Dexter:" Season 4 Episode 4"

“A deadly game of cat and mouse” served as a frequent tag-line for TV crime shows, especially in the era of “Columbo” and “Mannix.” Overuse has turned the phrase into a kitschy cliché — would the abbreviation ADGOCAM be worth coining? — but it aptly describes the juicy suspense of a good “Dexter” episode. “Dex Takes a Holiday” offers deadly games that pit Dexter against police office Zoey Kruger in the “A” storyline, and Lundy vs. Trinity in the subplot. Part of what makes them engrossing is the way in both cases, hunters turn into the hunted. Neither of these games has "mice."

John Dahl directed the episode, which could explain why the sleuthing and suspense scenes felt particularly taut. Dahl helmed such cult neo-noir flicks as The Last Seduction, which featured a feral femme fatale performance from Linda Fiorentino. Zoey Kruger may not be in the same league, but at least she provides Dexter with a formidable opponent this season. Kruger wields a badge, a gun and some fairly keen predatory instincts of her own. Dexter explains to the ghost/memory of his stepfather Harry that he targeted Kruger as a "challenge," but she seems almost too much for Dexter’s lethal stay-cation project while Rita and the kids are gone for three days.