It's a good thing I don't mind a little solitude. I have a feeling I'll find myself more than a little alone when I say that Dexter season 8, so far, is not my favorite. In fact, it's kind of disappointing, save for a few shining moments in each episode. 

The shining moments from "A Little Reflection" were perhaps more abundant than last week, but too many competing stories detract from what should be the focus of Dexter's final season: Dexter himself.

At least I know I'm not alone when I say that I'm not sure I can possibly care any less if Masuka has a daughter or Quinn gets promoted to Sargeant. There's barely iota of interest in either of those storylines for me. Yet.

Maybe there will be something, particularly with Quinn, but Masuka and the product of his college paycheck? No, I just can't care about that. Masuka was never meant to be more than comic relief for such a dark and heavy series. Attempting to give him a more prominent story now is just a waste of airtime.

Quinn's story is tolerable only in that in his pursuit of a promotion, he's going to foil Dexter's plan to indoctrinate young Zach Hamilton into the cult of Harry's Code. Quinn has been close to discovering Dexter's secret before and only pushed that instinct aside when Dexter covered for him. Now he'll uncover the secret of the Bay Harbor Butcher on accident and then he'll have a quandary on his hands:

Get the promotion or protect Debra. 

My gut says he'll choose the latter, but not knowing for sure is the thing that at least makes his quest to take down Zach Hamilton sort of relevant.

Dexter's choice not to kill Zach Hamilton while he had the chance was predictable. The minute Vogel suggested they teach Hamilton the code, there was no other choice Dexter would make despite knowing that teaching another killer Harry's Code puts himself at great personal risk. 

Or maybe he can't see the myriad ways that teaching Zach puts him at risk. Maybe he remembers Lumen too fondly. Maybe Vogel is just that good at manipulating him. (A little too good, I think.)

Vogel may have reunited the siblings has too much power over Debra and Dexter. Over Dexter especially. He used to be this smart, savvy killer and as the seasons have progressed he's made silly mistakes in the name of...I'm not exactly sure what. Vogel's addition to the voices inside Dexter's head hasn't helped him be a better serial killer, and how Dexter can't see he's being manipulated is sort of disappointing. 

Despite any complaints I may have with tonight's episode, and really my complaints are with the season as a whole, there were several stand-out moments.

Dexter and Harrison's interactions are always a bright spot. His desire to separate the dark part of his life from his son while knowing that at some point he will be caught in his lies is a real human conflict. Harrison, Dexter being a father, has always humanized the character.

There is also something about Dexter having Hamilton on the table that was energizing. Dexter is never, ever better than when he has a victim on his table. Michael C. Hall absolutely transforms into something else when that side of Dexter comes out to play. 

Watching him in action with Hamilton, determined to kill him after first understanding the young man's motives, and then identifying with him, Dexter was Dexter. It's in those moments when he is simultaneously the absolute best and the absolute worst parts of himself.

And then he decided to listen to Vogel instead of his inner psychopath. Rule number one: Don't get caught.

Letting Zach live will be part of his undoing just like letting Hannah off of his table alive.

Hannah's return tonight, while not unexpected, left "A Little Reflection" with quite the ending. Is Debra dead? Did Hannah also poison Dexter? Just what does the tow-haired vixen want?

I suppose we'll have to wait until next week to find out.

What did you think of "A Little Reflection"? Now that we're roughly halfway through Dexter season 8, the final season, what are your thoughts? How do you predict it will all end?

Miranda Wicker was a Staff Writer for TV Fanatic. She retired in 2017. Follow her on Twitter.