For whatever reason, the crop of Sunday shows from this past weekend seem to have a common ground. It’s probably just me being over analytical and all, but it seemed that a great deal of each narrative (Dexter, Mad Men, Curb Your Enthusiasm) had to do with waiting it all out. In each of these shows there was a bit of set up that’s been needed to bring each season to a natural conclusion. It just seems odd that each is ostensibly on the same part of its story arc.

Regardless, this week’s episode of Dexter obviously picks up just after Deb and Lundy are shot and eventually discovered in the parking lot. Of course, the fact that it’s day-light when the show begins whereas last week’s episode concluded in the dark is a bit confusing, but continuity can’t be thought of as part of television’s charm.

As Dexter arrives to find his sister being carted off to the hospital, he gets into revenge mode. And considering the fact that Lundy’s dead, and the police department is pretty regularly maligned for not being with it, Dexter appears to be readying himself for some ultimate show down with the Trinity Killer, who’s assumed to have committed the shooting.

So the end point of this episode is (kinda) revealed to viewers near the beginning of the episode. And while there’re other plot lines to follow, waiting around to see how, if and when Dexter hunts down Lithgow’s Trinity character isn’t all too entertaining.

There is, however, a good deal of domestic stuff here. Deb, after being released from the hospital and ending it with her musician boyfriend takes up residence at her brother’s house. This, though, isn’t what creates tension in the household.

Rita – much like Betsy Drapper discovering Don’s past – finds that her husband has maintained his apartment. For what reasons, she never guesses, but it should be assumed that Rita figures some awful nonsense is going on over there. It’s an understandable guess, but whatever specifically she thinks is probably a far sight better than what Dex is actually up to.

So there’re a few heavy discussions about family and what it means, yadda yadda yadda. Not enthralling stuff, but Dex is encouraged to spend the evening at his apartment in lieu of heading home. That, though, sets up the final scenes of Dexter chasing the Trinity Killer around an office building.

The episode doesn’t end as one would expect, but that almost makes waiting around for the end of the show more frustrating. Beyond the pacing of the show, though, where this week’s show left off allows for a lot of hypothesizing and theorizing about Dexter’s actions and his future in common society.

It is possible for the character to just fly off the handle and wreck a single aspect of his life while attempting to take care of that personal daemon as he balances a job and home life. We’ll see, though. And if nothing else, viewers are eventually gonna get to see a Trinty vs. Dexter showdown. Let’s hope, at least.