LaGuerta cautions him not to get too close, and throws in some heavy flirting while she's at it. Is there anyone she doesn't flirt with?
Deb's out among the hookers trying to find leads on Teegan, and is approached by the ever-more annoying woman from Internal Affairs. She tells Deb she can have her detective's shield if she plays ball, which means getting "close" to Quinn in a special way. And the chick is such a b-word about it that Deb actually calls her the c-word -- welcome to pay cable! Later, the snitch from last week tells Deb about a pimp who handled girls like Teegan. And the pimp makes the connection between Teegan and Freebo.
Dexter uses the dead girl's unusual first name to find her in the driver's-license database. But before he can investigate any further, Prado invites him and Rita to dinner. Prado's wife finds out that Rita's pregnant, and admits that the two of them have been trying to do the same. Meanwhile, Prado gets Dexter alone and starts grilling him about the investigation. Not exactly good hosting etiquette, is it? Prado and his brother Ramon, who's a bigwig in the sheriff's office, apparently have their own lead in the case -- Ramon "borrowed" Freebo's mother's cell phone, and they're waiting for a call. That means everybody's catching up to Dexter in the "finding Freebo" competition.
He starts by investigating Teegan's house -- which turns out to be a sorority house, where a wild party is currently in progress. (Look, big-breasted college girls with their shirts off -- now we know we're watching Showtime.) A couple of blondes tell him she's moved somewhere else, and offer her new address, along with a role in the hay, in exchange for drugs. Dexter accepts the deal, but gets the heck out of there before the sex-and-drugs part comes into play.
He gets back to Rita's in time to talk about the pregnancy, and what to do about it. Well, not talking so much as making a "pros and cons" list about having kids, since that's how his mind works. Rita, though a great mother to her current kids, has a lot of cons. Oh, and he does a lot of thinking and fantasizing about having kids throughout this episode -- including the con side, in which they turn out dark and nutso, just like him.
Angel and Quinn go to roust another drug dealer, Zack Adelman. (Funny, he doesn't look like an Adelman.) He doesn't know where Freebo is, but he does have information clearing the recently convicted perp in another case, one Chicky Heinz. Why do we care? Because the prosecutor on that case is Prado. Okay, we don't really care -- not yet, anyway.
Realizing that he doesn't have much time to beat his colleagues, Dexter goes to search Teegan's house -- and there's Freebo, in the flesh. Nude, that is. Dex goes home to gather his killing materials, but is interrupted by Rita, who wants to talk about the kid thing some more. Now she thinks that having another kid would be a mistake, and Dexter agrees -- but then she says she's having it anyway. So what was that, some kind of test? Not nice, Rita. She tells him that his role in the child-rearing will be up to him.
Which is what's on his mind when he goes out to kill Freebo, for the second time. Freebo denies having killed Teegan, but he still has the two earlier girls on his record, and this time Dex manages to finish the job.
But he's a little late, because Prado has just found the house, too. He's holding a gun and looking for Freebo, thinking, "My name is Inigo Montoya. You killed my brother. Prepare to die." But when he sees Dex outside the house, holding a bloody knife, he realizes the job's been done already. Dex claims he killed Freebo in self-defense, and since the knife belonged to Oscar, Prado believes him. Prado thanks him -- it's the first time Dexter has ever been thanked for killing somebody -- and hugs him, unfortunately getting some of the blood on his shirt. So maybe Prado's going to end up a suspect anyway.
Previously:
Dexter Recap: Our Father