Hey, turns out that wasn't the Skinner throwing a bag over Dexter's head, tying his wrists, and shoving him in the trunk of a car - it was the boys from the station, surprising Dex with his bachelor party! Kidnap someone, make him think he's about to die - oh, you guys! That's a good one - we'll do that next time we have to organize a bachelor party. And then we'll have so much fun missing the wedding, in our jail cell.
Anyway, then we're at the bachelor party, and there are so many exposed boobs onscreen it feels like an episode of Californication. Miguel, the best man and fellow murderer, gives the toast, despite the fact that he and the groom are trying to kill each other. (Kidnapping, murder plots - hell of a bachelor party.) Miguel says "friendship is a sacred bond." So true. Gonna have our best friends killed now, be back to finish the post later.
Okay, we're back. No, no, we don't know anything about it, officers, why so many questions? Speaking of questions, La Guerta is wondering about that Black SUV and high beams the witness mentioned - which sound a hell of a lot like the Black SUV with high beams that Miguel Prado owns. She goes to meet Miguel, says it's about "that scene with Sil." Deb visits Dexter when the CI who wasn't a CI Anton comes in for questioning, they get to talking about their father, who, incidentally, has been visiting Dexter quite a bit this season from the great beyond. Once or twice gets the point across, kids. More than that feels a little like a cheesy device. Stick to the creepy murder plots, and let's get to more killing. No, officers, we meant on the show. So Dex and Deb start talking about their father, and Dexter tells her dad also slept with a CI - (which, of course, is true: Dexter's real mom - but he leaves out that part.) Why would he say that to her? He seems to be letting down his guard too much now, not being careful.
Anton talks to Deb about being attacked by The Skinner, George King. He says King stopped cutting for some reason - and, weirdly, took his pocket change. Clue alert! Miguel is staying in a 5-star hotel now that Sil kicked him out of the house, and Dexter is watching his every move, determined to kill him, but not a moment too soon. The plan is to get him and do it precisely in the style of The Skinner, so it can be pinned on King. Which means King's got to hang around long enough to get framed for this murder.
Deb and Quinn go to King's hideout under the highway, and Deb notices she gets no cell reception - so that's why King was taking change, he was using a pay phone! They run towards the payphone like it's going to go somewhere - inanimate object, people! Turns out they just want all the phone records from the phone. Which is good, because have you ever tried to handcuff a pay phone?
When La Guerta goes over to Miguel's pad she takes hair samples from the trunk of his car, while Dex, hidden, watches from the cover of night. But when she leaves, she hasn't completely shut the trunk; and Miguel knows something is up. La Guerta, the next day, tells Dexter to run a confidential search on the hair sample from Miguel's car - which shows that a couple of the hairs did, in fact, belong to Ellen Wolf. Meanwhile, after checking the pay phone records (but not bringing in the pay phone for questioning) Deb and Quinn check a place where they believe The Skinner might be. Sure enough, he's there! He takes off running like he's some kind of killer, and Quinn and Deb run after him, like he's a pay phone. Quinn catches him, but King spins around and slashes him across the forehead, and gets away.
La Guerta brings Dexter into her office, and Dex has to act like he's shocked La Guerta suspects Miguel for Ellen Wolf's murder. He tries to talk La Guerta into biding her time, he says to build her case - but, of course, it's really because Dexter wants to get him first. Still, this complicates things - now La Guerta knows that Dexter knows Miguel is a murder suspect. And Miguel knows that La Guerta knows, because his computer shows all the police searches. And we know that he knows that she knows, you know? In sideplot land, Dexter asks Deb to replace Miguel Prado as his best man - which is a smart move. Deb would make a great best man, she's got the biggest balls of anyone on the show. Oh, dammit, she's really hot, we just kinda grossed ourselves out. Hot Lady Cop With Big Balls, still hung up on her daddy cheating on her mommy, asks for files on all attractive female CI's her father may have dealt with in the past. The File lady agrees to hook her up. Is Deb going to find out about Dex's mom, and how Dexter was found in a pool of blood with his brother and her future boyfriend, the Ice Truck Killer?
Dexter gets into Miguel's room when he isn't there, and sees the murder equipment is out. That means there's a killing going down tonight. Sure enough, Miguel goes to La Guerta's, sees a message on her machine. He plays it - Dexter, telling Maria to meet him at a bar, he's got info on Miguel. But when Miguel opens the door, Dex is there, and stabs him in the neck with that needle of his. Sweet!
He's got Miguel taped up and stretched out on the killing table. Miguel, always working the angles, says "I accept you." Dexter says "I killed your brother." Not so accepting now, huh guy? Eh, doesn't matter, now you're dead. Instead of the usual knife, Prado is strangled with wire, Skinner-style. On to the next TV series, Jimmy Smits! Next week, in the finale, the cops' frantic search for Miguel Prado's killer. Trust us, the pay phone was involved somehow. Get it!