Ok, I'll agree it was clumsy writing, but I hardly know this character. It's just another piece in the Dexter puzzle. You're comparing TV Dexter to Book Dexter and I don't have that luxury. So, to me it's just another clue to who he is.

But hey, you have to give them props for the Alligator scene. That really freaked me out. It was interesting to see predator Dexter confronted with something more viscious than him.