Are the writers of 'Dexter'

... losing their minds? Or are they still in control?

So far, this season has been extremely entertaining, not least of all because John Lithgow as Arthur has been fantastically creepy. The paralleling of Dexter's family life with Arthur's has been smart and provocative, as Dexter looks at a cautionary tale of how his own domestic situation could go awry. Also, watching Deb come into her own after Lundy's death has been really satisfying. And there has been plenty of suspense building along the way; I sense there will be a few more big twists in the last two episodes. Last night's capture of Christine the reporter -- especially the interview scene with Deb -- was a nice little goose. "Dexter" has been a lot of fun to watch this year.

But, HAVING SAID THAT (thank you, Larry David), the writers seem to have gotten sloppy. The plotting of "Dexter" has been so tight in the past, particularly during the first two seasons. There were very few loose strings or illogical twists within the crazy world of the show, to match Dexter's obsessive caution. But Dexter has completely lost his cool this season; he's risking exposure in countless ways in his effort to finally kill Trinity (or should we call him the Quadruple Killer?).

Last week, when he ducked out of Thanksgiving, surely Deb would have made more of it than just a little aside about how Dexter is like their father. Indeed, the whole Thanksgiving episode -- while fun to watch -- was one big stretch. Come to think of it, Dexter's entire relationship with the Mitchell family in general is profoundly out of character. When Arthur disappears, a whole bunch of people are going to suspect that man with Dexter's face. Even a killer without Dexter's intellectual superiority would be more discreet. If Dexter is learning about loving and taking care of his family, wouldn't he also be working harder than ever not to risk getting caught?

Is all of this intentional? Maybe Dexter is losing his mind, dropping his code completely, heading even further toward something new. Will we look back on his open stalking of Arthur, and his false starts about killing his prey, and understand that it was all part of the writers' plan? Or is "Dexter" showing signs of age?

What do you think?