Dexter Season 4 Episode 10, Will be forever remembered for introducing us to the Trinity Killer shuffle (who knew that John Lithgow was that nimble?). The enigma that is Arthur “Twinkletoes” Mitchell was further unfolded as we find out the genesis for his ritual of three kills. At the age of 10, he inadvertently caused the death of his sister in the bathtub, which in turn caused his mother to commit suicide by jumping off a building. Sometime after that, his father “died,” as he put it (more like he got pummeled by a hammer as Dexter puts it). Phew, that’s a lot of take in. Is that enough to push a man to a 30 year killing spree? In Trinity’s wacky case, the signs point to yes. Since the outset of this season we've been waiting for John Lithgow's Trinity killer to meet Dexter, and this week we're not disappointed. Having identified Arthur Mitchell last week, Dexter decides to get close to his prey and learn how this particular example of his kind works.
For Dexter, his methodology and psychology is a major revelation, as he breaks many of the rules that have kept him a free man. Yet Trinity has been killing people for thirty years or more, reliving the deaths of his own family.
What's quite shocking is how much of a personality flip switch Arthur has, making Dexter, by comparison, a very mild-mannered serial killer.
Having gained his confidence, Dexter gets inside the family home and locates the urn containing his sister's ashes, and decides to push that particular button by picking it up in front of Arthur. The reaction he's looking for isn't long in coming, as Arthur gently takes the ashes from him, before violently assaulting him.
What worried me about this, on reflection, is that Dexter's taken the view that, as Arthur has completed his cycle of murder, he's not actually dangerous. But this reminds me of people who work with big cats or other dangerous wildlife, who become overly confident, and end up regretting their bravado.
