“Yes, we can ... kill that guy!”

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If this were a ridiculous political blog I’d take it to mean that the title of tonight’s ‘Dexter’ episode, ‘Si Se Puede’ (‘Yes, we can’, Barack Obama’s campaign cry) must mean that Obama and Biden are secretly serial killers. Then again, they’d be killing only bad guys, so what’s the problem? It would be rather exciting if Dexter Morgan (Michael C. Hall) and Miguel Prado (Jimmy Smits) were aiming for the White House. They’re tough on crime and more dashing than your average politician. You never totally know what they’re thinking, which is what most politicians are like. They have nice families that would completely fall apart if they were aware what the paternal role models were up to. And like many political teams, you’re not totally sure that they fit together.

While tonight’s episode of Dexter and Miguel tag-teaming was exciting, the partnership doesn’t feel right to me at all. Why did Dexter decide to admit to and share this side of him with Miguel, no matter how kind or understanding he seems? Last season he already had that catharsis with his girlfriend and sponsor Lila (Jaime Murray), and we all know how that ended up -- not very well. So it’s not as if Dexter is needing a soulmate. Of course, the saving grace is that Miguel is now in so deep that he couldn’t get out clean if he decided to turn on Dexter, but the season seems destined to end with the two of them parting somehow: Is there a way for it to happen gracefully? Regardless, Dexter says that Miguel is his first ‘good friend,’ which means that his fiancee, Rita (Julie Benz), is really going to have to step it up in the murder department if she ever really wants to be close to him.

I didn’t believe it, though, when Miguel was going to help Dexter kill an imprisoned neo-Nazi claw-hammer murderer, and for a moment I was convinced that Prado had set him up, when they were loose in the parking lot -- and I was excited for that turn of events. But I suppose Dexter having a bona fide running mate, er, partner in crime will prove to be interesting as well, especially when, as it seems to hint about next episode, Miguel leans on Dexter on who to kill.

Politics didn’t seem to have much to do with tonight’s episode, however, unless you count the tiptoeing around Deb Morgan (Jennifer Carpenter) needed to do to establish whether Ramon Prado (Jason Manuel Olazabal) was the skinning murderer (which he’s not, although he does have some very interesting ideas on new uses for soda pop).

That means the skinning killer is still out there, and it seems like it could be anyone. Could it possibly be Quinn (Desmond Harrington), Deb’s partner who’s under investigation by Internal Affairs? That would be kind of hilarious, that each season she turns out to be either working with or dating the bad guy on the show. Or perhaps her confidential informant, but then again, that goes back to the unlikely even that Deb is attracted only to men who like to slice up other people. If that was the case maybe they’d have to rename this show ‘Debster.’

-- Claire Zulkey