(Beware, SPOILERS BELOW)

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I understand why they named the episode as they did, but it easily could have been called something like 'A New Day' or 'Something Different.' Let me explain.

At the end of episode four, Debra grabbed the steering wheel away from Dexter as he was driving and plunged the car into water, trying to commit a double suicide, but after an onlooker saved her, she saw her brother drowning and raced back into the water and saved him.

"This Little Piggy" opens with Dexter sitting next to Debra in a therapy session with Dr. Vogel, only no one has made a move to talk yet so Vogel starts the session.

Vogel: Debra, it seems that you tried to kill Dexter as well as yourself.

Debra: Yes, but I saved him.

Dexter: You saved me, you only had to save me because you tried to kill me.

Debra: I know...

See, just a typical family therapy session. Debra tries to explain to her brother that she has been living in a cloud, a PTSD haze, especially after she found out that their father killed himself because of what Dexter had become. Dr. Vogel interjects saying that Deb's doing incredibly well under the circumstances after all the shocks she's suffered. Let's see, killing LaGuerta, possibly killing El Sapo and covering for all of Dexter's other kills might do that to a person. But Dexter is still fuming mad and doesn't understand her crazy actions so Dr. Vogel says this:

Vogel: Yes, she tried to kill you, the both of you. That was Debra hitting rock bottom, but ultimately she said she saved you. That was Debra's first step towards recovery. You should see that as a promising sign for your sister.

Well, what's the second step and are there eleven more steps to come? Dexter isn't buying any of it and he storms out. Vogel assures Deb that Dexter is really more hurt than anything else. I am very surprised that Debra had suddenly changed from despising Dexter into trying to get him to understand her actions. Dexter was freaking out in the first four episodes over Debra's shunning of him, but after only one failed double suicide attempt, he can't stand being around her. Hmmm.

The Hamiltons

Dexter gets pulled into a new murder investigation involving a very wealthy family named the Hamiltons, who are also very close to the department. Quinn is running the briefing because Angel is at the hospital with Janet Thornton, the woman Dexter took to the hospital after he found her almost dead at Yates' place. Quinn is trying to become a sergeant and so he's acting very professional for once at the station when a very interested Captain Matthews shows up and tells him to tread lightly with this well-connected family.

Quinn, Dexter and the team go over to Ed Hamilton's house to get a court-ordered DNA sample to see if indeed the father was the last one to sleep with the recently deceased maid, Norma Rivera. While they are discussing this with him, his creepy looking son Zach shows up and is shunned away by Pops. Ed Hamilton refuses the swab and admits having sex with her the day she died, but says he loved her and has the video proof that he'd never hurt her.

As Dexter is packing up, Zach approaches him asking Dexter what he does and what evidence he found at Rivera's house. Dexter tells him that he's a blood splatter expert and that turns him on. Dexter can spot a sicko a mile away, but blows him off for the time being. Zach laughs and tells him that his father might be an a**hole, but is no killer. (It takes on to know one, am I right?)

Quinn and Det. Angie Miller go back to Norma's crime scene and find a street vendor who identifies Zach Hamilton and not his father as being at her house the day of the murder. After hearing the news, Angel says he didn't see that one coming and informs Matthews.

Brain Surgeon Killer

Dr. Vogel is in her house listening to some sixties pop music when A.J. Yates break through a window and abducts her. Debra had been trying to reach Dexter on the phone all day but gives up and heads over to Vogel's house. When she gets there, she sees the place is wrecked.

Angel Batista tells the squad that Thornton identified A.J. Yates as her attacker and heads over to his house. When they get there they find that Yates has buried at least six bodies in his backyard and all the graves have rose bushes planted above them like head stones. Debra tracks down Dexter at Yates and tells him Vogel has been kidnapped by Yates. She pleads with Dexter to help find Vogel because she really needs to rescue her. She also tells Dexter that the reason she didn't kill him was because she couldn't bear to live without him. Isn't that so cute? Are they bonding again?

Dexter discovers Yates' work orders and shows her that he's worked on a ton of houses and they probably should start searching them one by one.

When Dexter gets home, he forgot that Jamie had planned a dinner at his place with Quinn as well as the cute neighbor named Cassie, who has a crush on him. After he tries to blow it off, Jamie threatens to walk out and leave Harrison alone if he ditches this one so Dexter succumbs.

"Serial killer bested by a one hundred pound nanny."

Jamie gets what Jaime wants. Debra is back at her office of work and asks her boss, Jacob Elway (Sean Patrick Flanery), if he'll help her, which he does of course because he has a crush on her. While Debra is still working with Elway, Masuka shows up and hires her to investigate his recently discovered daughter, Niki. He wants to make sure she's not just out to scam him. Debra is touched and tells him it's great to have family in your life.

Dexter is still eating dinner with his houseguests when Deb calls with banking information. Yates had used an ATM machine a couple of times in a certain area, which should give them a reference point to search. Dexter hangs up and then smoothly asks Cassie if it's okay if he leaves for work, but that he'll make it up to her. She's cool with it and actually tells Jamie that she's the one who is too tired to stay any longer.

Dr. Vogel & the Brain Surgeon Killer

Yates knocks Vogel onto a couch, screaming at her for siccing Dexter on him. Dr. Vogel tries talking him down by bringing up the abuse he suffered at the hands of his mother, which caused his insanity.

Vogel: Your mother abused you horribly, beat you, probably caused the lesions. She hit you, slapped you, and you'd find a safe place under the bed. And she looked for you raging. And you'd curl up under there looking, waiting..

Yates: She paced back and forth in front of the bed, shoes clacking...

He then slowly puts her right shoe down on a table and pulls out his favorite toe cutting tool:

Yates: So which little piggy won't be going to market?

Vogel immediately starts imitating his mother's scold, yelling at him until she finally slaps his face hard enough to cause blood. The shock of it stops A.J. from amputating her toe. He's stunned momentarily and then he tells her to sit down and stay put as he heads into the kitchen. Vogel tries to get out of the house but it's locked up tight so she finds a cell phone and calls Dexter's number, but Yates is coming back in so she puts it to the side.

Dexter picks up the call while he's driving with Debra and they listen in to her trying to talk her way out of bring maimed. Debra calls her boss and pleads with him to locate the cell phone signal. After a few minutes of listening to Vogel try to talk down Yates, Elway gives them the location.

Vogel is starting to get through to A.J. and asks him to trust her. That usually works unless of course you are lying to the person and they find you out, like say, finding the cell phone on an open call. Dexter and Debra smash into the house like Starsky and Hutch and find Vogel upstairs, tied up in a closet. Dexter asks her where Yates is, but he quickly figures out that he's hiding in his favorite place, under the bed so in a great bit of Dexter fun, he jumps on the bed and impales him with a long window rod. Deb looks on as he sinks the rod in deeper.

Dexter: Debra, are you okay?

Debra: I'm good, really, I'm good. Let's just get this cleaned up and get out of here.

Something has fundamentally shifted in Debra.

Slice Of Life

Afterwards Dexter, Vogel and Debra gather up all of Yates' items, including his brain cores so Dexter can get rid of them with the body. Dr. Vogel is relieved that her tormenter is dead and she thanks the both of them.

Vogel: I'm glad to see the two of you managed to find your way back to each other. You're doing well, Debra, very resilient.

"Well, the family that kills together..."

In a very serene and surreal atmosphere, Dexter, Dr Vogel and Debra are on the Slice Of Life dumping A.J.'s body into the sea as is his usual ritual.

Dexter: A few days ago everything seemed hopeless between Deb and me, but through Dr. Vogel and Yates, I got my sister back. Not like things were before, but it's something different.

Vogel remarks how beautiful it is out on the water at night. Dexter dreamily replies that he likes the peacefulness here and a moment later Debra makes an observation.

Debra: You brought us here.

Vogel: Yes, why?

Dexter: I wanted to be with family.

Dexter has moved on from hating Dr. Vogel for trying to isolate him away from Debra for her research and now has included her into his quasi-nuclear family. All's well that ends well, I suppose.

Wrap

This troika of Deb, Vogel and Dex is something very different, for sure. It appears the Brain Surgeon killer was only there to bring this three people together in the type of relationship that's probably never been replicated before.

*I still don't trust Dr. Vogel. She has put in quite a bit of work into researching Dexter. I don't think she is going to let it go, but is she now studying Debra as well?

*Is Deb to be part of her new book? She seemed very curious about Deb's developed relationship with Dexter. It's got to be like catnip to the psychopath whisperer.

*Dexter is acting a little too aggressive to Harrison this season after Deb abandoned him. Are you worried?

*While I was wondering what was up with Cassie, it triggered a Hannah McKay memory from last season. Will she pop back into Dex's life? I hope so.

*What's Captain Matthews involvement with the Hamiltons? He obviously tipped off Deep Pockets Ed so he could pay off the witness to forget that he identified his son as pretty much being Norma's murderer?

*Is Zach Hamilton a serial killer too?

* I'm hoping Niki is really a cool daughter to Masuka. He deserves a little happiness